CFP, CLU, LUTC or ChFC Are They Worth Getting
- Thread starter CDNev
- Start date
How can that be?- 150
They help, certainly don't hurt, but you'd need more reason than just a potential boost to income to do it, you'd need a real intellectual curioiusity.
I carried an expert designation for 10 years in the mortgage industry (CME). Not many people had it, and not too many people (outside of clients) asked about it.
However, clients DID ask about it and my response was "Certified Mortgage Expert.....I am an expert in the field"...it adds to your credibility, same as my company's motto of "Thousands Closed Since '89"....it lets folks know you're legit and have a track record. The mortgage business, almost as much as the insurance industry, was full of hacks just in it for beer money on Friday.
The designation DOES help, but you'd need a powerful curioiusity about your field and such a designation to make it worth your while.
I think that designations are worthwhile not because they will open doors or attract many clients but because of the knowledge they bring. Here would be my order of preference. I base this upon the value of the knowledge each brings. The LUTC is first because you learn to sell and unless you learn to sell nothing else matters.
1. LUTC
2. CLU
3. ChFC
4. CFP
1. LUTC
2. CLU
3. ChFC
4. CFP
- 16,877
Some people are VERY good at cracking books and taking tests. My wife can't stand to not be taking a course of some kind at all times.
Every morning of her life she is up at 5:00 am on a treadmill studying a textbook.
Just in the last year she has passed her CFP and ChFC. She already had her CPA and MBA. She will have the CLU knocked out real quick and will keep going. There is no end to formal education with that driven personality.
It's almost ironic that the smartest thing she ever did was marry me.
Every morning of her life she is up at 5:00 am on a treadmill studying a textbook.
Just in the last year she has passed her CFP and ChFC. She already had her CPA and MBA. She will have the CLU knocked out real quick and will keep going. There is no end to formal education with that driven personality.
It's almost ironic that the smartest thing she ever did was marry me.
- 15,319
- 16,877
Damm straight!
These highly productive women always need a "fixer-upper" man in their life as a project.
It depends on why you want them. For general knowledge, they have merit. For prestige, I like what Wayne Cotton said. After he got his CLU and ChFC he sat back and waited for the phone to ring. NOT.
Some will tell you that if you take your career seriously, you will get your designations. I say you get the specific education that helps you do your business in the market you want to work. What good is a designation on estate planning or senior planning if you intend to specialize in the family market?
Some will tell you that if you take your career seriously, you will get your designations. I say you get the specific education that helps you do your business in the market you want to work. What good is a designation on estate planning or senior planning if you intend to specialize in the family market?
- 1,473
I agree with X. When I first got into the business of insurance and wanted to get to know the product and how to sell it. Had a good friend of mind a CLU said i should get started with the LUTCF program. Started in 2001 and took the required course and 2002 got mind from the american college was a great program to learn to sell.
Went on to get my PFP program got that done as well. But was harder than LUTCF. For the new personal insurance guys they should at least do the LUTCF program.
- 1,070
I have found that a lot of highly educated people lack an open mind and are incapable of having an intelligent conversation. I've seen brilliant people with no people skills. While I don't have but a high school degree, I have been in sales for over 45 years and gained a lot of wisdom not only about people but the world in general. When I speak to prospects, I talk about the business world but I do it in high school language. They give me a lot of appreciation for explaining the product in simple terms, something most highly educated people are not able to do. There is nothing more important to a prospect than discovering that the agent is more interested in learning what the prospect wants to know instead of the agent telling them everything he knows. The old acronym KISS holds true always. Personally, I don't respect doctors or lawyers - I don't trust them because there's a danger they might have an overgrown ego, something very common in their fields. Anyone remember the contest between the stock broker and a monkey? The monkey picked stocks more successfully than the broker. Being a caring person trumps all the degrees.
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