| Acclaim
for
The Winner's Circle
"Shook
captures the essence of the industry's best practices and
offers comprehensive insight into how to attract the 'right'
clients and build lifelong relationships...This book is a
winner!"
Wick Simmons CEO, The Nasdaq Stock
Market
"These
winners have an undefatigable commitment to the financial
well-being of the people they serve. They know that wealth
management is a complex process and they approach it comprehensively.
Even more importantly, they're driven by the highest ethical
standards: the clients' interests always come first. Hats
off to Shook for a practical exposition of best practices
in this industry."
Stan O'Neal, President and Chief Operating Officer,
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
"The
book is a terrific series of snapshots that capture the many
ways financial advisors excel. When all is said and done those
who succeed have focused on building good relationships with
clients, listened to their unique wants and needs, and provided
sound wealth management solutions."
Mark B. Sutton, President,
UBS PaineWebber - Private Client Group
"For
those who aspire to succeed in an industry as dynamic and
competitive as ours, the insight gained by reading this book
has never been more important or more valuable."
Danny Ludeman CEO, Wachovia Securities
"A
great read! The Winner's Circle is a comprehensive view of
how America's top financial advisors win and serve clients,
and constantly raise the bar of excellence."
Jamie Price President, Prudential
Securities
"A
compelling look at how the industry's most successful financial
advisors climbed their way to the top...If you're striving
for excellence in any business, if you're an investor reading
for pleasure or if you're looking for wealth-management ideas,
you should read this book."
Jim Brinkley President, Legg Mason
"Shook
superbly captures-and draws insights from-the best financial
advisors in the business...a must read for financial advisors."
Jim Cannon President
Sentra Spelman and SunAmerica Securities
"R.
J. Shook's narrative of how 30 successful financial advisors
developed their business and appealed to their customers is
a well-written and extremely interesting saga."
Gilbert Harrison Chairman, Financo
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The
Winner's Circle II:
How Ten Stockbrokers Became the Best in the Business
By R.J. Shook
Foreword by Wick Simmons
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"Invaluable
information...a swift and exhilarating read."
Bernie Madoff Chairman, Bernard
L. Madoff Investment Securities
"Robert
Shook has written a book every financial advisor should read,
perhaps several times…"
Bill Good Chairman, Bill Good Marketing,
Inc.
"The
Winner's Circle proves the American dream is alive and well…a
gold mine of secrets for professional success."
Britt Beemer Chairman, America's
Research Group
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Information
about
The Winner's Circle
Recent
history has illustrated the most dynamic bull market in history,
a dramatic bear market, the Internet revolution, and war.
How have the best financial advisors in the business managed
to prepare-and outsmart-others in this highly competitive
industry? What sets them apart from the vast majority of Wall
Street professionals? Most importantly, what lessons can individuals
learn from these exceptional advisors?
R.J.
Shook helps answer these questions with the newest volume
in his acclaimed Winner's Circle series. Through this series
of books, the most widely read of its kind, Shook provides
insightful profiles of today's most successful financial advisors.
Revealed are investing techniques, wealth management strategies,
trading advice, tips for establishing life-long client relationships,
creating world-class teams, building a business from scratch.
With
this valuable book, readers have access to a behind-the-scenes
look at the work of 30 superior financial advisors, such as
Martin D. Shafiroff of Lehman Brothers Inc., Alan Jusko of
Prudential Securities, Ace Greenberg of Bear Stearns, and
August Cenname of Merrill Lynch. Based on intimate interviews,
this provocative book exposes the personalities and fast-paced
lives of 30 of the industry's finest, and tracks their rise
to the top. You'll feel like you know these luminaries personally
as you hear them, in their own words, divulge the factors
behind their successes:
- Breaking
into the business and building a reputation from scratch.
- Effectively
differentiating themselves from their competitors.
- Building
loyalty by indulging their clients with exceptional service.
- Developing
proprietary investing strategies, many of which shared for
the first time in this book.
- Establishing
effective strategies related to wealth management and personal
investing.
- Time-tested
investment philosophies that have proven effective in volatile
markets.
- Specialized
sales techniques, totaling 30 unique marketing styles in
all.
- Balance
work and life, demystifying the belief that you have to
be a workaholic to shine in the securities industry.
- Attribute
community work as a key to their startling success.
Witness
a day in the life of each of these top professionals. Experience
their many successes, whether it's spending time with the
family, wining the Microsoft corporate account, meeting with
high-powered clients, managing billions of dollars, earning
the business of professional athletes and celebrities, and
networking on the golf course. Also told are the failures
they exhibited as they struggled their way to the top.
If
you're an investor, you won't be able to resist rating your
own financial advisor against these topflight performers.
Or, if you invest for yourself, see how the best in the business
manage money. Whether you're a beginning or seasoned financial
advisor, or considering getting into the business, you'll
be captivated by tales of challenging prospects, tough clients,
and candid talk about portfolio performance. You'll learn
new ideas from the best in the business that can dramatically
improve your business.
Pick
up valuable advice about how to increase your selling power
and stretch your maximum potential. And choose from these
financial advisors' different styles the one that works best
for you. You'll be thoroughly inspired by these Wall Street
leaders.
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From
the Publisher
A
best-seller in its category, The Winner's Circle series explains
how the crème de la crème of the securities world got where
they are-in a first-time-ever inside look at how they work
and play. You'll enjoy intimate portraits of these and other
talented, remarkable individuals. Alan "Ace" Greenberg of
Bear Stearns-reputed to be the best trader in the business,
his clientele includes Donald Trump and the biggest corporate
raiders in the world. Marvin "the Wiz" McIntyre of Legg Mason-developed
a brand unlike any other in the industry. He shares his secrets,
including how his team manages billions of dollars, and opens
over 100 accounts a month. Andrew Lanyi of CIBC Oppenheimer-brings
lessons from escaping the Nazis to the securities industry:
"If you believe in your heart that you're doing the right
thing, don't let anything stop you…" August Cenname of Merrill
Lynch-senior partner of the "Dream Team." "We build solid,
lifelong relationships…we build dreams." Deborah Frazier of
Merrill Lynch-Most people become successful, then give back
to the community; she has become successful by giving back
to the community. Martin D. Shafiroff of Lehman Brothers-The
nation's top-producing financial advisor for more than a decade
has become legendary... ...not to mention unforgettable war
stories, potent selling strategies, and unbeatable investment
know-how-all from the top producers in the financial industry.
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Contents
of Book
Since
I've written the first two Winner's Circle books, I've
had the opportunity to speak at hundreds of industry engagements,
ranging from training classes and incentive trips to seminars
and conferences. After talking individually to thousands of
brokers, I decided to change the format of my third edition
of The Winner's Circle. First, instead of ten, I profiled
30 financial advisors in order to provide broader perspectives.
Second, I segmented the book thematically by dividing the
book into 14 sections, with each financial advisor profiled
in at least one chapter within one or more sections. Hence,
each individual appears in a section that best represents
his or her strengths. The obvious benefit of organizing the
book in this format is that a reader who is interested in
becoming more involved in his or her community, for example,
will find Deborah Frazier's approach to building a book of
business to be of particular interest. This Merrill broker
began her career by educating and offering financial advice
to lower-income families and church groups. Proving Greenberg's
theory, in what seems to defy logic, Frazier became successful
by giving to the community first. Following are The Winner's
Circle sections.
- Team
building
- Building
a fee-based business
- Prospecting
and Marketing
- Wealth
Management
- Going
Independent
- Building
Relationships and Loyalty
- Customer
Service
- Building
a Billion Dollar Book
- Getting
to the Next Level
- Investment
Philosophies
- Differentiation
- Corporate
Plan Business
- Community
Involvement
- Building
a Brand
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Criteria
for Financial Advisors
In
searching for America's most successful financial advisors,
I developed a system deemed fair and suitable by the industry's
securities firms. First, I narrowed a lengthy list of firms
to a top 100; I qualified these entities based on acceptable
compliance track records. Following discussions about identifying
their top salespeople, my list was reduced to 46 firms. At
each of these firms, my research process dictated that I speak
with several representatives in multiple departments, including
public relations, national sales, divisional and regional
managers, compliance/legal departments, and oftentimes CEOs
and Presidents. Each firm provided me with their recommendations
that they considered their most successful financial advisors.
At this point, my list had approximately 300 candidates, each
of whom was viewed as a strong role model for all industry
professionals and an excellent financial advisor to represent
his or her firm. My selections were based on the following
weighted criteria:
- Consistently
high production numbers.
While I encountered phenomenal stories about many financial
advisors, I wasn't interested in superstars without tenure.
Flash-in-the-pans and Johnny-come-latelys were not acceptable.
- Acceptable
compliance and legal records. Only brokers with the
highest ethical standards and integrity would be considered.
In fact, in an industry where every formal complaint, whether
justified or unfounded, is archived virtually forever, many
of The Winner's Circle brokers--such as Prudential's Alan
Jusko and Morgan Stanley's Ira Walker--have never had a
formal client complaint; what's more, virtually all are
in the top echelons in terms of client-loss records.
- Community
involvement. Interestingly, this was the easiest criterion.
It was almost a given that the 300 financial advisors on
my initial list were active role models in their community
and in the industry. This was a common thread throughout
the interviews. Ace Greenberg at Bear Stearns said it best:
"The more I give, the more money I seem to make."
Over
the course of two months, I pre-interviewed these top 300
financial advisors. My ultimate decisions were primarily based
on my objective approach in utilizing my criteria, as well
as a lighter-weighted subjective approach, consisting of identifying
individuals from a diversity of firms, and a cross-section
of the country. In the end, I was able to select 30 financial
advisors from 13 brokerage firms, and I felt comfortable that
as a composite, they were indeed the most successful in the
business.
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