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A few days ago, I had a call with an advisor who said he was averaging 10 new meetings a month, and only converting a few of them into new paying clients.
When I suggested he focus on building trust, instead of relationship-building, he paused.
“But isn’t that what I’m doing? They all liked me, and I was able to show my value.”
It’s a common misconception shared by many advisors who have been operating for years under the traditional sales mindset, that says: relationship-building is required to make the sale.
Important: Your prospects may like you, but they probably don’t trust you.
The truth is, relationship-building and trust-building are mutually exclusive.
Like two planes that don’t connect.
The confusion between the two, comes from the old sales myth that you need to become someone’s friend (a peer-like relationship), for them to do business with you.
That model worked just fine, Pre-Covid, but it no longer works in the new economy where the advisory profession has been commoditized.
What’s changed is that you may find yourself creating “superficial friendships” in multiple meetings, with the hope that if they like you enough, they’ll eventually do business with you (very long sales cycle).
The issue is, your prospects can sense right away that you have a hidden agenda by being overly friendly with them.
This breaks trust, and while they may like you, their guard remains up and they may never reveal to you the truth of their situation.
With a trust-based mindset, the approach is the exact opposite.
Pre-sale, the focus is solely to build trust by providing clarity on the depth of their issues – not friendship.
A real and authentic relationship can only be built over time, after they become a paying client and you solve their problem - not before.
Doctors don’t do coffee and hang out with their patients before they diagnose them.
They know that mixing business and social norms would be unprofessional and get in the way of doing their job effectively.
When you let go of overlaying a personal relationship pre-sale - viewing yourself as the doctor, and your prospect as the patient - you create authentic trust and get to the truth of whether you and they are a fit or not.
If you’re open to challenging your own thinking and learning how to collapse your sales cycle into one single meeting, order your complimentary book and consultation below.
Related: Is Your Follow-Up Strategy Undermining Your Sales Success?
Get your Free copy of Ari’s best-selling book "Trust In A Split Second!" 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 book, “Trust In A Split Second!” has become an instant best-seller among financial advisors worldwide.