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Women are an important demographic for investment advisors. According to a 2014 study prepared by Ameriprise Financial, which included more than 2,000 women ranging in age from 25 to 70, almost every American woman surveyed either influences financial decisions or makes them on her own.
Moreover, there are three times as many women earning college degrees now than in 1970. Approximately 71% of mothers with children under 18 are employed.
A Coach and Speaker Who Will Increase Your Conversion Rate
My evidence-based persuasion strategies have significantly increased conversion rates for my coaching clients. I use videoconferencing which is very cost-effective. I also give on-site presentations and am available to speak at conferences and internal meetings.
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For more information, please contact:
Dan Solin
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Selling to prospects who are women requires a fundamentally different mindset than when working with men. Here’s what advisors need to know.
Woman power
By some estimates, in the next five years, private wealth is expected to grow from $14 trillion to $22 trillion. Women will control as much as two-thirds of those funds.
Unless you are successful in attracting women as clients (whether they come to you on their own or with their spouse or partner), your ability to increase your assets under management will be seriously impaired.
I previously wrote about this subject, and provided support for my views.
Communication issues
The core problem arises from the fact that men and women communicate very differently. Their expectations from communication also are very different. Richard Drobnick, a practicing counselor and psychotherapist, summarized these differences in this blog.
Drobnick noted that men hear communication through a problem-solving filter. When something is expressed to them, men want to “fix” it. Women are also excellent problem solvers, but they may not always simply be looking for solutions. He observed that women use communication to explore and organize thoughts or ideas. Sometimes, they just want to be heard and understood.
This is a critical difference, which I discussed in this article about empathy.
Positive and negative communications
A recent study provides further insight into this subject. It was authored by Vincenzo Galasso and Tommaso Nannicini, who are both affiliated with Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. They conducted a series of experiments with male and female voters in connection with election campaigns in Milan and Cava de’ Tirreni. Their goal was to determine if gender affected a recipient’s reaction to positive and negative communications from candidates seeking the office of mayor in both cities.
One experiment studied the mayoral race in Milan, where a female incumbent was facing a male opponent. They categorized the opponent’s communications (videos, letters and slogans) as being either positive or negative. They also considered the fact that a male opponent was attacking a female incumbent.
They ran a second experiment focused on the mayoral race in Cava de’ Tirreni, in which a male incumbent faced male opponents. They analyzed positive and negative door-to-door campaigning by volunteers.
Here’s the bottom line of the results of this study: The gender of a communication’s recipient significantly impacted how those communications were received. Women voted more for the opponent and less for the incumbent if they were exposed to the opponent’s positive campaign.
With men, it was a different story. They voted less for the opponent and more for the incumbent when they were exposed to the opponent’s positive campaign.
Other experiments produced similar differences. Men were positively influenced by negative attacks. Women were not.
Practical implications
This quote attributed to Henry Ford provides sound advice for advisors seeking to avoid negative selling: “The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.”
If a prospect who is a woman presents you with brokerage statements that clearly reflect poor advice, avoid bashing her current advisor. Instead, talk about your approach and how you can add value. If you need to say something about her advisor, find something positive. Stay above the fray.
A positive approach with prospects who are women will maximize the possibility of converting her into a client.
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. His sales coaching practice has expanded to include advisory and non-advisory firms in the United States and Canada.
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