Rick Kent's "aha" moment came about six years ago, when he was working throughout the ranks of an 18,000- employee Fortune 100 company, helping people manage their 401(k) plans. "I suddenly realized that these people--and millions of others like them across the country--didn't have a clue about how to manage their retirement savings and were desperate to find someone who cared enough to help them."
This recognition has defined his career ever since. Kent began to view his work with clients in a different light. "Instead of thinking about how to find prospects with significant assets to invest, I shifted my approach to finding people for whom I could provide value right away," says Kent. "My experience had shown me that once I gave someone value, the assets would start rolling in."
It wasn't out of character for Kent to find a new approach to the financial advisory business. He spent the early years of his career as an entrepreneur, owning several businesses before becoming an advisor. That entrepreneurial spirit surfaced again shortly after he joined the Allegiance Group (www.allegiancegroup.com) in 1995 and opted to buy into the practice. By 1999, he was a 50/50 partner.
As a novice, Kent faced the same challenge that all advisors face: Where will I get my clients? How will I fill my pipeline? Since he was in Atlanta, he established a relationship with a large telecommunications company in the area. There, word spread quickly that Rick Kent was the go-to guy for questions about 401(k) plans. As more and more employees sought him out, prospecting became less and less of an issue. Initially, he had been concerned about the value of spending so much of his time with people who were still in the pre-retirement phase and not yet ready to roll their assets over into accounts that he could manage directly. But it wasn't long before many of them started to bring him other assets--assets that were not locked into their qualified plans: IRAs, windfall inheritances and insurance settlements, for example. And of course, as individuals he was advising retired or moved to a different company, the money they had worked so hard to accumulate (and managed so well under his care) just kept rolling in.
During this time, Kent began to focus on his personal development as a financial advisor. In 2000, he participated in Dan Sullivan's Strategic Coach Program (www.strategiccoach.com) which demanded that he do some deep thinking and soul searching--not just about his business strategy, but also about his unique abilities and his mission in life. This process enabled him to see that his real passion was in creating a positive vision for the future. This was precisely what he was doing in his work with pre-retirees when he helped them envision a successful retirement and provided them with the advice necessary to achieve it.
The longer Kent worked through the Strategic Coach program, the clearer he became about his purpose and focus for his own future. So when he was introduced to the Goal Cultivator process--a peer coaching system developed by Sullivan--.], he jumped at the opportunity to share his abilities with a select group of colleagues. Three years ago, Kent founded two such groups of Securities America advisors who also served clients in the telecommunications industry--a total of 20 people practicing on each coast. Eighteen remain, and the two groups have since merged. They meet quarterly, and with Kent as facilitator, spend half the day focusing on goal setting, accountability and workbook activities. During the second half of the day, they shift to discussions of networking and marketing, sharing stories about what works and what doesn't.
"People learn from other people," Kent says. "Not only do they learn useful techniques, but they are motivated by seeing others' success. And for me, personally, working with the group has been a powerful experience. While I knew from the beginning that the Goal Cultivator experience would be beneficial, I never imagined that it would lead to the kind of success that many of our members are experiencing. At our recent broker/dealer national conference, one of the top four advisors recognized for outstanding performance was one of our Goal Cultivator members. In his acceptance, he attributed his success to his participation in the group. It was exciting for the entire group, but especially motivating for me."
While studying for the ChFC exam four years ago, Kent came across a statistic that directly addressed the approach he had been taking with his pre-retiree clients: It seems that 86 percent of employees want face-to-face, one-on-one help managing their 401(k) or similar plans. This kind of help was not available at the company level nor at the plan sponsor level--a void that corroborated Kent's theory that financial advisors have a ready-made market if they are willing to provide support to people whose retirement savings are tied up in defined contribution plans.
"It's exactly what I was doing on a local basis, but I was only just barely scratching the surface of the opportunity that was out there," Kent recalls. "I knew there had to be a way to get help to these people. I began thinking about a bricks and mortar solution--something along the lines of a 401(k) store on every corner. It was sort of a Starbuck's approach. Clients could walk in, pay a reasonable fee and get the help they needed. I hired an MBA to help me develop a business plan, but I soon recognized that it would take a long time to build such a business and would require an enormous investment to construct all the physical locations. That's when I shifted my thinking and started to imagine a nationwide network of advisors who would work in their own communities."
As he pursued the network idea, Kent began to realize that the skills he had brought to the Goal Cultivator Group would serve him well in the new venture. He could draw advisors from all across the country, share with them his vision for their success, and provide them with the resources and support necessary to achieve it. This was the genesis of the Merit Retirement Advantage--a cost-effective way for consumers to get 401(k) management help aimed at maximizing their retirement savings. For advisors, the program is a turnkey opening into a fertile market. About a year ago, Kent invited the members of his Goal Cultivator group to join Merit's Affiliate Advisor Network. A third of the group signed up on the spot.
"I love the challenge of inspiring others to reach for new opportunities and achieve their full potential," Kent says. "I'm good at helping people grow--helping them identify their goals and stick with them. I believe that I can do his with the Merit Retirement Advantage and our network of advisors.
"Basically, I have two objectives," he continues "One is to serve the many Americans who need one-on-one financial advisory services but don't always have big bucks to invest outside of their company-sponsored retirement plans--at least not during their working years. The other is to introduce advisors to this new way of offering value so that they can build a strong, sustainable advisory practice. That's my mission."
Rick Kent's formula for success is simple: "Provide value first, and the money follows. It just works," he says. In only six years, he personally gathered and now manages approximately $150 million for grateful clients. His staff of six works diligently to provide personalized service and professional advice. An SEC-registered investment advisor, Kent's organization is now licensed to provide advisory services in all 48 continental states. Earlier this year, Merit Retirement Network was certified by DALBAR and accepted into the Fiduciary Advisor Network. Like many other advisors, Kent believes that the Pension Protection Act of 2006 is unlocking additional doors every day.
And the best is yet to come. As the Merit Retirement Advantage grows both consumer memberships and advisor affiliations, Kent glows with pride. "While other advisors heed the advice of coaching programs that tell them to go upstream, to cultivate the affluent, I say the water's fine right here. Working Americans and middle managers can accumulate a significant amount of wealth. I'm looking for the Millionaire Next Door--five or 10 years before retirement. If I help them manage their money wisely while they are working, why would they go anywhere else for help when they're ready to retire?" he asks rhetorically.
"I'm not a rocket scientist, and anyone can do what I've done if they've got a mind to do it and can figure out an efficient, profitable way to provide their services. If advisors want to take advantage of what I've learned, I'm happy to share all the materials and strategies I've tested and proven true. We need more like-minded advisors to help us serve these folks."
When he looks out into the future, Rick Kent sees an army of Merit-trained advisors, all building profitable businesses serving middle-America and securing brighter financial futures for an ever-growing number of Millionaires Next Door. "Now that makes me smile," says Kent.
Marie Swift is president of Impact Communications, Inc. Her Best Practices blog is located at www.ImpactCommunications.org.
