As an advisor, your basic instinct is to analyse facts, data and information, to create advice from it.
You’re in an information-driven business, without it, you can’t deliver value.
When meeting with a new prospect, after asking your fact-finding questions you’ve been trained to ask, and providing a path forward, why is it that you may be hearing: “I’d like to think about it and get back to you” or “Thank you, we’re looking at a couple of advisors and will be in touch”.
Very perplexing, especially when you did what you’ve always done, yet your prospect’s conclusion remains being indecisive about you.
It doesn’t make sense.
You discussed their goals, gathered facts, attempted to move to a next step – you did what you were trained to do.
What’s going on here?
Expert Syndrome
Being so deep in your expertise, often called the “curse of mastery”, it’s easy to operate 100% at the intellectual and complex level, miles away from where your prospects need you to be.
You process what they tell you and analyze their situation, operating from your “head” level but missing the “heart” and emotional level were they need you to be.
This mis-match comes from feeling it’s your professional obligation to display your value by explaining the complexities of their situation, so they feel you’re knowledgeable about the solutions appropriate for them.
You almost become a human calculator, gathering inputs in order to create outputs.
Losing a sale is not from failing to educate your prospect on the complexities of their situation - it’s from failing to simplify their problem.
That’s the other side of the coin that most discovery-based sales approaches completely miss.
What’s needed is a total mindset shift away from the analytically minded information-based modes of selling which you know and are comfortable with -- to an empathy-based
trust-building approach, where you provide simplicity instead of complexity.
If that sounds counter-intuitive, it should, because it defies the decades of assumptions espoused by the advisory industry.
Simplicity is often eluded for those who on a daily basis, wrestle with complexity.
Solutions can be perceived as complex creating indecisiveness, deep clarity on your prospects issues is the simplification they need to say to you: “Let’s move forward.”
It’s time to make a shift, stop educating your prospects, introducing them to complex ideas – as they’ll only want to go away and “think about it” – which creates a lost opportunity for you and them.
Build your sales process around your prospect’s problem, focussing on simplifying and crystallizing it to a level of clarity they could never have achieved on their own.
That’s called “going down the iceberg”.
Simplicity and Clarity = Real Trust.
Complexity = Distrust.
You’ll need to be open to questioning and challenging everything you’re doing in your current sales process, to start seeing new results.
To learn more about this contrarian trust-based selling approach, order your complimentary book and confidential consultation below.
Ari Galper is the world’s number one authority on trust-based selling and is the most sought-after high-net worth/lead generation expert for financial advisors. His newest book, “Trust In A Split Second” has become an instant best-seller among financial advisors worldwide – you can get a Free copy of Ari’s book here and, when you click the “YES” button in the order form, you’ll also receive a complimentary “plug up the holes” lead generation consultation. Ari has been featured in CEO Magazine, Forbes, INC Magazine and the Financial Review. He is considered a contrarian in the financial services industry and in his many books, everything you learned about selling will be turned upside down. No more chasing, no pressure, no closing.