New Year’s Resolutions for 2014
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I make too many New Year’s resolutions. I know that because I have never once kept them all. That’s ironic since I preach simplicity. So this year, I’m going to eat my own cooking. I’m going to simplify my list. I’m going to make one resolution for you and one resolution for me. Let’s start with you.
Repeat after me: In 2014, I resolve to ask for the order.
I am not going to walk away without asking. Those times I get rejected, fine by me. Rejection is part of the price of succeeding. I may fail to get that account, but it’s not going to be because I didn’t ask.
Everything you’ve gotten in life, you’ve gotten by asking. That includes your clients. If you want people to become your clients, you have to ask them to become your clients. Chances are they aren’t going to call up and ask to open an account. It’s not the other person’s job to make life easy for you.
We all have trouble asking for the commitment.
If we didn’t, we wouldn’t have those files sitting on our desks. Opening doors is one thing. Getting the account is something else. Part of the reason we have trouble asking for the business is that we want to appear neither needy nor greedy. “I’d like you to do business with me, but I don’t need the business. Really, I don’t. It would be nice, but it’s not going to make or break me.”
Also, to ask and wait for an answer is to give up a little control. The power balance in the relationship shifts. The supplicant is never in charge.
And, of course, nobody wants to hear the word ‘no’. To ask is to invite rejection. But I assure you that whenever someone says no to you, the chances are the reason has nothing to do with you as a person.
There is no better closing technique than simply asking for a commitment.
The better job you do getting to the close, the more natural it is to ask. Before you earn the right to ask, you have to probe and listen until you know exactly what’s on the other person’s mind. You have to establish the person’s needs and wants. You have to answer all questions and overcome any objections. You have to make a cogent and simple presentation. Then, just ask. Don’t ever think that you’re so good you shouldn’t have to ask.
My resolution is to write two blog posts every week next year.
104 blog posts. No skipping. I am going to focus on the hard skills and soft skills essential to a Financial Advisor’s continued growth.
The hard skill conversations will be all about the repeatable processes we use to open accounts and gather assets.
The soft skill passages will deal with the three topics that directly affect a Financial Advisor’s ability to influence and persuade: the use of powerful rhetoric, establishing credibility and the stirring up of emotions.
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I hope you had a most successful 2013 and I hope 2014 is a record breaker. Peace and joy to you and your loved ones.
Don
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Thank you so much for all your advise and for coming to the AGF/Primerica Road Shows. I’ve been to two now and learned much from each and I will make my resolution for 2014 .Diane Griffiths
Thank you for your comment and feedback, Diane – Happy New Year!
We are glad you enjoyed Don’s appearances on the AGF/Primerica Road Shows. Good luck with your 2014 resolution – come back to this post toward the end of the year and tell us how you did with it 😉
Diana