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Finding Gold
The Worst Mistake in Selling Financial Services
By Michael Lovas
January 1, 2009
Don't you agree: selling is easily the most important step in the business process. So, with that much responsibility, why do so many advisors continue to make the worst mistake possible?
We've been researching the psychological sales process for decades and continually find the exact same problems. Most advisors approach selling in the easiest way, not the most effective. They present Their own logic. They appeal to Their own values. They present the features and benefits They like. In other words, they make their sales presentations to Themselves. And that is the worst mistake they (you) can make.
Greater Relevance. To bring greater relevance to this dilemma, let's look at the best way to approach selling. It's a simple three-step dance: 1) just get inside the heads of the people who might want your product, and 2) discover what they want. Finally, explain it to them in words that are most likely to excite them.
What you want to find out includes:
- How they want it delivered. For example, if it's
skills training, do they want to get it in-person, over the
phone, over the internet or in a book?
- How often they want it. For example, many of my own
clients ask for quarterly training and monthly coaching to
follow the training.
- What level of sophistication they want. Most financial
advisors want the most sophisticated training, but they
have yet to learn the basics. For example, the most
effective way to get inside the head of a prospect is to
identify his/her mental filter configuration. But that's
way above the heads of most advisors. That's why we start
by teaching personality types and show you how to recognize
someone's type by reading his/her face. It's fast, simple
and highly effective.
They Key. The key to being more successful at selling anything is to identify the psychology of the people who would most likely buy your product. That gives you the answer to the biggest question - why they buy.
Again, the worst mistake in sales is to start selling without first learning the psychology of your prospect. At the most basic level this means personality types. If you can't identify the personality type of the person in front of you, how could you possibly know what logic to use and what language to express that logic in? You can't? If selling were football, you'd be going into a game only one play.
For example. Let's say you want to sell your product to corporate executives. Most advisors would simply present their service to highlight the benefits they like. If it's a product sale, most advisors highlight benefits identified as most important by someone in the marketing department. Both are terrible mistakes.
The question is, which benefits would actually work best
for an executive? And, would they be different from the
benefits that would work for (say) an entrepreneur? Yes
indeed! The important benefits would be different, because
entrepreneurs have a very different psychology from
corporate executives. Their psychology dictates how you
make your presentation. Let's look at some specifics:
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Now, how can you use this information to craft a more relevant presentation? The no-brainer way would be simply to name the values. For example, you might say to an executive, "This product allows you to be in control and gives you the power to make your own decisions..." And, to an entrepreneur, you might say, "This product gives you freedom and allows you to be creative..."
Let's go even deeper. Let's say you want to sell personal financial planning. Here's how you might approach each:
To the executive: "These are highly volatile times. Many smart people have lost a lot of money. The people who get hurt the most are those who have been trying to make their own trades without the most up-to-date information or appropriate training. What I'm offering you is an alliance, a partnership that allows you to be in control. I'll give you timely information and offer suggestions, and you can make the decisions if you want. Bottom line, you'll make far more right decisions and significantly increase your chance of meeting your financial goals."
To the entrepreneur: "The last thing you need is to be bogged down with the tedium of reading long columns of numbers of detailed spreadsheets. Trust me, that's one of the most boring activities on the planet. What I'm offering you is a close relationship with someone who actually thinks spreadsheets are sexy! I'll give you expert advice and together we'll develop creative approaches that get you what you want."
In Conclusion.
There is a very simple
domino effect to the logic of making a sales presentation
to sell financial services:
- Read the prospect
- Recognize his personality type
- Identify that personality type's values
- Frame your benefits in terms of those values
See how it all starts by reading the prospect? See that if you don't learn how to read the person in front of you, your options and flexibility are severely limited?
Your Reward.
The only book on reading
faces to determine personality type is our book Face
Values. If you see the logic and importance of being
able to quickly read the prospect in front of you, Face
Values is a must-read book. Your reward for January
2009 is this. Buy Face Values from our website (
www.aboutpeople.com ) and
I will personally send you a free copy of our book The 5
Levels of Rapport (a $19 value)!
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
