Surely, if you are a financial planner then holding back from giving advice would seem counter-productive, right?
In this article I am exploring why holding back from giving advice can consistently help you sell more financial planning and serve your clients better.
Imagine this scenario.
You meet with a client or potential client, and you politely ask some questions, you listen, and soon you can see exactly what the client’s problem is and you know you can help them solve it.
What you do next is a fork in the road.
The fork that many financial advisers will take is to immediately enter ‘problem solving’ mode and start fixing.
But as this is what many financial advisers do, how does it differentiate you?
I am not saying never give advice. I am pointing out there is an alternative way if you want to deepen client relationships and create more business.
Why do financial advisors jump straight to giving advice?
1. It is safe ground for the adviser
If you have spent hundreds of hours to become an expert financial planner or adviser, then on one level it makes sense to keep the conversation centred on the problem. It is safe because it is what you know about.
2. To try and prove their worth
Many advisers think they need to prove themselves to the client by solving problems as soon as they come up.
3. They feel under pressure
This can be very subtle, but it can come from a perceived need to be liked, to please, or win the clients business as quickly as possible.
How do you sell more financial planning?
The problem with jumping in too soon is that it forgoes the potential of what you could create.
Financial advisers who have high-impact relationships with clients are not tempted to problem solve too early.
They will see the problems too, but instead, they note them and continue to stay curious. They are interested in things like:
*What other problems could the client have?
*What really matters to the client?
*What kind of relationship does the client have with money?
*What is the bigger picture here?
*Is the client even ready to solve their problem yet?
You could call this a gap conversation.
The purpose of the gap conversation is for both you and your client to begin to see the gaps in both their outer and inner life. (To read, ‘How to successfully sell financial planning’, click here.)
This will often bring into focus things that the client may not have thought about or considered.
It also differentiates you because it demonstrates you are deeply interested in your client and that you care.
Where do opportunities come from?
There will often be the opportunity to serve clients in deeper, more creative ways, and make a bigger difference in their lives.
But this won’t happen if you jump on the first problem you see. It happens because you are willing to keep exploring.
Is this easy?
Not necessarily to begin with, which is why most people do not do it. Author Michael Bungay Stanier calls it, ‘Taming your advice monster’. He encourages you to stay curious for longer.
This is one of the most effective ways best ways to sell more financial planning. Instead of just the one thing that may have been at the front of your clients mind, there are now several and they see you as just the person to help them.
P.S. You can download a copy of my audio, ‘What every financial planner should know about getting clients’ by clicking here.
