A key message, regardless of whether you are a financial adviser or platform operator, is that it is very difficult to make money unless you are also an effective salesperson, Mr Belfort said.
“You can be the greatest accountant in the world, you can be the greatest financial planner in the world, the greatest structurer of products in the world, the greatest financier in the world, but if you can’t sell and close a deal then it is really hard to make a lot of money in this world,” he said.
Mr Belfort also urged delegates to use regulatory change to their advantage.
“There are always challenges in your business but I believe change [via] regulation is typically a good thing,” he said.
“Every time the government regulates something, you typically make more money. Suddenly there is a shift and you can make more money down the road. You’re always going to make more money if you’re smart,” he said.
Having good platforms and products behind you is important to success but that should be “a given”, he said.
“It’s not just about the platforms. They’re crucial, no doubt about it, and you have to have the best product, that’s a given, but having people that can share that with other people and empower other people to use it and make them feel trust, to make them feel connected to your company and to feel that they want to be a part of your team and share in your visions of the future, that’s typically the X-factor that drives every great company.”
But he cautioned that while product is important, ethics is a crucial platform for any sustainable business.
“In our business… it’s easy to lose your ethical way,” he said.
“With financial products, even [a small amount of] corruption destroys everything, it’s leveraging, it’s so magnified. And you really just can’t be half pregnant when it comes to ethics in this business, its either you’re ethical or you’re not, there is no middle ground. You’ve got to put your clients first; there is no other way.
“You put your clients first, you have great products and learn how to sell those as effectively as possible. That is the formula for long-term, sustainable success.”
Mr Belfort urged delegates to learn from his mistakes, which included losing his fortune and spending 22 months in prison over a fraudulent scheme selling artificially inflated stock that resulted in investor losses of around $200 million.
“I rationalised it all [at the time]; it all seemed OK. But I look back now and it seems insane. I look at my life as a cautionary tale and also as inspiration that you can come back from anything,” he said.
“It’s not just about money – it’s easy to make money in our business, let’s face it. Most of us are overcompensated for what we do. It’s the other stuff, the higher purpose is giving back,” he said.
In a question and answer session with the audience following his presentation, Mr Belfort took the audience through his 'straight line sales system', including key components such as controlling the terms of each sale, projecting confidence, and building trust before attempting a sale.
