Press Kit

John in the News

Speaking

I have years of experience as a public speaker from when I was on the road for The Wilson Learning Corporation addressing audiences all over the United States about the art of selling. I have also conducted seminars for financial advisors and investors on the art and science of financial planning and investment management. I have several prepared talks that I would be happy present to any group. Consideration for my expenses and a small honorarium is always welcomed.

  • Selling with Integrity. I based my speech on the venerable Counselor Selling sales training system created by Wilson Learning. The concepts on which the program was built are timeless. Successful sales professionals know how to help their prospects overcome four major obstacles to the buying decision—the need to trust, to define the problem, to appreciate the features and benefits of what is being offered, and to feel support in making the buying decision. Or as Larry Wilson was fond of saying, “No trust. No need. No help. No hurry.” Larry was also found of saying, “It is a lot easier to find a new audience than it is to write a new speech.” My speech is a fresh approach to time honored concepts.

As a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch, I spoke often on a variety of subjects related to investing. 40 years in the financial services industry inform the four talks that I have put together. They are as follows:

  • Picking a Financial Advisor. It’s a high stakes decision, but I found prospective clients, if anything, were too passive in the initial interviews. They didn’t seem to know what they wanted, or if they did, how to ask for it, and what else to look for in establishing a relationship with a professional advisor. This talk sets the criteria for making well-informed choice.
  • Manage Yourself First. Portfolio management is easy. What is difficult is staying in charge of the emotional side of investing A cool hand is needed—always. Fear, anxiety, competitiveness, anger, and resentment have no place in the decision making process. My talk is built around “Five crisis defusing questions.” The questions are easy. The answers, however, can be very challenging.
  • Allocate, Diversify, and Select. That’s the mantra, but what does it mean? These are concepts that should be the building blocks to any portfolio. Bad news is, however, too many investors get them exactly backwards.
  • Planning for Retirement. I did it for others. I did it for myself. Now I am retired. A lot of advisors troll before audiences, sometime with a free meal, hoping the pick up a new client or two. Hearing it from a retired advisor who has walked the walk presents a somewhat different and unbiased perspective

One of my heroes over the years has been the poet Wallace Stevens who was a surety bond underwriter for a major insurance company. I drew comfort from the fact that he did not find working in financial services to be defeating in his efforts to compose poetry. I have been writing poetry since childhood. I published years ago the Ramparts, edited by Justus George Lawler. I have also been a finalist twice in the annual poetry contest sponsored by North Carolina State University. In 2000, I published As I Was Passing By, a small volume of my poetry. I would welcome any opportunity to read a selection of poetry including some of my own compositions.