How to go from a product peddler to a professional as a financial advisor

According to Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling, one of the hardest things for many traditional sellers is to stop acting like a seller and instead see the world from a buyer’s perspective. Now, this does not mean trying to manipulate the buyer by seeing things from his point of view. What it means is a change of perspective. It means abandoning the old views of buyer vs. seller and instead; should share the buyer’s concerns. It means changing your way of thinking in two aspects.

* Go from persuading to understanding

* Shift from a product focus to a buyer focus

The best sellers see the world from the buyer’s point of view. This helps them understand the needs of the buyer. So instead of worrying about persuading, they seek to understand. This leads to a natural tendency to ask more questions and thus discover more needs. As a result, the best salespeople don’t prematurely talk about the product. They are seen as sincere by their clients, which breaks down many of the walls we face when trying to persuade clients before understanding their situation.

Think of a bridge connecting products to consumers. You are that bridge. As a result, you need to understand both the product and the customer. Which end is the most important?

* Most sellers are more comfortable and competent in understanding their products than in understanding buyers.

* Highly successful salespeople have adequate product knowledge, but superior customer knowledge.

* Salespeople with the most product knowledge do not make the most sales.

* If forced to choose, buyers are more likely to deal with those who best understand their needs than those who best understand the products or services.

How to achieve a better understanding of your customers?

* Stay up to date with business and industry trends affecting your customers.

* Read current trade journals as well as product manuals.

* Be genuinely curious about what’s going on inside the buyer’s world and ask lots of questions about the changes in their lives, as well as their hopes and dreams.

From SPIN Selling Chapter 12, “Honing Your Skills”

“Why do we never get an answer when we knock on the door? – The Moody Blues

It could be because we are knocking on the wrong door. Or are we calling too loud? SPIN is an acronym for a type of questioning/profiling used by top salespeople. S stands for “Location”; P for “Problem”; I for “Participation” and N for “Need to pay”.

First let’s take a look at the “Location” questions. These are the kinds of questions that are essential early in the sales process. If this is your first time meeting the prospect, you obviously need joint information. These are also the type of questions that most new sellers are comfortable with. They are generally not threatening to the client, but there are some risks associated with a “laundry list” approach to profiling with questions like, where do you work? Do you own a house? Do you have a checking account? The problem with this “checklist” style of questioning is that the prospect will get bored if he asks too many questions. What separates the successful salesperson from the rest of the group is how they listen to the answers to these questions and how they limit the number of questions at any given time. As they collect information, they move in the direction of a perceived problem.

If your customer or prospect can’t understand the reasons behind the questions you’re asking, they’ll quickly get bored and the likelihood of an upsell or cross-sell opportunity will quickly die out. Let’s look at the difference between situation questions and problem questions.

situation questions

Questions about problems

Do you have an investment account?

Are you satisfied with the return on your investments?

Do you have a checking account at another bank?

What checking account features does your other bank that maintains your business offer?

Do you own a house?

Are you satisfied with the rate on your home loan?

Are you interested in looking for alternatives to your CD?

What is the purpose of the funds in your CD account? Is it long term or short term?

Where are you employed? How long have you been there?

Does your employer offer a 401(k) or other retirement plan?

As you can see, the Situation questions will gather the facts. Problem questions can collect the same type of information, but they put you in a relationship mode where the prospect sees you as a problem solver.

“One of the greatest pieces of economic wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

By now we should have a clear picture of how to uncover our customers’ problems by asking questions in a way that reveals them. As difficult as it can be at times, we also find that we shouldn’t offer solutions until we know what the problem is. This is accomplished through a combination of situation questions and problem questions. Then we can develop the client’s need with Involvement and Need-Pay questions. If we use this strategy with all of our clients, we should hear far fewer objections and close more sales.

If you find that you’re hearing more objections than you’d like, chances are you’re offering solutions before you discovered the problem. Many times we are the ones who cause all the objections. A recent television commercial for a health care provider discussed phenomena called “true purpose of visit” or RPV. Doctors have to ask a lot of questions to discover RPV because patients, like current and potential clients, will reluctantly give up the real problem they need help with. Just as a doctor can be held liable for malpractice if he prescribes a drug without understanding the problem, so can a financial advisor for offering a solution before understanding the need.

Think of the typical CD client. Given the surprisingly low interest rate environment we are experiencing, it may seem that more of our CD members are not flocking to the branches to meet with our Financial Consultants to take advantage of better investment alternatives. So when you call them in the course of your Block Time during the day, you’ll probably be frustrated by their resistance to your great ideas.

Keep in mind; You are not going to sell anything over the phone. Your goal is to get a date. When it comes to people and their money, they want to have a trusting relationship with the person giving them financial advice. So if you haven’t discovered a need, you won’t get an appointment. And let’s face it, there are some CD clients that just won’t budget despite the great work you do. Let’s look at two ways to avoid unnecessary objections.

1. Objections at the beginning of the call. Research by Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling, shows that customers generally don’t object to questions unless it becomes rude or offensive. Most of the time the objections arise from solutions that do not fit the needs of the member. If he finds that he’s getting a lot of objections early in the call, it means that instead of asking questions, he’s been offering solutions and features. He tries not to offer solutions until he discovers the real need.

2. Objections about the value. If your members don’t see the value of what you suggest, you’ll get objections. It is a sign that you are not developing the need strongly enough. For example, the CD customer raises the insurance concern with the NCUA. He immediately starts a discussion about how his $300,000 won’t be 100% insured anyway and the NCUA could go out of business like any insurance company. You tell them the fixed annuity is safe and pays more interest than their certificate of deposit blah blah blah. You notice that your prospect is even more determined and launches a series of objections and finds that your sale is slipping away. What the member is really telling you is that he has not shown value with his proposed solution. His concern is safety because they need that money for long-term care.

A better approach would be to confirm your security concern. Then proceed to discover the need for that CD (long-term care) money and discuss how your solution addresses both needs by demonstrating how your proposed solution addresses both needs. Reduce the use of features and focus on the use of questions about the problem, the participation and the need for payment.

Four stages of a sales call

1. Obtaining Commitment Begins before the discussion, setting goals that will lead to realistic commitment.

2. Gaining commitment is easier if you have developed strong needs in the research stage and have demonstrated the ability to meet them.

3. Obtaining Commitment consists of three steps:

* Check that you have addressed key concerns

* Summarize benefits

* Proposes a realistic commitment