Best Practices for Training New Bank Advisors for Success

One of the keys to building a successful bank advisor program is the ability to quickly and seamlessly integrate a new advisor into the team. An effective way to ensure this happens is by establishing a structured training program for all new advisors that focuses on four specific areas.

Industry Licensing – Licensing requirements should be specific to the needs of your bank advisor program. For most, that would mean the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam, Series 7, 66 (or 63 & 65), and Life/Health/Long Term Care insurance. These licenses should allow advisors to meet the diverse needs of most bank clients. Utilizing established exam prep courses, like Kaplan or Pass Perfect, can greatly improve pass rates.

Bank-Specific Training – This area of training is important whether the advisor is new to the industry or simply new to your bank advisor program. Areas to focus on here include bank history and market presence, business processing, technology, advisory platforms and other investment vehicles. Building a syllabus and structured training modules will keep a newly affiliated advisor on track.

Business Development Training – Business development training for a new bank advisor should focus on how to best work with other bank departments and personnel to obtain relevant introductions and referrals. Training for bank personnel on recognizing these opportunities and how to refer them to bank advisors can be helpful as well. In addition, some focus on best practices for networking and prospecting outside of the bank and its current customers should be included.

Peer Mentoring & Ongoing Training – Learning doesn’t end once a new bank advisor is onboard. Most partner firms will provide access to additional training in areas such as sales ideas and practice management. In addition, creating a peer mentoring and/or collaborative idea sharing program among the bank advisor team is an excellent way to foster growth and insure continuity across the team.

Overall, creating and implementing a structured new advisor training program can greatly increase the speed with which a new bank advisor can deliver meaningful investment solutions to clients and start generating revenue for your bank.