A couple of months ago, I conducted a survey of the financial professionals in my personal database. I asked them to let me know their top three concerns. The responses showed me that many advisors do not understand what problems are impacting their businesses. They are gravely concerned about the wrong things. Thus, they are making inappropriate and off-target decisions.
In response to the question: "What are your 3 biggest concerns," there were two answers that stood out most significantly. Today, we're going to look quickly at the most important one. Then, we'll go into greater depth:
Prospecting Problem. This answer was voiced by fifty percent of the people responding – and the respondents came from all across the financial industry, in the US and Canada. The answer was Prospects. I had actually anticipated that this answer would come up, but I didn't expect it to come up quite so often. Advisors seem not to know how to be more effective at bringing in either new prospects or more highly qualified prospects. Our investigations show that this is a serious concern for financial and insurance people across the board - transactional businesses, as well as fee-based ones.
If you're a strategic thinker, you can already see the problem. Thinking that you need more prospects is like thinking a gunshot wound is skin irritation. It's actually much more serious than that.
In-Depth Look: Prospecting has changed drastically over the years. It used to be, you could buy some leads and build a business. And, for many years, the biggest concern was what wording you should use on the lead card. More than once someone has asked me to create a compelling message – but limit it to 34 words. We've watched results from that prospecting model diminish greatly. What can you do about it? Read on.
Seeking Higher Quality prospects? Are you wanting to attract higher quality prospects? If yes, you're don't have a prospecting problem. You have a value problem. To attract a higher quality prospect, you need to change the fundamental nature of your business, especially if you ever want to sell your business. Moving up requires you to get better and raise the value you are able to provide. You don't jump from the minor league to the majors without improving the value you can deliver to your team.
For example, you can no longer be merely a product provider or even a planner. To move up from where you are, you have to become more of a relationship manager. Why? Because of where your next prospects will come from. The research is conclusive – higher quality clients do not respond to cold calls or lead cards. They don't even respond well to seminars. They respond to referrals from people they already trust. And, the hard fact is this - you don't get referrals from people you have not built a trusting relationship with.
The bottom line is, if you think you need more prospects, zoom out and see a larger picture. Prospecting is the wrong target. It's not a prospecting problem, it is a credibility problem. Here's a quick analogy. Let's say you tell me that you have a weight problem. "Mike, I'm twenty-five pounds over." If I ask a few simple questions, we'll probably find out that you don't have a weight problem – you have an eating problem. The added weight is a result of the eating problem. So, chances are, you don't have a prospecting problem – you have a credibility problem. Your lack of prospects is a result of your not knowing how to prove your credibility (value) to your target market.
Refer - ability. You've already heard that you can't get referrals unless you are referable. But what the heck does it mean? It means that you need to improve the perception of your credibility. We tell our clients, "You should already be credible Your competence and ethics should already be unquestioned. That's a prerequisite of doing business in this industry. But, chances are, your target market doesn't know about your credibility." We don't question your actual credibility. We question your ability to communicate it, prove it, demonstrate it to your target market.
Perception
Prospects and clients do not understand your actual credibility. All they know is how they perceive your credibility. But the thing is, you are in control of that! So, if you're not getting enough new prospects, that means you're not getting enough referrals. And, if that's the case, it means your clients are questioning your credibility. Again, you don't have a prospecting problem; you have a credibility problem.
Perception is what your entire world is based on. It's simply how you experience things. It's how your prospects and clients experience you. Here's how it works. Let's say you and I are having a conversation and a total stranger joins in on the conversation. If we were to debrief each other later, we would find that (although we had the same experience) you and I have very different perceptions of the experience. You might think the stranger was outgoing and interesting, while I thought he was arrogant and pushy.
Ever wonder why some of your closest friends have political views that are polar opposite of yours? Ever wonder how come every family in town doesn't believe that your kids are the best and most beautiful? Perception. And if you never learn anything else about perception, please take this one fact – no one else shares your perceptions. So, how you see yourself and your credibility is completely different from the way anyone else sees you.
What does that have to do with prospecting? How do your prospects and clients perceive your credibility? It depends, largely, on what you show them, tell them and demonstrate to them. So:
- What are you showing them? Most advisors use a tri-fold brochure and business card. If that's all you have, you're shooting yourself in both feet. Look around for what no one else is giving or showing. Billboard, skywriting, big balloons, puzzles. Think outside the brochure without getting silly or gimmicky. A relevant book is always better than the best bottle opener.
- What messages are you sending, and are they confusing? Having analyzed marketing messages (from a psychological perspective) for about thirty years, I can tell you that nearly every message in the financial industry is so psychologically confusing as to be absurd or unethical.
Answer those questions for yourself and you will have taken your first baby step toward solving your credibility problem. The next step, then, is to create a Credibility Strategy. This is how you organize and improve your various messages to manage how they are perceived by your target market.
Get personal. In terms of marketing and selling, your objective is to demonstrate or prove your personal credibility in such a way that the prospect sees it (you) as irrefutable and significant. This is how you begin to satisfy his personal requirements for making the decision to trust you. Once the client truly trusts you, he will be far more apt to introduce you to his friends. Isn't that the holy grail of referrals?
Credibility Introductions
Because the early sales training in this industry relied so heavily on numbers, a great many advisors still approach their marketing and selling that way. "Mike, it's a numbers game." Actually, it's not. It once was, but those days are over. They went out when the senior market began going into assisted living communities.
Most likely, your problem is not that you need more prospects. It is that you're currently not getting your prospects in the right way. That your clients are not giving you "credibility introductions."
Let me give you an example of what a credibility introduction is NOT: "Michael, I have a friend named Carolyn, and she sure does need your help. Here's her phone number." How well do you think that call is going to go? Carolyn is going to see it as an invasion of her privacy and will likely complain to source of that "referral."
Instead, help your client introduce you. Teach him what to do and how to do it. A real credibility introduction is a conference call with the three of you. The client takes the lead, and it might sound like this: "Carolyn, I want to introduce you to someone I care about. His name is Michael. This is someone I've grown to admire and trust as he has helped me solve some pretty important problems. He is like family, and I'm asking you to treat him like family. Whatever your dealings together in the future, he is someone you should get to know today."
I know that introduction by heart because that is exactly how Pam and I were introduced to a big New York publisher just a few weeks ago. And, as it was taking place, I thought, "This is perfect! I have to remember it."
In Conclusion. This lesson is vital to you if you want to move up the food chain. And, it's very simple – improve how people see your credibility and you will get more referrals. It takes your commitment to build the perception of your credibility. Do that and Voila! No more prospecting problem.
Your Reward. Pam and I have been working with the psychology of credibility since 1991. Since then, we've developed a highly comprehensive system for building credibility in the financial industry. And, we've created a report titles "Ten Ways to Improve Your Credibility." It's yours free. Just copy this paragraph into an email and send it to me - with all your contact information. What a great way to improve your business during the summer! (michael@aboutpeople.com)
MICHAEL LOVAS is the author of eight books and a thousand articles on Professional Credibility and the Psychological of Relationships in the financial industry.
Michael speaks at conferences and seminars in Canada and the US. He is an inspiring trainer and coach who helps advisors improve their businesses. He holds three prestigious certifications: Licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), Licensed Trainer of NLP; and Clinical Hypnotherapist. They make Michael an expert at helping financial professionals build their credibility and succeed at a higher level.
AboutPeople Books:
- (Coming soon) Credibility & Likeability
- (NEW) Magnetic Connections – Consultative Selling for Financial Professionals
- (NEW) Inside the Mind of the Senior Market
- (NEW) The Boomer Report – The financial advisor's guide to understanding the Boomer mind
- Face Values – How to Read People and connect with them in less than 3 minutes!
- Presentation Magic- How to gain a psychological advantage in your seminars and sales presentations
- The 5 Levels of Rapport – How to create a meaningful connection with people who are important to you
- IDENTITY – How to create and deliver the most important statement of your business life
- Beyond Wave Marketing– how to add Credibility to your relationship marketing
Find AboutPeople books at: www.aboutpeople.com
Michael Lovas, C.Ht.
AboutPeople
(509) 465-5599
1503 E. Riverview Dr.
Colbert, WA 99005
www.aboutpeople.com
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