At 38-years-old, there’s a reason why Sun Life’s Dale Lamb is a member of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table. He doesn’t shy away from the hard decisions and he isn’t afraid to speak his mind. Sometimes, the truth hurts.
Case in point, Lamb had to fire a high-net-worth client recently and did so without regret. The chaotic business relationship just became more trouble than it was worth in the end when all discussion and compromise had been exhausted.
“I hit that nail. I had no choice,”Lamb said simply of the decision.
A 15-year veteran of the business, Lamb holds himself, the industry he is a part of and his own colleagues to a high standard of accountability and professionalism. He is even critical of some of his fellow colleagues, who he thinks haven’t reached their full potential. Being proud of Sun Life Financial and what he has accomplished there, Lamb feels the company deserves nothing but the very best representation possible.
At 17 years-old, Lamb was already dabbling in the stock market. Now in his late thirties, he has 1,050 clients and 400 households under his care at Sun Life. Many of those came to him via referrals and that makes Lamb proud of the proven quality of his work.
“If you do good things, referrals happen. If I do a good job, they (the clients) cannot help but to tell their friends,”he said.
 Dale Lamb. (Photo Courtesy of: Sun Life.) |
With advancements in technology, clients have become more demanding than ever before yet Lamb is as old school as they come. For the man who, if he has the choice and the time would always rather send out hand-signed letters than e-mails and doesn’t own a lap top computer, the times may have changed but for him, the way you treat a client or conduct business hasn’t.
“Go to your clients. Let them know you are thinking of them. That goes a long way,”said Lamb insisting advisors really need to reach out to their clients more.
A husband and father to three young daughters, Lamb attributes a large part of his success to the support system he has in the office and more importantly, to the one he has at home. Because of that, he gives everyone – including himself – a break and takes every Friday off.
“Friday is a day to regroup and let my assistants catch up,”he explained. By being out of the offices, the associates are able to knock down paperwork, update files, and prepare for client meetings the following week.
These days, Lamb finds he spends a good bit of his time re-educating clients who scour the Internet and absorb all sorts of news and opinion that does nothing but cloud the issues at hand.
Charged emotions often conflict with the cold, hard facts and so it falls to Lamb to put everything in perspective for clients and help them understand that the talking heads generally don’t have any special market insights that have eluded everybody else.
“No one can outguess the market,”Lamb scoffed.”Every squirrel gets the odd nut.”
Looking back at all he has achieved over the last 15 years, Lamb is thankful many of his clients have been with him for so long. He never takes their loyalty for granted and takes pride in having been able to help them accomplish their goals, whatever they might be.
“I love the people side of the business. It is a very rewarding career,”he said.