Eliminate Friction When Communicating with Prospects

Dan SolinAdvisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.

My late partner, Emery Kertesz, used to refer to the “sales-prevention team” when describing his interactions with potential vendors. He wanted to give them business, but their processes were so complex and off-putting that he would eventually give up and move on.

I had two similar experiences just this week.

A clueless agent

I contacted a literary agent who represents book designers and illustrators. I need specialized services for a book I’m writing for millennials on investing.

Without knowing anything about me, he explained how expensive this type of talent is and how challenging it is to find the right person. In a subsequent call, he lectured me about the need for project managers, editors, indexes, and proofreaders, in addition to my stated requirements.

This is my tenth book and will be my third self-published book. I have a very sophisticated team in place. Explaining these fundamentals to me is akin to asking him if he knew the difference between an interior book designer and an illustrator.

I told him I did not need his services.