Well-regarded industry contributor, Dani Peer, says when it comes to selling insurance – and financial advice generally – the success experienced by advisers tends to follow an asymmetrical, rather than normal distribution. In other words, Peer says there is a small group of advisers who are incredibly productive, whilst the majority work long and hard for a smaller reward…
Every dealer group has its ‘eagles’ who, year after year, receive accolades at the annual recognition event. What separates these outperformers from their peers? It’s a crucial question to reflect on, because the answer contains the clues that will empower many more advisers to experience greater success. Anecdotally, many superstars will confirm that they don’t possess any greater technical expertise than their fellow practitioners. Some work in salaried bank channels and some in boutique practices. So, brand, ownership and size don’t explain their outperformance. Technology isn’t the defining factor either, with some high performers being very tech savvy and some relying heavily on support staff. Success leaves clues, and when eliminating each and every resource that an adviser employs to provide advice to a paying customer, Peer says the one defining quality that differentiates the ‘eagles’ is their ability to consistently motivate prospective clients to take action.
There are many advisers who may be wary of Peer’s assertion. After all, aren’t these skills the subject of numerous workshops and training sessions? Why should such generic and widely available content result in such disparate outcomes? Peer believes that the concepts and thinking behind traditional sales processes are not appropriate for the selling of financial advice. Simply put, he says people don’t like being ‘sold to’.
Having worked with dozens of high performing advisers, Peer has observed a common theme in the way they engage with their market. “The best performers motivate people to choose to buy from them; they don’t sell,” says Peer, adding, “Top performers – either through formal training or through learning from experience – develop an understanding and awareness of buying psychology and thus tend to approach each conversation from a buyer’s perspective.”
According to Peer, there are five distinct stages through which a consumer mentally needs to pass before agreeing to proceed. Taken from his book, Powerful Words, Peer outlines each of the five stages the client passes through on this mental journey…
Stage 1: Ego
A sales situation immediately creates an emotional polarity, a ‘power differential’. One party is trying to convince the other party to buy something. Almost every prospective client you start a conversation with will adopt a defensive mental stance. Our subconscious yells, “Someone is trying to make you think in a way that may not be in your best interests”. You can just picture a couple bickering as they travel to their meeting with a financial adviser: “We’re just going to find out what it’s all about; we’re not going to sign up for anything. Let me do the talking. Don’t commit to anything.”
Contrast this with the assumption that traditional selling makes when it assumes that the client wants to do business with us as long as we can match their needs with our solutions.
Our game plan here is to build rapport with the client. It is crucial to communicate that the purpose of the discussion is to talk about the client’s goals and objectives. Too many professionals feel an urge to speak about what can be delivered, rather than giving a client the courtesy of hearing what they (the client) actually want.
Only once the client feels they are being taken seriously by someone they feel comfortable with will their mind progress to the next stage.
Stage 2: I’m okay
Again, traditional selling makes the assumption that our proposed solution is better than our client’s current solution. This suggests to the client that they have been embracing a second-rate position and even that they’ve made a mistake by adopting their current solution. Your prospective client has made a decision (for better or for worse) and will seek to defend it. Most of us react badly when we are told we are wrong.
Our game plan here is to communicate that things have changed. We must be absolutely neutral and make it clear that the changes have nothing to do with, or have been caused by, either ourselves or the client. But we must make it clear that these changes (over which neither of us has any control) have affected the client’s ability to achieve their objectives.
Only once our client feels that their current solution may no longer be the most appropriate will they move to their next thought.
Stage 3: Can you help me?
At this point, your prospective client is unsettled, but not necessarily in a buying mood. They may have recognised that they do have an issue, but aren’t convinced that it’s worth the effort to address, or whether you are the person from whom they should be seeking a solution. They are thinking about whether to procrastinate and to find a way of simply saying no, or to listen further. If they do bail at this point it’s because you have been unable to generate sufficient emotional momentum at Stage 2.
By the time our client’s mind reaches Stage 3, you will have some idea why they’ve put in the effort to meet with you and what they hope to accomplish working with a financial adviser. They’re looking for reasons to continue the conversation. Their mind – often subconsciously – is seeking answers to questions like, “Are you the right person to be dealing with? Do I feel that you have the experience and knowledge required to help me? Why should I allow you to assist me?”
Here’s your opportunity to describe in very broad brushstrokes how what you do will enable them to seize the opportunities available to them, or to address or avoid the dangers that await them on their current course. You’ll also briefly cover your track record and experience with similar clients facing similar issues.
Stage 4: Tell me more
Your client is now hungry for information.
Stage 4 is the tipping point. Your client is now looking for reasons to do business with you. They are engaged. They are curious. They want facts, information, any insight that they believe will equip them to make a good decision.
You need to cover a lot of ground here – this is the only time that you should do the bulk of the talking. Jump up and use your whiteboard. Describe some of the strategies you’re likely to employ. Model scenarios on your fancy software. Explain the process you take your clients through – both initially and the post-sale care and support you’ll provide. By logically linking your activity with your client’s objectives you fuse the two and thus position yourself as part and parcel of the desired solution.
Emotion will make the sale, but logic will grease the wheels.
Stage 5: The close
You have now presented your case for securing your prospective client’s business. But you can still blow the sale if you have a lapse in taste and resort to a clumsy closing technique.
Once you have communicated all the information you believe relevant and have responded to all your client’s questions, simply summarise the key facts and ask for agreement to proceed. Then keep quiet. Silence exerts its own pressure.
If you have succeeded at moving your client along each step of the process, they will simply feel comfortable to do business with you and ask a question along the lines of, “So where do we go from here?”
Again, cognitive mapping and traditional selling differ at this point. Traditional selling relies on a range of closes. Professionals feel particularly uncomfortable using a close because its purpose is so obvious. It suggests to the client that they are now being corralled into saying “Yes”.
Cognitive mapping explains that clients are wary of being coerced into making a decision. They don’t want to feel pressured and every traditional selling close is designed to apply pressure. Our game plan here is simply to remain silent and wait for our client to make up their mind.
If the client raises an objection, we deal with the specific objection. We do not restate our case. After providing a response, we again remain silent and allow the client to lead.
We’ll be publishing more thinking from Dani Peer’s Powerful Words in future editions of riskinfo eMagazine. In the meantime if you’d like to obtain a signed copy of Dani’s book, simply go to www.powerfulwords.biz
Dani Peer is a keynote speaker, facilitator, writer and business coach. He established his consultancy, danipeer.com, to equip financial advisers with the conversational and influencing skills necessary to motivate both referral partners and clients to take action.