Archive for the ‘Wealth Advisors’ Category

My client is Tweeting!! She is in a pilot program with her firm and they are testing the use of Twitter. My client is the only female advisor in the group and fell into the same old trap; trying to compete with the men on their turf.

My client was posting the same old tweets about the same old research reports voluntarily adding herself to the HUGE basin of traditional financial advisors. While being female automatically makes her different she is even more unique in her views and how she approaches her clients. So why was she diminishing her uniqueness because THAT is where the value of social media kicks in.

My client’s tweets will now be focused on the female investor. All of her tweets will be engaging and compelling statements that would attract and be of interest to women. While this is not her total market this has become her most productive niche when it comes to marketing. After doing some simple Google searche she immediately recognized that within this arena there was very little competition, an “Ah Ha” moment.

By limiting her tweets to one specific market not only does the task of finding articles and comments to tweet become more manageable but it also becomes more effective and productive. NOW she is truly leveraging her unique strengths as a woman to accomplish more as a financial advisor.

As an advisor who is looking to use social media as a way to gain more leads and exposure you have a decision to make:

Do I want to throw myself into the same pool as all the traditional advisors and hope that something I say is different and stands out? Or

Do I want to focus all of my marketing efforts on a unique niche allowing myself to dominate that arena and become known as the expert in that field.

It’s your call but I know what I would do……………

Over the past two weeks I watched my daughter calling on old leads. This is her first experience prospecting after recently acquiring her insurance license. To start out other agents give her all their old leads, those that they could never reach or lacked interest in their services. While to others these leads seemed dead to her they were a goldmine of opportunity. A lead is NEVER dead.

Every lead or prospect you have had should never leave your database. What a prospect doesn’t need or want today can quickly change in our ever changing lives. While you shouldn’t keep them on your “hot prospect” list they should be receiving your emails and market updates until circumstances change creating the need for your products or services, NOW IS THAT TIME.

In most situations we must wait until something changes in the lives of the prospect in order to create the need or sense of urgency to move the relationship forward but that is NOT always the case. Today’s environment has created that change for you. While most investors were content with the status quo today the unrest in the markets has unearthed fears and concerns that need attention. A call from you RIGHT NOW may never be more timely and productive.

While many clients may not be thrilled with their advisor their discontent is not strong enough to provoke change which seems more daunting than their current situation; but when the market environment makes the “status quo” more painful the need for change increases outweighing that original resistance. This is your time, and your chance to create that change.

Make the calls today you may not get this opportunity again for many years to come (at least let’s hope not).

There is nothing more fun than watching a group of financial advisors take experiences from life and craft them into a compelling story. That’s exactly what happened this past week during my Keys to the Ladies Room presentation.

In order to connect with the female audience you must be ready to answer the question “Why do you care about me?” Most women will assume that the only reason you want her to become your client is so that you can generate more commissions. Obviously that is a component to what we do but that does not have to be the complete truth nor the primary motivator.

If you plan to enhance your relationship with existing female clients and or want to attract more female clients you must share your story that shows why you care about women. In today’s presentation we had so many fabulous stories;

• Pat had a Mother who at 36 buried her husband and delivered her 6th child all on the same day.
• Sean visited his Grandmother he loved and saw her spend her remaining years in a state run facility only to find out that with some advance planning she could have lived her remaining years in comfort and dignity.
• Lisa shared her own experience going through a divorce. As a result her desire to become more financially confident resulted in her becoming an advisor and helping other women manage life transitions.
• Carmen lost her husband at a young age and with no investment experience or financial advise she blew the insurance money on furniture, today it would have been worth $2,000,000.

As each advisor shared their story they learned how to remove all of the unnecessary information, creating a more streamlined message that made a powerful impact.

By the end of the day each advisor had an opportunity to share their final story and what we heard was amazing. The transformation in just a few hours was almost unbelievable.

They all did a fabulous job articulating why they are passionate and sincerely interested in working with the female client, now they just have to use it.

As a financial advisor all of your prospecting efforts culminate in one final meeting. In this meeting you have the opportunity to present your solutions and motivate the prospect to become your client. When so much is at stake why do financial advisors spend so little time preparing for these appointments?

Last week I worked with one of my advisors by helping her prep for a closing appointment.  After spending a full hour on this process I realized in their desire to close the business many advisors often overlook the critical steps that can ultimately tip the scales in their favor.

The Appointment process can be broken down into 5 important steps:

1.    Review your findings: While prepping for the presentations write out everything you have learned and then review these findings at the beginning of the appointment. Not only does this give you a chance to get positive affirmations from the prospect but both you and the prospect will feel more confident that you truly understand their needs and concerns.

2.    Share your concerns: Based on those findings now is your opportunity to express the challenges, risks and concerns you have with their current situation. Again it’s important to get feedback from the client that they too understand these concerns before moving on.

3.    Present your solutions: NOW you can present your solutions and as you do constantly refer back to how these solutions address specific issues and concerns. It’s your job to tie all the pieces of this presentation together.

4.    Get confirmation: This is a great time to ask open ended questions. Open ended questions put the onus on the prospect and will give you more insight as to possible objections.

• What do you like about this strategy?
• How do you see this strategy solving your issues and concerns?
• What part of this strategy do you not

5.    Ask for what you want: Before you begin the presentation be very clear on what you want, open the account, transfer all the assets in, get a commitment on a product or plan. Be clear as to what you want and know how you intend to ask for it. At this point it is important to ask closed ended questions, you now are looking for a yes/no answer. If you get a yes you are on your way, if you get a no go back to step 4 and ask more open ended questions such as:

• What is preventing you from moving forward?
• What is getting in the way of us doing business together?
• What can I do to earn your business?

In addition as you prep for your appointment, make a list of all the questions the prospect may ask, do some brainstorming beforehand and go to the meeting prepared to answer any of the questions on your list. By doing this prep work first you will go into the meeting with greater confidence and your clarity and conviction alone will enhance your ability to get a commitment and the business.

Over the past few months Hannah had been doing a bang up job at attracting affluent prospects. Her seminars were creating a buzz and she was finally reeling in new prospects with millions, the problem? She couldn’t close the business.

We spent one whole coaching session focused on her ability to get the prospect to commit to doing business with her and everything we did came down to one simple statement: Ask for what you want.

As we reviewed each prospect I asked Haannah, “What do you want from this prospect?” as with most advisors she gave me lots of details without ever answering the question. I again asked “Hannah, what do you want from this client?” She then shared what she thought he should do, again I shook my head and asked “What do you want from him Hannah?” She finally blurted out “I want him to open an account with me.” I told her then ask for what you want.

That afternoon, the same day as our coaching call Hannah emailed me and told me that she got the account and it was a million more than she expected. She said she had a nice conversation with the prospect and finally said “Jim, can I open an account for you?” and he said YES. The rest is history.

How simple the process is when you know what you want, all you have to do is ask.

Take a look at your top 5 prospects and ask yourself:

What do you want from that prospect and how can I ask for what I want…. then do it.