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Finding Gold
Getting New Clients? How to read and connect with new prospects
By Michael Lovas
September 1, 2006
This month's column is a sneak peek at my new Newsletter the "Inner Circle." If you like my articles, you'll love the Inner Circle.
Whether you realize it or not, the success of your business (and income) is determined by how well you apply a specific area of business psychology. It is the skills and tools that occupy the space at the intersection of your bottom line and communication psychology. When you add them together, you get a tool box for becoming highly attractive (even magnetic) to the people you want to work with.
One of the elements in this tool box is personality types (sometimes called "social styles"). As powerful as these four categories of people are, they are meaningless to you — unless you learn how to adapt your conversation to match the one that your prospect lives in most of the time.
For example, if you are a typical Driver personality, and your prospect is an Expressive, you will likely irritate him and chase him away — unless you adapt and flex into being Expressive, at least enough to use the appropriate language. The question I'm most often asked here is this, "Isn't this being fake and manipulative?" It is if you are a fake and manipulative person. Otherwise, it is how you can make sure to communicate with that person in the way he needs to be communicated in. Your ability to adapt and flex represents the extent of your people focus. And, that determines how client-centric you can be.
Another example — Imagine instead of an adult prospect, you're talking to a five-year-old boy. Would you talk in language he didn't understand? Would you reference concepts he'd never heard of? Or would you modify your communication to be more appropriate for him? Of course you would. Same thing in business. Adjust and flex to make it easy for him to understand what you have to say. You're not being fake; you're displaying that you're flexible. And, folks, flexibility is a sign of emotional health. Consider how inflexible you get when you're stressed.
Flexibility is a skill we teach our coaching clients. Not only does it make your communication work better, remember, it has an impact on your bottom line. In fact, most of our coaching clients see their new business double. Is that reason enough to take this seriously?
What's more important is who else values this skill. My firm has been hired to teach this skill to the annuity wholesalers for the largest life company in the USA. I tell you this for two reasons: 1) to illustrate how vital it is to your future success. 2) to introduce the Fishbowl Exercise. It works like this.
| Step 1 — | meet a new prospect and quickly read that person to determine his personality type. |
| Step 2 — | make a statement or ask a question based on that person's values. |
| Step 3 — | agree with what he says in response, and add to it. |
| Step 4 — | ask a question that builds on his reply, based on his values. |
Follow that simple formula and you will get past most (if not all) of the resistance. You will find that you rapidly become more attractive and build rapport with great ease. In our seminars, we have the audience roam around the room engaging each other in conversation and flexing to match each new person they talk to.
Hen in the fox house? What happens when that new prospect already has a financial advisor? First, you have an ethical question, Should you entice someone else's client? Isn't that like stealing your buddy's girlfriend? On the other hand, it's not like you sat in the other advisor's lobby purposefully luring his clients away. You have a decision to make when someone else's client comes to see you. Option 1: You can push hard to close a sale. Or Option 2: You can display how flexible you are. I promise, you'll make many more sales by flexing than you will any other way.
Ready — Aim — Fire! Most people who ask us to teach them Face Values have trouble at first in figuring out how to flex from one Type to another within a given situation. In a workshop for Met Life I illustrated this skill by going from one person to the next explaining a single point. I changed the approach and the language for each person. I made the same point over and over, but I flexed into the different words that resonate with whomever was in front of me.
How did I know what words to use? I merely read the person's face to determine what his or her Personality Type was. That told me what words and communication style to use. And, that is the secret to making consultative selling work for you. It is simple, but it does take practice and coaching.
What follows here are four approaches to a single situation. Each approach addresses a different personality type.
The Situation: Let's say we're in a bear market and a new prospect comes in to see you. He is already working with another advisor but wants to see if you're a better fit for him. Fact is, unless you can "read" him, before you start talking, you stand a 75% chance of scaring him away. IF you can read him — what do you say to him?
RELATERS
Relaters are the "Relationships People." Make a personal appeal to a Relater's need to build relationships and protect his family. You might say:
"My guess is, you depend on your investments and savings, not so you can buy luxuries, but so you can protect your family and bring them greater financial security. Am I right?"
"Why does anyone open a savings account, a brokerage account or an insurance account? Isn't it because they want to protect something? It might be your family. It might be to pay for child care or buy a house for an adult child."
"The point is, people make investment decisions based on how their money affects their personal relationships. I believe that any account needs to have a purpose like that. Don't you? What might the purpose of your investment account be?"
EXPRESSIVES
Stress creativity. These people believe that following the "tried and true" is like doing the least with the most. Prove to them that you're capable of inspired strategies:
"Most people hear the same advice from financial advisors ‘buy and hold for the long term.' And, for some people that's good advice. But, for others, that advice is a cop out. What about you? Want to follow tradition, or see some more creative ideas?"
"Instead of putting your money into yet another boring mutual fund, how about using your IRA to buy real estate in a town where the real estate values are vibrant?"
"Instead of getting a sickly 3% on a CD, let's see if we can get twice that AND remain 100% safe."
"I believe there are always great values, promise and possibility — you just have to be creative. So, do you want to look at some more options?"
DRIVERS
Think "bottom line." Start your explanation by saying, "Bottom line…". And, deliver your information in short bursts of bullets. Why? Because Drivers need bottom-line focus and that means quick answers. You might say:
"If all financial advisors were graded purely by the performance of their recommendations, many would be out of work. So, with that in mind, let's look at how to get you consistently good returns, while minimizing any risk."
"I believe that a portfolio needs to be adjusted constantly, not left to fly blindly or passively. I believe in taking action on multiple fronts. And, I believe in holding myself accountable for my advice I give. Is this what you want?"
THINKERS
These people have a 50,000-ft. perspective and they think strategically. So, explain that you are a strategic thinker who can see the bigger picture. Do NOT talk about products or performance!
"In any market, there are more variables than we can anticipate. But, in a bear market, it's crazy. Still, if you understand trends, and if you know what to look for, you can make money when those around you are losing it. This is just a matter of having a better perspective — a broad one…a smarter strategy… Vision — an open-minded one...and Resources — the most effective ones."
"I can't guarantee that I'll pick winners for you ever time. But, I can promise that we'll create a strategy that matches your vision."
Experience. I've been teaching financial advisors how to read people and flex for years. I wrote a book on how to do that. It's titled Face Values. It is at the heart of my coaching program. And, it's the most popular keynote I deliver. If you are trying to use a consultative approach in your selling, you're probably having trouble. Why? Because consultative selling demands that you know how the prospect communicates — before you start the serious talk. In other words you need to recognize that person's personality type and values, and you need to do it immediately!
Your Reward — Free Coaching. If you want to learn how to read people and succeed with consultative selling. I'll see to it that you get a Free 15-minute Coaching Session. All you have to do is buy a copy of Face Values. You can get it from my website (www.aboutpeople.com). Then, let me know you want the Free Coaching Session. I'll make it happen. It's that simple.
Wait. There's more. Most people who write to me ask for more help more often. Thus, we created our new "Inner Circle" newsletter. Because you read my articles, you know to expect on-target ideas and profitable suggestions from me. That's what the Inner Circle will give you, too. It will only be available to people who request it directly. And, you can start getting it by sending me an email. Just fill in the form below. But realize, the Inner Circle is intended exclusively for professionals who want to learn how to read and connect with their "A-level" target prospects and audiences. If that's not you, please don't subscribe now.
MICHAEL LOVAS is the author of ten books, three columns, and a thousand articles on Professional Credibility and the Psychology of Communication in the financial industry. He's the co-founder of AboutPeople and the founder of Credibility Marketing.
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 succeed at a higher level by building more meaningful business relationships.
AboutPeople Books:
- (NEW) Questions Are the Answer! - A guide for using questions effectively in sales conversations
- (NEW) Axis of Influence! - How credibility & likeability intersect to drive success!
- (NEW) Words that Sell - The language of psychological marketing & selling
- Face Values - How to read people and connect with them in less than 3 minutes!
- The Boomer Report - The financial advisor's guide to understanding the boomer mind
- 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
- Magnetic Connections - Consultative selling for financial professionals
- IDENTITY - How to create and deliver the most important statement of your business life
- Inside the Mind of the Senior Market
- 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
