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Why not promise value up-front if you know you can deliver that? It sems an obvious question to ask, yet I find myself continually asking it of financial advisers.
Nearly every professional gives an initial “no obligation meeting” to prospective clients, and nearly everyone delivers value to those prospects during that initial meeting. But hardly anyone seems to market that value being delivered, instead opting to focus upon one of the other 2 immediate benefits to the prospect.
When we get down to it there are primarily 3 immediate commercial benefits for the typical prospect in the “no obligation” first meeting with a professional:
- Cost saving. “Free” is as cheap as it can get, so it is a good deal from that perspective.
- No Risk. A “no obligation” meeting with a professional does by definition remove the risk for the prospect of paying (or being liable in the future) for something which is worthless or dangerous or percieved as “not valuable enough”.
- Valuable insights or ideas. There are actionable suggestions and insights from which they can profit or benefit.
Most professionals market the “free” nature of that initial meeting, which inevitably brings focus on the ongoing cost of advice or service. After all, if the first conversations wiht a prospect are focussed upon price – or lack of it – then that becomes a significant measure of ongoing value in their mind, doesn’t it? Anything after “free” looks expensive…so that is a bit of a propblem right there.
Fewer seem to market the initial engagement on the basis of removing risk for the prospect, yet that is a much stronger proposition that an offering based upon the lack of apparent cost.
Even less appear to take the opportunity to market that initial exploratory session on the basis of its value to the prospect. So that is where there is a genuine opportunity for professionals to market their services differently to most peers or competitors. What if you promoted that introductory session as
What you will get in your 60 minutes no obligation personal assessment:
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You will get the 6 questions you need to ask to determine whether a professional is the right one for you
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You will get clear understanding on how professional advisers get paid, and where the traps are for you
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You will learn what a full financial plan covers, and where you should start from (given where you are now)
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You will be in a position to make smart and fully informed decision about how to achieve your lifestyle objectives.
Now this may not be the best wording of all time, and it may not be the best wording for any particular reader to use…..but this example only took me 2 minutes to think about and write, and it is a lot better than the typical
“Free consultation. We will give you the first hour free, and with no obligation to engage us, to discover whether we are the right blah blah blah for you”
When you think about it the typical professional covers a lot of really useful ground for a prospect who is undecided about whether they need to engage a professional at all, and who often has a limited understanding of what the professional adviser can do for them.
That is valuable.
So why not promise the value that you deliver?
Give people a solid reason to take the first “risk free” step.