Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Dear Bev,
It’s a bit embarrassing to write about a firm (ours) that has been in business for 17 years, has grown significantly year in and year out, has met its goals each and every year but has a contingent of advisors who are loathe to sell anything to anyone. Our advisors (seven of them) are perfectly content to work with existing clients and not worry about what’s coming next. I’m one of the younger partners in the firm and am motivated to put a true sales system in place. I need advisors who will sell within that system. How do I get them motivated and on board?
W.W.
Dear W.W.,
Quite an interesting quandary in this industry – growth comes on a regular basis to most every advisory firm I work with, no matter large or small. Investors need help – they are accumulating wealth and want to retire, leave a legacy or maximize their investments. As a result, it has been reasonably easy to grow (not to underestimate how hard it is to work with clients well and keep them happy), so becoming a salesperson is not only distasteful, but doesn’t seem “necessary.”
That said, times will change and the market will turn at some point or will reach saturation or shift to a robo-approach or something else we can’t even consider or know at this point will disrupt the economic balance. Implementing a systematic approach to business building is an imperative.
I work with advisors who don’t want to sell. Why? They see it as cheesy, or beneath them, or they liken selling to the “used car” industry. They went to school and received credentials, which are difficult to obtain, because they like financial planning and investing, not because they wanted to sell for a living.
Compensation usually isn’t the driver. In your case you talk about them being “content” where they are. This is common. Advisors are paid well, so the additional few thousand dollars that could come from a new sale is rarely a strong driver. It should be discussed and included, but it isn’t the full answer.
So what is? Here are four things I often see as the obstacles, with recommendations on how to address them:
- The fear factor. If you have never sold, consider yourself a financial professional and not a salesperson, don’t like rejection and aren’t sure how to talk to people, sales is scary. Add into the mix what I mentioned earlier – sales seems cheesy and beneath advisors – and you have a recipe for fear and resistance. What to do? Recognize this and reframe the discussion for your team. I talk about business building as a responsibility. The advisor has to let the market know what their firm has to offer. If you aren’t talking about what you are doing, the market doesn’t even know they have a choice to work with you. It starts with recognizing you aren’t trying to sell; you are merely trying to educate. It’s a subtle shift, but it is an important reframe in the dialogue. Change the word “sales” to “new client acquisition” or “business development” or “new opportunities.” Change your language and you’ll change the perspective.
- The expertise. Call who? Say what? Go where to find new prospects? Few advisors have had the opportunity to learn how to sell. It might seem like a lower level skill but those of us who have spent our careers selling know it takes finesse just like any other craft. What to do? Get your advisors training – hire a coach, teach them what you’ve done successfully, have them practice and role play. The more experience they get, the better they will be.
- Too many other responsibilities. Advisors need to watch the markets and work with clients. Our culture doesn’t support sales activities. What to do? Ensure you have created a sales culture within the firm. Having a CRM to track leads is not enough. It’s all about communication and consistency. Hold regular meetings. Talk about new sales. Profile success stories. Make new client acquisition part of the fabric of what you do – week in and week out.
- No time for selling activities. I just talked about following the markets and working with clients, and all of the other responsibilities that come along with those two things. Everyone already has a high workload as it is, right? How would an advisor add more to their plate? This is a common obstacle, even when you have provided training. What to do? Help them create a plan. Business building is no different from other key advisor activities. They have financial plans for each of their clients, they likely review an IPS from time to time with the client and they expect clients to follow up and follow through on discussions. Same application here. Create the plan with very specific timelines, and include the “who, where, when and how” for each activity. Once they accept the overall plan, and then put the steps into the calendar, they will find the time to follow through.
I encourage you to review this list and see if there is somewhere you could shift some of what you are doing now. If all else fails, please take a look at our online series on selling. Your advisors might benefit from some of the training my firm created from our years of experience on this very topic!
Good luck and remember – even the most resistant advisor can do sales. Instead of pushing them or throwing a bit of money at them, understand their perspective and their obstacles and work with them to remove these to help them succeed.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. In 2008, she co-founded Advisors Trusted Advisor to offer dedicated practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
Read more articles by Beverly Flaxington
Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here. 
