January 2008 Archives
8 Costly Annuity Marketing Mistakes
 |
 |
| Call AMZ at (866) 204-7712 today to get this free presentation. |
Proven System for Marketing Annuity Business
 |
 |
| Call AMZ at (866) 204-7712 today to get more information and learn how you can earn an extra $250 on your next three applications. |
Look Before You Leap!
 |
 |
| Call AMZ at (866) 204-7712 today to get information about the $100–200 case bonus and $18,000 available in the A-2-Z Program. |
The failure formula: A strategy for connecting with your prospects
By Jeff Janes
Want to connect quickly with prospects and clients? Ask them about their biggest financial mistakes. That’s right, go ahead and ask them what financial advice, guidance, purchases or strategies they really regret. You’re probably going to get a peculiar look, but eventually the client will open up and provide a wide range of responses.
Very rarely will a client say, “I can’t think of anything that I regret,” but if they do, simply turn it around and say, “What was the best financial advice, guidance, purchases or strategies you acted on?” I think the client will be stumped to provide you with something that really worked for them. If they did act on some advice, congratulate them on their successes.
Regardless of whether it’s a success or failure, you’re getting them talking. Every word gives you another piece of the puzzle toward helping them with long-term financial strategies. Then ask the prospect, “Who helped you in making the decision or purchase?” You’re looking for another advisor or maybe an attorney or accountant. Sounds simple, but these few questions give you a wealth of information that can quickly position you as a financial advisor that cares. Plus, you’ll be able to identify potential products to avoid, key influencers for future buying decision, and identify risk tolerance and performance expectations.
For example, if they say they regretted buying Microsoft at the IPO because the price ultimately went through the roof, and now they don’t want to sell the stock because of all the capital gains, you’ll need to address different issues than if they say they regret buying three-year CDs at the bank because they’re now locked into a fixed-interest bearing account while the market outperforms fixed rates. Or maybe they regret buying term insurance because they now have a chronic illness and don’t want to go back through underwriting for a cash-value policy or pay one-year ART rates on that old policy.
Feel, felt, found
Once the client starts filling in the details, the strategy can help you make good connections using the “feel, felt, found” formula. By saying, “I understand how you feel. I’ve worked with other clients that have felt the same way, however, what they found in working with me is…,” you can fill in the gaps with an appropriate response to address their wants and needs.
Failure is always an option—Or is it?
This approach completely changes the paradigm most people use when it comes to working with a financial professional. Instead of trying to push a product, this approach gets the client talking and thinking about decisions or paths they’ve made.
This approach works on a psychological level too, as more people remember things they’ve done than things they’ve done right. It is human nature and it’s wired into our brains—this is ultimately how we learn. As the saying goes, “Experience is simply the word we give our mistakes.” As an advisor, you’ve worked with plenty of people, and probably seen a few client mistakes along the way, which gives you a tremendous amount of experience.
When Thomas Edison was working to perfect the light bulb, he tried thousands of different filaments before he found one that worked. Later, when asked about the thousands of failures, he said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This is a great attitude, and your clients have probably found many different financial strategies that won’t work for them.
Consume or be consumed
Now is one of the best times to be in the financial services industry. Today, most, if not all, financial service providers can provide just about any financial product. As a full-service provider, you should want to be a single point-of-contact for all clients. Plus, as the baby boomer generation ages and moves into retirement, it makes perfect sense that these prospects and clients want a single point-of-contact. They’ve seen the insurance agent come and go, along with the stockbroker and banker. Too few financial professionals stay in this industry long enough to see success. Over time, the parade of people through the prospect’s door is long, which means, at a minimum, they’ve experienced failure vicariously through previous advisors. The professionals who are in this business for the long term will wind up fighting for the orphaned clients.
So, you can be the consolidator or you can be the consolidate. The choice is yours. In today’s financial landscape you need to address all of the client’s financial issues, or someone else with more desire, drive, knowledge, experience, or designations will. You just can’t focus on selling one product, service or investment. You need to focus on a comprehensive strategy—even if that means farming out some areas in which you are not fully experienced.
Clients have wants, needs and desires. Most want success and a bountiful retirement. Without proper planning, they may reach retirement unprepared. Retirement comes whether you’re ready or not. By focusing on past failures, you’re not guaranteeing future successes. You’ve learned what didn’t work for the client, now your job involves putting the pieces for future success together. Failure gives us the opportunity to know where to improve, to know what not to do and to know we’re closer to consistent success. Hopefully, it also shows clients they shouldn’t approach financial services as a do-it-yourself strategy, as that approach almost always leads to a regrettable decision.