Last week, my article Getting Prospects to Meet described how an advisor uses case studies on tax saving strategies to get in front of prospects.
Today, I will show how using a “fallback request” quadrupled participation in a Red Cross blood drive, and how this technique could increase your success when talking to existing and prospective clients.
Why fallback requests work
Arizona State Professor Robert Cialdini is a pioneer in researching the drivers of persuasion. In his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Cialdini described two 1960s experiments; one aimed at getting more volunteers to chaperone a group of teenagers on a trip to the zoo and the other at increasing donors to a Red Cross blood drive. The underlying principle behind a fallback request is simple: If people say no to an initial, reasonable request, they are more likely to agree to a subsequent lesser demanding request. This is also known as the contrast principle.
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Cialdini described how the Baltimore County Youth Counsellor Program tripled volunteers to chaperone a group of “juvenile delinquents” on a trip to the zoo in the 1960s by first asking for a pledge of two hours a week for two years. When respondents said that this was too big of a commitment to take on, the people making the request said that they understood but that there was a special trip to the zoo coming up. They asked if the respondent would be free to accompany these kids just this one time.
In the case of the Red Cross blood drive, using a fallback request increased the response rate to donate blood from 15% to 65%. Again, the first request was more ambitious. In this case, respondents were asked to sign up to give blood every six weeks for three years. Respondents declined, saying that they knew giving blood was important, but they weren’t able to make this commitment. The people making the request replied that this was absolutely understandable, but asked if they were in a position to give blood just once in an upcoming one day blood drive. What’s especially interesting is that not only did the agreement to participate in this one day blood drive go up after the more ambitious initial request was made, but the percentage of people who showed up after saying yes was significantly higher as well.
Using back-up requests to advance your business
The notion of starting by asking for more than you expect is not new; it is a tried-and-true technique in labor negotiation and in-house sales. While not broadly used by financial advisors, there is no reason that this principle can’t work for you as well. Remember, though, that your initial request has to be reasonable. Here are three examples of how a fallback request might work in conversations with existing clients and with prospects.
Target |
Initial request |
Fallback request
|
Prospective client –A business owner who you met at a community function |
I am in your area a week from Friday morning. Your schedule permitting, I would very much like to sit down for 45 minutes to talk about one or two strategies that are working for other business owners and see if they are worth exploring for you. |
I understand that you’re busy. How about 20 minutes for a quick coffee, and I’ll bring the coffee? |
Prospective client – A brother-i-n law of an existing clients who referred this prospect |
I’m calling at the suggestion of John to invite you to an upcoming lunch where we might talk about the outlook for markets given some of the recent developments in Europe and Asia. |
I absolutely understand. I will let you know the next time that we’re hosting a lunch like this. In the meantime, can I add you to the distribution list for my monthly e-newsletter? |
Existing client with adult children |
There’s a growing body of research on the importance of talking to adult children about inheritance plans. In light of that, when we meet next week, does it make sense to spend a bit of time scheduling a meeting in which I could help you walk your children through your inheritance plans? |
I completely understand your concern about your children not developing a sense of entitlement. When we meet, how we spend a bit of time talking further about this. I’d like to share a couple of examples where we were able to have a useful conversation with adult children without getting into the specifics of the actual amounts involved. |
In each of these cases, the initial request is reasonable. The fallback request is not as ambitious as the initial ask, but still moved the conversation forward. One of the keys to making this work is to have the fallback request clearly formulated before making the initial request; if you wait until you hear no to start thinking about it, the chances are that your fallback request will be weak or you will not deliver the ask with conviction.
Dan Richards conducts programs to help advisors gain and retain clients and is an award winning faculty member in the MBA program at the University of Toronto. To see more of his written commentaries, go to www.danrichards.com or here for his videos.
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