Right now as I write, I'm sitting on a plane, about to take off, bound for Brisbane, Australia, to complete the final two site visits (of the six I had to do) as part of the judging process for the 2015 Adviser of The Year (That I'm fortunate my company Zurich sponsors). I'd wanted to record the journey of the judging process (and the semi finalists) in a blog in a similar way to the Million Dollar Round Table diary I kept in June of this year.
Alas, time not only escaped me, but I also could not find the appropriate words to do the advisers who had opened up their businesses (and their hearts) to me, justice. Such is the serious that I approach this role with and the care that I believe one must take throughout the process.
As I reflect now, however, I can't help but think how much I miss being an adviser.
This may seem a strangely "out of touch" comment, especially considering the media, regulatory and self imposed scrutiny that our profession is facing and the significant changes for advisers and insurance providers that are set to be implemented in 2016. I am however neither out of touch (I have spent countless hours with advisers discussing the changes, and even more time modelling the financial and advice consequences to consumers of the changes) nor overly romanticising the advice profession. Rather I am appreciative of the value that financial advisers add not only to transforming the lives of their clients in the most positive of ways, but also how dramatically they protect the community (that includes you, our bureaucrats, our politicians) from a heavy burden from having to cater for a populace ill prepared for life events.
It is something like the Adviser of the Year judging process that makes you realise how deeply financial advisers care for their clients.
Now that feeling of taking a client to a place where they feel secure, where they have a solid foundation to build towards their personal dreams and they have "the freedom to say yes" (thanks to Chris Browne and Rising Tide for that one) is something I dearly miss. However I can do it no longer. Just like I do with the Adviser of the Year entrants, I did with my clients, and I become heavily emotionally invested in their story and journey. It is something that financial advisers do daily, and when you do so with so much passion there is no room to do things by halves. For me it was emotionally devastating to lose a client through death, something which I had prepared them and their families for financially but something they and I were never, could never be emotionally prepared for. I miss my clients. I miss Grace, I miss Jaclyn and I miss Bob, clients who passed away in my final year of advice. I miss Annette and Gary, clients (who I still see) thriving with their family and their life plans : I miss that weekly check in we had. I hear the stories of the Adviser of the Year participants and how deeply they are invested in their clients dreams and how much they have contributed to making those dreams a reality.
It takes skill to do this. Discipline. Courage. Process. Passion. It is what all the Adviser of the Year participants have.
I think of my sister, who is a doctor, a paediatric emergency specialist. I think of all the banged up kiddies she sees. The hundreds of thank you letters and cards she gets from parents, and I wonder what is in your make up that doesn't make you go crazy? What emotions she must feel? She tells me she detaches it when on duty, she has to. Then in her quiet moments she reflects.
For financial advisers, they don't detach. They are 100% of the time emotionally connected with their clients. I don't know any financial adviser who detaches emotionally when with a client (or afterwards for that matter). I see it in their meeting notes and given life in their staff. I see it in their client stories.
I wish I could do it again, but I cry way too easily. I'm so lucky that Zurich is so heavily invested in the advisers of the Adviser of they year and I get to stay connected through this process and then get to share via Zurichs education series all that I see.
So as a precursor to the new tools and presentations that will be delivered by Zurich post this 2015 journey, I say hats of to all the financial advisers who love their clients, who say to me they "can never imagine doing anything else, or ever stopping". Who in the face of ever changing landscapes, continue to deliver positive client outcomes that change an individuals life for the better, a families world for the better and make the communities they work in stronger, connected and spirited.
Take a bow.
Showing posts with label Financial Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Financial Planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Sunday, 19 April 2015
How to Build Consumer Loyalty and Advocacy In Financial Advice.
We pay more for brand names. We pay more for and are advocated of brands that have emotionally connected with us. The richer the emotional content of a brand’s mental representation, the more likely the consumer will be a loyal user. This thinking is just as relevant for financial advice as it is for toilet tissue and car tyres. Puppy dogs chasing a roll of toilet paper and the piece of mind of safety on a wet road have less to do with the end product and more to do with feelings and emotions.
Understanding, therefore, how people think is a critical factor in building consumer loyalty and advocacy. So just how do we make decisions and what occurs in peoples minds to help them evaluate situations? What do we need to know about how peoples minds work?
“Cognitive control and value-based decision-making tasks appear to depend on different brain regions within the prefrontal cortex,” says Jan Glascher, lead author of the study and a visiting associate at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, referring to the seat of higher-level reasoning in the brain.
In normal brain functioning people : a valuation network in the brain auto computes what's good and what's bad, before the person concerned has a chance to consciously understand the decision making process has occured. It is quick. It is intuitive and it is automatic.
This highlights the complexities in dealing with customers where you need them to make a considered rationale choice. The choice has less to do with the rationalities of your proposal and more to do with how they feel about you and your brand. In short they have a gut feel about what is good and what is bad for them: and if you have not connected with them then that good choice (rationally) seems the uncomfortable one.
Most people believe that the choices they make result from a rational analysis of available alternatives. In reality, however, emotions greatly influence and, in many cases, even determine our decisions. In a book, Descartes Error, Antonio Damasio, professor of neuroscience at the University of Southern California, puts forth that emotions are necessary ingredients to almost all decisions. What occurs is that emotions from previous experiences attribute value and impact how we consider the options in front of us. These emotions create preferences which lead to our decision. Damasio’s view is based on his studies of people whose connections between the “thinking” and “emotional” areas of the brain had been damaged. They were capable of rationally processing information about alternative choices; but were unable to make decisions because they lacked any sense of how they felt about the options.
Values
So if you are not using some method of assessing past experiences and values and hierachies in a clients decision making you actually leave so much of your process to chance. When it comes to money: we have values associated with our experiences and these values have been passed to us from our parents. If you are not questioning clients about these experiences your process is like waiting for a magic eye picture to appear.
Psychologist Valerie Wilson tells us that troubled relationships with money stem from childhood. Research shows that money habits are formed between the ages of 6-8.
Consequently these lessons (which we have learnt from our parents) shape the way we feel and act about money and money issues. Our attitudes to money bring with it a range of emotions and behaviour: they can be positive but they can also range from greed and arrogance, to jealousy and fear.
What all of this means is that that you need to embed in your process:
• a means of uncovering a clients values
• questioning on past experiences
• determining a clients hierarchy of choice assessment
• looking at a clients goals and the why of their goals so you can elevate a simple statement of a goal or objective to a highly functional progression and pathway that you indeed can influence
• a show casing of you as an individual and your brand
Dr Peter Noel Murray reminds us that the influential role of emotion in consumer behavior is well documented and studies show that positive emotions toward a brand have far greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other judgments which are based on a brand’s attributes. Only by building process in your business that is cognisant of: how people are drawn to brands, make decisions and order their values; can you truly expect to drive customer loyalty and advocacy.
Understanding, therefore, how people think is a critical factor in building consumer loyalty and advocacy. So just how do we make decisions and what occurs in peoples minds to help them evaluate situations? What do we need to know about how peoples minds work?
“Cognitive control and value-based decision-making tasks appear to depend on different brain regions within the prefrontal cortex,” says Jan Glascher, lead author of the study and a visiting associate at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, referring to the seat of higher-level reasoning in the brain.
In normal brain functioning people : a valuation network in the brain auto computes what's good and what's bad, before the person concerned has a chance to consciously understand the decision making process has occured. It is quick. It is intuitive and it is automatic.
This highlights the complexities in dealing with customers where you need them to make a considered rationale choice. The choice has less to do with the rationalities of your proposal and more to do with how they feel about you and your brand. In short they have a gut feel about what is good and what is bad for them: and if you have not connected with them then that good choice (rationally) seems the uncomfortable one.
Most people believe that the choices they make result from a rational analysis of available alternatives. In reality, however, emotions greatly influence and, in many cases, even determine our decisions. In a book, Descartes Error, Antonio Damasio, professor of neuroscience at the University of Southern California, puts forth that emotions are necessary ingredients to almost all decisions. What occurs is that emotions from previous experiences attribute value and impact how we consider the options in front of us. These emotions create preferences which lead to our decision. Damasio’s view is based on his studies of people whose connections between the “thinking” and “emotional” areas of the brain had been damaged. They were capable of rationally processing information about alternative choices; but were unable to make decisions because they lacked any sense of how they felt about the options.
Values
So if you are not using some method of assessing past experiences and values and hierachies in a clients decision making you actually leave so much of your process to chance. When it comes to money: we have values associated with our experiences and these values have been passed to us from our parents. If you are not questioning clients about these experiences your process is like waiting for a magic eye picture to appear.
Psychologist Valerie Wilson tells us that troubled relationships with money stem from childhood. Research shows that money habits are formed between the ages of 6-8.
Consequently these lessons (which we have learnt from our parents) shape the way we feel and act about money and money issues. Our attitudes to money bring with it a range of emotions and behaviour: they can be positive but they can also range from greed and arrogance, to jealousy and fear.
What all of this means is that that you need to embed in your process:
• a means of uncovering a clients values
• questioning on past experiences
• determining a clients hierarchy of choice assessment
• looking at a clients goals and the why of their goals so you can elevate a simple statement of a goal or objective to a highly functional progression and pathway that you indeed can influence
• a show casing of you as an individual and your brand
Dr Peter Noel Murray reminds us that the influential role of emotion in consumer behavior is well documented and studies show that positive emotions toward a brand have far greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other judgments which are based on a brand’s attributes. Only by building process in your business that is cognisant of: how people are drawn to brands, make decisions and order their values; can you truly expect to drive customer loyalty and advocacy.
Saturday, 25 October 2014
Connecting with a Clients Values
We love this one inspired by an award winning financial adviser in Melbourne, Australia.
This is about connecting the strategy solutions to what is really important to a client.
If you can do this and demonstrate it in the SOA not only do you maximise the possibility of the prospect becoming a client, but you have also built a framework for choices the client makes that you can always revisit especially at review time to ensure that financial decisions are always in line with the identified values of the client.
Why is this important?
This is because money habits form very early on in our lives. It’s actually between the ages of 6-8 : s we have learnt most of our lessons from our parents and this shapes how we feel and act when it comes to financial affairs.
If you don’t question a client about these feelings you really can not truly know how a client will react to certain strategies, economic events, future financial decisions.
Some simple techniques are:
- Asking a client the three key words that come to mind when you mention a financial topic : superannuation, shares, investing
- Using lifestyle questionnaires that have a list of areas for the client to consider : they can be superannuation, investing but also : main residence, holidays, kids schooling, career, etc and asking them to rank how they feel about it now 1-5 and what they would like in the future
- The use of values cards
Irrespective of the technique : you need then to include a section in the SOA about what you’ve uncovered and connect your advice to these idenitified feelings and values.
Now values cards are used by recruitment agencies, training agencies eg: the “Training WA Career Centre) and it’s all about making better decisions on the premise that life and work decisions are always most satisfying when they fit with the values most important to you.
Mostly we act in accordance with our values to maintain a sense of well-being. But often our values are compromised by circumstances or events and we do things that don’t feel right. When we do things that are at odds with our values, we feel uncomfortable. Living in a situation where it is a constant struggle to act according to our values can cause stress, anxiety and depression.
Being able to align our lives with our values helps us make important decisions and feel grounded and focused. It inevitably leads to more happiness, achievement and contentment. At a team or organisational level, shared values keep the members focused on achieving their outcomes
The Values Cards can assist individuals, couples, teams and organisations to explore what is truly important in life, their relationships or work.
So what happens with this adviser is that you as a client (or each member of a couple) is given a deck of 250 values cards. The kind of words on them are things like : compassion, connection, creativity, achievement, adventure, challenge, health, family.
The client has to select 5.
This then leads to a discussion that is wide ranging and starts to encompass how the financial decisions the client needs to make fit with these values.
So imagine one of the cards is “family” (invariably that one does get selected).
Insurance has to become a key plank of a discussion or at least estate planning and hence then trust structures, business succession, continuity etc etc.
So it becomes the client that actually instigates the direction that the strategy conversation takes rather than the adviser initiating the discussion without being able to tie it into something the client has highlighted is important.
What needs to happen though is this conversation is reinforced and highlighted in the SOA and that each strategy recommendation is connected to a value or values.
This is about connecting the strategy solutions to what is really important to a client.
If you can do this and demonstrate it in the SOA not only do you maximise the possibility of the prospect becoming a client, but you have also built a framework for choices the client makes that you can always revisit especially at review time to ensure that financial decisions are always in line with the identified values of the client.
Why is this important?
This is because money habits form very early on in our lives. It’s actually between the ages of 6-8 : s we have learnt most of our lessons from our parents and this shapes how we feel and act when it comes to financial affairs.
If you don’t question a client about these feelings you really can not truly know how a client will react to certain strategies, economic events, future financial decisions.
Some simple techniques are:
- Asking a client the three key words that come to mind when you mention a financial topic : superannuation, shares, investing
- Using lifestyle questionnaires that have a list of areas for the client to consider : they can be superannuation, investing but also : main residence, holidays, kids schooling, career, etc and asking them to rank how they feel about it now 1-5 and what they would like in the future
- The use of values cards
Irrespective of the technique : you need then to include a section in the SOA about what you’ve uncovered and connect your advice to these idenitified feelings and values.
Now values cards are used by recruitment agencies, training agencies eg: the “Training WA Career Centre) and it’s all about making better decisions on the premise that life and work decisions are always most satisfying when they fit with the values most important to you.
Mostly we act in accordance with our values to maintain a sense of well-being. But often our values are compromised by circumstances or events and we do things that don’t feel right. When we do things that are at odds with our values, we feel uncomfortable. Living in a situation where it is a constant struggle to act according to our values can cause stress, anxiety and depression.
Being able to align our lives with our values helps us make important decisions and feel grounded and focused. It inevitably leads to more happiness, achievement and contentment. At a team or organisational level, shared values keep the members focused on achieving their outcomes
The Values Cards can assist individuals, couples, teams and organisations to explore what is truly important in life, their relationships or work.
So what happens with this adviser is that you as a client (or each member of a couple) is given a deck of 250 values cards. The kind of words on them are things like : compassion, connection, creativity, achievement, adventure, challenge, health, family.
The client has to select 5.
This then leads to a discussion that is wide ranging and starts to encompass how the financial decisions the client needs to make fit with these values.
So imagine one of the cards is “family” (invariably that one does get selected).
Insurance has to become a key plank of a discussion or at least estate planning and hence then trust structures, business succession, continuity etc etc.
So it becomes the client that actually instigates the direction that the strategy conversation takes rather than the adviser initiating the discussion without being able to tie it into something the client has highlighted is important.
What needs to happen though is this conversation is reinforced and highlighted in the SOA and that each strategy recommendation is connected to a value or values.
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Social media and financial advice : empire state of mind
Alicia Keys song about New York includes the lyrics
"Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York!
These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you".
The state of mind she sings about : belief, dreams, battling through the sameness to differentiate and make it big : is to me very close to what's going on in the quest to capture the social media space and engage with clients.
There is a sameness that is appearing in the manner in which people are implementing. We are all looking at the same big names in advice who have tapped into social media to engage with clients. Are we inspired? Is anyone really doing it well? If you build it ...will they come?
Broadly the answer sadly is no. Because there is something missing. If you do not have a state of mind that is social at its core then a social strategy is not one for you. If your client base does not suit a social strategy then maybe there are other ways to successful engage clients and monetize the engagement.
For me social, is the embodiment of that very word. It is the across the dinner table dialogue with a client where you get to share hopes and dreams (note there is reciprocation implied here). It is heavily reliant on you knowing your client base, your pitch or unique proposition to an ideal client, having the capabilities to deliver on that proposition and the right service model to truly enact that promise.
No amount of communication with a client be it via a social platform or not can be the solution to engagement if you don't have these components to start with.
Following that whether or not a social platform is the right way to communicate with clients depends on whether this is appropriate for the demographic and whether it suits your business model.
Don't get me wrong : I love social media and think it is a necessary mechanism to communicate with clients to truly tap into the psychology of what is core and innate in all of us : that is we are social beings. We are humans and we have always forged ahead by communication, sharing and bonding. We now have platforms which we can do this on in large scale.
As a student of psychology, the manner in which we as humans, as clients look bond with eachother, the way we look for reassurance and social proof before we act lends itself to a process of engaging with clients that taps into these hard wired drives. This client psychology and management of it embodies everything you do as advisers be it insurance advice, business insurance, Intergenerational advice or aged care. Building processes around the psychological processes that a client experiences in dealing with you and the satisfaction with life and well being outcomes they achieve as a result is critical in any communication with a client : including social media.
"Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York!
These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you".
The state of mind she sings about : belief, dreams, battling through the sameness to differentiate and make it big : is to me very close to what's going on in the quest to capture the social media space and engage with clients.
There is a sameness that is appearing in the manner in which people are implementing. We are all looking at the same big names in advice who have tapped into social media to engage with clients. Are we inspired? Is anyone really doing it well? If you build it ...will they come?
Broadly the answer sadly is no. Because there is something missing. If you do not have a state of mind that is social at its core then a social strategy is not one for you. If your client base does not suit a social strategy then maybe there are other ways to successful engage clients and monetize the engagement.
For me social, is the embodiment of that very word. It is the across the dinner table dialogue with a client where you get to share hopes and dreams (note there is reciprocation implied here). It is heavily reliant on you knowing your client base, your pitch or unique proposition to an ideal client, having the capabilities to deliver on that proposition and the right service model to truly enact that promise.
No amount of communication with a client be it via a social platform or not can be the solution to engagement if you don't have these components to start with.
Following that whether or not a social platform is the right way to communicate with clients depends on whether this is appropriate for the demographic and whether it suits your business model.
Don't get me wrong : I love social media and think it is a necessary mechanism to communicate with clients to truly tap into the psychology of what is core and innate in all of us : that is we are social beings. We are humans and we have always forged ahead by communication, sharing and bonding. We now have platforms which we can do this on in large scale.
As a student of psychology, the manner in which we as humans, as clients look bond with eachother, the way we look for reassurance and social proof before we act lends itself to a process of engaging with clients that taps into these hard wired drives. This client psychology and management of it embodies everything you do as advisers be it insurance advice, business insurance, Intergenerational advice or aged care. Building processes around the psychological processes that a client experiences in dealing with you and the satisfaction with life and well being outcomes they achieve as a result is critical in any communication with a client : including social media.
Monday, 17 March 2014
Six tips for your clients to create new habits in 2014
Creating new positive habits can make a significant difference in one’s life and provide the skills to turn the impossible into the possible. But it’s not always easy to change our behaviour as Tony Schwartz of the Energy Project(1) reveals with the statistics below…
· 25% of people abandon their New Years’ resolution(s) after just one week
· 95% of people who lose weight on a diet regain it
· Most alarming is that after surviving a heart attack only 1 in 7 people make any enduring life changes around eating or exercise.
So you can see we are indeed creatures of habit and some behaviors become so ingrained, such as smoking or biting our nails that we can’t stop even if we want to. In fact, Massachusetts Institute of Technology research has identified two regions in the brain that are responsible for crystallising habits so it’s no wonder we find it so hard to break them.
Making positive choices to start the pattern of change
In order to break habits, we must start our own patterns of change which according to Chris Gardner (the man on whom the film ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ was based), centers around our ability to embrace the best within and make positive choices for ourselves. (2)
In his retelling of his battle to come out of poverty and homelessness, he suggested four key choices to begin this process of change:
1) Choose to let go of judgment and accept who you are at your best
2) Choose to break generational cycles
3) Choose to accept that you are allowed to be happy and have abundance; and
4) Choose to learn from the past.
Now it isn’t easy to act on this advice, but by simply sharing these choices with your clients, you will be helping them start on their own path to making better decisions for themselves and their families.
Why your expert help is critical in this process
With the stress of daily life upon your clients, applying these choices and making time for what’s important can be extremely difficult. This is where you and your expertise fit into the picture.
When sharing these tips with your clients your role is two-fold. Firstly, you can help your clients understand the importance of freeing up their time as much as possible to focus on the important choices they have to make. Secondly, you can help your clients understand the areas where they can enlist your expert help so they have more time to focus on what’s important to them and what will add value to their lives.
Take John for example. I’m sure we could all relate to him…
John is a small business owner married to Kate a teacher and they have two children 13 and 10. John is trying to: Run the business; be a good husband; be a good father, keep a handle on the finances, keep fit, maintain his friendships, mentor his staff, fit in a family holiday at some point and maintain the condition of his home…..Something has got to give!!
With his energy focused on so many activities, where would John find the time to make better choices and start making changes to his lifestyle?
Today we call it outsourcing, the Babylonians(3) called it “…one of the cures for a lean purse” – either way, the message is clear – John needs to outsource the things that he is no good at or not qualified to do so that he can have more time to focus on what’s important to him and what adds value to his life.
So for John this meant joining a small business peer group, hiring a trainer for his staff, seeing a financial adviser and matching exercise with his friendship group. By doing this he freed up time for what was really important to him - being a good husband and father.
Six tips for your clients to create new habits
John was able to free up his time to focus on making change and you can help your clients implement positive changes in their lives too. But it’s important to remember that change takes time and there will be some resistance along the way.
Try these six tips to help your clients on their journey:
1) Don’t change everything at once: One or two things at a time
2) It takes about a month to lock in a new behavior
3) Be precise about what you want to change
4) Focus on a positive outcome rather than the negatives
5) Expect resistance (especially from yourself)
6) Enlist the support of others
Whether it’s finances in 2014 that are a priority, the estate plan, getting the right insurance cover or even talking about the no sugar diet (and that’s a tough one, I know from personal experience), it’s important your clients know they can talk to you and understand how you can help.
Ultimately for clients and advisers alike, by enlisting the help of others through outsourcing (as you would know), you can free up your time to make better choices and to start the journey towards creating new positive habits that will have a great impact on our lives.
1) “The Energy Project” www.theenergyproject.com
2) “The Pursuit of Happiness” Chris Gardner 2006
3) “The Richest Man in Babylon” George S. Clason 1926.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Lessons from LA : Socially connected businesses
WOW! What an amazing time PCE had in LA last week. Aside from the glitz, glamour and fun, one thing that could not escape our attention was how socially connected businesses were with their communities.
Now we are not talking about transnational corporations, we are talking about local small/medium enterprises that have created communities of fans that engage with the enterprise through social networks and in so doing share their experiences, provide feedback, provide virtually free advertising and constant sources of referrals.
All the business needs to do to perpetuate the success of the community is to engage in kind and respond with value.
But what are the ingredients that allow this to happen.
This is the beauty of the simplicity of the process.
These businesses :
1) Make it easy to connect with them.
2) Provide a service and customer experience that is compellingly shareable.
3) Respond to the interactions.
Whilst in LA PCE posed the question via twitter that asked financial services business to imagine that they provided an experience that was so good clients would "check in" while visiting their financial services professional. Take this a step further and imagine a service so good that the client would Instagram, Facebook, Tweet the experience "live" as it unfolded.
Crazy? No......rather a reality that leading businesses are creating.
1) Make it easy to connect
- provide and advertise that you have free wi-fi in your office especially in your waiting area
- in that space have QR codes or connection boards that invite your clients to connect via Twitter, Facebook, Yelp etc
- invite on that connection board clients to check in
- make sure you have active pages on these sites with great content
2) Provide a service and customer experience that is shareable
- name cards reserving a spot in the car park "welcome"
- great coffee
- kids play area
- magazines and articles in reception tailored to your clients specific interests (change them for each client coming in that day)
- take a leaf out of car sales : the photo and flowers of the proud new owners of an implemented statement of advice
Clients will share via social networks these experiences because you have made them feel special!!
3) Respond to the interaction
- "like" their check in
- respond with comments
- post their picture
Over all get social and nurture your client community.
From cafes, to doggy day care, from juice bars to blow wave bars, fitness centres and yes financial planners people in LA get social and share what is shareable.
It all starts with a compelling customer experience.
Now we are not talking about transnational corporations, we are talking about local small/medium enterprises that have created communities of fans that engage with the enterprise through social networks and in so doing share their experiences, provide feedback, provide virtually free advertising and constant sources of referrals.
All the business needs to do to perpetuate the success of the community is to engage in kind and respond with value.
But what are the ingredients that allow this to happen.
This is the beauty of the simplicity of the process.
These businesses :
1) Make it easy to connect with them.
2) Provide a service and customer experience that is compellingly shareable.
3) Respond to the interactions.
Whilst in LA PCE posed the question via twitter that asked financial services business to imagine that they provided an experience that was so good clients would "check in" while visiting their financial services professional. Take this a step further and imagine a service so good that the client would Instagram, Facebook, Tweet the experience "live" as it unfolded.
Crazy? No......rather a reality that leading businesses are creating.
1) Make it easy to connect
- provide and advertise that you have free wi-fi in your office especially in your waiting area
- in that space have QR codes or connection boards that invite your clients to connect via Twitter, Facebook, Yelp etc
- invite on that connection board clients to check in
- make sure you have active pages on these sites with great content
2) Provide a service and customer experience that is shareable
- name cards reserving a spot in the car park "welcome"
- great coffee
- kids play area
- magazines and articles in reception tailored to your clients specific interests (change them for each client coming in that day)
- take a leaf out of car sales : the photo and flowers of the proud new owners of an implemented statement of advice
Clients will share via social networks these experiences because you have made them feel special!!
3) Respond to the interaction
- "like" their check in
- respond with comments
- post their picture
Over all get social and nurture your client community.
From cafes, to doggy day care, from juice bars to blow wave bars, fitness centres and yes financial planners people in LA get social and share what is shareable.
It all starts with a compelling customer experience.
Friday, 2 August 2013
Is your financial services business PERFECT?
A really exciting day for PCE as we launch P.E.R.F.E.C.T, the 7 step process for transforming your business.
The PERFECT method is a way to positively transform your business and be truly a client centred successful business that delivers life changing advice to your clients, and changes your life and that of your staff for the better.
If you have been following our tweets you'll realise we can't count as we tweeted it as 5 steps.....doh!
So what is PERFECT?
P is all about planning. This involves defining what is is you are going to deliver, how you will do it and to whom. It is about structured activity right down to diary management.
E (the first one) is about execution. This is the delivery of the how. Your pitch now honed needs to be delivered so the focus here is on tools you are going to use to market and to communicate.
R is for responding. This is your communication piece. It involves social media, email and telephone and what language you will use. It is also about your service proposition.
F is for follow up. This is very much a technology piece and about the way and when you will follow up and service your clients. Industrialising your process is key.
E (the second one) is about empathy and the exhibition of empathy. How you develop your emotional intelligence is one thing but how you connect with clients is another. The tools and processes you use are critical. You will not, repeat will not succeed if you do not get this right.
C is for consulting. This is about feedback and implementing that feedback in a demonstrable way. How and when you ask for feedback will determine success.
And T is for teaching. This is your education piece. It is for you, your staff and clients. How you shape your education piece is key : it needs to be tailored to your target market and needs to be accessible, enactable, have process, have coaching and support and most of all be compelling.
So where to from here?
We at PCE are on the cusp of bringing you a complete PERFECT package for you to enact once you engage with PCE.
The PERFECT method is a way to positively transform your business and be truly a client centred successful business that delivers life changing advice to your clients, and changes your life and that of your staff for the better.
If you have been following our tweets you'll realise we can't count as we tweeted it as 5 steps.....doh!
So what is PERFECT?
P is all about planning. This involves defining what is is you are going to deliver, how you will do it and to whom. It is about structured activity right down to diary management.
E (the first one) is about execution. This is the delivery of the how. Your pitch now honed needs to be delivered so the focus here is on tools you are going to use to market and to communicate.
R is for responding. This is your communication piece. It involves social media, email and telephone and what language you will use. It is also about your service proposition.
F is for follow up. This is very much a technology piece and about the way and when you will follow up and service your clients. Industrialising your process is key.
E (the second one) is about empathy and the exhibition of empathy. How you develop your emotional intelligence is one thing but how you connect with clients is another. The tools and processes you use are critical. You will not, repeat will not succeed if you do not get this right.
C is for consulting. This is about feedback and implementing that feedback in a demonstrable way. How and when you ask for feedback will determine success.
And T is for teaching. This is your education piece. It is for you, your staff and clients. How you shape your education piece is key : it needs to be tailored to your target market and needs to be accessible, enactable, have process, have coaching and support and most of all be compelling.
So where to from here?
We at PCE are on the cusp of bringing you a complete PERFECT package for you to enact once you engage with PCE.
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Ideas for your 2013 business planning
So we've provided you the template for a calendar of events to input into your 2013 business planning.
There's even a short YouTube posting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbbQzW-flB4
Apologies for the angle we filmed that on!!!
But what are the events that you might consider?
Here's a few that we'll investigate individually for you over the following weeks but as a starter.
Ideas For 2013
1) Accountant / COI engagement : thank you event or kick start to new referral sources / or the year : take on a more social angle but highlighting the importance of the relationship and collaboration
2) Accountant / COI education session : use a business succession lawyer and educate on small business issues and case studies / add a claims case study : now you've got them thinking!
3) Client night: value add with speakers / topics that your top clients will find engaging : ask them to bring a friend : tie it into building their networks as well
4) Client communications : create an integrated communication campaign : incorporating all modes of communication: direct mail / flyers / social media : yes you might start listening via social networks : answer topical issues : create awareness : fulfil a need
5) Engage your trusted providers/suppliers for collaboration on client opportunity identification ie: work on files together and get the best outcome for your clients : that may not always be your number one provider so you have to trust whomever you collaborate with to give you honest assessments! Examples: look at specific subsets eg: SMSF and design ways to get more of these clients etc etc.
6) Use tele-underwriting and save up to 4 hours per application (get a day back a week!)
Look at group insurance opportunities in your client base
7) Look at adding a direct insurance offer on your website
8) Meet and spend time with your suppliers/product providers : do they run in house sessions where you can meet, engage and interact with your providers : do they have special events to engage : the more they know about your business the more creative suggestions and help you will / should get.......so share your 2013 vision and watch people line up to make it a reality for you.
We'll investigate each of these for you over the coming weeks.
There's even a short YouTube posting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbbQzW-flB4
Apologies for the angle we filmed that on!!!
But what are the events that you might consider?
Here's a few that we'll investigate individually for you over the following weeks but as a starter.
Ideas For 2013
1) Accountant / COI engagement : thank you event or kick start to new referral sources / or the year : take on a more social angle but highlighting the importance of the relationship and collaboration
2) Accountant / COI education session : use a business succession lawyer and educate on small business issues and case studies / add a claims case study : now you've got them thinking!
3) Client night: value add with speakers / topics that your top clients will find engaging : ask them to bring a friend : tie it into building their networks as well
4) Client communications : create an integrated communication campaign : incorporating all modes of communication: direct mail / flyers / social media : yes you might start listening via social networks : answer topical issues : create awareness : fulfil a need
5) Engage your trusted providers/suppliers for collaboration on client opportunity identification ie: work on files together and get the best outcome for your clients : that may not always be your number one provider so you have to trust whomever you collaborate with to give you honest assessments! Examples: look at specific subsets eg: SMSF and design ways to get more of these clients etc etc.
6) Use tele-underwriting and save up to 4 hours per application (get a day back a week!)
Look at group insurance opportunities in your client base
7) Look at adding a direct insurance offer on your website
8) Meet and spend time with your suppliers/product providers : do they run in house sessions where you can meet, engage and interact with your providers : do they have special events to engage : the more they know about your business the more creative suggestions and help you will / should get.......so share your 2013 vision and watch people line up to make it a reality for you.
We'll investigate each of these for you over the coming weeks.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
How to Sell Insurance For Children
Selling child trauma cover : an insurance option under a policy for a parent - that provides a payment should that child be diagnosed or suffer from a specific listed event must be a really hard thing to sell.
We have to believe that because we are told constantly by advisers that they find it a hard conversation to start with parents.
We have to believe that because when we look at the data : the number of policies that have child trauma attached is incredibly low : single digits in percentage terms.
Yet when we look at our own families surely we acknowledge that were anything to happen to our children we would as parents want to be there by their side.
We acknowledge that to be able to do that for however long their recovery takes will require financial adjustment.
We take out insurance on our children not to profit but to be able to fulfil the promise of parenthood - to be there for our children.
Why then is so little of it sold?
We have forgotten to share our values with our clients. And in doing so we have not connected to their values that are a mirror of ours. Of course they would want to be there for their children. It is the professional advisers job to facilitate that opportunity for them.
All that is required then is to share your values and beliefs and your action with a client.
An adviser dear to us, tells of how she sells child trauma insurance to every parent every time.
She tells them that if anything happened to her child she knows where she would rather be and she has arranged the method to allow that to happen.
Her clients acknowledge that choice as completely rational. They agree with it. They share that value and belief.
Why does this adviser do it? Because one day her daughter came home distraught that a school friend had been diagnosed with cancer. There was a physical and emotional battle about to start for that child and that family. There was also a financial battle.
For that reason this adviser tells her clients that she knows where she would want to be.
For that reason every recommendation includes child trauma. There is no need to go into micro detail about the policy.
The positioning is simply:
- tell the client what you have done for your own children and why
- they will agree with what you have done : sometimes with just a nod of agreement sometimes with an emphatic "oh yes, I'd want that too"
- then when you present your recommendation you simply say and I have included childrens trauma because I want you to be able to make the same choices I can make and so you can be there for your children too
At about $10 per $10,000 of cover, I do not know a parent who would opt out of covering their child for an appropriate level of cover at what amounts to essentially a cup of coffee a week per child.
We have to believe that because we are told constantly by advisers that they find it a hard conversation to start with parents.
We have to believe that because when we look at the data : the number of policies that have child trauma attached is incredibly low : single digits in percentage terms.
Yet when we look at our own families surely we acknowledge that were anything to happen to our children we would as parents want to be there by their side.
We acknowledge that to be able to do that for however long their recovery takes will require financial adjustment.
We take out insurance on our children not to profit but to be able to fulfil the promise of parenthood - to be there for our children.
Why then is so little of it sold?
We have forgotten to share our values with our clients. And in doing so we have not connected to their values that are a mirror of ours. Of course they would want to be there for their children. It is the professional advisers job to facilitate that opportunity for them.
All that is required then is to share your values and beliefs and your action with a client.
An adviser dear to us, tells of how she sells child trauma insurance to every parent every time.
She tells them that if anything happened to her child she knows where she would rather be and she has arranged the method to allow that to happen.
Her clients acknowledge that choice as completely rational. They agree with it. They share that value and belief.
Why does this adviser do it? Because one day her daughter came home distraught that a school friend had been diagnosed with cancer. There was a physical and emotional battle about to start for that child and that family. There was also a financial battle.
For that reason this adviser tells her clients that she knows where she would want to be.
For that reason every recommendation includes child trauma. There is no need to go into micro detail about the policy.
The positioning is simply:
- tell the client what you have done for your own children and why
- they will agree with what you have done : sometimes with just a nod of agreement sometimes with an emphatic "oh yes, I'd want that too"
- then when you present your recommendation you simply say and I have included childrens trauma because I want you to be able to make the same choices I can make and so you can be there for your children too
At about $10 per $10,000 of cover, I do not know a parent who would opt out of covering their child for an appropriate level of cover at what amounts to essentially a cup of coffee a week per child.
Friday, 2 November 2012
Believing in Unicorns - the power of purity of intent
The mythical unicorn. According to http://www.unicornleanmanufacturingchangemanagementservices.com/about-unicorns.htm
- unicorns are fierce yet good, a symbol of strength endurance and agility, perserverance, wisdom and playfulness, purity, love hope and majesty.
Further to find the unicorn again it is suggested we must unlearn old lessons, seek new paths, stop and listen to guidance and look deep within ourselves for the right answers.
For those in financial services, it is our role to guide our clients then to finding the unicorn meaning in their lives - to have our clients look at their journey, guide them along new paths to a desired destination and teach them to develop a vision that needs to come from deep within so that it satisfies their often unspoken needs.
Doing that ensures the connection between what a client really wants and what the design of the clients strategy to achieve needs to be. It provides our clients with the knowledge that empowers them to understand and recognise the effectiveness of the path that they choose.
Your advice in this process is then invaluable. Those advisers who connect with clients in this way are described by their clients in a way that transcends the advice piece itself. Clients of these advisers have the feeling that their advisers simply "get me" they understand them and their deep needs and motivations. These clients and the relationships they have with their advisers are ones of friendship, coach, guide, confidante.
This can't be delivered unless the adviser themselves embodies the unicorn spirit.
We talk now of "best interest" and what that means. More paperwork? A statement of intent? A promise? Best interest is a way of being.
Unicorn advisers are leaders who are fierce yet good, symbols of strength endurance and agility, perserverance, wisdom and playfulness, purity, love, hope and majesty.
These remarkable individuals have unlearnt old lessons, sought new paths, stopped and listened to guidance and have looked deep within themselves for the right answers.
They embody what it means to lead. They change people's lives for the better. And they reach far beyond their businesses into the wider community as they inspire and allow people to dream again.
- unicorns are fierce yet good, a symbol of strength endurance and agility, perserverance, wisdom and playfulness, purity, love hope and majesty.
Further to find the unicorn again it is suggested we must unlearn old lessons, seek new paths, stop and listen to guidance and look deep within ourselves for the right answers.
For those in financial services, it is our role to guide our clients then to finding the unicorn meaning in their lives - to have our clients look at their journey, guide them along new paths to a desired destination and teach them to develop a vision that needs to come from deep within so that it satisfies their often unspoken needs.
Doing that ensures the connection between what a client really wants and what the design of the clients strategy to achieve needs to be. It provides our clients with the knowledge that empowers them to understand and recognise the effectiveness of the path that they choose.
Your advice in this process is then invaluable. Those advisers who connect with clients in this way are described by their clients in a way that transcends the advice piece itself. Clients of these advisers have the feeling that their advisers simply "get me" they understand them and their deep needs and motivations. These clients and the relationships they have with their advisers are ones of friendship, coach, guide, confidante.
This can't be delivered unless the adviser themselves embodies the unicorn spirit.
We talk now of "best interest" and what that means. More paperwork? A statement of intent? A promise? Best interest is a way of being.
Unicorn advisers are leaders who are fierce yet good, symbols of strength endurance and agility, perserverance, wisdom and playfulness, purity, love, hope and majesty.
These remarkable individuals have unlearnt old lessons, sought new paths, stopped and listened to guidance and have looked deep within themselves for the right answers.
They embody what it means to lead. They change people's lives for the better. And they reach far beyond their businesses into the wider community as they inspire and allow people to dream again.
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
The Power Of Great Stories #afaau AFA 2012
The AFA conference of 2012 wrapped up last night with all the glitter of a diamond encrusted satellite and the suspense and thrills of a car chase reminiscent of Diamonds Are Forever and Quantam of Solace as the James Bond theme added to the 10th anniversary of a celebration of quality advice and community.
The conference was at its core a celebration of an industry that often maligned by the media has as its essence the best interests of Australians always at the forefront of its mind.
There was not a session where the benefits for the client was not considered. There was not a session where peers did not share ideas, where stories were told.
It was in fact a celebration of great client stories.
This was embodied by the stories of the 6 finalists. Olivia Maragna, Jenny Brown, Michelle Tate-Lovery, David Clark, Mark Rando, Dennis Jones....take another collective bow.
Olivia : an inspiring leader, pro-bono work, support of orphanages and active with her peers
Jenny: an education junkie, a communicator and educator herself, a mentor and connector
Michelle: an educator and implementer and passionate advocate for the industry
David: the IT genius with the creation of a client engagement process, active in community and charity work
Mark: a mentor, advocate, presenter and fund raiser
Dennis: a process driven client engagement guru, demystifying the financial planning process
What enables these leading advisers to engage a clients whole person planning is that these advisers are themselves examples of whole person development. Self aware, charismatic, empathetic and highly emotionally intelligent these advisers embody the characteristics of leaders : true leaders who are leaders not because they have had created that mantle for themselves but they are leaders because people want to follow them.
Further they have at their disposal and they tell with candour, honesty, belief and conviction their own stories.
As a client, as a staff member, as industry peers as businesses you can't help but reciprocate.
May we look to these leaders and develop our stories and tell them with the passion that these individuals embody. If we do that, then this industry has a bright future and what comes with that is a better Australia : one of rich community ideals and values and where people take an active role in living well and looking after their families through the guidance offered by the value of financial advice.
The conference was at its core a celebration of an industry that often maligned by the media has as its essence the best interests of Australians always at the forefront of its mind.
There was not a session where the benefits for the client was not considered. There was not a session where peers did not share ideas, where stories were told.
It was in fact a celebration of great client stories.
This was embodied by the stories of the 6 finalists. Olivia Maragna, Jenny Brown, Michelle Tate-Lovery, David Clark, Mark Rando, Dennis Jones....take another collective bow.
Olivia : an inspiring leader, pro-bono work, support of orphanages and active with her peers
Jenny: an education junkie, a communicator and educator herself, a mentor and connector
Michelle: an educator and implementer and passionate advocate for the industry
David: the IT genius with the creation of a client engagement process, active in community and charity work
Mark: a mentor, advocate, presenter and fund raiser
Dennis: a process driven client engagement guru, demystifying the financial planning process
What enables these leading advisers to engage a clients whole person planning is that these advisers are themselves examples of whole person development. Self aware, charismatic, empathetic and highly emotionally intelligent these advisers embody the characteristics of leaders : true leaders who are leaders not because they have had created that mantle for themselves but they are leaders because people want to follow them.
Further they have at their disposal and they tell with candour, honesty, belief and conviction their own stories.
As a client, as a staff member, as industry peers as businesses you can't help but reciprocate.
May we look to these leaders and develop our stories and tell them with the passion that these individuals embody. If we do that, then this industry has a bright future and what comes with that is a better Australia : one of rich community ideals and values and where people take an active role in living well and looking after their families through the guidance offered by the value of financial advice.
Friday, 26 October 2012
I love financial advisers - but my mum would only do business with less than 5% of you
What?? Surely we're not discounting the service proposition and value of 95% of the industry.
No, not at all, but we are just reporting back why some clients don't do business with some of your industry peers.
Here's some reasons why.
1) She couldn't find you.
You didn't stand out in any search she made via : yellow pages, local business directories, online or word of mouth in her social circle. Just what social circle is that? Could be anything. Don't make assumptions, but rather what social circle would you want to be a topic of conversation within?
2) After making an appointment, the collateral you sent her (did you send any) was generic.
3) When she looked on your website (do you have one) she did not feel engaged or that you demonstrated that your proposition was exactly what she needed.
4) When she arrived at your office it just did not feel right. What does your office say about you?
5) Upon meeting you she did not get an understanding of why you do what you do and how you do it.
6) You didn't explain the process you use in an articulate, believable and professional manner.
7) She didn't understand what happens next.
8) The information gathering process was such that she didn't feel you understood her or that she understood you.
9) After the meeting she felt she'd agreed to something which she didn't really comprehend.
10) You didn't follow up with anything to reassure her in between the time from the first appointment to the date set for the next.
11) When she came back for the second meeting, your front of house staff did not make her feel like they realised this potential start of a significant advice relationship was a big deal for her. In fact she felt they did not remember Her at all.
12) The statement of advice looked impressive. It was in a folder! Her name was in it like maybe 40 times. She's pretty sure she knows who she is. Do you know who she is or is her name in it a lot to remind you?
13) She did not understand the statement of advice.
14) She could not make the connection between your recommendations and what she wanted to achieve.
She told you she needed to think about it.
No, not at all, but we are just reporting back why some clients don't do business with some of your industry peers.
Here's some reasons why.
1) She couldn't find you.
You didn't stand out in any search she made via : yellow pages, local business directories, online or word of mouth in her social circle. Just what social circle is that? Could be anything. Don't make assumptions, but rather what social circle would you want to be a topic of conversation within?
2) After making an appointment, the collateral you sent her (did you send any) was generic.
3) When she looked on your website (do you have one) she did not feel engaged or that you demonstrated that your proposition was exactly what she needed.
4) When she arrived at your office it just did not feel right. What does your office say about you?
5) Upon meeting you she did not get an understanding of why you do what you do and how you do it.
6) You didn't explain the process you use in an articulate, believable and professional manner.
7) She didn't understand what happens next.
8) The information gathering process was such that she didn't feel you understood her or that she understood you.
9) After the meeting she felt she'd agreed to something which she didn't really comprehend.
10) You didn't follow up with anything to reassure her in between the time from the first appointment to the date set for the next.
11) When she came back for the second meeting, your front of house staff did not make her feel like they realised this potential start of a significant advice relationship was a big deal for her. In fact she felt they did not remember Her at all.
12) The statement of advice looked impressive. It was in a folder! Her name was in it like maybe 40 times. She's pretty sure she knows who she is. Do you know who she is or is her name in it a lot to remind you?
13) She did not understand the statement of advice.
14) She could not make the connection between your recommendations and what she wanted to achieve.
She told you she needed to think about it.
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Great Questions For Your Client Discovery Meeting
So recently we've written about initial client engagement and in particular how to engage clients with a difference even before you sit down with them.
We've also posted on YouTube at http://m.youtube.com/user/positiveclientengage
- a couple of videos about using mind maps with clients in the discovery process.
The key outcomes of course that we are looking for are:
- depth of knowledge of the clients circumstances that transcends pure numbers and data of the clients financial situation but leads you to truly understand the clients world
- which then allows you to become involved in that world and play your part
- that part is to assist the client live out what is important to them
If you can do that then that is true client engagement and service delivery. Clients will utilise your solutions and advice and pay for it and proudly refer you to their social circle because simply you have delivered with difference.
But to properly engage even using a mind map technique you need to be asking great questions.
Many people do this naturally - there is an innate and genuine curiosity that demonstrates respect and the understanding of another's point of view.
It's basic conversation. It's about the way you were brought up. It's about how you engaged your family around the dinner table. (do people do that anymore as a family??).
And therein lies the problem. Since 1992 as the internet began, we have started communicating differently.
There are some advice professionals who no nothing other than communicating via a portal rather than face to face.
So great conversations are not so natural today.
So what are the great questions?
It depends on you and if you have some of the ingredients of the above great listeners and communicators.
But essentially you need to be asking:
- what's the clients thought process around planning for their future
- what has that thought process brought up
- how do they feel about it
- how do they feel about areas of their life such as family, health, interests, hobbies, relationships, philanthropy, community, education, living circumstances, travel, over all well being, social circle, work,
- what's a life that is full look like to them
- what dreams are they missing out on
- what dreams are they living
- what dreams are they fearful of chasing
- what would they have missed out on if they don't take action
- how would they live if money was plentiful
- what would they change
- what if circumstances meant they needed to fast track plans for providing for their family
- have they done enough
- what does success look, feel, sound like
- how do you know when you're there
Great questions can not be forced or read out like a script. They need to evolve. It's a journey. Great questions are a great conversation. Great conversations start with a willingness to share and a great listener.
We've also posted on YouTube at http://m.youtube.com/user/positiveclientengage
- a couple of videos about using mind maps with clients in the discovery process.
The key outcomes of course that we are looking for are:
- depth of knowledge of the clients circumstances that transcends pure numbers and data of the clients financial situation but leads you to truly understand the clients world
- which then allows you to become involved in that world and play your part
- that part is to assist the client live out what is important to them
If you can do that then that is true client engagement and service delivery. Clients will utilise your solutions and advice and pay for it and proudly refer you to their social circle because simply you have delivered with difference.
But to properly engage even using a mind map technique you need to be asking great questions.
Many people do this naturally - there is an innate and genuine curiosity that demonstrates respect and the understanding of another's point of view.
It's basic conversation. It's about the way you were brought up. It's about how you engaged your family around the dinner table. (do people do that anymore as a family??).
And therein lies the problem. Since 1992 as the internet began, we have started communicating differently.
There are some advice professionals who no nothing other than communicating via a portal rather than face to face.
So great conversations are not so natural today.
So what are the great questions?
It depends on you and if you have some of the ingredients of the above great listeners and communicators.
But essentially you need to be asking:
- what's the clients thought process around planning for their future
- what has that thought process brought up
- how do they feel about it
- how do they feel about areas of their life such as family, health, interests, hobbies, relationships, philanthropy, community, education, living circumstances, travel, over all well being, social circle, work,
- what's a life that is full look like to them
- what dreams are they missing out on
- what dreams are they living
- what dreams are they fearful of chasing
- what would they have missed out on if they don't take action
- how would they live if money was plentiful
- what would they change
- what if circumstances meant they needed to fast track plans for providing for their family
- have they done enough
- what does success look, feel, sound like
- how do you know when you're there
Great questions can not be forced or read out like a script. They need to evolve. It's a journey. Great questions are a great conversation. Great conversations start with a willingness to share and a great listener.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
The Five Step Client Interview Process for Insurance and Financial Planning
So you have dazzled your prospective client with the customer experience they have just encountered when first entering your business. Now they are sitting across from you and the fun begins. What do the best businesses do to ensure what happens next: is fun, is differentiated, is highly engaging (for the client and the adviser) leads to 100% conversion from prospect to client and leads to obtaining client referrals at a rate of above 70%?
Essentially there are 5 things that these businesses do. They do them in sequence and as a part of a deliberate well thought out process. Further they advise their prospective clients sometimes well before the meeting itself that there is a defined process that they are going to take them through. Further these businesses have developed collateral be it corporate brochures or web site applications or information that defines what this process is.
The brilliance in what they are doing is first and foremost is that it is simple, second by doing this they tap into a vast array of positive client psychology techniques, third, because it is a defined process it can be taught to emerging advisers and front of house staff, fourth it can be articulated clearly and succinctly and best of all despite the simplicity the fifth point to note is that it is rare that a business works through all 5 elements and consequently it is highly differentiated.
The 5 step client interview process:
1) Engage your clients in the data collection process
This does not mean running laboriously through the fact find or similar data collection forms. This means a highly engaged genuinely curious inquisition into the clients world. This is best done using a formulaic method. Ideally visual, participative and a means to get the client talking about themselves. It's "going deep" with a client.
Best techniques and practitioners utilise mind map diagrams that go further than just assets and liabilities but cover much broader areas of a clients world.
How do you get clients to share that much information? Show them your mind map or family tree but the best practitioners start by outlining what it is that they have incorporated for themselves and then ask the prospect to reciprocate.
2) Ask great questions and set a benchmark for where the client is now and what the possibilities may be.
These are questions about lifestyle and other aspects that are non financial. It's about where else they have obtained advice and what was their experience. It's about hard questions about how they would live their life if time was limited or if money was no object.
Great questions take practice and take time to construct. PCE has created 4 questionnaires available via PCE for those interested. (yes website still under construction)
Further PCE have a benchmark tool to assess where a client sits now and where they will be after your advice.
3) Describe your methodology, for insurance sales, for choosing the right levels of cover. There are plenty of applications that work through clients scenarios, even i pad applications provided by life risk houses, and worksheets that PCE have developed. What's important is to highlight that there is a method and that all your clients go through this process and have positive results as a consequence : this is where the power of story telling about your clients comes into its own. And story telling is a critical element of step 3.
4) Use visuals to explain your suggested course of action. Be it words on a slide. A diagram about how it all fits together, what you need to do here is imprint in a clients mind the solidity of your solution. Flow charts work very well and if you can for example explain how packing insurance options works and will work for the client sitting in front of you by a visual method what stays with the client is not so much the product names and intracacies but rather that you have constructed (or will construct) something cohesive, relevant and understandable for them.
5) Describe the next steps : what is the application process / when will your recommendations be ready / what is the underwriting process and in doing so define the outcome that they will have which should be in the clients words and aligned to the objective that they want to achieve or that you have identified is a necessary component of their well being. Further provide them with an engagement pack that reassures them that they have made the right decision in choosing you. This will certainly have relevance when natural buyers remorse sets in. By having managed the psychology of the sale process during the appointment you have mitigated the natural thought process of the client and reassured them that what they experienced in your waiting room was genuine and that in a very short space of time the feeling that you understand them and are genuinely concerned about their well being. The WHY you are in business is powerful here. Make sure you tell them at this point why it is you do what you do.
Essentially there are 5 things that these businesses do. They do them in sequence and as a part of a deliberate well thought out process. Further they advise their prospective clients sometimes well before the meeting itself that there is a defined process that they are going to take them through. Further these businesses have developed collateral be it corporate brochures or web site applications or information that defines what this process is.
The brilliance in what they are doing is first and foremost is that it is simple, second by doing this they tap into a vast array of positive client psychology techniques, third, because it is a defined process it can be taught to emerging advisers and front of house staff, fourth it can be articulated clearly and succinctly and best of all despite the simplicity the fifth point to note is that it is rare that a business works through all 5 elements and consequently it is highly differentiated.
The 5 step client interview process:
1) Engage your clients in the data collection process
This does not mean running laboriously through the fact find or similar data collection forms. This means a highly engaged genuinely curious inquisition into the clients world. This is best done using a formulaic method. Ideally visual, participative and a means to get the client talking about themselves. It's "going deep" with a client.
Best techniques and practitioners utilise mind map diagrams that go further than just assets and liabilities but cover much broader areas of a clients world.
How do you get clients to share that much information? Show them your mind map or family tree but the best practitioners start by outlining what it is that they have incorporated for themselves and then ask the prospect to reciprocate.
2) Ask great questions and set a benchmark for where the client is now and what the possibilities may be.
These are questions about lifestyle and other aspects that are non financial. It's about where else they have obtained advice and what was their experience. It's about hard questions about how they would live their life if time was limited or if money was no object.
Great questions take practice and take time to construct. PCE has created 4 questionnaires available via PCE for those interested. (yes website still under construction)
Further PCE have a benchmark tool to assess where a client sits now and where they will be after your advice.
3) Describe your methodology, for insurance sales, for choosing the right levels of cover. There are plenty of applications that work through clients scenarios, even i pad applications provided by life risk houses, and worksheets that PCE have developed. What's important is to highlight that there is a method and that all your clients go through this process and have positive results as a consequence : this is where the power of story telling about your clients comes into its own. And story telling is a critical element of step 3.
4) Use visuals to explain your suggested course of action. Be it words on a slide. A diagram about how it all fits together, what you need to do here is imprint in a clients mind the solidity of your solution. Flow charts work very well and if you can for example explain how packing insurance options works and will work for the client sitting in front of you by a visual method what stays with the client is not so much the product names and intracacies but rather that you have constructed (or will construct) something cohesive, relevant and understandable for them.
5) Describe the next steps : what is the application process / when will your recommendations be ready / what is the underwriting process and in doing so define the outcome that they will have which should be in the clients words and aligned to the objective that they want to achieve or that you have identified is a necessary component of their well being. Further provide them with an engagement pack that reassures them that they have made the right decision in choosing you. This will certainly have relevance when natural buyers remorse sets in. By having managed the psychology of the sale process during the appointment you have mitigated the natural thought process of the client and reassured them that what they experienced in your waiting room was genuine and that in a very short space of time the feeling that you understand them and are genuinely concerned about their well being. The WHY you are in business is powerful here. Make sure you tell them at this point why it is you do what you do.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Five Ways to Engage Clients Before They Sit Down In The Office
What do great businesses do to engage and educate clients before they have actually started the client discovery meeting?
They have at their disposal waiting room excellence.
In other words the client experience begins as the client enters the business premises. And by design rather than default these great businesses tap into client behaviour and emotion to educate and inform before the formal interview has even commenced.
How?
Follow these five steps and start your transformation.
Create a welcoming environment.
Like the PCE Assurance Letters, the waiting room environment is all about confirming to the client that they have made the right choice. This means that it needs to speak to the client needs that are in play. If you are pitching to senior executive clients a waiting room needs to evoke the environment they are accustomed to. The details right down to the magazine selection needs to be appropriate. If pitching to families a waiting room that is child friendly is a winner.
Your pitch to your prospective client that you understand them, starts in the waiting room. Create an environment that loud and clear announces that you know your market.
Have great front of house staff that can engage your clients.
This works because you can find out vital information about a clients decision making internal influences such as ...attitude, motivation, how they learn (do they watch the video screens, read the magazine, look at pictures in a brochure, read your business collateral?). Recently PCE were strongly engaged in two adviser waiting rooms. Once by a dynamic receptionist who was also studying law. PCE were quite put on their heels and certainly discovered there were some issues over and above what PCE were there to discuss that it was suddenly illuminated that this particular business could assist with. The second occasion PCE was struck by the smiles, the welcome, the conversation of two front of house staff.
Start educating and leading your clients.
Create and use focused and targeted collateral be it brochures, case studies, video that provides information about your business and what it is you do and why.
Importantly what is your process and what sort of clients have been through your process and succeeded. There are many ways to do this. Video, flow charts, client storyboards. What you are doing here is creating credibility that positive results happen for people who work with you.
Demonstrate the value you provide.
With the pressure you face from an ever increasing Competitive environment, differentiating your offer has never been as vital as it is now. To win you need to demonstrate that your offer transcends what else in out there. Easily done. Simply create a map/ a process/ a visual of all the things you do for clients and how broad your network is, in a way that clearly identifies that you can provide and facilitate a multi faceted solution for your clients and that you are the vital hub of their world.
Let them bond with you before they meet you.
How? Let them know you and who you are and who are the clients you've helped. You, your staff, your clients should be on display. This means visuals, photos, a library and other items that can make an emotional connection with your clients. What community contribution do you make? What about charity? What do you stand for and what is valued in your world that you are willing to share? By opening yourself up and displaying your values you will have as a result like attracting like and people bonding with you or at the worst people understanding and respecting your values and giving you the opportunity to reciprocate.
Waiting rooms.......not just for waiting.
They have at their disposal waiting room excellence.
In other words the client experience begins as the client enters the business premises. And by design rather than default these great businesses tap into client behaviour and emotion to educate and inform before the formal interview has even commenced.
How?
Follow these five steps and start your transformation.
Create a welcoming environment.
Like the PCE Assurance Letters, the waiting room environment is all about confirming to the client that they have made the right choice. This means that it needs to speak to the client needs that are in play. If you are pitching to senior executive clients a waiting room needs to evoke the environment they are accustomed to. The details right down to the magazine selection needs to be appropriate. If pitching to families a waiting room that is child friendly is a winner.
Your pitch to your prospective client that you understand them, starts in the waiting room. Create an environment that loud and clear announces that you know your market.
Have great front of house staff that can engage your clients.
This works because you can find out vital information about a clients decision making internal influences such as ...attitude, motivation, how they learn (do they watch the video screens, read the magazine, look at pictures in a brochure, read your business collateral?). Recently PCE were strongly engaged in two adviser waiting rooms. Once by a dynamic receptionist who was also studying law. PCE were quite put on their heels and certainly discovered there were some issues over and above what PCE were there to discuss that it was suddenly illuminated that this particular business could assist with. The second occasion PCE was struck by the smiles, the welcome, the conversation of two front of house staff.
Start educating and leading your clients.
Create and use focused and targeted collateral be it brochures, case studies, video that provides information about your business and what it is you do and why.
Importantly what is your process and what sort of clients have been through your process and succeeded. There are many ways to do this. Video, flow charts, client storyboards. What you are doing here is creating credibility that positive results happen for people who work with you.
Demonstrate the value you provide.
With the pressure you face from an ever increasing Competitive environment, differentiating your offer has never been as vital as it is now. To win you need to demonstrate that your offer transcends what else in out there. Easily done. Simply create a map/ a process/ a visual of all the things you do for clients and how broad your network is, in a way that clearly identifies that you can provide and facilitate a multi faceted solution for your clients and that you are the vital hub of their world.
Let them bond with you before they meet you.
How? Let them know you and who you are and who are the clients you've helped. You, your staff, your clients should be on display. This means visuals, photos, a library and other items that can make an emotional connection with your clients. What community contribution do you make? What about charity? What do you stand for and what is valued in your world that you are willing to share? By opening yourself up and displaying your values you will have as a result like attracting like and people bonding with you or at the worst people understanding and respecting your values and giving you the opportunity to reciprocate.
Waiting rooms.......not just for waiting.
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
How our clients brains stop them making rational decisions
So you've written a great plan, an insurance strategy that is relevant, appropriate and desperately needed by your prospect and yet.....the response is...I'm not sure, I need to think about it.
Maslow offers us some great guidance on motivation and drive.
We at PCE would love to accept that positive view of people that analogy that cream rises to the top that people really do try to be the best that they can be.
For us the one of the greatest examples of Maslow's hierarchy working is Chris Gardner;think Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happyness.
Chris's journey and struggle to be the best he could be was Maslow personified.
But Maslow does not fit when you think of a client walking away from a sound financial plan. Maslow does not explain why someone who has it all still wants more. Maslow can't explain why your COI having engaged you does not continue to provide referrals. Maslow does not explain why people make decisions that appear and probably are totally irrational.
How you understand what is going on in someone's mind and why they make the decisions they do is really the key to positive client engagement.
It's what this website/blog is all about. It's about being the best you can be and being self aware enough that you can engage clients with honesty and genuine curiosity and sincerity.
It's about emotional intelligence and it's application.
As Golemon writes in his groundbreaking work, in 1995, it's about knowing yourself, managing yours and your clients emotions, motivation and understanding motivation, recognising emotions and motivations in your clients, building relationships, maintaining relationships.
People's ability to do this differs and PCE is about developing tools to assist.
But heres the big tip. Ready?
If you want a client to go through a process with you.......do it yourself first.
Go through the PDS and full out your own application. Do a fact find on yourself. Mind map your world on a single page. Get underwritten. Walk through your business with your clients eyes. How do you feel about that policy loading, about some of the personal questions on the application....did you answer the honestly ...really?
What about that fact find process.....how'd it feel.....fake, false, like you were a number.
Draw your family tree......
Examine the way you shop. The last holiday you went on ....did you use a travel agent ...or did you go online......do you value advice when it's your business but diminish the value of advice when it's someone's elses business.
Do you walk the talk?
Do you believe in what you sell? Can you state why you do what you do? Do you know who it is that you help, what problems they have and what you do about it and what your clients feel about what it is that you do?
Our brains have evolved from a brain stem that kept us alive and to this day still regulates all that is automatic.
The other systems that evolved have at their core an emotional centre, the limbic system that receives all the information that bombards us each day and attaches emotional markers to it before our pre frontal cortex makes that decision that we hope is rational but that is driven by experience and acquired knowledge.
What is key here is the emotions that we assign to things, that drive us that shut down rationale thought when the feelings are strong enough.
So how well do you engage your clients on an emotional level? Really? A fact find? What are you doing in your business to really connect with clients?
If you can answer and articulate and demonstrate that then you are well ahead of the curve. And on the way to positive client engagement.
Maslow offers us some great guidance on motivation and drive.
We at PCE would love to accept that positive view of people that analogy that cream rises to the top that people really do try to be the best that they can be.
For us the one of the greatest examples of Maslow's hierarchy working is Chris Gardner;think Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happyness.
Chris's journey and struggle to be the best he could be was Maslow personified.
But Maslow does not fit when you think of a client walking away from a sound financial plan. Maslow does not explain why someone who has it all still wants more. Maslow can't explain why your COI having engaged you does not continue to provide referrals. Maslow does not explain why people make decisions that appear and probably are totally irrational.
How you understand what is going on in someone's mind and why they make the decisions they do is really the key to positive client engagement.
It's what this website/blog is all about. It's about being the best you can be and being self aware enough that you can engage clients with honesty and genuine curiosity and sincerity.
It's about emotional intelligence and it's application.
As Golemon writes in his groundbreaking work, in 1995, it's about knowing yourself, managing yours and your clients emotions, motivation and understanding motivation, recognising emotions and motivations in your clients, building relationships, maintaining relationships.
People's ability to do this differs and PCE is about developing tools to assist.
But heres the big tip. Ready?
If you want a client to go through a process with you.......do it yourself first.
Go through the PDS and full out your own application. Do a fact find on yourself. Mind map your world on a single page. Get underwritten. Walk through your business with your clients eyes. How do you feel about that policy loading, about some of the personal questions on the application....did you answer the honestly ...really?
What about that fact find process.....how'd it feel.....fake, false, like you were a number.
Draw your family tree......
Examine the way you shop. The last holiday you went on ....did you use a travel agent ...or did you go online......do you value advice when it's your business but diminish the value of advice when it's someone's elses business.
Do you walk the talk?
Do you believe in what you sell? Can you state why you do what you do? Do you know who it is that you help, what problems they have and what you do about it and what your clients feel about what it is that you do?
Our brains have evolved from a brain stem that kept us alive and to this day still regulates all that is automatic.
The other systems that evolved have at their core an emotional centre, the limbic system that receives all the information that bombards us each day and attaches emotional markers to it before our pre frontal cortex makes that decision that we hope is rational but that is driven by experience and acquired knowledge.
What is key here is the emotions that we assign to things, that drive us that shut down rationale thought when the feelings are strong enough.
So how well do you engage your clients on an emotional level? Really? A fact find? What are you doing in your business to really connect with clients?
If you can answer and articulate and demonstrate that then you are well ahead of the curve. And on the way to positive client engagement.
Friday, 7 September 2012
Social Media For Financial Services - What You Need To Know
With the Financial Standard launching a scholarship to support financial advisers who are taking the lead in social media, http://www.financialstandard.com.au/smileys
PCE thought it worthwhile to look at some of the aspects of success in social media community building.
As fans of Gossieuax and Moran and others such as Iggy Pintado, looking at their research and writings makes sense for any one grappling with how and what they should be doing to engage clients via social media.
1) People trust people in their tribe.
As humans we have simply not evolved to engage with businesses who deliver to us content embedded with jargon and that is positioned to us in a way that portrays why dealing with said businesses is a good choice for us. What really matters are stories shared with us around the campfire. In other words we look to people we know and we trust to give us green light signals about our purchasing options and choices.
2) Building relationships is predicated and successful only when there is reciprocity.
A bond between people or indeed between people and a corporation is only successful if the bond is mutual which means there needs to be some give and take. In a social media sense this means that in order to engage a community you as the business need to bring something of value to the conversation / to the community.
3) People want to hear, read, see, experience what other people say about you, your services, your service encounters that you deliver.
It however is more than the what you do. People want to know and understand the why. Why is it that others have chosen to work with you. Testimonials are not enough. True engagement that is required is the power of the open forum. In essence an ongoing and virtual conversation about why you do what you do.
4)Forget traditional segmenting.
The financial planning business who talks to us about A,B,C and D segmenting based on revenue should forget about social media marketing.
What needs to occur is a mind shift in your business so that you explore and think about your clients in terms of the communities or using Gossieaux and Morans language the tribes you have in your client base and which tribes within your client base and beyond you would like to engage with.
5) Become truly customer focussed.
This means you need to assess your client service encounters and reshape them so that It speaks to the interests of your core identified communities.
6) To do that you need to listen.
Where is the community that your business can engage with value congregating? What interests do they have? What forums do they engage in? What are they saying?
7) Throw out the rule book.
Easier said than done. This means getting the people in your business to allocate time, budget and resources to placing emphasis on social media strategies. This requires a single dedicated and senior person in you business (senior in regard to hierarchy not necessarily age!) responsible for the strategy. It requires time to spend in forums to respond in a consistent customer focussed manner with alignment to the goal of the business that is importantly something the business can deliver on.
But let's make it clear that you can't do any of the above without the business knowing who it is they want to deal with, what problems those people and people in that community have, what it is that the business does for those people and the results that are provided. This is essentially your raison d'être.
Without that you will sadly get lost in the socia media clouds.
PCE thought it worthwhile to look at some of the aspects of success in social media community building.
As fans of Gossieuax and Moran and others such as Iggy Pintado, looking at their research and writings makes sense for any one grappling with how and what they should be doing to engage clients via social media.
1) People trust people in their tribe.
As humans we have simply not evolved to engage with businesses who deliver to us content embedded with jargon and that is positioned to us in a way that portrays why dealing with said businesses is a good choice for us. What really matters are stories shared with us around the campfire. In other words we look to people we know and we trust to give us green light signals about our purchasing options and choices.
2) Building relationships is predicated and successful only when there is reciprocity.
A bond between people or indeed between people and a corporation is only successful if the bond is mutual which means there needs to be some give and take. In a social media sense this means that in order to engage a community you as the business need to bring something of value to the conversation / to the community.
3) People want to hear, read, see, experience what other people say about you, your services, your service encounters that you deliver.
It however is more than the what you do. People want to know and understand the why. Why is it that others have chosen to work with you. Testimonials are not enough. True engagement that is required is the power of the open forum. In essence an ongoing and virtual conversation about why you do what you do.
4)Forget traditional segmenting.
The financial planning business who talks to us about A,B,C and D segmenting based on revenue should forget about social media marketing.
What needs to occur is a mind shift in your business so that you explore and think about your clients in terms of the communities or using Gossieaux and Morans language the tribes you have in your client base and which tribes within your client base and beyond you would like to engage with.
5) Become truly customer focussed.
This means you need to assess your client service encounters and reshape them so that It speaks to the interests of your core identified communities.
6) To do that you need to listen.
Where is the community that your business can engage with value congregating? What interests do they have? What forums do they engage in? What are they saying?
7) Throw out the rule book.
Easier said than done. This means getting the people in your business to allocate time, budget and resources to placing emphasis on social media strategies. This requires a single dedicated and senior person in you business (senior in regard to hierarchy not necessarily age!) responsible for the strategy. It requires time to spend in forums to respond in a consistent customer focussed manner with alignment to the goal of the business that is importantly something the business can deliver on.
But let's make it clear that you can't do any of the above without the business knowing who it is they want to deal with, what problems those people and people in that community have, what it is that the business does for those people and the results that are provided. This is essentially your raison d'être.
Without that you will sadly get lost in the socia media clouds.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Why marketing campaigns don't work and what to do about it
What response rate are you getting from your financial services / life insurance mail out campaigns?
Be it letters, perhaps flyers, brochures, snazzy postcards with eye catching imagery - what is the success rate you get from either your existing client base or from leads from your centre of influence or even better your centre of influences client base that you are strategically attempting to tap into?
30% success?!!! 20%!? Not less than 15%? Less than 10? Don't tell me less than 5?
In PCEs experience businesses who use generic marketing material, perhaps sourced of he shelf from their product providers, experience a response rate of less than 5%. And this response rate is only the response of calls into the business or requests for more information. The actual real response rate and that is the conversion amounts to less than 2.5% of the original marketing sample.
At this response rate is it little wonder that most small business and even large financial planning firm baulk at the offer from product providers to run a marketing campaign. And the BDM with little else in their kit bag finds it difficult to continue the conversation.
What's wrong here is the misalignment of the marketing material and the client base. The generic messages in the content do not match the need of the prospects.
The analysis of the client base has just simply not been done.
The problem with this equation is the lack of knowledge about what to do about it.
The key is in the message and whether the message is framed to connect with the prospect in a certain way. Advocates of 4 drive theory understand that the curiosity of human beings is heightened enough to cause investigation of a new concept when the gap between the current understanding of an issue and the new information is of a medium variance.
That causes the prospect to drive towards finding more.
In other words we are talking about upwards of 30% response rates.
But most marketing material utilised either does one of two things : one : it does not identify the gap to be large enough and consequently there is no impetus for change OR two: the statement of the issue to be considered is so different to the prospects current situation or made to be so complex that it causes a fear reaction or a complete rejection on either theses grounds or on complexity.
What then is the answer?
It's all about:
- better data mining of the client bases
- smaller subsets
- tailored messages
- better information about the clients that enable the messages to be shaped accordingly
- more creativity with then message
- ultimately closing the gap between the clients current situation and the proposed solution to a point where it is large enough to drive curiosity and small enough for it to appear achievable
For now, think about the messages and material you send to your clients and prospects in your marketing campaigns.
Is it generic of the shelf material that you have sent to a broad set of clients and prospects?
If so .......don't expect a return on your postage spend.
If you want great results....contact PCE.
Be it letters, perhaps flyers, brochures, snazzy postcards with eye catching imagery - what is the success rate you get from either your existing client base or from leads from your centre of influence or even better your centre of influences client base that you are strategically attempting to tap into?
30% success?!!! 20%!? Not less than 15%? Less than 10? Don't tell me less than 5?
In PCEs experience businesses who use generic marketing material, perhaps sourced of he shelf from their product providers, experience a response rate of less than 5%. And this response rate is only the response of calls into the business or requests for more information. The actual real response rate and that is the conversion amounts to less than 2.5% of the original marketing sample.
At this response rate is it little wonder that most small business and even large financial planning firm baulk at the offer from product providers to run a marketing campaign. And the BDM with little else in their kit bag finds it difficult to continue the conversation.
What's wrong here is the misalignment of the marketing material and the client base. The generic messages in the content do not match the need of the prospects.
The analysis of the client base has just simply not been done.
The problem with this equation is the lack of knowledge about what to do about it.
The key is in the message and whether the message is framed to connect with the prospect in a certain way. Advocates of 4 drive theory understand that the curiosity of human beings is heightened enough to cause investigation of a new concept when the gap between the current understanding of an issue and the new information is of a medium variance.
That causes the prospect to drive towards finding more.
In other words we are talking about upwards of 30% response rates.
But most marketing material utilised either does one of two things : one : it does not identify the gap to be large enough and consequently there is no impetus for change OR two: the statement of the issue to be considered is so different to the prospects current situation or made to be so complex that it causes a fear reaction or a complete rejection on either theses grounds or on complexity.
What then is the answer?
It's all about:
- better data mining of the client bases
- smaller subsets
- tailored messages
- better information about the clients that enable the messages to be shaped accordingly
- more creativity with then message
- ultimately closing the gap between the clients current situation and the proposed solution to a point where it is large enough to drive curiosity and small enough for it to appear achievable
For now, think about the messages and material you send to your clients and prospects in your marketing campaigns.
Is it generic of the shelf material that you have sent to a broad set of clients and prospects?
If so .......don't expect a return on your postage spend.
If you want great results....contact PCE.
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Doing the Placido Domingo - The things you can't take back : why first impressions count
I played chess with my son tonight. He's just learning so I let him get away with things. He makes a move, I say "really....you sure about that....take a moment...look around ...what might happen?". He stops, he thinks, he sees the potential outcomes and he says "oh I take it back, I take it back". And of course I let him. He rethinks and makes another, better move.
If only life was like that. If we got to see and live out the consequences of our actions but then be able to press the rewind button and "take it back" would we make better decisions? Would our learning be augmented?
Translating this into the world of financial services, our clients experience us making that first move. That move stays with them and it is something that we can't take back.
Sometimes that first move takes placed before we have even met our clients. The first move is they way the receptionist answered the phone when they first made their inquiry.
The first move is the look of our website, the information pack that arrives in the mail, the look of the carpark, the front door, the waiting area, the smile at the front desk, the coffee, the ornaments, the client testimonial book, the photos, the awards, the uniform, the music playing or not, the channel on the TV, the magazines in the stand, the flowers be they artificial or real.
It's the first handshake, the first words we utter.
What PCE are talking about here is because you do not get a second chance at a first impression then preparation matters. When Paul Keating in his address to the Canberra press gallery on 7 December 1990, talked about doing the Placido Domingo, his message was widely misconstrued and misquoted.
In paying tribute to Chris Higgins, Prime Minister Keating spoke about those people who when really serious about what it is that they are doing then they truly are a participant.
And to be a participant you need to master what it is that you do and be a performer. Each first impression is that opportunity to be on stage and shine knowing that because you can't "take it back" that you don't get second chances that you get up on stage prepared, polished, with experience with practice and with belief.
It is PCE's belief that there are unfortunately in this industry and many other service industries a few too many as Mr Keating pointed out "voyeurs".
For financial services this extends from financial planners, insurance agents, BDMs, executives and underwriters.
People who daily go through the motions. Who never replay back the moves, the decisions they have made, the way they have engaged with people and realise that they could have done it better and that yes indeed there is room for growth and improvement.
These people damage relationships irreparably and damage brands and the most important brand they damage is their own.
Go back to that chess board, have a look at the moves you've made. Reset the board. Try again, think ahead, practice, practice excellence, look at things from another's perspective and change those first moves into ones that are lasting positive impressions that build brands, build relationships and in this industry change lives.
If only life was like that. If we got to see and live out the consequences of our actions but then be able to press the rewind button and "take it back" would we make better decisions? Would our learning be augmented?
Translating this into the world of financial services, our clients experience us making that first move. That move stays with them and it is something that we can't take back.
Sometimes that first move takes placed before we have even met our clients. The first move is they way the receptionist answered the phone when they first made their inquiry.
The first move is the look of our website, the information pack that arrives in the mail, the look of the carpark, the front door, the waiting area, the smile at the front desk, the coffee, the ornaments, the client testimonial book, the photos, the awards, the uniform, the music playing or not, the channel on the TV, the magazines in the stand, the flowers be they artificial or real.
It's the first handshake, the first words we utter.
What PCE are talking about here is because you do not get a second chance at a first impression then preparation matters. When Paul Keating in his address to the Canberra press gallery on 7 December 1990, talked about doing the Placido Domingo, his message was widely misconstrued and misquoted.
In paying tribute to Chris Higgins, Prime Minister Keating spoke about those people who when really serious about what it is that they are doing then they truly are a participant.
And to be a participant you need to master what it is that you do and be a performer. Each first impression is that opportunity to be on stage and shine knowing that because you can't "take it back" that you don't get second chances that you get up on stage prepared, polished, with experience with practice and with belief.
It is PCE's belief that there are unfortunately in this industry and many other service industries a few too many as Mr Keating pointed out "voyeurs".
For financial services this extends from financial planners, insurance agents, BDMs, executives and underwriters.
People who daily go through the motions. Who never replay back the moves, the decisions they have made, the way they have engaged with people and realise that they could have done it better and that yes indeed there is room for growth and improvement.
These people damage relationships irreparably and damage brands and the most important brand they damage is their own.
Go back to that chess board, have a look at the moves you've made. Reset the board. Try again, think ahead, practice, practice excellence, look at things from another's perspective and change those first moves into ones that are lasting positive impressions that build brands, build relationships and in this industry change lives.
Monday, 16 July 2012
Creating creative sales strategies
Fun Fridays! The day when your prep/grade one children get to run a muck dressing up and acting and having free run of the facilties and using every aspect of energy enthusiasm and spirit possible.
The art of learning in this environment delivers an experience that allows self discovery and importantly the ability to look at things from another persons point of view. Play acting or taking a part requiring one to step out of themselves comes easily to these children but eludes us adults restricted by the conventions of our workplace compared to the uninhibited playground of Fun Friday.
So the solution : create the fun Friday environment in your workplace.
First step in this is to recognise the strengths of the individual's in your team and then importantly recognise and document the valid learning experience required by each team member.
The exercises you need to then employ draw on De Bono and Gardener's multiple intelligences. This is where you need help and a professional to execute the programme.
The first step though starts with you and your willingness to take yourself and your team on a journey of discovery and have fun doing so. What you will find is new skills and a new way of looking at things with your clients your staff you and your business the beneficiaries as you further differentiate your client engagement.
The art of learning in this environment delivers an experience that allows self discovery and importantly the ability to look at things from another persons point of view. Play acting or taking a part requiring one to step out of themselves comes easily to these children but eludes us adults restricted by the conventions of our workplace compared to the uninhibited playground of Fun Friday.
So the solution : create the fun Friday environment in your workplace.
First step in this is to recognise the strengths of the individual's in your team and then importantly recognise and document the valid learning experience required by each team member.
The exercises you need to then employ draw on De Bono and Gardener's multiple intelligences. This is where you need help and a professional to execute the programme.
The first step though starts with you and your willingness to take yourself and your team on a journey of discovery and have fun doing so. What you will find is new skills and a new way of looking at things with your clients your staff you and your business the beneficiaries as you further differentiate your client engagement.
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