Many do not know that I served as a pastor before beginning my work as a financial adviser.
After almost 10 years in full-time ministry work and a series of supernatural events, I began working as a financial adviser helping others save, invest, and plan financially. And, while many friends encouraged me that specific soft skills of a good pastor, characteristics of compassion, care, sincerity, honesty and integrity, would serve me well in my role as a financial adviser, I didn’t completely believe them. Instead, because I noticed that those with great ability to sell, influence others and market themselves, seemed to be some of the more successful advisers, I was insecure and uncomfortable for the first few years of my work. However, through patient persistence I began to realize that great competence, mixed with an extreme care and concern for clients, does in fact provide a great opportunity to build a growing financial planning practice. People like and gravitate toward those they trust and know care about them. I know I do.
My hope has always been that at some point in my relationship with each client, the words, “wow, I can’t believe he would do that for me” would come out of their mouth. It’s then that I know the soft skills that are so deeply ingrained in me because of my faith and because of my previous role as a pastor are beginning to be experienced by my clients.
To learn more, watch this brief interview from Investment News:
Pastor to Planner from Kyle Johnson on Vimeo.