More From Katherine Vessenes
How to build your business in a down market, Pt. 1Why you need a coach
Why boomers need variable annuities
Why this attorney likes VAs
The 30-second no-cost sales secret
Ten things you need to know about thank you notes
Six ways to help fearful clients
2009 arbitrations are up -- way up
When is client service great enough to ask for referrals?
How to meet 900 good prospects a year and have fun doing it
Four things you're doing wrong at your first client meeting
By Katherine Vessenes
Most financial sales are made in the first client meeting. Now, don't get me wrong, you may not get the check in the first meeting, but if you set it up right and the meeting goes well, you will get the check -- eventually.
With so much hanging on the first meeting with a new prospect, don't fall into these deadly traps we have seen hundreds of advisors make:
1. Too much time chit-chatting at the beginning of the meeting. I once watched not one, but two advisors tag team a new prospect -- an optometrist. I timed them: They spent 30 minutes swapping stories before getting down to business. Sure, a little chit-chatting is a good way to break the ice, but blowing through 25 minutes is a waste of your most valuable asset -- time.
It is important to think of your time as your inventory. Wasting 25 minutes with just three clients in one week means you will be seeing at least one fewer person per week. When you multiply this by your value per meeting, excessive story swapping could be costing you thousands of dollars in sales every week.
2. Not using an agenda. No matter how small the client, I try to start every meeting with an agenda. For larger clients, I might even send them the agenda in advance. There are a number of reasons that using an agenda is crucial to closing more business:
Every time I tested out my No-Sell SaleŽ I had the same mindset: I assumed the sale. It never crossed my mind that the client might not buy my product or service. I knew I was great at what I did and that I had the client's best interests at heart -- a killer combination. I also knew no one was going to love them like I could love them. This confidence was crucial to closing more sales -- my closing ratio testing these techniques was more than 90 percent.
Contrast this with other disasters I have witnessed. One advisor (number one in his broker/dealer) had an office that was so messy that I was constantly tripping over boxes and other junk on the floor. He and two assistants were sharing the same space, the carpet was dirty and threadbare, the room hadn't been painted in at least 10 years, and there was no privacy for clients. In short, it looked and felt like a dump. This kind of environment presents a lousy message to clients. It tells them you don't pay attention to details and you are too cheap to do the basics. Clients think you won't pay attention to the details in their portfolio and you might skimp on crucial elemnts -- all this simply as the result of aesthetics.
Another one of my clients had a beautiful office set up, complete with fresh baked cookies and hot cider. However, when he escorted me back to his office to role play his first interview, he had poor posture and very soft voice and looked like an insecure junior high school student afraid to ask the cute girl to dance. My advice to him: Control and own your space. This is your office: You need to have confidence in who you are and what you offer to clients. Your positive attitude is contagious and will help you close more business.
4. Not focusing on the marketing genius
Here is a test question for you: Who is the marketing genius? When I ask this in presentations, most of the audience will either pick me (nice, but wrong answer) or themselves -- also dead wrong. The only marketing genius is the client. My marketing plans are simple: I just focus on what the client really wants and then deliver it to them.
Many advisors get hung up by spending their time telling the prospect all about them, their financial firm and portfolio strategy and they blow through the time without ever focusing on what the client really needs.
Take this real life story: One of the big broker/dealers in Minneapolis invited me to help with their client experience. I showed up with blank flip charts and a computer -- not for a fancy PowerPoint presentation, but to take notes on the meeting.
We kicked the meeting off with an agenda that we wrote on the flip chart and then spent about 95 percent of the rest of the time asking questions:
In the end, the folks from the broker/dealer said they were very pleasantly surprised with our no-presentation, no PowerPoint meeting. The reason? Not one of the many other vendors they had interviewed had taken the time to figure out what they, the marketing genius, really wanted. They said every other firm had come in and immediately made a presentation about why the vendor was so great and never focused on the needs of the client.
The funny thing is that each of the other vendors is an "expert" in sales strategies for financial advisors -- isn't that great? The so-called experts didn't know the best way to "sell" your services is not to sell at all -- it's just to solve the clients problems.
It's simple, really: Focus on the client, use an agenda, go in with the right attitude and don't talk too much -- you will make more money.
*For further information, or to contact this author, please leave a comment and your e-mail address in the forum below.
With so much hanging on the first meeting with a new prospect, don't fall into these deadly traps we have seen hundreds of advisors make:
1. Too much time chit-chatting at the beginning of the meeting. I once watched not one, but two advisors tag team a new prospect -- an optometrist. I timed them: They spent 30 minutes swapping stories before getting down to business. Sure, a little chit-chatting is a good way to break the ice, but blowing through 25 minutes is a waste of your most valuable asset -- time.
It is important to think of your time as your inventory. Wasting 25 minutes with just three clients in one week means you will be seeing at least one fewer person per week. When you multiply this by your value per meeting, excessive story swapping could be costing you thousands of dollars in sales every week.
2. Not using an agenda. No matter how small the client, I try to start every meeting with an agenda. For larger clients, I might even send them the agenda in advance. There are a number of reasons that using an agenda is crucial to closing more business:
- It allows you to control the meeting.
- It removes the client's fear. The prospect knows what's coming and they don't have to be on edge worrying that you are going to sell them something they don't want or need.
- It shows your professionalism.
- It keeps the meeting on track and helps you stay focused.
- It can serve as "crib notes" to make sure you cover the most important topics with your prospects. Many times, clients will have questions that can take us down a rabbit trail. If I forget where we are in the meeting, all I have to do is glance at the agenda and pick it right up without missing a beat. This is also good for new advisors who may be feeling uncomfortable with the first meeting.
- It allows you to cover more ground and be more efficient.
Every time I tested out my No-Sell SaleŽ I had the same mindset: I assumed the sale. It never crossed my mind that the client might not buy my product or service. I knew I was great at what I did and that I had the client's best interests at heart -- a killer combination. I also knew no one was going to love them like I could love them. This confidence was crucial to closing more sales -- my closing ratio testing these techniques was more than 90 percent.
Contrast this with other disasters I have witnessed. One advisor (number one in his broker/dealer) had an office that was so messy that I was constantly tripping over boxes and other junk on the floor. He and two assistants were sharing the same space, the carpet was dirty and threadbare, the room hadn't been painted in at least 10 years, and there was no privacy for clients. In short, it looked and felt like a dump. This kind of environment presents a lousy message to clients. It tells them you don't pay attention to details and you are too cheap to do the basics. Clients think you won't pay attention to the details in their portfolio and you might skimp on crucial elemnts -- all this simply as the result of aesthetics.
Another one of my clients had a beautiful office set up, complete with fresh baked cookies and hot cider. However, when he escorted me back to his office to role play his first interview, he had poor posture and very soft voice and looked like an insecure junior high school student afraid to ask the cute girl to dance. My advice to him: Control and own your space. This is your office: You need to have confidence in who you are and what you offer to clients. Your positive attitude is contagious and will help you close more business.
4. Not focusing on the marketing genius
Here is a test question for you: Who is the marketing genius? When I ask this in presentations, most of the audience will either pick me (nice, but wrong answer) or themselves -- also dead wrong. The only marketing genius is the client. My marketing plans are simple: I just focus on what the client really wants and then deliver it to them.
Many advisors get hung up by spending their time telling the prospect all about them, their financial firm and portfolio strategy and they blow through the time without ever focusing on what the client really needs.
Take this real life story: One of the big broker/dealers in Minneapolis invited me to help with their client experience. I showed up with blank flip charts and a computer -- not for a fancy PowerPoint presentation, but to take notes on the meeting.
We kicked the meeting off with an agenda that we wrote on the flip chart and then spent about 95 percent of the rest of the time asking questions:
- What are you looking for in this project?
- What needs to happen for this to be a wild success?
- What has/hasn't worked in the past?
- How can we best help you?
In the end, the folks from the broker/dealer said they were very pleasantly surprised with our no-presentation, no PowerPoint meeting. The reason? Not one of the many other vendors they had interviewed had taken the time to figure out what they, the marketing genius, really wanted. They said every other firm had come in and immediately made a presentation about why the vendor was so great and never focused on the needs of the client.
The funny thing is that each of the other vendors is an "expert" in sales strategies for financial advisors -- isn't that great? The so-called experts didn't know the best way to "sell" your services is not to sell at all -- it's just to solve the clients problems.
It's simple, really: Focus on the client, use an agenda, go in with the right attitude and don't talk too much -- you will make more money.
*For further information, or to contact this author, please leave a comment and your e-mail address in the forum below.
