If you ask the average person on the street, “Do you like interacting with salespeople when making a purchase decision?” the reaction and answer is almost always a cringe and a “no.” We’ve all had the proverbial pushy, annoying, self-serving salesperson in our consumer experiences. For many of us, those negative sales experiences outweigh the positive ones.
However, think about the last time you went to your favorite hardware store. A friendly person asks if they can help you. You describe the project you’re trying to accomplish. They ask you additional questions, then they explain what you need to purchase and to do in order to complete your project. In other words, they are helping you solve your problem. You weren’t harassed, pushed or “sold.” Sales is the art of solving peoples’ problems.
As financial advisors, you are solving some daunting problems – for example, helping clients to retire comfortably, send their kids to college, take care of their aging parents, optimize their portfolios and pay less taxes, take care of their family if they become disabled, and take care of their loved ones when they’re no longer here.
Here are five keys for advisors to become good salespeople while developing a reputation as a problem solver:
Know your why. Best-selling book author Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.” Every business needs to have a philosophical framework from which your “why” emanates. Financial advisors are business owners, so you should know your why and share it proudly, and if your clients buy into your why, they are much more likely to remain your clients, give you additional business and refer other clients your way.
Listen and care. It may sound cliché, but it is still true: “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” By actively listening to your clients’ goals, summarizing back to them what they’ve said is most important, and aligning your solutions with what is most important to them, it shows your clients that you care about their goals and that you are the professional to help them realize those goals.
Ask probing, thoughtful questions. In most financial planning situations, there are going to be decisions and tradeoffs. By asking questions about client goals and what tradeoffs they are willing to make, you learn more about your clients, and sometimes you challenge them to think about their priorities.
Sometimes this questioning will create uncomfortable situations for you and your clients, but remember that the best relationships are often forged in confrontation, debate and – ultimately – resolution. Contrary to the popular customer service axiom, the client is not always right – and part of your role in their lives is to make sure you are asking those challenging questions to get to mutual agreement and better outcomes.
Contrary to the popular customer service axiom, the client is not always right.
Get spiced. There are several selling frameworks out there, including “SPICED.” SPICED was developed by a firm called Winning by Design and is an acronym for situation, pain, impact, critical event and decision. Winning by Design found that in scenarios where SPICED was fully utilized, there was a 116% increase in annual recurring revenue, a 10% increase in winning a deal and 29% higher sales quota attainment. It’s a great simple framework to apply in your practice.
In every client interaction, you work to understand the situation they are in. Then you surface the pain they are experiencing and the impact it will have to alleviate that pain. From there, you ask what is the critical event that needs to happen in order to alleviate this pain. And finally, you get to a buying decision. We use this framework at Advyzon and find it simple and effective.
Ask for their business. Perhaps the most uncomfortable step in solving peoples’ problems is asking them to take action. Especially in financial planning, you are asking them to trust you with their money, assets, businesses, employee qualified plans and more that they’ve worked so hard to build during their careers. This is a huge decision and should not be taken lightly, but if you’ve gotten through the first four keys above, you’ve earned the right to ask for their business. Go for it. After all, you are solving their problems.
You’ve earned the right to ask for their business. Go for it.
By deploying these five keys, you can be confident you will not be perceived as the proverbial “salesperson” and instead will be your clients’ go-to person to help solve their financial problems.
Dave Goes is President of Enterprise Sales at Advyzon, a tech platform for financial advisors and investment managers.
