What Does It Take to Turn a Prospect into a Client?
If you’re booking plenty of appointments, that’s great news. But if you’re not consistently opening new accounts as a result, it’s a wasted effort. Read on to find out what you need to do to turn a prospect into a client.
#1. Know how to overcome objections
Objections are often the only thing preventing you from turning a prospect into a new client. Here are two of the most common things you’ll hear:
“I already have a financial advisor.”
“I don’t have any money.”
These are factual statements. They’re impossible to counteract. So, you need to turn them into questions you can answer.
If a prospect says they already have an advisor, answer their statement with a question.
“I’m sure your current advisor is competent but is it really possible they have all the best ideas? I have a great idea that can help you increase your wealth, so would you consider giving me a try?”
If a prospect tells you they don’t have enough money to invest – ask them if they mean they don’t have enough money to invest “right now”. If they answer in the affirmative, tell them that’s what most of your clients say prior to commencing their investment plan.
Ask if they pay their bills on time. If so, then they are ideal candidates for starting an investment plan. All they need to do is treat themselves like a bill payment and pay themselves each month on a regular basis. After just one year they’ll be amazed by how much they start to accumulate.
#2. Know how to create urgency
To break a prospect’s apathy towards investing, sell them back their needs. If you discover they need to educate the kids, put things into perspective for them. Explain that one year at college is the cost of a good car – so to get the kids through college they’ll need to buy the equivalent of a good car every year for four years.
How will they pay for this? Time goes by fast. If they have a three-year-old child, in 180 months’ time that child will be starting college. If they are 45 and need to pay for retirement, they have just 240 pay checks left in their life. Add to this that the cost of living will be far higher in the future.
Apathy could lead to ruin. Reiterate that if they don’t take care of their families, no one else will. 40 years’ worth of future need won’t be paid for over 10 years – so it’s never too early to start. If they don’t want to rely on friends or welfare when they retire, they need to get an investment plan underway without delay.
#3. Be on the same page as your clients
To get off the fence, prospects have to envisage a long-term relationship with you. It’s never about the numbers or the products, you need to establish a connection with them. Prospects need to like you, trust you and feel that you have their best interests at heart.
Bring your enthusiasm to the table because people like enthusiastic people. Really listen to your prospects. If you don’t actively listen, you won’t learn about their goals, so you won’t be able to provide a solution. In any case listening is polite and will make prospects feel you are truly interested in them.
Furthermore, clients are not always clear themselves about their goals, so learn how to get them talking by asking relevant questions.
Let prospects meet the ‘real’ you, not just the ‘financial advisor’ you. Tell them why you love helping people achieve their financial goals. Maybe you recently helped a couple achieve their dream retirement? Reveal your integrity. Once prospects warm to you, they are well on the way to reaching a decision.
In order to turn prospects into clients you need to work out in advance how to address their concerns so that you get the conversation going the right way. They also need to like and trust you. Put in the practice to develop your soft skills and you will see a dramatic rise in your conversion rates.
Join Don Connelly 24/7 to hone your soft skills and become brilliant at the basics.
