Moved to act, to sell is to be human
When were you last moved to take action? Likely, many times a day external forces influence your behavior.
When did you last move someone to act? Just as likely, you are influencing others daily.
When did you last close a sale? Now are you uncomfortable?
As a financial advisor part of your job to inspire action – save, invest, get a will and power of attorney. You teach people to be intentional about their financial decisions and actions.
Your prospects and clients need your expertise and you have a desire to help.
Yet, when it comes to business many advisors are deeply uncomfortable with selling. The idea of promoting and speaking about their expertise and services raises feelings of fear and shame. Often selling is so difficult it leads to inaction and avoidance.
If you are marketing (or plan to do marketing) an important question to consider, what happens after you get the lead? If you don't have a good answer or are struggling to covert prospects to clients (and clients to advocates) there is opportunity to improve your approach to sales.
To sell is human
The old perception of sales as sleazy, one-sided and manipulative is inaccurate and outdated. Of course, there are people who fit that stereotype but that doesn’t have to be you.
“To sell is human” according to author Daniel Pink.
Based on Pink’s research he found that nine out of ten of us are selling daily. Whether you like it or not, you are selling. Why not get intentional about it?
Consider this, by the time a prospect is having a conversation with you they likely have done their research, they know what they want and think you may be able to help them.
If you believed you can help someone would you? Of course you would.
Starting today, stop thinking about sales as selling. Start thinking about it as helping, influencing, moving someone to act in their best interest because that is what you’re doing.
The science-backed ABCs of selling
In Pink’s book, To Sell is Human, The Surprising Truths About Moving Others he redefines the antiquated concept, Always Be Closing (ABC) to capture and modernized the skills needed to succeed based on science-backed research.
To strengthen your sales muscle you need to focus on:
Attunement
Buoyancy
Clarity
Attunement is all about aligning around goals. Listening is critical to identify what someone (really) wants. What someone says they want isn’t necessarily what they really want.
The stereotypical salesperson is always talking, forcing their agenda. Yet, the best salespeople are skilled in the art of listening. A very small percentage of communication is verbal. Most communication is non-verbal and can be captured by tuning into body language, tone of voice and your intuition. A great listener can sift through the noise to identify what matters. Often this requires restating what you think you heard for confirmation and the use of clarifying questions to dig deeper to uncover the truths.
Buoyancy is the ability to manage and overcome rejection, and negative beliefs. Based on Pink’s research interrogative self-talk (not affirmations or a pep talk) is the most effective method for staying buoyant. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” and see what comes up.
You may also ask yourself, “Do I believe I can help?” If the answer is “yes” then it changes from selling to helping.
Clarity is the use of questions to drive insights and decisions. Use clarifying questions to move from problem-solving to problem finding. Get curious to motivate action. You may see a problem that a prospect or client can’t yet. Instead of telling (or selling), asking open-ended questions is a powerful way to help ignite a previously unperceived need.
It’s important that you understand their needs for two reasons. First, to help identify if you can help as a professional partner. Second (and more importantly) to move from selling to solving they need to acknowledge their need and belief that you can help fix it.
So what’s stopping you?
What stories or doubts are keeping you small or stuck? Name them and work to reframe them.
To sell is to be who you are. To sell is to be others-focused.
Start getting comfortable with discomfort
There are three components to effective sales.
1. Belief
2. Infrastructure
3. Skills
Belief
Belief is the deep knowing that you have value to add, expertise people, need and clarity around how you can help. Confidence in your abilities is foundational. Focusing your marketing and sales on work that taps into your zone of genius (The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks provides a good framework to uncover your genius) is one way to quickly get comfortable with what you have to offer.
You don’t have to be everything to everyone, you can simply be the best version of you. Focus on the thing or things that you are most proud of and are most impactful to your ideal future clients. Stop worrying about how your competition is selling themselves. If you get stuck in the should cycle remind yourself, I don’t compete, I create.
Infrastructure
A lot of sales is process and data management. Infrastructure includes data management, pipeline, an effective CRM, and client service model to start. Great infrastructure includes the processes, best practices, and culture that define your prospect and clients’ experience, supports their buying decision, and moves them to act and become an advocate.
Every advisor I know claims to provide exceptional service. If that’s true for you, I challenge you to define what exceptional service means to you and to operationalize it.
Skills
Last but certainly not least are sales skills. You can be successful with belief and infrastructure but developing sales skills has a compounding effect. It took time to develop expertise in your profession, it takes time and effort to develop sales skills too. However, sales starts by being genuinely yourself. There are many different types of salespeople, consultative, authoritarian, persuasive, etc. Start with your strengths and comfort zone, no need to try to be someone you’re not.
People need help with their finances to live the lives they desire with confidence and freedom.
Your prospects and clients need you to be able to sell, to move them, and to act in their best self-interest.
Who will you move to act today?
