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Have you struggled to get calls returned?
Perhaps a prospective client stalled you. They asked to call you back after they had a chance to think about it. You called a few times without response. Perhaps even a long-time client ghosted you rather than called back with a response.
Why people don’t respond
What is your strategy to get a call back? Like most financial advisors, you are likely to keep calling. Your voicemail might be, “Hi John. This is Dan. I wanted to find out if you made a decision yet. Please call me back at xxx-xxx-xxxx.”
Do you get a consistent response with this message? Let’s talk about why your calls don’t get returned.
1. Your prospects and clients forget the value and importance of the decision.
Research on memory demonstrates that we forget 70% of what we see and hear within one day and 90% in three days. It is highly unlikely that your prospect remembers more than a headline message and not much else.
This is one of the reasons why it’s important to book seminar attendee appointments at the event instead of calling them the next day. Attendees remember the emotion and need at the event but forget as soon as they get home.
I have written previously in this publication that it is important to use a rating sheet of attendee concerns at the seminar. Then encourage anyone who rated a need highly to book an appointment then and there.
2. You don’t relate the voice mail to needs – only that they should call you back
Research from U.S. Trust has shown that if you can listen for one need, there is a 35% chance of making a sale. two needs generate a 56% chance and three needs give you a 92% chance of making a sale. If you can relate any message to three needs, you are more likely to get a call back.
3. They ignore any more than two messages
All of us develop ”scotomas” in time. This is a term for messages that are in time ignored. When my daughter Catherine was five, I asked her to pick up a sock in the living room. She said “yes” but asked to wait until the TV commercial break. The next day, the sock was still there, and I asked again. She said that mom wanted her to do something and could she do it afterward. The third day, even though the sock still didn’t get picked up, I no longer noticed it. Your first voice mail message will get the prospect’s attention. Perhaps they plan on calling back on the way home from work. The second message is a reminder, but they log it in their things to do list. Your third message is a totally ignored scotoma. They may have heard your third message but didn’t listen.
How to get your messages returned
The way to get messages returned is to always link it to their needs. Here is a three-step process that always works.
1. Leave a voicemail reminding them of their needs and to call you back.
“Hi John, this is Dan. Last week, we spoke about your concern about volatility, inflation and long-term care. I want to work on this for you. Please call me back at xxx-xxx-xxxx.”
Use their words when you repeat needs. If they said high prices, don’t repeat the word inflation. If they said end up in a senior home, don’t say long-term care. Their words have meaning and intent. They are impacted a lot more by their own words than your translation. Write down their words and use them when you communicate.
2. Wait two days and leave the same message. But remind them of your last call.
“Hi John, this is Dan. Last week, we spoke about your concern about volatility, inflation and long-term care. I want to work on this for you. By the way, I called on Monday but haven’t received a call back yet. Please call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.”
3. The third call is the most important. This is when you get a yes or no response. Leave the same message with their three needs. Remind them of your two other calls. But then ask if the needs are no longer important.
“Hi John, this is Dan. Last week, we spoke about your concern about volatility, inflation and long-term care. I want to work on this for you. By the way, I called on Monday and Wednesday but haven’t received a call back yet. If these concerns are no longer important to you, please let me know. My phone is xxx-xxx-xxxx.”
Then send an email or text with the same message. Approximately 65% of the time you will get a response. It may be that they decided against working with you or found another solution. But you will get a response.
Many years ago, Doug Anderson ghosted me regarding speaking at his BD event. His needs were to increase closing ratios of the attendees, get them to sell more LTC and generate more referrals. I called once with his three needs. Then called two days later referring to the needs again and reminded him that it was my second call. But on the third call, I asked if the needs were no longer important and followed it with an email. I even used the tagline, “If these needs are no longer important to you, call me back and say take a hike.”
Five minutes after the email, I got a call from Doug. “Hi Kerry, this is Doug. Take a hike!” I said, Doug, you want me to take a hike? He laughed and said, “No. But one of our committee members already picked a speaker. Can we talk in six months about our next meeting?”
I wished they would have picked me to speak at the event. But I got a quick response. And you will too.
I would love to send you a free video of “The 3 Call Script.” Write me at [email protected] or call 714-368-3650. We will spend a few minutes talking about your goals for increasing your business this year.
Dr. Kerry Johnson is “America’s Business Psychologist.” He is the best-selling author of 17 books including How to Recruit, Hire and Retain Great People to be released on August 23rd. He is also a frequent speaker at financial conferences around the world. Peak Performance Coaching, his one-on-one coaching program, promises to increase your business by 80% in 8 weeks. To see if you are a candidate for this fast-track system, click on www.KerryJohnson.com/coaching and take a free evaluation test. You will learn about your strengths and what is holding you back. Or call, 714-368-3650 for more information.
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