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Let’s assume you are an experienced investment advisor. You have presented your value proposition hundreds of times. You are about to go into a meeting with yet another prospect who has inquired about your services.
If you are like almost every other advisor I have met, you don't give much thought to the beginning, middle and end of that meeting. You know your stuff. You believe you have a unique value proposition. You are confident that you have heard just about every question and objection that could be asked or raised.
While these assumptions may be accurate, here's what you probably don't know: The process of converting prospects into clients is more of a science than an art. There is peer-reviewed support that shows how you can skew the odds in your favor by following some basic rules. Here are some suggestions:
Happy prospects are more likely to become clients
According to renowned psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, we can learn a lot about the feelings of joy and happiness by looking at the relationship between a mother and her newborn baby. When the mother smiles, the baby smiles back. Yet the brain of a newborn is not sufficiently developed to process the propriety of responding to a smile with a similar response. It appears to be automatic or inherent. The conclusion is inescapable.
Joy and happiness are part of our DNA.
By greeting prospects with an open and smiling countenance, you set the framework for a relaxed and pleasurable meeting. While implementing this suggestion is easy, I have found many advisors are so preoccupied with the details of their presentation, and the seriousness of the process, that they forget to be relaxed, informal and hospitable.
Avoid negativity
It's common for prospects to interview a number of investment advisors before making a final decision. Some will share recommendations made by others. They may also share their investment experience with their present advisor.
When we hear about unwise financial recommendations from other advisors, such as those that are designed to enrich that advisor at the expense of the client, we are tempted to respond candidly and negatively. However, what we view as candor can be perceived as unnecessarily rude and critical. If our comments induce feelings of anger or hostility, they can have the effect of alienating the prospect. In fact, a prospect who initially might have viewed your offering positively may stubbornly defend the recommendations you are criticizing.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, found that participants reading a blog post giving the pros and cons of nanotechnology viewed this emerging science more negatively when the blog was accompanied by rude comments at the end of the post.
Using emotions
The next time you are preparing for a meeting with a prospect by assembling charts, graphs and risk and return data – all of which you may be putting into a lengthy PowerPoint presentation – think about this unassailable fact: We form a gut reaction to information in three seconds or less. Our brain first reacts emotionally, and only then does our conscious, cognitive brain organize and assimilate the information being conveyed. Emotional information is processed in about one-fifth the time it takes our cognitive brain to consider factual information.
Just like the baby reacting to the smile from its mother, your prospects will first react to you and your presentation emotionally. Your challenge is to prioritize a connection with your prospect on an emotional level. This process should begin on your website and continue to be part of all of your personal interactions with prospects and clients.
You can find more in-depth research and suggestions in a report prepared by Google called: The Engagement Project: Finding the Meaning in Memes.
Dan Solin is the director of investor advocacy for the BAM Alliance and a wealth advisor with Buckingham. He is a New York Times best-selling author of the Smartest series of books. His latest book is The Smartest Sales Book You'll Ever Read. He limits his sales coaching practice to advisory firms that advocate evidence-based investing.
Read more articles by Daniel Solin
