Should You Ignore Do-It-Yourselfers?

The mere fact they scheduled a call was because they have a financial problem they want to solve – but so far, they haven’t found anyone they can trust to solve it for them.

Here’s something every advisor needs to have pinned on their wall:

What your prospect tells you initially is not the full truth. It’s their surface-level truth. There’s always a more complex problem underneath than what they are sharing with you -- and your job is to find it.

But the traditional discovery-meeting model is completely ineffective in getting to the truth, because it’s based on fact-finding and rapport-building, not pure trust-building.

Prospects won’t tell you upfront the complete truth about their issues because they don’t trust you enough to be vulnerable with you.

Your mission is to create deep trust on your first meeting to uncover the truth of their situation. How do you do that?

I call it “going down the iceberg.”

If they say to you: “I’m a do-it-yourself kind of person...” you say, “Not a problem. Tell me a bit about yourself and your situation, and we’ll go from there.”

As soon as they start talking, you’re going down the iceberg with them.

Going down the iceberg is efficient because it’s problem centric.

It focuses on diagnosing the prospect’s problem and showing them the “hidden gaps” in their situation they can’t see.

When you deliver clarity on their problems, there’s nothing subjective to think about and no need to shop for other advisors.

Clarity = Trust.

This approach requires a mindset shift.

You’re the “doctor” and they’re the “patient”.

A doctor doesn’t allow their patients to treat themselves if their situation is serious.

Like a doctor, your office or Zoom call is your “clinic” and there’s a protocol to follow.

Prospects are not qualified to assess their own situation; that’s your job.

You’re the authority, not them.

This may be hard to accept if you’ve only been told that the discovery meeting is a relationship-building event.

It’s not.

It’s a trust-building meeting.

Your prospect is looking to see if you’re an authority on their problem. To put it another way: Are you the one they can trust to solve it?

To make this mindset shift and learn how to deliver clarity in your initial prospect meetings as trusted authority, order the complimentary book and 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, “Trusted Authority” 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 “get new clients” lead generation consultation. Ari has been featured in CEO Magazine, Forbes, INC Magazine and the Australian Financial Review. He is considered a contrarian in the financial services industry and in his book, everything you learned about selling will be turned upside down. No more chasing, no pressure, no closing.

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