The Million-Dollar Financial Advisor: Powerful Lessons and Proven Strategies from Top Producers »

DAVID J. MULLEN JR. (Englewood, CO) is the author of The Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice as well as a 30-year industry veteran and former Managing Director at Merrill Lynch, where he trained more than 500 financial advisors. The success rate of his advisor training programs have been significantly higher than the industry average.

If you could corner the world’s top financial advisors and convince them to divulge the secrets of their success, it’s fairly obvious what questions you would ask them. You would want to find out what qualities they feel have led to their place among the best, how they set themselves apart from other advisors, what methods they used to get their first—and then, biggest—clients, and whether they had a vision starting out and how their professional game plan may have evolved since then. You would ask them how they structure their time, focus their marketing efforts, and determine their own niche. And then you would try to figure out what these top-of-the-game advisors all had in common.

Based on interviews with 15 mega-successful advisors, each doing millions of dollars worth of business every year, The Million-Dollar Financial Advisor distills their universal success principles into 13 distinct lessons, covering topics essential to your own success, such as how to build and focus on client relationships, have a top advisor mindset, develop a long-term approach, and much more.

In some cases, these principles may confirm what you are currently doing right; in others, they will identify a gap in your business practice that needs to be developed for you to attain the level of success you know you deserve.

The book lays out specific actions you can take in order to put these lessons into practice for your own business — and features two complete case studies: one of a “best of the best” advisor whose incredible career trajectory showcases the power of all the book’s principles working together; the other of a remarkable and inspiring career turnaround demonstrating that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself.

Brimming with practical advice from author David J. Mullen Jr. and expert insights from his interview subjects, The Million-Dollar Financial Advisor is a priceless success tool for any and all financial advisors.

Praise for David J. Mullen Jr.’s The Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice:

“…information on marketing, prospecting, sales, and time management techniques is presented clearly and in great detail. The book is one advisors will refer to often.” — Research Magazine

“…filled with valuable information from a smart manager who has been there and done that successfully.”' — On Wall Street

“…a helpful resource for financial professionals who have the motivation and desire to build and maintain a solid business model.” — Agent’s Sales Journal

“…providing clear…processes for defining and implementing proven marketing tactics for financial practices to use as a guideline… give[s] new and existing owners some food for thought.” — Broker Dealer Journal

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Part 1 The Lessons

1 Lesson #1: The Top Advisor Mindset 23

2 Lesson #2: The "Leverage of Size" Principle 37

3 Lesson #3: Professional Development 50

4 Lesson #4: Specialization 61

5 Lesson #5: Relationship Focus 72

4 Lesson #6: Marketing Best Practices 82

7 Lesson #7: Professional Referral Networks 113

8 Lesson #8: Nonprofit Organization Involvement 131

9 Lesson #9: Long-Term Orientation 144

10 Lesson #10: Creating a Team 154

11 Lesson #31: Wealth Management 167

12 Lesson #12: Commitment to Service 179

13 Lesson #13: Time Management 194

part 2 Putting the Lessons into practice

14 Taylor Glover: Lessons from the Very Top 209

15 Henry Camp: Going from Good to Great 227

16 The Asset Challenge 239

Index 267