Coincidentally, at the time I actually had a few concerns about my own personal financial advisor, and because I realized that I might change firms as a result of my analysis, I told my client that in order to perform a realistic decision process, I would also meet with two of his companyâs competitors. (Itâs also why I asked to meet his best and most experienced advisor, figuring thatâs who Iâd want working for me should I decide to actually pick this firm.)
Yet they all made the single most common mistake that salespeople in all industries make: they moved through the steps of their sales processâbuilding trust, identifying needs, presenting their solutions, going for the closeâwithout thinking about where I was in my decision-making process. They sold too fast. They put me on their sales track, instead of joining me in my buying process.
In this chapter, I want to talk in more detail about what I mean by saying these financial advisors sold too fast, discuss how customers buy, and present a new model of selling that matches the customer buying process.
How Selling Too Fast Causes Lost Sales
My first face-to-face meeting with my clientâs investment advisor went as follows (the labels are mine, the actions were the advisorâs):
Build trust: The advisor began by learning a bit about me, before sharing about himself, his money management background, education, etc. It was an effective opening.
Identify needs: The advisor then asked me some questions. He learned about my financial goals, and that I was dissatisfied with the returns and performance achieved by my current financial advisor.
Present solution overview: He explained that his firmâs approach is not to be market timers or âfad chasers,â and he
told me about his firmâs investment model that minimizes risk while maximizing returns. I also learned that his approach to determining his clientsâ needs was to create a Personal Wealth Plan based on my answers to questions such as: Where is my money now? Where would my financial assets be in retirement?
Close for next step: The advisor then recommended we meet again in a few days, and asked that I bring account statements of my current investments.
Here are the five mistakes he madeâall of which revolve around selling too fast:
1. He didnât delve into why I thought my returns with my current advisor were poor. If he had, I would have explained that over the previous eight years my portfolio hadnât really changed all that muchâthat there had been little movement of assets from one investment type to another. My opinion was that my current advisor was lazy and took my account for granted. Had my clientâs advisor asked the right questions, he would have gained deeper insight into my needs, and he would have been much more persuasive later during his solution presentation.
2. Since he didnât know about my current advisorâs laziness and slow response, he forfeited one of the most powerful tools a salesperson has: getting prospects to think about the possible negative consequences of not making a change. In this case, had he asked about what would happen if I did nothing, I would have thought about the effect of trusting my money to someone asleep at the switch, and about all the fear and uncertainty that that would have entailed. That would have helped me put a face on my future.
3. He didnât try to find out about my second need. Usually, the first topic discussed with a prospective client is his or her greatest concern at that time; itâs the need thatâs most developed from the customerâs perspective, and the reason the customer agreed to meet with you. Getting prospects to realize they have more than one need for change creates a greater sense of urgency, which adds greater potential value to the solution you will eventually offer (see sidebar).
4. He didnât ask me about my buying processâhow I would make my decision regarding who would get my business. So he didnât learn that I was going to be interviewing two of his competitors. He lost out on an opportunity to start answering my question âwhy should I choose youâ before I asked it of him.
5. He didnât ask me who else would be involved in my decision. While I could have been acting alone, had the advisor asked he would have learned that my wife is a valued partner in our financial decisions. He could have then sped up our buying decision by slowing down his sales pitch and requesting a follow-up meeting with both me and my wife. (In fact, most sales situations today involve more than one decision maker. Gaining access to the second or third or fourth decision maker is therefore key, and is something Iâll cover in Chapters 3 and 5).
Tip: Probing for the Second Need
During a first meeting with a customer, itâs unlikely they will tell you everything going on in their decision process. For all you know, the first need they mention may be something identified by one of your competitors in a meeting the day before! By failing to probe for the second need, you may be allowing your competitor to define your customerâs mental picture of a solution. Not good.
Even if your customer hasnât talked with your competitors, probing for a second need is a good way to get him or her to increase their desire for change. In my meeting with the financial advisor, he should have asked, âOther than lackluster investment returns, is there anything else about your current advisor that concerns you?â In doing so, he would have learned that I felt my monthly statements were too complex. My entire portfolio was not available for me to see on a single web page. So I was in the dark about important concerns such as the overall asset allocation of my investments. Had his company been able to provide that service, I would have seen more advantages to making a change.
When I met with the advisor the following day, he continued to make even more mistakes, maintaining his focus on his selling process rather than on my buying process. (In case youâre curious, I did eventually hire one of the three advisors I interviewed, and am very happy with my choice.)
In a way, I wasnât surprised by this advisorâs behavior. His company had put their salespeople through a lot of traditional sales training. Also, Iâve observed that more-experienced salespeople are the most likely to sell too fast. Why? One reason is that the âexpertâ salesperson has seen the customerâs problem before, and assumes that the customer now sees it, too. As a result, he or she jumps immediately into describing their productâs or serviceâs benefits before the customer has fully recognized the scope of the problem. (New salespeople lack application expertise, so theyâre more likely to ask additional questions that get the customer talking about needs and applications.)
No matter whether youâre just selling as youâve been taught to sell, or showing off your knowledge of the subject to your prospect, jumping ahead of the customer means you are pitching too much information too soon. This only serves to dampen the customerâs curiosity. (Have you ever noticed that customers are easy to reach when they need your information, but almost impossible to reach when they donât?) You play the customer. Suppose I present you with ten capabilities of my product or service, but you think you only need five of them. How will it make you feel? The natural reaction is either that âthis is more than I need/itâs too expensive,â or âmaybe somebody else has a better solution for my companyâs needs.â
Every salesperson wants to sell more. We all want to make more money and gain recognition for peak performance. As my experience with the financial advisor illustrates, the way to do this is to slow down. We need to take the time to get into our customerâs head, because thatâs how we can learn more about their needs, and how their focus and concerns change as they move through their buying process. With a better understanding of a customerâs needs and concerns, we provide more value throughout their buying process. We can help them become clearer about the opportunity and risks they face; help them better define criteria for an ideal solution. When these issues are clearly spelled out, customers become more comfortable with their decision. They can reach their purchasing decision more quickly. And thatâs how you sell faster.