Tell Prospects What You Do instead of What You Are
In social settings, people will often ask what you do for a living. If, like the majority of advisors, you reply ‘I’m a financial advisor’, you’re missing an opportunity to pique others’ interest and possibly win new business.
Instead of simply sharing your job title, use this opportunity to establish your value, and give people a reason as to why they should want to work with you.
Create a good elevator speech
A good elevator speech can help to stimulate conversation and attract prospects. It’s a useful way to respond to the question ‘what do you do’ in social situations by illustrating who you work with and how you help them.
It’s also a far better way to express what you do for a living to someone who probably doesn’t understand what the job of a financial advisor is. By saying ‘I’m a financial advisor’ their eyes may glaze over, and they may have an obvious desire to change the conversation.
Also, the person you’re talking to may have a pre-determined idea of what a financial advisor is like. Simply stating your job title gives you no chance to give yourself the justice you deserve, and you’ll remain stereotyped in their minds.
Some quick ways to respond to ‘what do you do?’
Your goal is to get across the fact you help people, so talk about the value you bring to the table. Here are a few quick ways to explain what you do.
‘I work with affluent families by identifying their financial pain then I make that pain go away.’
Or,
‘it’s my job to prevent wealthy people from becoming poor’.
Another good example is ‘It’s my job to help people to save for retirement in the safest, most tax-efficient way.’
Don’t bore people – remember they’ve simply expressed a polite interest. Make your ‘elevator speech’ no more than 10 seconds long.
Tailor your message
You’ll likely get asked ‘what do you do’ by many different types of people. Before you speak, consider the type of person you have in front of you.
What services do you provide that would make you attractive to them in particular? How could you meet their specific needs or problems?
For example, if you find yourself talking to people nearing retirement, tailor your message around their possible needs. Let them know that you’re an expert in helping people retire comfortably. If they seem interested, give examples of people you’ve helped in the past. Offer an experience that might resonate with the kinds of people you’re talking to. If you’re talking to a medic, tell an anecdote about how you recently helped someone who was pushing through a serious illness.
If you’re talking to a young couple, introduce the fact that you are an advisor who specializes in helping young families accumulate enough money to secure their children’s education.
Experiment with different replies
Try out different ways to reframe the question so you can see which one represents you the best and which helps move the conversation on.
Get across your unique value proposition
When you’re sitting down in the office with prospects for the first time, they already know what you do for a living. They understand that you offer financial advice.
In a social meet-up though, you need to demonstrate what your unique value proposition is. What is it that makes you stand out from the crowd? Maybe you’re a more caring advisor than any other and chose to work in this profession to prevent people making bad financial decisions. A good way to express your unique value is to tell your ‘who I am’ story – it’s a great ice-breaker when you first meet with a prospective client.
Whenever you have the opportunity – whether that’s in a social setting or in a meeting with prospective clients – you need to explain what you actually ‘do’ in terms of adding value. Outline your importance and illustrate in an understandable way how you positively impact others through your work.
Whoever you’re talking to, be enthusiastic about your living. Make it clear you love your job because people love to be around passionate people. Don’t be shy about what you do – or about your worth. Go all out to make an impression about yourself in the mind of the person you’re talking with.
Watch this 2-minute video to learn how our 8-step training program will help you create your unique value proposition and develop a plan for using it day in and day out for the rest of your career to attract new clients.
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