Read Your Prospects

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Read Your Prospects –
the secret to your credibility!

Your ability to read people is key to making yourself more likeable, and likeability is key to your credibility, and credibility is key to getting referrals. Doesn't your business depend on referrals? When you see this perspective, it becomes very easy to recognize the extreme value you can get when you learn how to do it. Now, with that in mind . . .

Imagine you meet Bill at a neighborhood party. He’s a great prospect for you and would be a whale of a client. After making fun of the local politicians, he asks about your job.

Stop! Right there you have a decision to make.

Choice 1. You could talk about your work, and even display some of your deep storehouse of financial knowledge. You can wax on the market and the dangers of day trading. You could touch on annuities, REITs and ETFs. And, if you do, you’ll most likely see Bill’s eyes glaze over.

Choice 2. You could talk about what you do in a way that’s relevant to Bill and what he is interested in. That might be exit planning, setting up a family foundation or education funding.

Which approach do you think will work better for you? Which approach do you think will engage Bill in the conversation, thus moving him one step closer to visiting you at your office? Choice 2!

How? As with all advice, this is the big question – how. How can you determine what Bill wants to know about or is interested in? This is one of the two areas of our specialization. I’ve personally been researching and exploring this exact question since about 1986. We teach our coaching clients to climb inside the heads of their prospects and see the world from that perspective. More important - we also teach them how to do that. It’s a simple one-step process:

Step 1. Read the prospect’s face.

I know, it sounds ridiculous, but over the past ten years, we’ve proven it a thousand times and have seen how accurate it can be. What you're really doing to reading the tell-tale signs of facial expressions. Figure, if you've made the same facial expression a zillion times through your life, doesn’t that facial expression have significance for you? We’ve discovered there are only four expressions that are meaningful for businesses purposes. Is that simple enough?

So, if you look at Bill’s face, you’ll recognize a common set of facial lines. Those lines will give you a good idea of what Bill’s personality type is, what his values are, what his communication style is, and what some of his mental filters are. In short, just by spending three seconds to look at Bill’s face – and knowing what to look for - you’ll actually have a psychological profile of him. And, that will tell you what to say to Bill and how to say it.

The real reason this is important to you. We have identified a process for building credibility. When you learn the process, you can be far more effective at building your credibility. The second step in the process - read your prospect! Your ability to read people is key to making yourself more likeable, and likeability is key to your credibility, and credibility is key to getting referrals. When you see this perspective, it becomes very easy to recognize the extreme value you can get when you learn how to do it.

Want to learn how to do this for your own business? Here are three options:

Buy our book Face Values. It's the text book for this skill set. In fact, order before June 1 and we'll give you a $10 discount. You can order Face Values from this link: http://secure.megatrans.com/aboutpeople/Catalog/
Get Face Values Coaching. We'll help you apply these skills to your specific needs, and even help you read and connect with specific prospects! Call for details: 509.465.5599
Attend our Credibility & Connection Intensive in Charlotte, NC on June 5 & 6. Three 3-hour sessions that will equip you with skills you never knew existed. Get details right here: http://www.aboutpeople.com/credibility/

-- Michael Lovas

Find AboutPeople resources at:
http://secure.megatrans.com/aboutpeople/Catalog