Being able to positively influence someone and confidently sell your services are essential skills if you want to build a thriving financial planning practice.
Yet it seems that many advisers feel uncomfortable in sales situations. They may fear coming across as ‘pushy’, being rejected, or receiving push-back. Some believe that they need to employ techniques to improve their results.
So, read on if you want to discover what makes someone a highly effective influencer whilst feeling completely comfortable and free from pressure.
The myth of sales techniques
A while back I worked with an adviser who was convinced that sales techniques were an essential element in having a client ‘sign up’. In particular, he said you had to be a good closer.
So, we did a little reflection on some of his existing clients.
I asked him to think of one or two of his very best clients. These were people who he liked, cared deeply about, and did regular business with. I then asked him about the process when conducting business together.
He said that when he was with these people, he never thought about using sales techniques. He always encouraged them to think through their decisions and ask as many questions as they needed to. The relationship was based upon trust and openness and there were never any feelings of pressure for him or his client.
I then asked him to think of a client he finds more difficult to deal with. He thought of someone like this and realised how he had far less rapport with them. The client always questioned his advice and rarely took it.
I was curious.
How come when things were flowing naturally and easily, he was not thinking of using a technique?
And, surely, if techniques were so important they should help you overcome the more challenging situations?
It is never techniques that get results
At one time I believed what I needed was better techniques because I thought it was the technique that did the work.
Today, I see it completely differently.
It seems to me is that as soon as you start thinking about applying a technique (like trying to ‘close’ someone) it will begin to compromise trust because it is dehumanising the process.
My assumption that the technique was important was wrong.
Authentic connection drives results
Instead, what I came to realise was that it is authentic connection that drives results.
Authentic connection means being our true self and dropping the mask. It means being honest and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable.
This does not necessarily mean that we will get a ‘Yes’ to every proposal we make. This would be unrealistic.
However, our well-being is not dependent upon whether we get someone’s business or not.
When we see the truth of this, we stop putting ourselves under pressure to win business and this tends to result in more business.
PS. Read about a new way of thinking about rapport by clicking here.
