How to go from a peddler of products to a professional as a financial advisor

According to Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling, one of the hardest things for many traditional sellers to do is stop acting like a salesperson and instead see the world from the buyer’s perspective. Now, this does not mean trying to manipulate the buyer by seeing things from their point of view. What it means is a change in perspective. It means abandoning the old visions of buyer vs. seller and instead; should share the buyer’s concerns. It means changing your way of thinking in two respects.

* Go from persuading to understanding

* Shift from a product focus to a buyer focus

The best salespeople see the world from the buyer’s point of view. This helps them understand the buyer’s needs. So instead of worrying about persuading, they seek to understand. This leads to a natural tendency to ask more questions, thus discovering more needs. As a result, the best salespeople don’t talk about the product prematurely. They are seen by their clients as sincere, which breaks down many of the walls we face when we try to persuade them before we understand their situation.

Think of a bridge that connects products with consumers. You are that bridge. As a result, you need to understand both the product and the customer. Which ending is the most important?

* Most sellers are more comfortable and competent in understanding their products than they are in understanding buyers.

* Very successful salespeople have adequate knowledge of the product, but superior knowledge of the customers.

* Sellers with the most product knowledge don’t get the most sales.

* If they are forced to make a decision, buyers are more likely to take care of those who best understand their needs than those who best understand the products or services.

How do you better understand your customers?

* Stay up-to-date with business and industry trends affecting your customers.

* Read current trade magazines as well as product manuals.

* Have a real curiosity about what is happening within the buyer’s world and ask a lot of questions about the changes in their lives, as well as their hopes and dreams.

From Chapter 12 of SPIN Selling, “Improving Your Skills”

“Why do we never get an answer when we knock on the door? – The Moody Blues

It could be because we are knocking on the wrong door. Or do we call too loud? SPIN is an acronym for a type of questioning / profiling used by top marketers. S stands for “Situation”; P for “Problem”; I for “Implication” and N for “Need to pay.

Let’s first take a look at the “Situation” questions. These are the kinds of questions that are essential early in the sales process. If you are meeting the prospect for the first time, you obviously need data together. These are also the kinds of questions that most new marketers are comfortable using. They are generally not a threat to the customer, but there are some risks associated with a “laundry list” approach to profiling with questions like, where do you work? Do you own a home? Do you have a checking account? The problem with this “checklist” style of questioning is that the prospect will get bored if you ask too many questions. What separates the successful salesperson from the rest of the pack is how they listen to the answers to these questions and how they limit the number of questions at any given time. As they collect information, they move in the direction of a perceived problem.

If your customer or prospect cannot understand the reasons behind the questions you are asking, they will quickly become bored and the probability of a sale or cross-sell opportunity quickly dies. Let’s look at the difference between situation questions and problem questions.

Situation questions

Questions about problems

Do you have an investment account?

Are you satisfied with the performance of your investments?

Do you have a checking account at another bank?

What checking account features does your other bank offer to support your business?

Do you own a home?

Are you satisfied with the rate on your home loan?

Are you interested in looking for alternatives to your CD?

What is the purpose of the funds in your CD account? Is it short term or long term?

Where are you employed? How long have you been there?

Does your employer offer a 401 (k) or other retirement plan?

As you can see, the Situation questions will collect the facts. Problem questions can collect the same kind of information, but take you into a relationship mode where the potential customer sees you as a problem solver.

“One of the greatest pieces of economic wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.” – John Kenneth Galbraith

By now, we should have a clear idea of ​​how to uncover our clients’ problems by asking questions in a way that reveals them. As difficult as it may be at times, we also found that we shouldn’t offer solutions until we know what the problem is. This is accomplished through a combination of situation questions and problem questions. Then we can develop the client’s need with implication and need-payment questions. If we employ this strategy with all of our customers, we should hear far fewer objections and close more sales.

If you find that you are hearing more objections than you would like, it is very likely that you are offering solutions before you discover the problem. Many times we are the ones who cause all the objections. A recent television commercial for a healthcare provider discussed phenomena referred to as “the true purpose of the visit” or RPV. Doctors have to ask a lot of questions to discover RPV because patients, like clients and prospects, will reluctantly give up on the real problem they need help with. Just as a doctor could be liable for negligence if he prescribes a drug without understanding the problem, so can a financial advisor by offering a solution before understanding the need.

Think of the typical CD customer. Given the low interest rate environment we are experiencing, it may seem surprising that more of our CD members are not flocking to branches to meet with our financial consultants and take advantage of better investment alternatives. So when you call them over the course of your block time during the day, you probably come away frustrated by their resistance to your big ideas.

Keep in mind; you will not sell anything over the phone. Your goal is to get a date. When it comes to people and their money, they want to have a trusting relationship with the person giving them financial advice. So if you haven’t discovered a need, you won’t get an appointment. And let’s face it, there are some CD clients that just won’t budge despite all the great work you do. Let’s look at two ways to avoid unnecessary objections.

1. At the beginning of the call for objections. Research by Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling, shows that customers generally don’t object to questions unless you become rude or offensive. Most of the time, objections arise from solutions that do not meet the member’s needs. If you find that you get a lot of objections early in the call, it means that instead of asking questions, you have been offering solutions and features. Try not to offer solutions until you discover the real need.

2. Objections about value. If your members don’t see the value of what you’re suggesting, you’ll get objections. It is a sign that you are not developing the need strongly enough. For example, the CD customer expresses concern about NCUA insurance. You immediately jump into a discussion about how your $ 300,000 won’t be 100% insured anyway and the NCUA could close like any other insurance company. You tell them that the fixed annuity is safe and pays more interest than their CD, blah blah blah. You notice that your prospect is even more determined and rejects a series of objections and discovers that your sale is slipping away. What the member is really telling you is that they have not shown courage with the proposed solution. Their concern is safety because they need that money for long-term care.

A better approach would be to confirm your concern for security. Then proceed to discover the need for that CD money (long-term care) and analyze how your solution addresses both needs by demonstrating how your proposed solution addresses both needs. Reduce the use of features and focus on using questions about issues, implications, and needs and benefits.

Four stages of a sales call

1. Obtaining Compromise begins before discussion, setting goals that will lead to a realistic compromise.

2. Obtaining commitment is easier if you have developed strong needs in the research stage and have demonstrated the ability to meet them.

3. Obtaining the commitment consists of three steps:

* Verify that you have addressed the key concerns

* Summarize the benefits

* Propose a realistic compromise