There are a lot of people in the retirement plan business that are great at selling. I always said that Rich Laurita was the greatest salesman I knew. My. The joke was that Rich couldn’t spell 401(k). But Rich was smart enough to know that, so he’d bring in the actuary or me to meetings when needed. A lot of salespeople don’t have that gift of self-awareness like Rich did. They’ll promise a plan sponsor a solution for saving money for retirement, but their lack of knowledge of how plans work gets in the way.
I’ve had to fix too many mistakes of salespeople, who sold solutions that don’t work. That could be a cash balance/safe harbor 401(k) solution and not asking if a plan sponsor has a SIMPLE plan or not asking about affiliated employers.
To be a good salesperson is to know what you’re good at and what you’re not. If you don’t know the rules regarding retirement plans, there are plenty of people out there, like me, who can provide the answer.
