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Financial advisors don’t have to “cure” prospects who procrastinate. Instead, ask the right questions and listen to what they say.
It’s your job to motivate clients to implement a financial plan that will meet their goals and make them happy. I can help.
The two obstacles to moving forward
In my early financial advisor years, it was a mystery. A prospect would say during a preliminary meeting that they liked my way of doing business and they were ready to move ahead just as soon as they “did something.” Usually, it was something like getting ready to go on vacation. They would move ahead upon return, or they needed to finish some work or home task that sounded like it involved a lot of time.
I would wait the appropriate amount of time plus a few days and then try to contact them. Nothing. Crickets. Gone dark. Email, text message, then telephone. No response. I assumed they did not want to proceed and I would never know why. But I wanted to know the reason so I could do better next time.
Since many prospects came as a referral from family, friends, work colleagues, neighbors, or a center of influence, I would call that connection and ask them what happened. Every story was a little bit different, but it all boiled down to two issues. They just didn’t trust me, or they didn’t see the value for the price I was charging.
Addressing the obstacles
Upon reflection, I realized I was not a good listener. I was not asking the right questions to overcome those two consistent obstacles and allow the prospect to sell themselves. I needed to better understand prospects’ expectations and experience and hear the issues they wanted to convey.
After much reading about prospect procrastination, I realized I needed to alter my closing dialogue to make things less overwhelming. I learned to say, “Let me ask you this question: How do you know we’re a good fit?” and then wait for their response.
Once they responded, I would say, “That’s terrific.” I would ask them, “What would you like to do as a first step?” This question would let them break down a seemingly gargantuan ordeal into a set of tasks, one of which they felt they could accomplish right away. This avoided the overwhelming feeling that many prospects and clients experience when pondering financial planning and investing.
You don’t have to sell, only communicate
Getting prospects to like you, building trust, and articulating your value proposition are important. But asking prospective clients to express the reasons for a good fit, and then explain the first step they felt they could accomplish led to more immediate signed engagements. I also didn’t have to live with another excuse not to proceed.
Mystery solved. Let the prospect do the selling. Listen after you ask the right questions and provide satisfying responses.
For fee-only financial advisors, a certain percentage of potential clients procrastinate on moving forward. Jim Ludwick coaches prospects off the fence so advisors can close the sale and help more people achieve their financial goals. For more information, visit procrastinationjunction.com/for-advisors.
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
