With over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, Jeremy Priar, Business Development Director at 1847Financial – Conshohocken/Philadelphia, PA, and Boca Raton/Coral Gables, FL – knows how to support and elevate financial professionals. Jeremy brings a unique blend of experience, innovative strategies, and a personal approach to helping professionals realize their full potential.

How long have you been in the financial services industry?
It has been 15 years and almost two and a half years with my current firm.

What made you want to join this industry?
I had some friends in the industry that were Financial Advisors and they had been talking to me about what they were doing. I knew that sitting behind a desk was probably not going to be a good fit for me. It’s not really my personality. I think what got me in the business was the ability for me to earn what I feel like I was worth. Those friends eventually recruited me onto their team and that was basically how I got started. Then, what also appealed to me was helping people in an area that I think gets overlooked or take as serious as they should.

What roles have you had along the way?
I’ve been a Financial Advisor, Sales Manager and Managing Director.

When you’re speaking with candidates, how do you differentiate your firm? What makes your firm stand out?
A lot of people will tell you that their firm can provide support. A lot of people will tell you all of the ways that their firm is better, but when it comes to actually executing on what has been said, I think that is where a lot of companies fall short. I try to use real-life examples of Financial Professionals and teams that we have transitioned and what that process actually looks like. I will even utilize those Financial Professionals to help me tell the story of what their experience was like firsthand to a candidate. This way, it’s not just me telling a candidate, it’s a peer showcasing that not only did we say great things, but we’ve executed on great things.

Can you give me an example?
A few months ago, I was speaking with a Financial Professional from New York Life and he really wanted to understand more about the transition process so I linked him up with one of our current Financial Professionals that I brought on board. He jumped on a call and walked him through everything we said and everything that we executed on. The Financial Professional from New York Life was extremely pleased.

How do you typically partner with Financial Professionals?
I partner with Financial Professionals by helping them realize their goals. Obviously. But I think it’s really more of the partnership I have with them. It is how I can help them open their eyes to what’s really possibly within their practice, not just where it’s at today, but where we can take it in 2, 3, 4 years from today and what that looks like. My goal is to get them to think bigger and realize what their potential is. I think our partnership is really a growth centered partnership based around the Financial Professional’s goals.

What is your biggest differentiator?
I would say the one thing I probably do a little bit differently than other Business Development Directors is that I really focus on the mental coaching aspect of what helps drive success. I think a lot of managers in particular are very good at telling people what they should be doing, but what I don’t think they are very good at is understanding why people aren’t doing those things and then actually getting them to take action.

Who would be your ideal recruit?
My ideal recruit is someone with around 7-10 years of experience with an established book of businesses that has a good blend of insurance and investments. If a Financial Professional wants to have a business in the next 3-5 years, they have to be able to get out of the single silo that they operate in, such as solely selling insurance.

What mistakes do Financial Professional make when joining a new firm?
I would say that most Financial Professionals make the mistake of trusting, but not verifying. In other words, they are trusting what the firm is telling them, but never verifying what they are telling them. So when they get to the new firm, they are annoyed that the firm is not living up to expectations. As I mentioned before, it’s most effective for Financial Professionals to hear from peers at the firm they are looking to join.

To expand on that, when I’m speaking with a candidate, they usually tell me what other companies are trying to recruit them and then I dig in a little bit and ask what they doing and what they are offering. Then if we have a Financial Professional from the company they are talking about, I will tell the candidate that a Financial Professional from X company joined us and can tell you exactly how it worked out. This way, they hear it from both sides – me and their peer.

How do you stay ahead of the technology curve?
Well, I think the number one thing right now is being up-to-date with all of the changes with technology, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) being number one – understanding how it works, understanding its application within our business and then how we can utilize it ourselves.

How do you use AI?
I use it every single day! I have probably crafted about 40+ emails for people with AI. The applications are endless. What I think people don’t understand is how to prompt the system and how to make some of these systems sync up and talk to each other. So I will just tie a bow on that and say that we stay ahead of the curve by staying up-to-date on all of the latest technology. We also attend seminars to educate ourselves, similar to the way a Financial Professional would. For example, I’ve attended about six AI classes. My personal thought is that if you’re not using AI right now, you’re already behind the curve. If you don’t start using it within the next year, you’re risking being left behind.

Have you seen firsthand how products have helped clients?
About six years ago, I was working with a client whose policy was going to lapse and I went and met with them and we reinstated the policy, more specifically I ended up selling him a permanent policy in the process. About a year after that, the woman that I met with, who had all of the insurance, had passed away. Had she not had the insurance, they would have been short $275,000, which was a lot for their family. It even prompted the woman’s daughter to get in the business.

What do you do in your free time?
Golfing, skiing and coaching travel baseball, and spending time with my family.

Jeremy’s passion for mentoring financial professionals and his forward-thinking use of technology, set him apart in the industry. If you're looking to grow your practice or transition to a firm that truly delivers on its promises, Jeremy would love to connect. Reach out to him on LinkedIn to start the conversation.

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