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by James M. Robinson

The Power Of Story Telling!

Jim Robinson, RHU, CLU, ChFC, CFP, MSFS uses the art of "Story Telling" in the book "Changing Faces - America's Wealth Advisors." Jim deploys "Story Telling" to educate, inform and coach aspiring Financial Services Professionals.

Changing Faces - America's Wealth Advisors is not a data dump. Jim also understands that charts, numbers, statistics, and graphs are to be use to reinforce a story point. They do not motivate or become change agents. Story telling does motivate and facilitate change, as the mind is made receptive and open to clear communication and direction. Jim uses the art of story telling as people remember the stories! Jim uses storytelling is a powerful way to establish and maintain clear communication as he teach skill sets and practice management techniques to aspiring Financial Services Professionals.

Jim reminds us that storytelling is a part of America's political and business heritage. Abraham (Abe) Lincoln, 16th President, Ronald Reagan, 40th President, William (Bill) Clinton, 42nd President and Henry (Ross) Perot, American businessman and billionaire were great storytellers.

• Storytelling helps aspiring Financial Services Professionals use their imagination and visualization skills.
• Storytelling allows Jim to share his feelings, passion and commitment with aspiring Financial Services professionals.
• Storytelling allows aspiring Financial Services Professionals to understand their cultural nuances and heritage quite different from their own.

Storytelling enables Changing Faces - America's Wealth Advisors to bring value to you!

Chapter One: The Epiphany

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors is the playbook for minorities and immigrants. A few books or articles focus minorities on how to be successful in their ethnic market.

Many focus on the negative aspects of mainstreaming and tend not to lend to the success of minority Financial Services Professionals working in mainstream America.

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors enables aspiring Financial Services Professionals with the skills needed to build a honest, profitable and multicultural practice.

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors enables the aspiring Financial Services Professionals to appreciate the social and culture nuances that affect our ability to grow as professionals and our ability to serve the American public.

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors focuses on the power of diversity to grow, build and protect wealth.

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors will enable Minority aspiring Financial Services Professionals to be confident and comfortable when selected to discuss wealth transfer strategies for clients involved in intergenerational transfers.

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors will enable aspiring Financial Services Professionals to understand the skillsets needed to grow a robust investment, insurance or financial planning practice.

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors serves as a guide for aspiring Financial Services Professionals serving female clients.

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors will enable aspiring Financial Services Professionals to understand with a high degree of sensitivity the issues and concerns that are unique to women.

Changing Faces: America's Wealth Advisors will enable Financial Services Professionals to service the ever-growing rise of request from non-whites for financial planning and advise with ethnic sensitivity. This increased interest and demand for financial advice is being fueled in part by the constant flow of immigrants to the United States.

Changing Faces -, America's Wealth Advisors fills the void for minority, multicultural, and other aspiring Financial Services Professionals. AburnMountain.com continues the journey. Auburn Mountain provides strategies for aspiring Financial Services Professionals to properly start and grow their business practice.

Chapter Two: Lets answer the question... Who We Are?

Aspiring Financial Services Professionals and I will take a look at the human side of our business. My competition spends most of their time discussing rates of return, risk tolerance, asset allocation analysis, and tax planning. insurance planning and estate planning. The competition tends to take a macro view of practice management or deal with the mechanics of the Financial Services business without really telling us why it matters from a human standpoint.

In this chapter, I will ask Aspiring Financial Services Professionals to look through the peephole of our souls as professionals and as Americans on a unique day in our history. The day is September 11, 2001. The day Terrorists struck us, killed innocent people, damaged and destroyed property. For it is such days that confirms who we are. We were there to console and to provide capital to minimize financial losses on all fronts. Unfortunately we could not be first responders, however we responded and we continue to respond. It is very important to me and my many colleagues that you consider the heart and soul of who we are before we deal with "What is it that we do?" We are the Americans who are at ground zero that help Americans and others build, manage and protect their wealth. We are committed to Financial Readiness for all Americans. Because of who we are and what we do, America sleeps a little easier at night. For sure we will get to the issues of practice management and deal with the mechanics of the Financial Services business.

Chapter 3: The Power of V

I will discuss the concept of Shared Leadership with aspiring Financial Services Professionals. We will discuss the "Four Great Ones" i.e. four great financial institutions have shared the leadership, power and wealth with "Changing Faces". Immigrants and minority U.S. citizens need to understand and appreciate the history of our Financial Services Institutions. Power is not given.real power is earned. These aspiring Financial Service Professionals should also be made aware of the contributions that minorities are making in these financial services institutions. Aspiring Financial Service Professionals will appreciate this chapter offering regardless of whether they are considering going to work for a major company, small company or becoming independent. The chapter is about hope and vision for all minorities entering the Financial Services industry. This is happy news and proof that our bright and talented American youth that happen to be America's minorities need to know that they can achieve greatness in the Financial Services Industry.

Chapter 3, "The Power of "V", draws on the successes that companies have had with leadership drawn from Financial Services Professionals that happen to be minorities. Recruiters and Sales Managers could use this chapter to attract highly qualified minority candidates. The competition is not telling this compelling story. Maybe it is not their focus..but it is ours and we tell the story well!

Note: Recruiting is not a main focus of this book. The stories we tell, the vision we give and the strategies we discuss will give Recruiters hope that the retention rate of aspiring Financial Service Professionals will be improved by this playbook.

Chapter 4: The Faces - What It Is That We Do?

Earlier, I mentioned that traditionally very few people attend college for the purpose of becoming a Financial Services Professional. Yet there are many who were mentored into the business. Others were given the vision at an early age. In this chapter in the section called "Once Upon A Time" I tell the story of how an Irish American became a role model for an African-American kid. The kid became a Financial Services Professionals because of a concept called "touching the future".

Also in Chapter 4, we will take a view from the bridge at the approximately 1.7 million people who serve as Financial Services Professionals. We will also take a bird eye view from the bridge of the Financial Services Occupations and Median Salaries. It is important that aspiring Financial Services Professionals have an idea of what to expect in income in the first few years in business. Also, aspiring Financial Services Professionals need to know what skillsets and success traits they need to build a successful practice.

Chapter 5: Diversity And Multiculturalism

Box Of Crayons
At the end of the day, we could learn a lot from a used box of crayons. Some crayons are brighter than others, some crayons are darker than others and they all are different colors. If used together, they create amazing color collages. This statement can be applied to the Multicultural Financial Services Professionals in America.

This chapter which is about enriching The Financial Services Industry really introduces the next Chapter - Getting Started. In Chapter 6 we turn our attention to building your Financial Services practice. we begin to drill down and deal with what you need to do to get started on building a honest, profitable multiculturalism practice. In this chapter, I want to discuss shared multicultural values. We spend time with aspiring Financial Services Professionals on the social and culture nuances that affect our ability to grow as professionals and our ability to serve the American public. I also focus on the power of diversity to grow and build wealth.

Here's a sample of the topics we cover in this chapter as we prepare the aspiring Financial Services Professionals to thrive in their career:

• Dealing with Clients are from Shame-Based Cultures
• Learning Styles Of Multicultural Financial Services Professionals
• Servicing Middle Eastern and Asian Families

Chapter 6: Getting Started As A Financial Services Professional

This chapter will deal with a neglected area that most of my competition shy away from. They are busy with telling producers "How to climb from $80,000 to $200,000 and be home by 6pm." Or steady and consistently regurgitating "The 10 Top Best Practices For High Powered Producers", In this chapter, we share "The VISION" with aspiring Financial Services Professionals. We discuss the dynamics and implications of the aspiring Financial Services Professionals ability to embrace "The VISION". We refrained from the usual "The Top Ten Mistakes Financial Services Professional Make When getting Started" and deal with the nuts and bolts of "Getting Started".

We provide helpful point-by-point and blow-by-blow advice on getting started as a Financial Services Professional. Such as:

• Office Space: What To Expect
• How Financial Services Professionals Training Is Delivered
• Structured Career Programs- How They Work
• Ok..How do I get licensed?
• Do I need a Sales or Marketing Assistant?

In this chapter, we also briefly discuss why building a profitable practice so important? I also enable the aspiring Financial Services Professional with the vision of the practice being sold as a profitable going concern at disability, death or retirement. Most of the competition writes books that proclaim that they can help you become of the nation's foremost Financial Services Professional. The competition never really tell you why other than (1) this is why you are working so hard. (2) You need to be independent. I want to enable the aspiring Financial Services Professional with the vision that they are building something of great value that is greater than money and themselves. This discussion in itself lends to a complete book. Our discussion gives the Financial Services Professionals a helicopter view of a rather important and detailed subject.

Chapter 7 - Skill Sets For Financial Services Professionals

This chapter will bring us to a detailed discussion of the skillsets the Financial Services Professionals must develop to enable them to build, manage and protect the wealth and assets of clients on all levels of LifeStages planning.. This chapter is the challenge and the heart of the book. Financial Services Professionals must develop certain skill sets that enable them to build, manage and protect the wealth and assets of clients on all levels of LifeStages planning. The skill sets goes way beyond the ability to enjoy meeting new people and being "good" on the telephone. The skill sets must transcend cultural nuances and prepare the ethnic Financial Services Professional to service mainstream America and her culturally and ethnic rich communities.

I want the aspiring Financial Services Professional to have more that the Dummy's version of what it takes to be a Financial Services Professional. This actual test drive really gives the aspiring Financial Services Professional an idea of what it takes to acquire the "right stuff". Financial Services Professionals will enable themselves to make informed decisions about their career.

What I am giving the reader is access to training traditionally available after you have been employed at the firm for three weeks or more. The advantage to the aspiring Financial Services Professional is that she/he can partner with the manager and trainer to acquire the skill sets needed. The real value to the aspiring Financial Services Professional is that they are no longer vulnerable to the inefficiencies of any companies training program or narrow focus when it comes to skill development.

Chapter 8: Women - The Growing Force

This chapter is a must read for the aspiring Financial Services Professional. Woman from all cultures and races share one commonality. They tend to outlive men. For this reason, women are concerned and sensitive about their financial independence in their golden years. After spending years with a partner (spouse), many women want options that allow them to remain financially independent. Aspiring Financial Services Professionals need to provide effective strategies that enable and empower them to manage and protect their wealth.

Women need financial and wealth planning advisors and coaches. Women also need retirement planning advisors and coaches. Women, very many like men need help building, managing and protecting wealth. Women need Financial Services Professionals that can deliver non-bias clear financial advice. It seems that every book you read on the subject of "Today's Woman" begins with either the 50 most influential women or the world's richest women. In 2004, Forbes Magazine ran articles on the most powerful women in the world with 57 on the list of 100 are Americans. By the way, Forbes always does an excellent job of featuring women and other minority groups in all walks of life. In this book however, I would like to enable aspiring Financial Services Professionals to serve the other women in America..i.e. the other 143.4 million.

Chapter 9: Staying Strong! Accreditation, Credentials and Designations

There are approximately hundreds of thousands of Financial Services Professionals to choose from. How does the American Public and businesses make the choice?

How do the American Public make sense of the noise and find the lighthouse that guides them through the fog? In this chapter, we answer these questions. The competition talks mostly about how much more money you can make with a designation. Then provide a few testimonials and then an advertisement (Paid ) to sign up. We do all this (except paid advertisements) and a lot more as we take a detailed look at selected designations and degrees. We provide completed contact information including websites as well. This will be a added value resource to you.

The Journey Continues Beyond the Book!

Aspiring Financial Services Professionals begin the journey with the book, Changing Faces- America Wealth Advisors. The Financial Services Professionals are reminded that their journey will continue way beyond this helpful guide. For this reason, each chapter comes equipped with Helpful Live Reference Endnotes. I wanted this book to be an enabler, not just an 'Excellent Book". The reader can come to this website for a quick summary of all endnotes by chapter. The endnotes at Auburnmountain.com are Live Links to Helpful References and Resources. I want to encourage all readers to think of the live endnotes as a companion tool to this book that can be used in further preparation for a career or to enhance their career opportunities in the Financial Services Industry. The live endnotes will work for our readers living and working in other countries as well.