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It’s time to question and challenge the notion of the “discovery” meeting. For many advisors, this is as close to sacrilegious as you can get – how dare one challenge what the leaders of the profession have always preached and still espouse today? Consider that, as professionals, advisors should get the same respect, trust and authority as doctors. But doctors don’t do discovery meetings.
The notion of discovery was invented in the early 1980s before the profession became commoditized. It was used successfully for decades as a peer-to-peer communication framework between two professionals, engaged in the mutual gathering and disclosure of knowledge and information. That was based on the assumption that the information shared was uniquely available from the advisor sharing it. Fast track to today. Information and knowledge have become commoditized and most people already have an advisor or they’re in “shopping” mode. Doctors operate differently, and here’s the distinction you need to understand to avoid becoming commoditized.
A doctor’s job is to tell their patient the underlying issues that are impacting the problem they’re experiencing, make sure they’re committed to addressing it, then prescribe what must be done to fix it.
That’s not a peer-to-peer interaction between two equals where information is shared.
It’s an authority-based interaction between an expert and a non-expert, where instructions are handed down.
What’s required in this seamless interaction is that the patient trusts the doctor to know what they’re talking about and has their best interests in mind.
For this to happen, the doctor must operate in a manner consistent with that expectation.
They must preserve the patient’s trust in their authority by keeping the interaction strictly ”expert to non-expert” – that’s why doctors don’t “do coffee” with their patients.
The discovery meeting diminishes your status (which forces you to “sell”)
Advisors need to ditch the discovery meeting model, which reduces their status from authority to peer.
The initial consultation is not a peer-to-peer moment to discover whether you and your potential client are a “fit.”
It’s a diagnosis moment where you, like a doctor, define the scope and parameters of your prospect’s problem that brought them to you in the first place.
A discovery meeting creates the need for another meeting. Why would you want to extend your sales process?
A trust-based, deep-dive diagnostic meeting creates clarity around their issues, which highlights and justifies the need to solve them.
When executed with empathy and bedside manner, there is no longer a need to sell your knowledge, expertise or value.
Your prospect has already bought into you based on the depth and strength of the clarity you’ve provided around their issues, “peeling back the onion” of what they can’t articulate on their own. Stop delivering value. It’s commoditized. Instead, deliver intense clarity by becoming the trusted authority around the underlying issues and insights invisible to them.
Become a trusted authority
In an expert to non-expert interaction, the success of the interaction depends on the degree to which the non-expert (your prospect) views the expert (you) as being a trusted authority, or in other words...
As someone they can trust to solve their problems, because you’ve proven through your non-discovery selling behaviors that you care deeply about the impact and cost-of-inaction of not solving their issues.
To learn why discovery selling is on a rapid decline and what you can do about it, order your complimentary book and consultation below.
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, “Trust In A Split Second” 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 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.
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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
