Michael P. Smith - MBA, CFP®, CAP, FIC, CLTC – Wealth Advisor

 Q: What was it that attracted you the financial services business?

A: For me the ability to help people prepare to have a valiant future and to make sure their families are taken care of. That to me is the primary reason that I entered this field. From a personal side, the ability to run your own office and from my perspective an office that is based on Christian principals where we don’t have to be shy in what we believe in and that was an important part for me.

Q: So, after you started, I know it’s been eleven years now, thinking back were you surprised at all by what it took to be successful?

A: I would say there were some things that were surprising and some things that were not. I came into it with the expectation that it was going to take a lot of work and effort. Which I think is one of the biggest things people need to come into business understanding is the first two to three years it’s your like working two jobs and you really have to put an effort into it.

I think some of the surprising things were more along the lines of the support channels, it didn’t take long to figure out that you were more on your own then you really realized and if you are not focused on solving your own issues, you will find yourself not going anywhere.

Q: In your current situation, you have earned many degrees and many designations, including your MBA, CFP®, CAP, which a lot of people may not be familiar with which is the Certified Advisor Philanthropy, your FIC and CLTC; after earning all those designations and as an experienced Wealth Advisor how did you feel about being invited to the CAPS™ workshops?

A: I was skeptical at first to be quite honest about whether or not it would bring any new information to the table. You mentioned, investing myself into these degrees, I actually view it more as investing in my clients. You’ll notice the the degrees and designations that I have pursued surround the areas that I would say benefit my clients the most. Ff I am going to work in that arena for my clients I hold myself to a high standard and I want to make sure that I can be considered an expert in those areas, so that’s why I have those degrees and certainly being able to communicate to people is an essential skill in this business.

My background in human resources had a lot of training similar to CAPS™ in it before, so I was skeptical coming in as to whether it would bring anything new to the table.

Q: After getting involved with the course work and after the workshop got going what were your impressions then?

A: I thought it was excellent. You can never stop learning when you are in this business and there will always be something to be learned. What I found is it was a good refresher for me and there were certainty new concepts or techniques to grasp and continue to hone in on some of those skills to refine them and be able to enhance what I have already put into place to make my practice a little better.

Q: When you think about your situation and after eleven years of investing like you have, really to serve your clients, how would you describe your business today?

A: I would consider it more of a holistic practice. I have a very balanced book of business between investments and insurances. I really seek to have deep relationships with my clients where I can be a resource to answer most of their questions they may have in the financial arena. If they do have concerns outside my expertise, to have the connections to direct them and make sure they are taken care of.

Q: When you think about your cliental, have you worked toward an ideal client profile or do you have any kind of criteria that you look for?

A: I wish I had the magic pill answer for you there, but I don’t. Certainly there are things that I will list for you that work for me but I have to be honest they are more qualitative then quantitative in the things that I look for. I look first and foremost in someone that is interested in having someone help them. I certainly learned of the years that if they are not open to having a team of people help them or someone helping them than it’s not going to do either of us any good to spend time together.

Another criteria I look for is someone that shares common interest and common faith because if we base our guidelines on what I will consider biblical principles of stewardship, if someone doesn’t subscribe or believe in those it can create more conflict then you are ever going to solve. Beyond that, I have had people tell me, “you really should change your criteria in terms of assets or type of business,” but that is just not who I am. If someone needs help and I can do it, I’m going to do it. If we can help them get along further in life and become financial secure then to me I will call it a good day.

Dave: I heard you mention three things, as it relates to qualitative criteria, one is do they want help, two is do we have common interest/faith and three can I help them. It sounds like when you are true to that profile in regards to looking for someone to work with you find a lot of satisfaction in that.

Q: Thinking back to the conclusion to the workshop that you attended was there any particular concerns that you had or any questions that were going through your mind at the point when it concluded?

A: No, I can’t say that I did. I think I walked away from the training with a really good understanding of the different components and how to put them to work and again I thought the training was thero, and it did that.  

Q: You work as a mentor and joint work partner, correct?

A: Yes

Q: Tell me about any impact the CAPS™ workshop has had on the relationship with the work that you are doing with the other advisors and if that has changed some of the take aways of the joint calls you make or if it has made any impact at all?

A: It does, and again the newness of having gone through it and the freshness to keep it in the mind, that’s why I think that continuing to sharpen the saw makes a lot of sense. I find myself frequently in conversation even with new reps not just clients and find myself following those skills of trying to get to the real reason or the real issues and find solutions; Why is it that we are struggling to get in front of people? What things should we be looking for here? What kind of questions should we be asking? Or how do we phrase those questions? We have those discussions all the time as we do joint work.

Q: When you think about the freshness of the training do you find yourself looking at the preparation and the follow-up from another perspective that you weren’t before or does it help you to have common language that you didn’t have before?

A: I think it helps us stay focused in on the specific issues and hoeing down on where we want to spend our time with which than enables us to use, what you referred to as common language, I would agree with that. When you are really able to focus in on specific outcomes or desires, I’m not talking solutions but where we want to go, what understanding do we want to get to that enables you to prepare better, both in research and getting in the right frame of mind.

Q: Over all, what would you say to someone if they asked you your opinion of the CAPS™ workshop and the follow up coaching that we provide?

A: I thought the training was excellent and very well done. I would highly recommend it to someone at all stages at their career, whether they are just starting out or they have been doing this awhile. As I said it is a good skill builder when it comes to communications techniques.

Q: Have you taken advantage of the tools that we make available as far as the laminated card, the CD review or any of the online reviews since the workshop?

A: I used the laminated card for a period of time but now it is etched into my brain so I don’t use it as much but the process is there. I haven’t taken the time to use many of the other resources, so I can’t speak to them at this point.

Q: Thinking about the CAPS mindset, you said that you have the overview etched into your mind, do you find yourself thinking about that in any other important conversations away from work, whether it be on any committees or with family?

A: Yeah, pretty much all the time. It’s not just work related, these are communication skills and you can use them in a board meeting, at a parent teacher conference, I've used them with the parents from the kids on the team I help coach.Overall, anytime you have to communicate with someone and you need to understand where they are coming from or get a point across, it helps. If you train your mind to communicate in this direction it carries through in pretty much anything that you do. I will say it even impacts my relationship and the communication that my wife and I have.

Q: Thinking ahead to the rest of 2014, what are your goals and aspirations for the rest of the year?

A: Well, I’m shooting for Pinnacle Conference level again but I am also growing my joint field work network with other colleagues across the country as well. Those are my two main focuses for the balance of this year.

Q: Now you said make Pinnacle level "again", how many years have you achieved that level of success?

A: I believe five years.

Q: How do you feel about that?

A: I guess, Ok!

Q: More in depth, what does it mean to you to be able to perform at the level consistently?

A: Well, for me it’s an expectation to get there, I think I would be more disappointed if I don’t make it then I am ecstatic if I do make it, if that makes sense.

We work hard to get there. It’s a sense of where we need to be, certainly from a pure business perspective I base most of my annual budget off of being at that point. There is some relief when we get there knowing that most of the numbers should fall into play for that year.

Q: When you think about the career, sharing your belief and what you do to help people with their finances, at the end of the day what does it mean to be able to do that?

A: I absolutely love what I do every day, it’s a lot of fun and I feel I am right where I need to be. I know this is might sound kind of weird but to me it is our own little mission field being able to help people or introduce people to what I will call sound money management principles on a regular basis.

Q: If someone one was considering a career as a financial representative with Thrivent, what would you say to them?

A: I would have a couple things to say but also some things to share with them or to ask them. For one, I think Thrivent is a very strong and solid organization. I like where they go and where they are appearing to be going. I think the openness of the market we now have in the Christian community, I think from an opportunity standpoint that exists. I would also want to make sure that they understand that opportunity doesn’t mean success and that is only one part of the equation, I think the variable exists here but you also have to bring the work to it. You have to be able to work hard especially early on in your career to put the pieces in place to grow.

The third thing is that I think they would have to have a servant’s heart. Serving people is really what this business is all about and I know there are people out there that would disagree but I really think good advisors are the ones that want to help people and want to take care of them and make sure they are in a good financial position.