June 2010
The Halcyon Days of Wholesaling
By Rob Shore
Frequently when I speak to professionals that are currently wholesaling I refer to the years that I carried the bag (1991-1998) as the 'halcyon days' of wholesaling. And they were.
Mutual funds were just coming into the portfolios of mainstream American families and the proliferation of new funds was arguably at its height.
In the channel that I primarily served, Banks, investment programs were just getting solid footing and securing new selling agreements was easier than it is today.
Oh, and the stock market went, more or less, straight up from under DOW 3000 to over DOW 9000. Could it be that the opportunity for truly great, professional wholesalers is greater today? After all there are innumerable financial advisors that are digging out from under the Great Meltdown, while at the same time navigating the very choppy and volatile waters of today's global financial markets. And those financial advisors are looking for assistance.
Yes, looking for assistance in the form of a solid, knowledgeable, creative, dependable, and articulate wholesaler. Even in the 1990's when the market was screaming financial advisors were not seeking out wholesalers – after all many brokers were confusing brains with a bull market. So how does the wholesaler of 2010 stay at the forefront of their craft so they that they are ready to answer the call?
Even though many firms are still spending training dollars to bring wholesalers tools to sharpen their skills, those training sessions are held only occasionally. What's a wholesaler to do to feed their growth in between the trainings?
Enter I Carry The Bag…the official magazine of wholesaling. Each quarter I Carry The Bag will bring wholesalers, and their leaders, insights and information exclusively dedicated to the Art, Science and Lifestyle of wholesaling – edited and published by long tenured veterans of the distribution community.
Head to http://ICarryTheBag.com for more information. After all, what good is recognizing the greatest opportunity if you are not prepared to seize it?