Training to Become a Financial Planner - Exams, Client Meetings & Building in Public

Hannah Wooldridge isn't only the person keeping Financial Planner Life running behind the scenes. She's also training to become a financial planner, and sharing every step of the journey in real time.

In this episode, Sam sits down with Hannah for the second update in an ongoing series following her path from a complete beginner to a qualified financial planner. She's one exam down, five to go, and already doing things most trainees don't think about until they're qualified.

They dig into what it actually felt like to sit her R01 after 11 years away from exams, what she's learning by shadowing real client meetings, and why she's already thinking seriously about the business she hasn't launched yet. Most importantly, Hannah makes the case, without even realising it, for why waiting until you're ready isn’t the way to building success.

This one's for anyone who's thinking about becoming a financial planner, currently in the middle of their exams, or wondering what the path to self-employment actually looks like from the very beginning.

The key takeaways 🔥

• How Hannah passed her R01 after 11 years away from exams and her top tips
• Why the phrasing of exam questions matters as much as knowing the content
• What she learned watching a real financial planner in two live client meetings that no textbook taught her
• Why she's building her personal brand and client pipeline before she's anywhere near qualified
• The Women in Finance event she almost talked herself out of attending, and what happened when she went.
• Why "sales" feels like a dirty word to her, and how that thinking is starting to shift
• The CAS status question every trainee should ask firms before committing.
• Her new deadline: five exams in six months, with the last R06 slot of the year in her sights

Whether you're a trainee financial planner figuring out your next step, someone considering a career change into financial advice, or a qualified adviser curious about what the entry into this profession looks like for the next generation, this episode is the one for you.

Financial Planner Life is sponsored by Redmill Advance

Whether you're starting out, already qualified, or building a training academy, Redmill Advance delivers expert-led learning, exam support and CPD from Level 4 to Chartered.

✅ Trusted by top UK firms

👉 www.redmilladvance.com/fpl

Be sure to follow Financial Planner Life on YouTube for extra content about  career development within Financial Planning. 

Reach out to sam@financialplannerlife.com in regards to sponsorship, partnerships, videography or podcast production. 

Want to appear on the Financial Planner Life podcast? Drop Sam a message.

Transcript

Hannah’s Progress And Big Win

SPEAKER_00 0:00

And today on the Financial Planner Life Podcast, we welcome back Hannah Woolridge. She is our operations manager, Trainee Financial Planner. And she's going to tell us all about the next part of her journey. She's recently passed R01, so she goes into great detail as to what that experience was actually like. We're going to dig into networking, what she's been up to, who she's been meeting, and most importantly, what she's been learning. She's been knocking on the door of financial advisors and shadowing them. And again, she goes into great detail about what she's learned. We also look towards the future. What are we building and what does it look like for Hannah as a financial planner self-employed? You're going to love this episode. So, Hannah Hannah Banana, welcome back to the Financial Planner Life. This is episode two of your journey to becoming a financial planner in the best company you ever can be, which is a financial planner life.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Not that we're biased.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Not that we're biased at all. But listen, it's been absolutely awesome anyway, getting to know you over these last few months. First off, thank you so much for being so phenomenal in the financial planner life. You have absolutely revelised, revolutionized, sorry, and changed my life purely from being within my business and helping me. You've got such a beautiful temperament. You really are understanding and you're incredibly patient. And out of all the people that I've hired in the past when it comes to operation, you have far exceeded them. So I just wanted to publicly say a big thank you, and that I'm massively grateful for helping me shift to the next stage of my business, which I'm really excited to talk about at some point as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Thanks. I'll remind you of that when you're like, hello, I need this doing. So you remember I'm the best one.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

When I'm dishing out equity.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Exactly. Yeah. Remember what you said. It's on camera now.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

So I'll tell you what, mate, you keep it up and you keep doing what you're doing, we'll certainly be uh rewarding you for that. So don't worry about that.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

Thank you. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Love it. Okay, so there we go. That's the uh job advert for anyone thinking about coming to Financial Planner Life. Tell us a little bit about what's been going on in your world then, what's been going on since the last time we spoke.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Yeah, so the last time we were here is been busy. There's been a lot going on, obviously a lot within Financial Planner Life, but also I passed my R01 exam. Woohoo! Woo, which I was really pleased about. Um something that

R01 Anxiety And Booking Delays

SPEAKER_02 2:05

I didn't realise. I had really, really bad exam anxiety. Right. So before I was going into the exam, I was like, oh, like I'm not really that much of an anxious person, but really, really anxious. Um so I was really, really pleased to have passed it. And that's what's going on on the exam side of things.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Well, I tell you what, let me stop you there then. Right, because people are probably what you know, a lot of people get anxious around exams, right? So what were you anxious about? And what talk talk us through the exam journey? Because a lot of people, it's going to be their very first exam. What should they expect?

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Yeah, sure things. So it was my first exam as well for the first time in the last one I did. I was 17 and I'm 28, so 11 years. It was the first exam I've done in that time. And I think for quite a long time I just put I put it off. Initially, I booked the exam for kind of mid to end February. The idea was to do one every sort of month and a half, and I kept putting it back and putting it back because I think just the um just the unknown of what the exam was gonna be was getting to be quite a lot. And I was I was doing the studying, but I was just putting the exam off and off. And then it got to a point where I thought, okay, so I was meant to do one exam every month and a half, and now I'm nearly in April, so I've got to like, I've got to get into it. So I

Remote Invigilation And Room Setup

SPEAKER_02 3:13

booked it. I did the exam at home just because I live fairly fairly rurally, so it was just gonna be a nightmare to go to somewhere new. Um, one thing that I wasn't really prepared for was how empty the room needs to be. And you know, if you've got like a living, working house, um, you need to clear somewhere before. So it was, we were, I was in the sort of remote invigilation of the exam with the webcam and everything. Yeah. And they were telling me what needed to go out of the room and everything. So I don't think that helped with the exam nerve. So I would say to anyone watching, make sure you're in a clear room if you're doing, if you're doing it first of all. And really just kind of taking time out to rationalise. Because at the end of the day, if you do fail the exams, it's not the end of the world. You can book it again. Um, so yeah, just kind of keeping a level head and staying as rational as possible.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Brilliant. Well, I totally understand. So what's it called again in um when they are searching the room?

SPEAKER_02 4:05

There's a term for Oh invigilating.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Invigilate, yeah. So I'm aware of those because during COVID, a lot of people had to do it.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Yeah. And yeah, you're right. You do have to absolutely clear your room. There's nothing there that could be seen as cheating, basically. Guys asked, do they take control of your so you have to move your webcam around? Do you have to show whether or not you've got an extra screen or anything like that? How do they monitor whether or not you're not just bringing something up on your on on another monitor next to you or something along those lines?

SPEAKER_02 4:32

Yeah, all of that. So you have to download something like an installer to the laptop first. It's like a specific program and it will measure everything that's going into and out of the computer. So it will be extra monitors, keyboards, um, like the trackpad, and you do have to show around the room. And they are really, really particular to the point where the Mac trackpad just looks like a bit of white paper, and they were like, Oh, what is that? Can you demonstrate that it is actually a Mac trackpad? So it's really like quite specific.

unknown 5:00

Great.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Quite in depth.

Mock Papers And Question Phrasing

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Okay, cool. So when you did the exam, were the questions what you expected?

SPEAKER_02 5:07

Yes and no. I would say that the and I don't know whether this is just because I was hyper aware because I was nervous for the exam, but the questions were almost similar to what I'd seen in the mocks. I would say that they weren't exactly the same. So make sure that you use sort of a variety of different tests rather than j let me start that again. Make sure that you use uh a mock test that actually phrases the exams, the questions the same as they will be in the exam.

SPEAKER_03 5:34

Right.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Because at the beginning of the test, I was just flag, flag, flag. I was like, what? No, I've never even heard of like the monetary policy committee, which is the first thing that you read about in in module one. And then later on in the exam, I went back and read it again and was like, oh, of course, I of course I know what that is. Um so yeah, I would say that if you prepare for the phrasing that the exam questions are going to be in, then that will be half of the panic, I imagine.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Where did you find mock tests that had that phrasing then?

SPEAKER_02 6:07

So I would say that Redmill were really close, which we're fortunate about because obviously they're our sponsor. Um so red mills were really close, and I also use the CII mock papers as well, naturally because they're doing the exam. The questions were phrased in the same way.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Great. How many mock exams or mock papers did you do prior to passing the RO1?

SPEAKER_02 6:26

I did a lot actually. I found them really, really helpful. Um, so probably about between five and seven, I'd say. Okay. Uh I started doing them quite early because I wanted to identify where the gaps were. Um, and I'd say the first sort of two I failed. But then after that, they were all they're all going green, which is what you want, isn't it? And on the red mill app, oh gosh, we should tell David this. It counts down each question and your phone vibrates and it'll go green, red, green, green. So you've got a few few minutes before you find out if you've passed the mark. I mean, some people might find that exciting. If you pass, you get a little confetti thing. So that's great for like the dopamine hit. But um, I don't know if you've got a bit of a nervous disposition like me, maybe you can skip that one off.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Oh, I like that. So he's gamified it a little bit to create the dopamine hit. Yeah, I really love that. Did anything in the exam catch you by surprise that you might want to tell some people to be aware of and to prepare for?

Study Time And Staying Accountable

SPEAKER_02 7:21

Not so much caught me by surprise, but I didn't realise how many resources would be available. Um, so I didn't realise that you would actually get a calculator in the exam. And looking back, it does, it does say that when you go into the exam. So that was on me for not reading up about it properly. But also the tax tables as well. Um, I was I remember being halfway through the revision thinking, how am I going to remember all of these different tax rules, like revisions, tax brackets, because there is a lot of them, which is why they put the tax table in. Um but that's in there as well. So it wasn't a negative thing, it's just something that I probably could have used that brain power to learn something like another section that I wasn't so hot on instead.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Do you think that would have increased your score?

SPEAKER_02 8:05

Maybe, but I got a pretty good score, so I wasn't too worried about it.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

So what was your score?

SPEAKER_02 8:09

I got 71%. What's the pass rate? 65%.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Banging. Yeah. Hey, pass is a pass.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

Not too bad at all.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

It must have made you feel good though when you did that, seeing as you haven't been done a testing during school, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:20

Yeah, exactly. I had a little celebration that evening, went out for a nice uh nice dinner and a glass of fizz, so it has to be done.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

Absolutely awesome. Well done. Congratulations. Um I suppose the first one is the one that you want to get done. Yeah. Because then you know you're on the journey, right? Just for people to understand how much time you spent on it uh to get R01 under your belt.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

How how much time did you spend studying um for R01 just to give people some context?

SPEAKER_02 8:44

Yeah, it's difficult for me to say a certain amount of hours, but I would say I was doing sort of an hour and a half um really intensely for about a month and a half before the exam.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

I was doing a day, hour and a half a day. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Yeah, I was doing bits and drabs before that in that January, February period we talked about where I was procrastinating, really. Um so yeah, an hour and a half. And again, sort of depending on what materials you're using, a lot of them are actually planned out in that way. So it's easy to keep track of okay, well, I need to do this on this day, this on this day. So planning what you want to get done that day, I think will really help you feel like you're getting closer to the exam and ticking off that checklist.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Okay, make sure that you're obviously engaging with interactive learning as well, right? Because I can imagine picking up that book is ridiculously boring. And if you've just relied upon the book and the storing of knowledge, I would fail because I can't remember anything.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

They don't make the books um super enticing, I would say.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

I saw one recently and it's brown.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

Oh, yeah, I know. I like it.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

And I commented on someone's page. I was like, oh my god, could they make a subject even more boring?

SPEAKER_02 9:49

And inside it's just grayscale as well, no colour.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Why can't they just change it? Like make it more engaging and more interesting. And this is the beautiful thing about Red Mill Advance and why you brought them on as a sponsor. They're just very, very good at making uh the you know, the the hard to digest theory interesting.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Yeah, and keeping you accountable.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Do you feel like you had to keep yourself accountable? Did you feel accountable? I'll tell you what, did you feel accountable because you came on the podcast before and talked about the fact that you want to become a financial advisor? Did that put a bit of extra accountability pressure on you?

SPEAKER_02 10:20

Yeah, massively. Because then it's out there, isn't it? There's no hiding away from it. And yeah, I mean, in terms of accountability, keeping yourself accountable, but then loads of other people keeping you accountable too. I mean, of course, I'm sharing the journey on LinkedIn and Instagram and TikTok. So it's very much in the public eye. Um, so to just kind of trail off or not do the exam for six, eight, twelve months, yeah, I would feel like I would look a bit, a bit silly then.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

In terms of keeping myself accountable, my social life has definitely taken a bit of a drop off a cliff.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

But I'm really spurred on by, I mean, obviously we're talking about what's in the future for financial planner life and me as an me as an advisor. So I'm really, really spurred on by that. So, you know, if I'm ever in a bit of an accountability slump, just do a bit of visualizing and imagine what it'll be like in 12 months or maybe sooner.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

No, it's listen, some things have to have to give. You know, when I came back from Dubai, I put all my all my energy and all my effort into financial plan of life. And I can safely say it's paid off.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

But I tell you what, put on about, you know, a bit of weight around the belly. I'm not as muscular as I was, you know, and I'm gonna have to get back on the back on the exercise horse, right? Um, sometimes some things give, but it doesn't, you know, but it comes back, you know. I'm back doing it now, weather's changed, I'm out running again, and I'm enjoying the exercise again. So things do come back. So socialized takes a bit of a nosedive, don't worry about it. They're all still down the pub having a beer. Yeah, exactly. Nothing changes.

SPEAKER_02 11:49

Pop up after the revision.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Yeah, exactly. So what you're doing in between exams, though, because we always say to you, look out

Women In Finance Networking Takeaways

SPEAKER_00 11:54

and about. I'm I'm a firm advocate of you meeting people, yeah. So what have you been up to?

SPEAKER_02 11:57

Yeah, so I've been to, I've been doing a lot actually, a lot of meeting people. Um, people have been really uh welcoming and opening. Uh welcome and opening. They've been super welcoming and open in the industry. And that's something that almost took me a bit by surprise because obviously people are very, very busy, especially if they're running their own businesses, self-employed. But I've been doing a little bit of shadowing. I went to a women in finance panel. And whenever I've had questions for anybody, people have been really forthcoming in, jumping on a call with me to answer, or you know, just having a conversation. And I really appreciate all of that time that people give.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

Talking about the women in finance then. What was that? Tell me about that panel discussion. Was it a networking event? Who did you meet when you were there? What value did you get from it? Did you feel empowered being at a female in financial planning event?

SPEAKER_02 12:44

Yeah, it was. I tell you what, that was great actually. Seeing a room full of women, first of all, because we are underrepresented in financial services, but also women of a similar age to me. It was a panel event with a little bit of networking as well. Um, I was very straight up with everyone and said, Look, I'm right at the beginning. Like, really, it's going to be me reaping your knowledge rather than providing something in terms of networking. Um, but again, everybody was super kind, super open. And the panel was all about kind of early careers in financial planning and financial services. So I would say that all four women on that panel were probably within kind of five years of my age range. So that was really inspiring to see as well.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Amazing. And obviously, you met Jay, who's been on the podcast and she's been on the golf days. So tell us a little bit about that conversation. Was it nice to meet Jay?

SPEAKER_02 13:30

It was so good to meet Jay because I've heard her on the podcast. She was one of the first episodes I listened to when I was thinking about becoming a financial planner. So that was a really cool full circle moment. Um, and she has been, I mean, it might be a little bit early, but as you know, I really want to go far with this. So I have been looking at applying for some awards, sort of planning where I want to go with that. And she was so knowledgeable and again, giving with her time and knowledge as to how to progress further in that, basically.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

That event, was it, was it designed also for people like you? Was there a, you know, a cohort of people who were invited to that event that are in the early, early stages of becoming a financial advisor and are female?

SPEAKER_02 14:10

So I would say that I am the, I was probably the earliest in my journey, but there were some people there who had qualified literally just in February. I got talking to a lovely lady and she was there to network and find out about other events. So the vibe that I got from that panel was that they want people who are early in their careers to go along, see what it's all about, and find out the options for them, as well as more experienced people.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

So look, this is a great one for you, I think. You know, let's champion other people in your situation and open doors for them, right? So go out, find some more events and speak to them and say, look, you know, I'm early on in my career, I'm from the financial planner life. My job is to promote what it's like to be a financial uh to what it's like to study towards becoming a financial planner. Um, I recently went to uh an event females, it was fantastic, but there wasn't a lot of people like me there. Can I come to your event and can I maybe put an advert out to maybe attract some people to it as well that are in the early stages? Maybe there could be a select number of tickets or something for people like you.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Worthwhile doing that.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

I think that would be a good incentive for sure. Because you I was a little bit worried that I wouldn't fit in. And I was I was like this about actually going to the event in case. I mean, as I just said, what am I offering to people by being there? I'm a trainee. So I think for people that are a similar stage, for them to know that they are welcome there and they're gonna get a lot from it, um, might take the nerves away a little bit from attending an event like that.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Yeah, what am I gonna what am I gonna bring to the table? Well, you're bringing to the table a fresh pair of eyes for a start. So these people talking about what it is they do love to be asked questions, you know, because it sharpens their pencil as well. So it's really important that you come along and you know you have questions and you feel engaged. But if you're going there and you feel like you're the odd one out and that's the feeling that you've got going in there, that needs to change. So let's champion that. Yeah, let's champion that's work that out, let's do something about that. There's a lot we can do about that because you know, you don't want to be sitting there thinking, God, you know, am I a hindrance here? You're not, of course you're not. The whole profession needs new people to come in, and every single one of those women there would be welcoming to have a conversation with you. Yeah. You know, if they heard you say that, they think, oh my god, that's just not the case.

SPEAKER_02 16:11

And that's what I found as well. Like within the first five minutes, that fear had completely diminished. But you know what it's like on the train on the way there, you think, oh, am I going to be the only trainee there? And I was, but it was absolutely fine. And if anything, I was really welcomed.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

Great stuff. Excellent. Hi, sorry for interrupting this episode, but I just wanted to let you know that it's sponsored by Red Mill Advance. They're the UK's leading provider of interactive e-learning courses, specifically for the financial advice sector. They're best in class e-learning. CPD courses span technical knowledge, leadership and management skills, business skills and compliance knowledge, while their exam support courses help your people pass their CII, CISI, and LIBF exams first time. It's all delivered on a powerful learning platform that makes reporting CPD to the FCA seamless and gives leadership teams full knowledge and skills visibility across their entire organization. That's why companies like St. James's Place, Quilter, PLC, Hascott Lloyd, Foster De Novo, and DeVere trust Redmill to keep their advisors and wider teams competent, compliant, and at the top of their game. So to book a free demo, get yourself to redmilladvance.com and they'll do

Shadowing Real Client Recommendation Meetings

SPEAKER_00 17:28

the rest. So I know that uh on the last podcast you were talking about shadowing. Yes. Right? Going out and actually finding a financial planner, because I haven't got any in the financial planner life.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Right.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Yeah. But um was to go out and find some financial planners. So tell me about shadowing then. What did that journey look like? And did you manage to sit in any client meetings?

SPEAKER_02 17:45

Yes, so I have been successful. I've done two shadowing sessions with Caroline, who was also on the podcast uh not too long ago. And I have been also offered to go to some other places to shadow, which is great because I want to try and do one shadowing session per month. And then the theory is by the time I'm qualified, I'll have like seven days worth of shadowing. So that will be perfect. And it was great to see um different, great to see her style and the different types of clients that she has. Uh both of the clients were women, which was great to see. Women taking a, you know, stand in their finances. Um, but they were at very different points, both of the clients that I saw. And they were having different product, like they were exploring different options for themselves as well. Um so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Can you go into a bit of detail about what you learned in those meetings?

SPEAKER_02 18:32

Yeah, sure. So the meetings that I uh that I sat in on, it wasn't a fact-find meeting, it was more of a recommendation meeting for both of them. Um, one of them was more of an ongoing investment. Um I don't really know what the right word is. Just okay. Just describe it. Yeah, like when they're gonna look after somebody over the long term. And then the other one was a much more simple pension setup.

SPEAKER_03 18:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

And what I found really interesting in that was actually seeing the suitability letter, how things are presented to the client without making them feel overwhelmed, because there is a lot of jargon and it would be overwhelming for people if they're not in and around finances all the time. Um I've lost my train of thought.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Okay, just from an observational perspective, when you were sat there and you were observing and you were uh you were perhaps observing the client, did you kind of were you thinking like, oh, wonder what they wonder what's going through their mind? Could you pick up on their energy? Did they look anxious, nervous? Were they open and forthcoming with information? Uh did the advisor have to tease it out of them with open questions? And how detailed did the advisor go? Was there any jargon? Was there anything that the client didn't understand? So just you know, what was your overall assessment of being a client and the experience of sitting down with a financial planner?

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Yeah, so I would say that the financial planner, she was super um understanding and tried to minimize the amount of jargon. There was a point in the pension uh meeting, the pension setup meeting, where I could tell that the client was a little bit unsure. And it was really great to see the financial planner picked up on that straight away and said, Oh, do you need me to go into a little bit more detail? Because I feel like the client wouldn't have necessarily said, Oh, I'm not really sure what that means. Because I don't know, maybe there is a bit of a stigma around not knowing the ins and outs of all of your finances. So having those cues are super, super important and picking up on those remotely as well, because obviously we are in a remote world these days and picking up on it in person is a lot easier than remotely.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

I think with a remote, that's where AI comes in super helpful, right? Yeah. You know, if the if if the note taking is being done by AI, then you've got the ability to look, haven't you? And watch and listen and be more engaged and in the relationship, knowing full well that you're a fantastic AI note system. Advisory AI is a good one. Yes, yeah, we'll be taking that information down for you so you can be fully immersed and not miss anything. Because you might miss some cues that perhaps they're vulnerable, right? A vulnerable client, so it's a big deal.

Personal Brand Building On LinkedIn

SPEAKER_00 20:56

All right, wonderful stuff. Okay, so I want to talk a little bit about building a personal brand. Because you asked me a lot of questions about that. You work with me, and my job is to kind of like be build a personal brand and help other people do it and build employer brands. So tell us a little bit about your personal brand building experience since you've been part of the financial brand life.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

Well, it's picked up, that's for sure. Um basically, I was picking up where I left off, you know, that I used to have my personal finance podcast, The Finance Hand. So I kind of picked up those old accounts on Instagram and TikTok and also on LinkedIn as well. And I would say that the response has been super warm from financial planners who are qualified, those who are learning. And it's been amazing, especially since the episode went out, the last one, how many trainee financial planners have reached out and said, Oh, I'm in the same position. It's great to see somebody else going through it and asking questions as well on, you know, what are my thoughts here, what are my thoughts there. And I'm not a thought leader, I'm just sort of documenting the journey. But I think because Because it isn't a it isn't necessarily a job that people come across easily. Having that feel of community and somebody documenting it does make it feel a little bit more accessible and more together. I would say since I've been more consistent on LinkedIn, as I've told you, I've had the most engagement I've ever had on LinkedIn. LinkedIn kind of used to be a somewhere where I would just post where I've got a new job, basically. Whereas now I would say that actually, interestingly, it's become the prominent platform that I use, even over Instagram and TikTok. And I didn't expect that at all.

SPEAKER_00 22:36

Amazing. Well, listen, we've got a really great guy called Louis coming on the podcast. He's now been books here and he's a LinkedIn specialist and he's doing amazing things. We had Nabil on today. You heard about Nabil. You heard about how he's niching down on solicitors and his experience over the last nine months of generating close to 12 uh appointments on a monthly basis purely from LinkedIn. LinkedIn is uh networking on steroids, and if it's done the right way, uh building your personal brand and lead generation and employer brand can work hand in hand in hand. So it's a super brilliant place to make money. It's always done me well, but I get it. People think about it more as a job hunting site, not so much as a networking site. That's just a shift mentality. One of the biggest takeaways that I always learn from people who do well on LinkedIn or financial advisors, guess what? They don't have any financial planners as connections. Yeah. You know, they do tend to niche down directly on the audience that they want to speak to. And niching does work within financial planning. It doesn't mean to say that you have to be a hundred percent only working with that niche and you won't work with anybody else. It just means you've got a topic of conversation of the problems those people are experiences within their careers, such as legal or accountancy. And what's really good when you pick those types of niches is that you generate a lot of referrals through those people as well.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

So that's really cool. Can I just ask you about TikTok and Instagram? Um, because I live in LinkedIn with really and YouTube and obviously my my podcasts. And um, I'm gonna do more on TikTok uh for sure. Um Instagram, I kind of pick up and put down. I'm like, I find it a bit irritating, Instagram, because I get lost in the lost in the feed and I end up just watching cat videos or now just like AI generated slop that just pulls me in and I feel disgusting afterwards. So I'll come off and like, oh my god, I spent an hour just scrolling crap. My brain rotting. Yeah, my brain rotting. Whereas TikTok, I think, is quite educational as well. I think people use TikTok a lot to look things up, don't they? They even buy stuff for it, right? TikTok shops and stuff. So, like, what's your experience? Are you are you connecting with people on there as much as you are on LinkedIn or who's the clear winner?

SPEAKER_02 24:33

I would still say that LinkedIn is the clear winner, but I do feel that TikTok and Instagram, it's really important, maybe for anybody else who's documenting the journey as well or going through that journey to post. Because before we even started working together, I was looking for trainee financial planner or day in the life of a financial planner. There's nothing really on those um on the reels on TikTok. And I don't know, it's it's a wide open market. Even if you've already qualified, it's it's a wide open market. There's not really anything on there. There's more in the US, but not really for the UK.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Okay, fine. Anything making you nervous, the closer you get to passing your qualification, you've got one down, we've got five more to go, right? Yeah. So you're probably thinking all the time about when you're actually doing the job as a financial advisor. Is there anything that's coming up that's making you nervous now that we can deal with um to make sure that when you end up becoming a financial planner, you're prepared.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

Yeah.

CAS Status And Sales Without The Ick

SPEAKER_02 25:28

I would say that I know that we've kind of briefly touched on this before, but I know that CAS status is an important part of becoming a financial planner. But I really, I don't really know how that works. I don't know whether you have to do another assessment. I don't know whether it's X number of hours shadowing. Um, but I know it's such an important part of the process. I like to visualize what I'm going to be doing after I finish my exams. And at the minute there's a bit of a blank there. It seems to vary depending on firm, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:56

Yeah, it does vary firm to firm. Um that everyone has their own caste status kind of process and um procedure and all of those times. And like I've had people in my recruitment career where they were promised to get cash sign-off and they haven't had it for a year. Whereas the ones that I know that have got it done within a month, two months. So it's really down to the process, how quickly somebody can get through cash. So um the guys at Newly, for example, like they will take people on, self-employed as financial planners, and go through cash status with them really, really rapidly really quickly. Oh, that's good. So they have a team of doing it. So yeah, you're right to kind of let that be something that kind of makes you feel a little bit anxious and a little bit nervous, but I wouldn't let that bog you down on it. It just means that the work you're doing has to be signed off.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:33

Right? But once you've got a specific amount of sign-off for the work that you're doing and you're classed as competent, off you go. So as long as there's a process there and you're working with a firm in that respect. So one of the big questions you can ask somebody if once you enter into the financial planning profession is how, you know, how quickly can I get signed off for CAS? What's your process for CAS status? It varies from firm to firm, but that would kind of give you an insight. So one of my things I would say takeaway for you guys, I don't want to tell you the answer. You know, I want you to go and find it. Okay, go and speak to say five different advisors and ask them about their competent advisor sign-off and let's see if they're all the same or if they're different. And when you come back, we can talk about that a little bit more and educate our listeners.

SPEAKER_02 27:08

Okay, cool. That would be interesting. Yeah. There was another part as well that I was a little bit nervous on. And it's not so much the advice and becoming qualified part, but more so the sales side. Because I I just don't like the connotation with sales, and that's probably something that I have to get over. Um, because I know when you are a financial planner, you're more offering a service. But I guess it's kind of um coming across as compelling and you know, having you pitched down to a T and that sort of thing without it feeling like that icky sort of sales vibe. Um, so that's another thing that I would say that I that is in the back of my mind, even at this point having only done one exam.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

So the negative connotation of sales uh as a word, um, and how that makes you actually feel uncomfortable because sales has always been seen as a dirty word. Dishonest.

SPEAKER_02 27:58

You think of like used car salesmen. No offense to any used car salesman.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

And you know what? I know some used car salesmen that are absolutely killing it as financial planners. Yeah. Like one guy I know has got about 80 million who's doing really well. Um, but I get what you mean. I think what it is, it's we associate sales with doing anything you can to get the deal.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

Which doesn't really sit well within financial planning because it isn't anything you can do to get the deal. It's anything you can do to give the right advice and to help that person. Yeah. Um, and the money is you know a byproduct of doing that. It's not the incentive. So we're lucky enough to know now that commission is no longer within financial planning, right? So you're not going to be um commission oriented because a product provider is gonna sell that one and you'll earn more money. Yeah. You know, it's fee-based. There's a set fee, whether it's on a month, you know, you're paying on an hourly basis or whether it's a percentage or whatever. You know, that's the most important thing. So you don't have to sell, but the products, right? What you have to do is sell yourself and your services and why you should use a financial planner and why they should use you. So these are the things again, it comes down, doesn't it, to understanding your audience, the problems that they're experiencing in their life and their careers. Um, you could look at some serious life events, you know, start to really understand where a financial planner can come in at any stage, could be buying a house, it could be um having a kid, you know, it could be sending your kid to private school, it could be getting married, it could be getting divorced, you know, it could be writing a will, it could be dying.

SPEAKER_01 29:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

Yeah. So they're all getting ill. So there are all these things that can happen in our lives. And what we want to do is try to build a story around each and every one of those events. And then that becomes the sales pitch of how you sell your services. Yeah. Because often those people don't understand those difficult times of the life because they're too busy living their own life.

SPEAKER_02 29:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Right. But if they're in a career such as legal or whatever, and perhaps there could be an event where they become partners, then what happens when they become partners? How much is the average earnings when someone becomes partners? How time poor are these people? What's it like to be a legal professional? So once you understand the ins and outs of those businesses, you can sell off the back of the problems that they have and how you can become the solution to it.

SPEAKER_02 30:07

Yeah. I guess that's what it is kind of becoming the solution to a problem rather than trying to sell someone myself.

SPEAKER_00 30:14

Like you've got to sell your services and sell yourself, but sell the dream if you like, sell the idea, sell the sizzle, not the sausage.

SPEAKER_02 30:23

Okay, I like that. I compared to that one.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

It's a yeah, it's a great one. Always sell the sizzle, not the sausage, right? You know?

SPEAKER_02 30:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Um, I do it with my podcast. You know, I'll I'll I'll talk about like the impact the podcast can have and how many people we're gonna be talking to and the problems that they're experiencing and why they would want to perhaps join your financial planning business if you came on the podcast or whether or not they want to use your products or service. We've had Redmill on, you know, we've had Kinvault on, you know, we've had um Big Rock on. So these consultancy businesses.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

People probably want to lean in and use them. They just don't know what problems it is they're solving.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

And this is the thing as well, with sales, for example, obviously people come on the podcast, and I can see the huge value that it does bring to those companies. Yeah. So that doesn't feel like icky sales. I don't know. I th I think it's just something for me that I need to um to get down to a T.

SPEAKER_00 31:13

Are you scared of rejection?

SPEAKER_02 31:15

Yes, but also I don't want people to think that I'm just trying to sell them something. I think that that's the main thing, really.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

Okay. Big, big thing you can do, and you will do this if you're working with me, is we're gonna build social proof for you. Yeah. So all the problems that people experience, we're gonna build content around it.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

So when someone does search for you, they're gonna find you talking about the problems that they're experiencing and the solutions that you can offer. So if someone does do a quick recce and a quick search of you, they're only gonna be reassured that you're a good person. So any kind of reviews, we'll make sure there's plenty of reviews out there, but we'll make sure there's plenty of videos out there, we'll make sure you're omnipresent. So you're on YouTube, you're on uh LinkedIn, you're on TikTok. We'll make sure those things are indexing correctly within AI within AEO as well. So AI search, right? These are the things that I would wrap around you to make sure that you feel that uber confidence and that the brand that you're associated with as well screams professionalism, that we solve problems, that we're modern and you want to work with us and you're likable. So these are the key things that I think marketing, brand building, all those things can start to do for you and work for you whilst you're out there. And then you just have loads of people knocking on your door wanting to use you. And also don't forget the stories, right? So don't forget the client stories. Bring clients on. Let's do testimonials. I might do all that shit. I want to take a I want to show somebody what Mr. and Mrs. Miggins achieved through having the financial plan through the business and what part you played in it as a, you know, as a as a you know a guide, you know, as a guide on their financial planning journey.

SPEAKER_02 32:44

This is the thing. I told you in the last episode, the whole reason that I'm going into this is because I want people to achieve their goals. So I know that the um the reason for me going into it isn't to sell someone something. So that that would be perfect.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

Well, listen, 18 million households with 100k or more not seeing a financial planner.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

It's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 33:01

So you've got plenty of people out there that just don't understand or how to access someone who can help them with their finances and the positive impact that that could have on their family, their well-being, everything. It's absolutely essential that people get this service. It's the fourth emergency service. Yeah. Why there's a 39% trust problem within financial planning and financial services as a whole is because it's an education problem. We don't educate people enough. People have been hidden behind, you know, big, long, thick books of detail, detail, detail, jargon, jargon, jargon. And now we're just gonna get to the root cause of it and just explain these are the problems that you have, and we know you're gonna have them, and you might not know yourself. So we're just gonna prepare you a little bit about it. Yeah, we're gonna tell you why. We're not gonna hide it. Yeah, be transparent, you know, and then people get to it in a language that people get, therefore they buy into you. So there comes your leads in leads coming in. But at the same time, when someone wants to go and check you out, they're gonna look for that proof, and there it is gonna be across every social channel.

SPEAKER_02 33:56

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

So keep doing what you're doing. This is why I push you down that point of like get your brand out there because it's all training and development during this period to enter that world where you have to show your worth, you have to show your relationship skills, because all the technical stuff is gonna be taken care of. Don't lean too heavily into the technical stuff, lean into your relationship building skills because the technical stuff's gonna take care of itself. Yes, you've got to pass some exams, it's a pain in the ass, right? But once you've got that, you're level four qualified, FCAA happy, right? Focus, just got to keep focusing on that. Yeah. That brand building, that personal brand, that that connectivity. These are the things that win clients because they like you.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

This is the thing, everyone says financial planning isn't a numbers job, it's a relationship's job, isn't it? So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:39

They're both as well, mate, mate. You know, you've got to knock on a few doors. You know, you definitely do have to knock on a few doors in in any profession, right? But it's when you knock on the door, what's the message you're giving them?

SPEAKER_03 34:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:49

You know, how are you communicating? How are you articulating? How are you following up? Yeah. Have you solved the problem there and then for them? Have you given them something? I always aim to give somebody something. Someone listens to a podcast, what they're gonna walk away with, they're gonna get something that changes their thinking. And that's all you gotta do.

SPEAKER_02 35:06

And it feels good, doesn't it? To to give someone something.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Helping people is helping people is good. And if you can make money out of helping people, like genuinely changing people's lives, isn't that the ultimate, the ultimate dream of a job? Yeah, exactly. And can we measure that positive impact? I think we probably could. So maybe we should start to think about how we can measure positive impact with our clients, you know, and then talk about the positive impact that we're actually implementing. So that's a good one for us to look at and brainstorm. Put that on your notepad. You can do that one Monday.

SPEAKER_02 35:37

I haven't got it.

SPEAKER_00 35:39

What about learning from the podcast then? You know, you're on the podcast, you're coming on it, you're learning the skills and everything. But have you listened to any guests recently? Do you lean into it? I know you obviously review the podcasts.

SPEAKER_02 35:49

Yeah. It actually saves me a job in a sense, reviewing the podcast, because even though I'm doing a job reviewing them, I would have listened to them anyway. And I'm not just saying that because I'm, you know, you know the story of I reached out to you because I've been watching the pod. And I feel like every single episode that I review, um, I take something from it as somebody right at the beginning. And it doesn't even necessarily have to be something about exams. For example, we had Ben from Kinherit or Kim Volt on the other day, and I thought that's a no-brainer, absolutely. I would use something like that for when I go into my own practice.

SPEAKER_00 36:22

We will, 100%.

SPEAKER_02 36:24

100%. And I mean, it's a no-brainer not to. And I think as well, some of the stats that he said, even though I'm looking at going down the self-employed route, we had the guys on from Fraser James, and they're a fully remote business. So knowing that clients are, you know, it's no problem getting clients to work with you remotely. That was a stumbling block that I had. Yeah. And then going back to episodes from, you know, a long time ago, if I'm re-reviewing them or we're going to start putting out, you know, shorter segments on YouTube, bite-sized bits for people, re-reviewing those, re-reviewing the old episodes. There's always something to take from the podcast. So you're saving me and saving me a job in a way.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

Brilliant. I just want to kind of like hammer home the whole remote working thing and being flexible.

Remote Working And Business Culture

SPEAKER_00 37:04

Like building a business should revolve around you as a person and how you live your life and how you want to live your life and how you show up every single day. You know, I I love being able to not be in an office now. For 16 years, I built a business, had 25 people in it, and I felt like I was glued to my office. I had to be there. The office was what it was all about. Yeah. It's very, very untrue. For me, it's untrue. You know, I don't want to build a business where people have to come in, they have to be like, they feel like they have to be there. I want people to work out how to create a system for living their life where work is also part of it and they're happy. Like that's super important to me because we're all completely different. And I think the ability to trust people remotely is such a great move. Where Fraser James have said that. They're not, they pay above average salaries for remote people because they're good.

SPEAKER_02 37:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

It's as simple as that. It's a great strategy.

SPEAKER_02 37:54

Yeah, it is. I think as well, like granted, working remote isn't going to suit everybody. But I've been working working remote now for I don't know, four or five years. So, you know, you get on if if it works for you, it's life-changing. I don't think I could ever, ever go back to working in an office now.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

But also nice to have the office space there. You can go in. Is there social meetups? Are there connections that you can do? Because it is nice to obviously see people, but when you're in and out and like, what's the point in sitting an hour in some shitty traffic? I was sat in an hour today from the train station to get to here.

SPEAKER_02 38:24

Yeah. And I was delayed an hour. Yeah. So there you go.

SPEAKER_00 38:26

Yeah. And like what an added life stress that is. Exactly. So if I could, if I, as a business owner, can take away that life stress for you, what are you going to do? You're going to feel better. Yeah. You're going to work harder. Well, not even harder, smarter. Right? Your time becomes more precious. And if I'm aware of how valuable your time is, then you're going to not take it for granted, I hope. You're going to show value back to me by saying, like, this person isn't a dictator who tells me how to work and live my life. You know? There's trust involved. And I think building a business within financial planning off the back of trust is super important. Whereas historically it's always been get in the office.

SPEAKER_02 39:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

And I think that self-employed mentality, remote mentality, I think is the best, it's the best sort of setup. But you need good support. You still need to connect with somebody. You still need to ask somebody a question. You still need to access information. You still need support wherever you are. Yeah. You know, otherwise you just expect to do it all on your own. And then that's where people go, this is crap. That's why people move. Support plays a massive part in it.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

And that's the thing, isn't it? It's not going to be a one size fits all. Some people want, you know, more support in that in-person situation. Whereas, you know, we'll we'll call each other up throughout the day. We're still working remote, but I talk to you like hours every day. So you know, it's just different things for different people.

SPEAKER_00 39:39

Yeah. You're there for me when I'm crying, yeah?

SPEAKER_02 39:41

Yes, exactly. And I can't look crying over what, who knows?

SPEAKER_00 39:43

Well, usually an email or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 39:45

It's not the operations.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

I can't find an email or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 39:48

I mean, where's my email? That does sound accurate.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

I've lost in my inbox. Right, brilliant.

R05 Next Steps And Shadowing Ask

SPEAKER_00 39:53

Okay. So listen, what's next? What's going on in your world?

SPEAKER_02 39:56

So the next thing for me, I'm going to keep trying to get shadowing. Um, so I'm trying to do one a month. So if anybody wants somebody to sit in the corner of the office for the day, reach out. Please do reach out. Um, and then I've got my R05 exam booked for I'm not gonna say the date, but it's coming up again thick and fast.

SPEAKER_03 40:13

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 40:14

Um, we mentioned it originally. I was hoping to get all six exams done by January 2027. I was doing a little bit of snooping on the CII website the other day. Yeah. And the last R06 slot this year is the 6th of October. So I've moved my own deadline and I'm gonna try and I don't know if this is a really stupid thing to do, but try and get it done by the 6th of October. So that's five exams to do in six months.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Wow. I know people have done it in under six months for sure. Um, do you feel like you're putting yourself under undue stress?

SPEAKER_02 40:50

Maybe, but my vision for where I want to be like I want to get it done, I want to start seeing clients, I want to get out there, I want to get cash status. And every time I visualize about it, I love it. So just the quicker I can get there, the better. And it just looks like the social life's gonna have to suffer for summer as well.

SPEAKER_00 41:09

Fair enough. Well, no pain, no gain at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_02 41:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:12

Um you're giving yourself enough time to study, do you think?

SPEAKER_02 41:15

Yeah, so this takes me back to the original um time frames of about a month and a half, so per exam. So I'll just have to uh ramp it up a little bit. I mean, kind of dithering around being nervous about the exam for R01 has cost me a little bit of time. But as I said, if I do fail one, it isn't the end of the world. I'd love to get it done by October, but worst comes to worst, it's January. But I don't think it harms to have like a hard deadline in my head just to keep myself accountable to.

SPEAKER_00 41:43

Brilliant. So wish list more people to shadow with. That would be good. Yeah. Um, what else could the financial planning community listen into this right now? What else could they help you with if they wanted to get stuck in on your journey?

SPEAKER_02 41:56

I would love to hear from people in their approaches to clients and also how they differ, um, depending on what each client is like. We spoke earlier about the advisor that I shadowed and how she kind of approached that in a very um very explanatory way. Okay. But then I imagine that you might have another client who's very kind of like, I don't know, maybe they work in corporate or something, they're like very direct approaches and how that also translates across to the sales part as well, because it's not going to be a one size fits all. People are all different. Um, so yeah, I guess kind of those soft skills when dealing with a client would be, would be really valuable too.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

Do you feel like you'd like to understand what the first meeting should be? Like the perfect first meeting?

SPEAKER_02 42:39

Yeah, the per I mean, again, I know it's difficult with fact finds because there's so much information flowing around there that is personal to the client, but to kind of see the first impression, I think would be really invaluable. I'd love to see that if possible.

SPEAKER_00 42:52

Okay, especially when you're going through, say, like somebody pulls out a fact finder and literally ticks it off as they go. Yeah, exactly. Just naturally flowing and has a style or a bit of pattern.

SPEAKER_01 43:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:02

Okay, cool. Well, anybody listening who could help out with that, please do reach out to myself or Hannah directly because we'd love to hear from you. Mate, you can even come on the podcast next. We could have we could have uh three people here, couldn't we?

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:11

And I know I know Mike Yule has shown an interest. Um, we love Mike Yule, the chicken man.

SPEAKER_02 43:15

We do.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

Paul Taylor, he's incredible at first meetings and generating business. Uh Paul Bradley loves the behavioral stuff.

SPEAKER_02 43:22

Oh, great.

SPEAKER_00 43:22

Yeah, so questioning, behavioral stuff, really getting to the nitty-gritty and the deep detail of clients. Um, Jay, I know would absolutely love to get stuck in. Bobby's Sajosa, she's very good at the first meeting as well. So we can reach out to those people. Listen, Hannah, thank you so much for the update. Really, really appreciate it. Keep up the amazing work. Um, keep visualizing and having that vision of where you're gonna be, because you will a hundred percent get there. Um, and I'm getting there as well with you. And we're gonna build a phenomenal, phenomenal business, and uh, you're no doubt gonna have a hugely positive impact on lots of people's lives in the future. So I'm looking forward to the next updates.

SPEAKER_02 43:55

Yes, me too. Hopefully it'll be uh we passed our 05 one.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

Yeah, and hopefully we have someone with us.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Yes, amazing. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 44:03

No worries.