I’ll say it louder for the people in the back: “sales” is not a dirty word! Not selling or serving people what they need, however, is as bad as any curse word.
Sales might not be a bad word, but it has certainly gotten a bad rap, and that stigma didn’t manifest out of thin air. It’s an unfortunate reality that a handful of salespeople harboring less than altruistic intent can spoil someone’s entire perception of an otherwise noble profession. How did the “used car salesman” become a scapegoat? Probably because of one way too pushy, way too greedy, and way too disingenuous used car salesman. For shame.
We’ve all felt the uncomfortable pressure of someone pushing for a sale. Although those tactics may work in the short term, they don’t build the kind of deep-rooted relationships a financial advisor needs to foster with their clients.
These types of pushy tactics often serve as a clear window into one’s motivations. Professionals who are less driven by authenticity and the desire to help others are usually instead driven mostly by the almighty dollar, yen, ruble, peso, euro, or taka.
This makes me think of my foray years ago into purchasing whole life insurance with my first financial advisor. I didn’t realize until I became more educated in my protection/investment options that, at the time, it was not the best solution for my goals. Learning about other strategies that better aligned with my goals and realizing the huge upfront commission paid to my advisor on my whole life insurance was dismaying. My advisor was not dialed in to what I’d hoped would be her fiduciary responsibility.
Engaging with salespeople motivated mostly by profit results in the negative impressions people carry about sales. So, to repair the damaged reputation of sales, we simply need to remove profit calculations. Wait, what? Stop the presses—that can’t be right either.
Even professionals driven by authenticity and the desire to truly help others still have to consider profit and other measurable results. This intersection is where balancing motivations can get tricky. Solutions can get confused with the payout, whether that be the commission for some advisors, the financial KPIs you set for yourself, or those your boss states are vital to keeping your job.
As my father, a seasoned entrepreneur in the marble, tile, granite industry, would remind me:
“Honey, money isn’t everything, but it does rank right up there with oxygen!”
Point taken. So, the question becomes, where is the line between profiteering and simply working to sustain our business with needed revenue while maintaining our good-hearted motivation?
The key to this is understanding where you want to go with your firm and the buyer’s journey. How you get from A to B to C in the process of aligning with your prospect’s needs and matching your services appropriately is critical. Let’s explore how your expertise can best align with your opportunity to help others.
Not having a clear vision for your business and a sales process is what too often stands in the way of making needed prospect/client connections to both serve and secure new business.
In Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher’s seminal book, How Clients Buy, A Practical Guide to Business Development for Consulting and Professional Services, in referring to business acquisition:
“First, salespeople who are thought to be really good with people often come off as just inauthentic, oil, or unctuous... Second, we all know of experts who are just terrible with people but who have a line out the door.”
Selling financial services is challenging. It’s less tangible than selling a house or a car or a piece of furniture, all much more tangible through size, design, style, performance, location. You’re selling on reputation, referrals, and relationships you build.
They go on to differentiate:
‘’When selling consulting or professional services, the goal is not to identify prospects and process them like corn flakes; it is to identify a community and position yourself to serve it over time.’
And here is the key, as an advisor and consultant, your intent is not a one-time transaction but in developing a long term, trusted, and mutually beneficial relationship. I’ll add to that with the type of client you most prefer, who fits into your particular niche and service passion point!
McMakin and Fletcher go on to share:
“Successful practice leads in consulting and professional service firms are much more like farmers cultivating their forty acres, careful with every relationship, knowing that if those relationships are treated well over time, they can sustain for life.”
And better yet:
“…experts who are known to be worth their weight in gold needn’t be charmers. It’s nice if they’re nice, but nice isn’t necessary.”
Bingo. So there’s the rub. Think niche, think your skillset, consider what the ideal person or community is who you’d like to serve and their core needs, and finally, calculate how many clients you need to serve longer-term. In short, consider the intersection of your expertise, the opportunity to serve at the highest level, and the quantity needed to assure profitability, and you’re on your way!
Below I outline a 4-4-4 Engaging Roadmap of key areas to consider as you work to engage with a prospect through self-awareness of who you are, what you have to offer, and what they need. I share thoughts on sales process engagement and what to do to retain a great client who might, in time, refer you to other people who need what you offer.
My 4-4-4 Engaging Roadmap considerations are three short, and powerful lists intended to
Trust that if you work through these key engaging measures (I’m mindfully replacing the word sales), the money will come as you work to create a commercial and profitable business that serves people well!
As you start on the road to being authentically you while creating a process to vet who the best candidate for your business is, we’ll look at some methods to convert your potentially salesy mindset to one of simple truth and authenticity.
The first stop on our roadmap is to consider who you are as an advisor so we can then move you through your personalized client acquisition journey.
The second stop on our roadmap will help us navigate the initial engagement phase of a client relationship, and if they are a good fit, steer us towards securing their business.
The last stop on our roadmap is all about nurturing the relationships with your clients to ensure that you are serving them at the highest level throughout all stages of their journey.
Being a savvy financial advisor isn’t enough; you need to know how to connect with the right people, guide them to your practice, understand their challenges, communicate how you can help, and present the best fitting service offerings.
The keyword with smart prospecting is the notion that you might be the right fit for your prospect. You won’t know for sure until you have permission to investigate further. In this process, you hope to gain understanding and respect for your prospect’s situation and them for your expertise in helping them move where they want to go.
The sales process allows you to discern what is important to your prospect and begins a conversational inquiry. This process contrasts with the pressure-filled salesy conversations that make us all shudder, and which sadly have given the term sales a bad rap.
Consultative selling is thoughtful, helpful, respecting and kind. It stems from the desire to serve and should a fit not be yours, a referral to someone better fitting is an equally kind gesture!
Doing good work, being consistent, tuning in, building a trusted, giving relationship is what turns a lead into a prospect and then client. Putting your client’s best interests first while being real, sharing your passion for helping others, and relaying solutions for getting them where they want to go is all part of your role.
In short, your passion for serving, combined with a roadmap for guiding your prospect or client through a defined and communicated engagement process, with frequent, genuine, and purposeful touch-ins, are vital skills to develop in your role as advisor and entrepreneur.
Shake off the old sales framework, along with the stigma, and get out to the people who need you! Make service your mantra and watch both your world and the world of those you serve beautifully transform!
About BB Webb, XYPN Sales Coach
XYPN Sales Coach BB Webb has a background in both the arts and as an entrepreneur. She first learned about sales while touring her one-woman play across country and later through successfully growing her award-winning Atlanta based special event venue, selling it 14 years later to make a move to Bozeman, Montana.
Sales Coach, BB’s primary goal is to assist XYPN members in building great relationships, plans and processes for selling their services as financial advisors. With a focus on consultative selling, BB’s programs and resources are developed to guide members in creating their own systems and conversations for selling their unique services, fearlessly and with joy.