How I achieved S$1.5mil Assets under management (AUM) & MDRT in 3 months at age 22

Many out there would love to paint a beautiful picture of their life for others to see and admire... Why not lets look at the reality where blood, sweat and tears are in place before success.

Being thrown back to the corporate world after serving a two-year stint (lazing around) in army was definitely a hard knock on the head through the first month, attending lectures after lectures juggling both my degree, CMFAS (Capital Markets and Financial Advisory Services) exams, orientation to the sales environment and continuing the usual partnership deals and networking... I barely had 5 hours of sleep a day... After a month of training and exams, finally I got officially contracted as an official financial services consultant. Thinking that doing sales would be as easy as when I was in retail, I am completely wrong! Over the 3 months, being a good financial services consultant meant to provide the best financial advice and investment strategy for clients based on their current needs and wants for the current economy. Being a research assistant previously in army, reading from multiple news sources, research and financial reports on a daily basis is relatively easy for me, however, convincing clients to trust my expertise would be the key challenge. Thankful to myself (LOL) and my business partners, for all the networking session that I have been to over the years even during my time in army (don't question how I did it, because I did for the fun of it), I managed to build a series of network which provided me with credibility, tremendously helping my journey back into the corporate world.

Some of the key things I learnt during my first 3 months of being a professional financial services consultant.

1) Always be there to help (If it does not cost you an arm or leg, why not give others a chance?)

2) Have an open mind to learn (You will be surprised how much you can learn even from a newborn)

3) Stay humble (There is always someone out there who is better than you)

4) Never give up attitude (As long as you keep trying, you will stretch your own potential)

5) Get to know more people (Building a strong network gives you a wider perspective of the world)

VA Group MDRT Photo-shoot

Just to share a final point by one of the veteran from VA Group, always ensure that your success is a long burning candle, not just a flick of brightness.

If you want to be a star, be the brightest one in the room.

要就做到最好，不然开始就是个错误。

Bentley Cheng.