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.
Showing posts with label Top Sales Results. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Top Sales Results. Show all posts
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Closing Sales Questions That Matter - Managing Client Sales Psychology
It's time now to take your closing skills to the next level.
You can only use the techniques we'll talk about today in engaging your clients in the sales process to provide fantastic client outcomes if you have successfully and expertly identified:
- the areas of the clients financial and insurance solution that are lacking, and these have been clearly identified to the client and importantly to the referral source that ideally these clients have come from due to the success of the use of the wealth management index questions (as dicussed in our early posts)
AND
- you have engaged the client on a psycho-emotional level and discovered invaluable information about how they feel about specific areas of their lives, how they rate those aspects now and what they would like to see in the future around those specific areas
AND
- you have explored what success looks, feels, sounds like to the client and what are the regrets the client would have should time escape them and they do not fulfil their dreams
By doing this you would have positively engaged your clients in a manner and depth that few sales professionals in financial services do.
You would have clearly differentiated yourself from competitors and you would have developed an incredible level of rapport as a consequence of taking the time to understand your clients values and showing respect towards those values.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR PROSPECT / CLIENT WILL BUY FROM YOU.
You now need to make a great attempt at pre-closing.
After you have followed all the above you have earned the right to ask questions about the clients final decision making process.
The range of questions you need to ask will cover:
- the types of financial and insurance decisions they have made in the past
- how and from whom that advice was delivered
- the experience the recollect in the delivery of that advice - their perception
- what stage they are at in the buying process
- what stops them making decisions
- who do they involve in the buying process decision - which voices do they listen to including the ones in their head
- what they expect from you
All of this combined with what you have learnt, from using the techniques we've discussed previously, about how they process information, will enable you to make the pitch of your life and win the deal.
And if you don't view every client presentation of the solution that you have invested so much time, education, professionalism and emotion is as the pitch of your life......the client/prospective client will know that.
After all what you do on a daily basis is make the lives of your clients better ....that's worth getting passionate about.
Follow Positive Client Engagement over the next few months and we'll show you how to deliver the best pitches possible.
Till next time
You can only use the techniques we'll talk about today in engaging your clients in the sales process to provide fantastic client outcomes if you have successfully and expertly identified:
- the areas of the clients financial and insurance solution that are lacking, and these have been clearly identified to the client and importantly to the referral source that ideally these clients have come from due to the success of the use of the wealth management index questions (as dicussed in our early posts)
AND
- you have engaged the client on a psycho-emotional level and discovered invaluable information about how they feel about specific areas of their lives, how they rate those aspects now and what they would like to see in the future around those specific areas
AND
- you have explored what success looks, feels, sounds like to the client and what are the regrets the client would have should time escape them and they do not fulfil their dreams
By doing this you would have positively engaged your clients in a manner and depth that few sales professionals in financial services do.
You would have clearly differentiated yourself from competitors and you would have developed an incredible level of rapport as a consequence of taking the time to understand your clients values and showing respect towards those values.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR PROSPECT / CLIENT WILL BUY FROM YOU.
You now need to make a great attempt at pre-closing.
After you have followed all the above you have earned the right to ask questions about the clients final decision making process.
The range of questions you need to ask will cover:
- the types of financial and insurance decisions they have made in the past
- how and from whom that advice was delivered
- the experience the recollect in the delivery of that advice - their perception
- what stage they are at in the buying process
- what stops them making decisions
- who do they involve in the buying process decision - which voices do they listen to including the ones in their head
- what they expect from you
All of this combined with what you have learnt, from using the techniques we've discussed previously, about how they process information, will enable you to make the pitch of your life and win the deal.
And if you don't view every client presentation of the solution that you have invested so much time, education, professionalism and emotion is as the pitch of your life......the client/prospective client will know that.
After all what you do on a daily basis is make the lives of your clients better ....that's worth getting passionate about.
Follow Positive Client Engagement over the next few months and we'll show you how to deliver the best pitches possible.
Till next time
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Increase client engagement and sales - client seminars and marketing
As we roll into the year and prepare to deliver you some new material and ideas to drive your sales, personal and business success as you positively engage your clients, we thought it important that you start with your marketing diary for 2012 and ensure that you provide continuous education opportunities for your clients.
This means revisting one of the four drives : the drive to learn.
The drive to learn:
- educate your clients - provide them with third party material that educates them on financial and insurance issues - use the resources that this industry provides to educate and dispel myths about finances, investing and insurances
- run tailored seminars that are in line with your clients wants - and can be subsetted into the "clubs" you have created above
- providing them the resources to make educated decisions is critical in meeting these needs
- write a blog or an informative newsletter - a blog is preferable - and have this on your website - make your website a resource centre for your clients - have a client log in where they can find tools and information to assist them
This does mean building some collateral OR in its simplest form it means tapping into the resources you have at your disposal as a financial services/insurance professional and some diary planning.
Plan to run seminars and create newsletter and leverage your relationships with your product providers to do the hard work for you.
That means you save the fun for yourself - engaging the clients.
This means revisting one of the four drives : the drive to learn.
The drive to learn:
- educate your clients - provide them with third party material that educates them on financial and insurance issues - use the resources that this industry provides to educate and dispel myths about finances, investing and insurances
- run tailored seminars that are in line with your clients wants - and can be subsetted into the "clubs" you have created above
- providing them the resources to make educated decisions is critical in meeting these needs
- write a blog or an informative newsletter - a blog is preferable - and have this on your website - make your website a resource centre for your clients - have a client log in where they can find tools and information to assist them
This does mean building some collateral OR in its simplest form it means tapping into the resources you have at your disposal as a financial services/insurance professional and some diary planning.
Plan to run seminars and create newsletter and leverage your relationships with your product providers to do the hard work for you.
That means you save the fun for yourself - engaging the clients.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Reasons to Buy Life Insurance, Selling the Benefits to Your Clients
In our recent edition about the four drive theory, we talked about the drive to defend, that is enacted in response to threat. Particularly the threat to acquisitions (the drive to acquire) and to a clients self and family.
In financial planning a common train of thought is that insurance is sold, not bought.
We disagree.
We believe that insurance is bought. That financial planning and insurance agent clients make conscious emotional and strategic decisions to buy insurance, BUT ONLY IF they have been made aware of the consequences of adhering to the status quo.
Rather than a hard sell, we believe that clients will purchase the right insurance cover at the right levels and satisfy the drive to defend if you as a professional adviser in your sales process:
- give them the statistics......do your research and find issues that you are passionate about...namely underinsurance...and how changing family demographics and social issues exacerbate the underinsurance risk
- make them aware of the risks they know they face but don't speak of
- show them how they can defend themselves
- be passionate about it
- share your claims stories
- get emotional and connect in a profound way with your clients
This means you need to do your research. Good resources are:
- lifewise.org at www.lifewise.org.au
- the family characteristics and transitions report or any such demographic report that looks at issues facing families and highlights the value of intergenerational advice
But the most important tools in your arsenal are:
- you
- your clients that have claimed
- the client sitting in front of you
By using appropriate questions about what is important to them in their social and family circle and by dispelling myths they may hold about their vulnerability and capacity to cope, they will with your professional guidance self select the appropriate levels of insurance cover.
Your role in this is a guide, a resource and an advocate.
In financial planning a common train of thought is that insurance is sold, not bought.
We disagree.
We believe that insurance is bought. That financial planning and insurance agent clients make conscious emotional and strategic decisions to buy insurance, BUT ONLY IF they have been made aware of the consequences of adhering to the status quo.
Rather than a hard sell, we believe that clients will purchase the right insurance cover at the right levels and satisfy the drive to defend if you as a professional adviser in your sales process:
- give them the statistics......do your research and find issues that you are passionate about...namely underinsurance...and how changing family demographics and social issues exacerbate the underinsurance risk
- make them aware of the risks they know they face but don't speak of
- show them how they can defend themselves
- be passionate about it
- share your claims stories
- get emotional and connect in a profound way with your clients
This means you need to do your research. Good resources are:
- lifewise.org at www.lifewise.org.au
- the family characteristics and transitions report or any such demographic report that looks at issues facing families and highlights the value of intergenerational advice
But the most important tools in your arsenal are:
- you
- your clients that have claimed
- the client sitting in front of you
By using appropriate questions about what is important to them in their social and family circle and by dispelling myths they may hold about their vulnerability and capacity to cope, they will with your professional guidance self select the appropriate levels of insurance cover.
Your role in this is a guide, a resource and an advocate.
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Sales Questions for Top Sales Results
Clients of financial planning advisers rarely use only logic and rational thinking to make decisions.
That assumption pre-supposes that clients when buying financial planning services have clear well-articulated goals when in reality clients often have as a consequence of how they percieve and process information, limited and imperfect data to allow them to make a choice that the financial planner sees as the most rational option for the client situation.
Financial planning clients often, because of the mis-match in the clients learning and information processing style and the financial planners style of communication, find the financial planning process confusing.
Because emotions play a major part in the sales process then it makes sense that to increase your sales results you need to ask better sales questions. By asking the best sales questions about a clients decision making process, you can dramtically enhance your sales results and in so doing positively engage your client and assist them in making choices that are in line with their financial and emotional needs.
Client emotions are critical aspects to manage in the sales process. Clients emotional processing determines initial preferences for solutions, moods and emotions influence the process of evaluating financial planning solutions and emotions provide guidance when making buying decisions.
Gut feel is a big factor.
Sales success is far greater when your financial planning client feels that you, as a financial planner, know them, the client, better than your competitors.
Client Lifestyle Questionnaires provide the knowledge for the financial planner to be able to break down the communication barrier and pitch the financial planning solution in a way that makes sense to the goals and dreams of the client.
To help your clients make more effective decisions and in so doing increase your financial planning sales success you need also to short circuit the limitations clients have when making decisions.
You need clients to imagine future scenario's and different emotions both positive and negative.
Another critical part of the sales questioning process are "what if" scenario planning.
Ask clients what if:
- they had all the money they could ever imagine?
- they had 10 years to live?
- they had one day to live?
Then explore all the emotions and plans that have either been accomplished or missed out on.
This provides the client with what they should do in a financial planning solution to ensure that the above scenarios are planned for.
This step is important particularly in the sales process involving insurance.
Clients unconsciously block negative scenarios, anything that challenges the status quo and in particular anything that challenges safety or the concept that they have not looked after their family.
It doesn't mean our clients don't love their family. They do, but these planning scenarios are not something they are rationally able to process - without your help.
Develop your client lifestyle questions and your what if scenario questions.
It's a proven way to dramatically increase your sales results and using your financial planning and insurance solution skills and love of your clients, you will change your clients lives for the better.
That assumption pre-supposes that clients when buying financial planning services have clear well-articulated goals when in reality clients often have as a consequence of how they percieve and process information, limited and imperfect data to allow them to make a choice that the financial planner sees as the most rational option for the client situation.
Financial planning clients often, because of the mis-match in the clients learning and information processing style and the financial planners style of communication, find the financial planning process confusing.
Because emotions play a major part in the sales process then it makes sense that to increase your sales results you need to ask better sales questions. By asking the best sales questions about a clients decision making process, you can dramtically enhance your sales results and in so doing positively engage your client and assist them in making choices that are in line with their financial and emotional needs.
Client emotions are critical aspects to manage in the sales process. Clients emotional processing determines initial preferences for solutions, moods and emotions influence the process of evaluating financial planning solutions and emotions provide guidance when making buying decisions.
Gut feel is a big factor.
Sales success is far greater when your financial planning client feels that you, as a financial planner, know them, the client, better than your competitors.
Client Lifestyle Questionnaires provide the knowledge for the financial planner to be able to break down the communication barrier and pitch the financial planning solution in a way that makes sense to the goals and dreams of the client.
To help your clients make more effective decisions and in so doing increase your financial planning sales success you need also to short circuit the limitations clients have when making decisions.
You need clients to imagine future scenario's and different emotions both positive and negative.
Another critical part of the sales questioning process are "what if" scenario planning.
Ask clients what if:
- they had all the money they could ever imagine?
- they had 10 years to live?
- they had one day to live?
Then explore all the emotions and plans that have either been accomplished or missed out on.
This provides the client with what they should do in a financial planning solution to ensure that the above scenarios are planned for.
This step is important particularly in the sales process involving insurance.
Clients unconsciously block negative scenarios, anything that challenges the status quo and in particular anything that challenges safety or the concept that they have not looked after their family.
It doesn't mean our clients don't love their family. They do, but these planning scenarios are not something they are rationally able to process - without your help.
Develop your client lifestyle questions and your what if scenario questions.
It's a proven way to dramatically increase your sales results and using your financial planning and insurance solution skills and love of your clients, you will change your clients lives for the better.
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