Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
As a highly competent advisor with years of experience, it’s easy to assume that your expertise is all you need to successfully acquire new clients at a steady pace.
You have a respectable practice that you’ve built over the years delivering dependable advice and tremendous value.
Clients are happy and your business is relatively stable.
With all of that, it’s easy to assume prospects would instantly recognize and appreciate your expertise and decide to hire you.
But while your competence and credibility might have got you to where you are today... it’s not going to get you to where you need to be tomorrow.
There are many advisors in your market with the same credibility as you.
Until now, you could rely on your competence and credibility to bring in new clients.
But competence and credibility have been commoditized.
In other words, being good at what you do is no longer enough to differentiate yourself from other advisors.
New advisors are coming into the profession and increasing the number of choices available to potential clients.
But you may be saying to yourself: “I’m a trusted advisor. My clients trust me and that’s the main way I have differentiated myself up until this point.”
I’m sure that is true, but here’s the problem...
The fact that you are a trusted advisor to your current clients has zero leverage and relevance to new potential clients who don’t yet have a relationship with you.
Going into a sales conversation as a trusted advisor forces you to rely on your competence and positionings you like other competent advisors.
But if you become a trusted authority, your sales conversations proceed from a profoundly different starting point.
You are positioned as the “only choice” for your ideal client, and you won’t ever have to sell yourself. Prospects are ready and open to working with you.
Becoming a trusted advisor is what happens after you make the sale. But before you can even make the sale, you need to become a trusted authority.
How do you do this?
Simple.
Your classic advisor mindset of: “Get me in front of the right prospects and they’ll trust me, I’ll be fine”, needs to change to: “Help me create a trusted authority sales process so that before I meet a potential client, they already trust me”.
Ari Galper is the world’s number one authority on trust-based selling and is the most sought-after high-net worth/lead generation expert for financial advisors. His newest book, “Trusted Authority” has become an instant best-seller among financial advisors worldwide – you can get a Free copy of Ari’s book here and, when you click the “YES” button in the order form, you’ll also receive a complimentary “plug up the holes” lead generation consultation. Ari has been featured in CEO Magazine, Forbes, INC Magazine and the Australian Financial Review. He is considered a contrarian in the financial services industry and in his book, everything you learned about selling will be turned upside down. No more chasing, no pressure, no closing.
Read more articles by Ari Galper
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
