We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Diva Velasquez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Diva, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Talk to us about building a team – did you hire quickly, how’d you recruit the first few team members? Any interesting lessons?

My journey in the finance industry began as an Agent for my company. I joined New York Life in 2014. New York Life is a company founded in 1845 so there were already processes in place when i joined. I was promoted two years later into the Latino Market which in my new role i was responsible for hiring Latino agents for our office. Orlando is a melting pot of cultures so it gave me the opportunity to hire individuals from over 20 Latin countries and help grow our Latin American Field Force. In 2020, I was promoted again into a Partner of the company which gave me the opportunity to build my own personal team of financial professionals for the Orlando General Office.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Born and raised in Medellin Colombia, I moved to the United States at the age of 28 for an opportunity of a better life as most immigrants do. Originally I lived in California for 2 years prior to moving to Orlando Florida. I spent the first 10 years of my life here working in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

In search of a career filled with opportunities, i joined New York Life. This life changing decision was made in part of not only achieving my personal objectives but also because of the desire to be a resource to others.

Educating and empowering others into taking actions to ensure financial progress is an important task that I partake in on a daily basis. New York Life specializes in retirement planning, insurance and investments.

As Americans we aren’t immune to financial illiteracy so it’s been a passion to help others on creating an opportunity for a better tomorrow.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

If I had to pin point a few things that helped build my reputation was the tenacity of my work ethic. I always ensured to be well known in the Central Florida community by not only building social media presence but also by networking as much as possible to connect with my peers. Authenticity was always important to me therefor I always made sure to be genuine with everyone I dealt with.

I believe that the combination of work ethic, purpose and authenticity were the foundation that led me to excel and triumph as much as I have so far in my career.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

In business, prospecting is key. Regardless of the industry, at the end of the day we are in the people business. Therefor the most effective strategy for growing clientele is to constantly prospect in everyway possible. Personal Introductions, referrals, networking, cold calls, social media, business canvassing, these are all proving methods. They key is consistency in prospecting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.newyorklife.com/recruiter/Diva_S_Velasquez
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diva-s-velasquez-sanchez-832910a0/

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