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Contrary to commonly accepted advisor sales thinking, an advisor’s chance of making the sale does not increase when they invest more time with their prospect. But giving your prospects more time to make a decision, by stretching the sales process out over multiple steps, is an idea that remains deeply embedded in the old school “know-like-trust” sales model.
That model is based on the hope that the sale will gradually build forward momentum over time. The thinking goes, if you attempt to close the sale prematurely, before enough forward momentum has been created, then your sales opportunity is liable to never get off the ground.
But is that always true?
It used to be the case that prospects responded positively to a more deferent approach. Now, due to commoditization of the profession, that behaviour has changed.
Prospects can’t sustain their focus over a long sales process anymore because their attention is divided. They don’t need time to make a decision. Rather, they need their attention focused and concentrated in one place, at one time, or they can’t make a decision at all.
The intention of making the sale in one meeting, not over a series of meetings, is the sales mindset shift that’s required for you to succeed in today’s business environment.
This may seem contradictory given that the ethos behind building momentum over time was to de-pressurize the sale. Advisors understood correctly that sales pressure created sales resistance. What they didn’t understand was that educating their prospect over time – doing free consulting – was still a tacit form of persuasion that created perceived sales pressure all the same.
More time spent “selling” to a prospect creates more need for them to “think about it” (a quiet form of resistance). To build trust, you need a process that avoids selling altogether and focuses on diagnosing their problems. Your prospect’s situation or problem has its own immediacy and urgency; making this the centrepiece of the discussion rather than your solution will relieve you of having to “sell” in the traditional sense of the term.
No selling = no pressure = trust.
The beauty of this problem-centric approach is that it can build trust immediately, allowing prospects to hire you on the spot. To learn more about this unique trust-based approach to selling, order your 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, Trust In A Split Second 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 “plug up the holes” lead generation consultation. Ari has been featured in CEO Magazine, Forbes, INC Magazine and the 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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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
