Formerly a face-to-face sales representative, meeting clients and understanding their needs has become second nature for Jillian. She enjoys talking to people and is never hesitant to seek out help from her superiors and more experienced Financial Consultants, as she sees this as a way to further deepen her knowledge.
As a Financial Consultant, Jillian believes it’s one of those careers where one has to have good ethical moral codes in order to thrive and do well, not only for the good of the clients, but for one to have a clear conscience at the end of each day.
Already beginning with a good moral compass inbuilt in her, Jillian’s first job exposed her to people from all walks of life and served as a platform where she honed her skills to engage in conversations with individuals with different backgrounds. Her natural flair and friendly personality enabled her to be promoted to Assistant Directorship position in merely three years, a role which required her to lead a team of 15 sales representatives!
The entrepreneur and leadership spirit in her are so strong that despite doing well at her first job, she pursued to be her own boss and ventured into the F&B line, opening her first café. Jillian shared that being her own boss gave her a lot of flexibility and opportunity to engage her customers on a very interpersonal level as some of the products she sold were all handmade by herself.
How experience shaped her into who she is today
But being her own boss meant she had to undertake a lot of risks. As she started out in her business, her knowledge and understanding got wider, and that meant she also got more curious to find out more about the different types of insurances out there.
According to Jillian, getting insurance was not a norm in her family as she was growing up. She said, “I grew up in a traditional family, hence I was uninsured since young. To the elders in my family, getting insurance is like a taboo.”
Hence, it was an unchartered territory and that excited her even more.
Like a true blue entrepreneur, who understands Experience can tell a different story than Knowledge, she joined the insurance industry.
“I figured, what better way to understand how insurance works than to be in the industry myself!”
Jillian recalled her days of managing her café where she had to work long hours and rarely had any rest days. It was still a valuable period for her as she got to experience the pains vital to her personal growth.
Now, as a financial consultant, Jillian loves that she still has flexibility over her time, yet has more time to spend with her loved ones.
Strong support system key to entrepreneurial success
In her opinion, having a good mentor and a strong support system are important in improving and achieving success as an entrepreneur. She looks to her team leader and founder of Assets Prestige Alliance, Jaden Wang, as well as Agency Leader, Jaslyn Ng as sources of inspiration. Whenever she has any questions or uncertainties, she will always seek help and guidance from them. “I constantly bombard them with questions and they will spend time guiding and advising me, regardless of how busy they might be with their respective schedules,” claims Jillian.
She further elaborates, “Jaden has been the most sincere and genuine person since the very beginning. He is always there for us through thick and thin. Moreover, what I like being in Jaden Wang Group("JWG") is that everyone is able to express their opinions freely. I believe communication and transparency is what makes an organisation grow and strengthen!"
Taking challenges in stride
Photo: Jillian with her mentor, Jaden Wang.
Just like any other entrepreneur, Jillian also has her own set of challenges that she faces as a financial consultant. First off, she has to constantly brush up on her skills and knowledge of the industry, so that she can continue bettering herself for her current and future clients. Moreover, a lot of time and effort needs to be spent to understand what’s best for her client, something which she has not experienced before she became a financial consultant.
Nevertheless, she still handles these challenges with gusto and enthusiasm. When asked about her most memorable experience so far, she smiles brightly and shares, “I don’t really have a most memorable experience, but if I were to share, it would be my whole journey up till now!”
For others who are interested to become a financial consultant, Jillian advises that there’s no harm in finding out and exploring more to see if this entrepreneurial path suits you. Most importantly, find a mentor who you feel comfortable working with and learning from, just like the ones at JWG!
Assets Prestige Alliance (APA) is a group of agency units of Prudential Assurance Company Singapore.
Read more on Jaden Wang's team:
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