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In the first meeting with you, prospective clients may be unsure if investing is the right thing to do. They may also have concerns about whether you are the right person to advise them.
How you behave in your first meeting will dictate what happens next. You need to act to allay not only their objections around the investment process itself, but to eliminate any concerns they may have about working with you personally.
To make sure you leave them in no doubt about your ability, never do the following four things.
#1. Don’t confuse prospects with excessive information
Put simply, people don’t buy what they don’t understand. Prospects do not want or need to have an endless stream of information thrown at them. The curse of knowledge is a real thing; it occurs when an advisor assumes that the listener has the background to understand what he or she is saying, when in fact this isn’t the case at all. If you spend the first meeting pointing to pie charts and talking about numbers, your prospects will start to feel bewildered. And misunderstood information never stirs anyone into action.
When you’re presenting, don’t talk portfolios, returns, products or percentages. Instead tell stories and use analogies . Let prospects form word pictures when you’re discussing investing to get your message across. When they leave your office, let the key takeaway be that you understand their problems and that you’re the right person to offer them a solution.
#2. Don’t show off
A good way to get someone to like you is to make them feel smart. A good way to make someone dislike you is to make them feel stupid. Don’t make it your aim to look brilliant in front of people – instead, make it your goal to be memorable.
You want people to leave your office having understood your message, and believing that you are the right person to keep them safe and secure. So, if you want to keep the conversation flowing, always talk to prospects on their own level – never talk down to them.
#3. Don’t hesitate when it comes to discussing fees
If you purposefully ignore this elephant in the room, you will likely make clients feel suspicious. Don’t be afraid to talk about the fact that you need to be paid. As a trusted advisor you’re not there just to manage money, but to add value to your clients’ lives so you deserve to be remunerated accordingly. When you explain your fees structure don’t be vague, confusing or defensive or they’ll sense you’re hiding something.
Related: How Prospecting Helps You Overcome Your Fears
#4. Don’t talk more than you listen
If you talk incessantly about yourself and your practice, and fail to put the focus where it should be – on the client – a red flag will appear. Prospects will wonder, quite rightly, how you are going to offer them a tailored solution if you’re not asking about their goals, risk tolerance, history, fears and family.
They will see that you aren’t trying to get to know them and will feel uncertain about your capacity to do good for them. Reduce their concerns by listening more than you talk . Encourage prospects to open up about their dreams and fears without interrupting them. Only when you’ve fully understood their situation and aspirations should you start to talk about how you are the ideal person to help them. Make it all about them, not about you – or they will be concerned that you don’t care.
In order to get prospects off the fence you need to overcome their objections around investing, as well as any concerns they may have about you. To help eliminate these concerns make sure you listen intently, communicate your message clearly and be transparent about your worth. If you do, you’ll find prospects will warm to you and become open to the solutions you offer.