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The Difference Between Yesterday & Today

The sales profession has been around for hundreds of years, and has evolved like anything else in this world. As the general consumer has continued to become more educated, and as markets continue to become more competitive, the art of selling has, in some ways, stayed the same. However, in other ways, it has become vastly different.

What has stayed the same is that a sales professional is charged with finding prospective clients, creating or identifying a need, and providing a product or solution to address that need. What has changed is that the population has become increasingly numb to previously used sales methodologies, and the task of creating a need has become more difficult, especially in the world of financial services.

There is the story of a roofer who did a roofing job in a particular neighborhood. Upon completion, he asked the neighboring home owner if he could take a photograph to use as the “before” picture in the before and after flyer he was going to pass out. The neighbor would then feel that they were “not keeping up with the Jones’,” so they would solicit a quote from the roofer and eventually do business. In this scenario, it is obvious that the roofer created a need that didn’t previously exist, in an effort to make his service relevant. If he had just walked up and asked if he could give a quote, the response may not have been the same. In many areas of the sales world today, this, and variations of this technique, may still have some relevance, but in the world of financial services, this method proves to frustrate aspiring financial advisors time and time again.

Step #2 - Understand the Anatomy of a Sale

  Research the sales fundamentals.

  Understand buying influences.

  Know how it applies to your target market.

  Know how it works with your strengths and weaknesses.

We have to realize that “sales” is a very generic term that applies differently to each area of business. Terms like pipeline, prospect, opportunity, and close are common across the board, but how they apply changes drastically. We cannot treat a sale involving someone’s IRA rollover like that of buying a car. The emotions involved are different. The downside risk is far greater in what we do. Rick Wilcoxon, a sales trainer from Houston, spoke to my training class once, and said that people are motivated to action by fear of loss and hope of gain. That is absolutely true. However, here is the difference:

If you are trying to create one of these two emotions in an effort to make a sale, you start to put yourself in a tricky situation. If you are attempting to win business by promoting hope of gain in talking about something, such as better returns, you are betting your success and relevance on something that may or may not happen. The prospect has to believe that whatever you bring to the table will do this. Even in the cases where there are obvious holes in the prospect’s investment strategy, the markets are volatile, and there will be times when the client account is not doing as well as expected. Will they stay or leave? They came to you based on the premise that you could give them good returns. If they weren’t previously unhappy with their situation or identified that they were receiving poor returns, they are left to question if what you are saying is true or if you are just trying to make a sale. Should they trust you? How long have you been doing this? After all, how long does it take to trust somebody when there is not a catalyst? There are many difficulties that come along with trying to “convince” somebody that you can do better.

Even more precarious of a position is attempting to motivate a prospect to action by employing a fear of loss strategy. This is when you tell them something is wrong with their current situation. If they don’t change something, they will be in bad shape. The public is very much desensitized to this message, as they are with the “hope of gain” angle. I mean how many chain emails have you gotten promising “something good will happen” if you send this email to five of your friends? As in the example with the roofer, the public is constantly being told what is wrong with their situation. As a matter of fact, I received a letter in the mail the other day that I found interesting. It was from a local car dealership. It stated that they knew I had a 2003 Tahoe and they were confident that by working with them I could trade in mine for a brand new one with no money down and the same monthly payment. I pursued the letter by calling up the dealership. After getting all my information on the loan payoff and such it was a bust. It wouldn’t work in my situation. I could have guessed that…but they got my attention enough to call. I really wasn’t in need of a new car and in fact I really like the one I had. Their hope of gain tactic, however, was successful at getting me to pick up the phone. Before I hung up the phone the salesman changed gears on me and mentioned that he understood I wasn’t in the position to buy the car now, but I should really think about doing something before it got to 75,000 miles because there is a major drop in trade in value at that point. This is probably true but the context of the whole situation caused me to brush it off because I didn’t need a car right now, and my impression was he was trying to create a need in the future. When you approach a prospect with this strategy and context you shoot yourself in the foot by compromising your professionalism. You are now like any other salesman: should they believe you or not?

What would happen in the above example if I had already decided that I needed a car? Let’s say that I actually drove to the dealership and was presented with the same comment about the mileage? I might have actually used that piece of information to support my desire to buy a car. The same message has a different meaning depending on the mindset of the prospect. Unfortunately the pre-existing mindset of the prospect is something that you cannot control. You can sell by hope of gain and fear of loss much more subtly when the prospect has already done most of the work. Using these approaches in a more subtle manner allows you to maintain your professionalism.

One of the most common situations I see as an advisor coach starts where the financial advisor has done everything correctly. They have obtained the first meeting. They have explained their services and attempted to explain why they are relevant. They have even “created” a need in the mind of the prospect. The prospect seems to be on board, but month after month passes, and the paperwork doesn’t get signed. These same advisors buy books, talk to other advisors, and question their own skills in attempts at becoming better “closers”. The art of “closing” is most definitely something that can be practiced and improved upon, but I would like to suggest that the problem lies earlier in the prospecting process. Usually the closing skills of a sales person are sufficient as they exist. It is the opportunity that is faulty. Let’s face it: if you have ever had a date (excluding blind), you have the ability to close. Let’s look at that a little closer though. If the person you are asking on a date was interested in you as well then it was easy to get the date. If you ever found yourself in a position where you were making your case for why they should go out with you then your chances weren’t that good no matter how good your argument. When an advisor is on a time line or a schedule to bring in assets, this cycle can be very frustrating and eventually lead to decreasing motivation. This business requires an unparalleled amount of activity to be successful, and nothing will detract more than lack of motivation.

Success builds motivation, and motivation builds success. That is the cycle you must find yourself in, as early as possible and activity is the on ramp to this roundabout.

Understanding the fundamentals of sales and the anatomy of a sales decision can help you sell the right way with the right message and maintain your professionalism.

Comprehension Quiz

1 Rick Wilcoxon says that people “are motivated to action” by fear of _______________ and hope of ______________.

2 A sales professional is charged with ______________ or _____________ needs with prospective clients.

3 True or False? The general population has become increasingly receptive to sales professionals, and the tried and true methodologies salespersons have employed over the years.

4 Generally speaking, a buying decision that exists in the world of financial services involves a ______________, (high or low), level of emotion.

5 Success builds motivation, and motivation builds success. _____________is the on ramp.