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For decades, advisors have been taught that building a relationship with a prospect before the sale, is an essential part of the sales process.
You're confident that if you express your enthusiasm and treat them the same way you treat your current clients, they’ll automatically see that you’re a great fit for them.
While this seems logical, reality rarely plays out the way you might have imagined.
Sure, the initial meeting gets off to a great start, they’re engaged and the conversation is flowing.
However, as the meeting comes to an end, they’re suddenly hesitant to take the next step and ask for more time to think it over.
From your view, the call went well.
The two of you just need more time to build the relationship in follow-up meetings since some people take longer than others to make a decision.
On and on, the back and forth and follow up goes until eventually, they stop replying all together.
If compatibility was the driving factor in your prospects decision to hire you, why is it so hard to convert them into a paying client?.
The truth is, while you’ve successfully gotten to know them on a personal level, you’ve placed the most important aspect to the side -- their problem.
In the past, before the world became commoditized, the know-like-and-trust model was effective.
Choosing an advisor often came down to,“Who do I like? Who feels like someone I’d enjoy having dinner with?”.
But today, as I’m sure you’ve noticed in recent years, prospects have become much more direct.
They’ve done their research, know they need help, and are overwhelmed and tired of the sales hoops advisors are making them jump through.
They just want their problem solved by someone they feel understands them and can fix their issue.
When you focus on trying to be their friend upfront, you’re unknowingly taking them on a social detour -- even though they really just want someone to hear their problems and concerns.
Sure, we enjoy spending time with friends, but how often do we share our deepest financial or business concerns with them?.
It’s these bottled-up feelings and emotions they don’t share with anyone else that allow you to build trust by providing clarity and assurance from a perspective they’ve never seen before.
The more time you spend positioning yourself as a friend, the harder it will be for them to see you as the trusted authority.
Instead of making the mistake of trying to build a relationship upfront, let your authenticity and expertise lead the conversation, like a doctor who sees a patient for the first time.
Doctors know trust doesn’t take a long time to build.
They don’t try to force a relationship, and simply adhere to a strict diagnostic process that assures all issues are uncovered so they can work quickly to lay out the best path for treatment.
The reason patients don’t need a long time to decide is because the doctor’s clarity and authority immediately addressed their situation, giving them confidence to move forward without hesitation.
To help you with this mindset shift, think about yourself as a doctor with patients that come to you, looking for an authority they can trust before taking the next step.
You won’t need follow up or multiple meetings anymore, because you addressed their situation completely in that first meeting, and the two of you can determine if they’re ready to fix their issue once and for all.
If you’re open to learning more about trust-based selling, and how you can use this to increase your sales in less time and with less effort, order your complimentary books and consultation below.
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Get Ari’s 6 best-selling books for FREE here and you’ll also receive a Complimentary Sales and Lead Generation Consultation (value $995.00). Ari Galper is the world’s number one authority on trust-based selling and is the most sought-after high-net-worth new client acquisition expert for financial advisors. His latest books "Are You Chasing Ghosts", "Trusted Authority" and "Trust In A Split Second" have become instant best-sellers among financial advisors worldwide, get your free books here.