Your Expertise Doesn’t Matter Any More

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When you achieve a level of mastery as an advisor and someone crosses your path with issues you can solve, it’s an ecstatic experience.

“When I explain how I can solve their problem and that I’m the right person to do it, it becomes obvious that I’m the right fit for them.”

That is the quintessential assumed “expert” mindset that can go pear-shaped in today’s selling environment – especially in the commoditized advisory profession. Turns out, your prospect is neither interested in how you solve their issues nor is easily impressed with your expertise. The criteria that matters in their decision to hire you is whether they can they trust you. Trust is no longer created from your level of knowledge or expertise. In their mind, they can easily find knowledge or expertise from most other competent advisors. No longer is your knowledge and expertise the single factor that will differentiate your sales process. Displaying your expertise is an attempt to prove your value; it’s how the profession has always taught advisors to win over new clients. So why do advisors still default to attempting to prove their value?

It’s because as an expert, you’ve been trained to solve problems, and it’s easy to assume that having the solution is what you need to make the sale.

Here’s the shift: Your prospects aren’t qualified to judge your expertise. How can they, if you haven’t yet solved their problem yet? Your prospect’s goal is to find an advisor they can trustthey’re not interested in the solution itself.