How You Present Is as Important as the Information You Are Presenting
The facts and figures you present to your clients may not be as important as you think they are. Clients don’t want more information. Clients want someone they can trust. While you are giving your presentation, they are not deciding on the accuracy of the numbers. They are deciding about you. Can I trust you? Will you always do the right thing? What are your values? Are you on my side? They need to trust you, not the numbers.
Listen to the audio or read the transcript below to learn why how you present is as important as the information you’re presenting.
How you say something is as important as what you say.
I am not suggesting that form is as important or more important than substance. Rather, I am saying that you are selling yourself more than your recommendations.
If someone is to be your client, that person must find you likable, trustworthy and smart. They are buying you, not the data. If they don’t understand you, they will not act. Nobody buys what he or she doesn’t understand. Nobody does business with someone they don’t trust. We all do business with people we like. You don’t want them trusting the numbers. You want them trusting you.
Perfect your first impressions.
It’s trite but true that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Every word out of your mouth and every action you take is a message. Whether you are an LPL sole proprietor or an FA with UBS, you are running your own business. Dress and act like a CEO, but be approachable. Don’t be stuffy. Be personable. People want to do business with you the person, not you the professional.
When you sit across that desk or that table, your behavior is under the microscope.
Watching behavior over time is how people determine trust. Yes, it’s what you say. But it’s also how you act. Listen intently. Smile. Make eye contact. Put your ego away. Don’t embellish. Never overpromise. Be the kind of person everyone wants to get to know. Audiences trust Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. You tell me why.
Make sure people know this is your career, not your job.
Tell your clients what your succession plan is. They want you there for the rest of their lives. If the relationship is right, they want you to outlive them. It’s important to be a rock.
Learn to use stories and analogies to make yourself more understandable and less pedantic.
When you sit with someone for the first time, you are a stranger. Everyone builds shields to keep away strangers. Stories knock those walls down. Analogies make the unfamiliar familiar.
A lot of Advisors are competent. A lot of Advisors are likable. The stars are both. If you have that combination, you are scarce; and people naturally want what is scarce.
Finally, be confident. Believe in yourself.
Body language says a lot. Simplify your subject matter and say it with confidence. Let them feel your passion for your career. Yes, what you say is terribly important. How you present it is just as important.
