How to Distinguish Yourself

[Reading time:  3.5 minutes]

A Unique Opportunity to
Distinguish Yourself - Right Now

Earlier this year, Russ Alan Prince released some research showing the extremely high numbers of clients who were looking to fire their advisor. What do you think that number is now?

Question: What do you need to do right now to separate yourself from the confusion and malaise clients are experiencing? What can you do right now to prove your credibility and show yourself as a person of integrity?

I hope you don’t think of those questions as merely rhetorical. They are intended to make you decide, make you take a giant step into stepping beyond everyone else. That is what this article will show you.

The urgency to separate yourself from the pack has NEVER been greater. As an advisor, you’re looking into the face of a unique, maybe once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show yourself as different and better…position yourself as the voice of reason…prove that you are trustworthy and place your clients’ interest first…demonstrate your credibility!

Question: What is your biggest threat, right now?

It’s not who you think. It’s emotion – emotion on an irrational run. Every time Jim Cramer announces another fear message on TV, you lose. Every time your clients don’t hear from you, you lose. Every time you deliver an off-target message or presentation, you lose. And, what do you lose? Credibility. Every time the industry loses credibility, so do you – until you separate yourself. How? This article shows you how.

The threats to you also include every insurance and financial advisor who is NOT taking a proactive position and contacting their clients. They taint the entire industry. We know that pack to be sizable because we’ve been talking with them during our recent training sessions. They are too scared to call their clients, or they do not know what to say, or they are in denial and believe that we’re in just another correction. Isn’t that a giant opening for you?

The Most Important Point. As we travel and teach classes, we ask our audiences to tell us in 10 words or less their experience of what’s happening today. As you might expect, all the answers are from the advisor’s perspective. No one has given us an answer from the client’s perspective. And, that is the point. It matters not what your experience is. It only matters what your clients’ experience is – and how you respond to it.

Investors are angry, fearful, and hurt. They’ve stopped trusting the media, “Wall Street,” and politicians. (Remember, in their minds, you represent Wall Street.) They are desperately seeking someone they can trust…someone who can help them make sense of this mess and chart the specific steps out of it. You can be that person! This article shows you how.

The two keys to the kingdom are Connection and Credibility – how to make effective Connection and demonstrate your Credibility. Why those two? Because they are the aspects of your business that are most at risk right now. Which means they are also the areas where you can have the biggest impact.

Think of it as Relationship Rescue. What do you need to do right now to rescue your client relationships? What can you do right now to form relationships with new clients? Here’s our plan. It’s simple and extremely effective.

Step 1. Rally the troops to re-establish credibility. Tap into your company’s experts, vendor’s, third-party resources. We often refer to this as “borrowing credibility.” In this situation, we’re urging you to gather available brain power to help you communicate objective, clear and actionable information to your clients and prospects. The goal is to help them sense that you (and your team) have a handle on what’s going on and that you know what to do about it. It is not necessary that you be seen as THE expert. It is necessary that you have a network of experts and can rally them to communicate their expertise in a way that resonates with your clients.

How. Stage a Town Hall Meeting of your clients (and their friends) to give you and your team a platform. You must serve as the facilitator, just like Dr. Phil would do. This is not a sales seminar, so you don’t have to buy dinner. In fact, you don’t even have to send out invitations. Just hire a couple of part-time employees or outside firm to make phone calls for you. The best person we’ve ever met at placing calls is Dawn Gouge. Reach her at: dawn@ridgleaoffice.com
866 450 6663 - toll free
* if you want to learn how to conduct a Town Hall Meeting, send me an email.

Step 2. Add your personal relevance. Part of the reason investors are so disgruntled right now is that they don’t know whom or what to trust. The entire ordeal has been so impersonal, as to be almost surreal. It’s easy to distrust “Wall Street” or the financial services industry or a big company because they are faceless entities and convenient targets. But, you are also a convenient target. Your job is to separate yourself from those faceless entities and show yourself as the caring, credible, trustworthy individual that you are. Get real. Share your feelings. Don’t be afraid to tell the truth, to admit mistakes, talk about lessons learned. This is a rare opportunity to really connect with your clients and prospects.

How. Think of yourself as the host of a TV panel show. Use that kind of format to facilitate either a large meeting or a series of smaller meetings to connect with all your clients. Put a stool in the middle of the stage area and simply talk from your heart to those people in front of you. They are most likely hurting and looking to you for help. Just give it to them.

Step 3. Make a personal connection. After the Town Hall Meeting, make appointments to meet face-to-face with (at least) your best clients. Call it a “Strategy Meeting.” Be straightforward but positive with them. Listen to and acknowledge their concerns and fears. Share your own thoughts, but don’t leave it there. Separate yourself from today’s situation by presenting a way forward with clear, actionable steps. Let your clients feel like they have choices and options, but limit those choices and help them make the decisions. Let them know they are not trapped. Suggest that this might be a good time to reposition assets. Make sure each client leaves the meeting with a step-by-step plan for moving forward.

Step 4. Make a comparison. Like almost everything in our lives, our feelings about our investments are directly related to how we compare to others. We feel bad about losing 20% until we realize that our neighbors lost 30%. That 20% looks even better when we see that Warren Buffet is down 20% as well. Unless you see yourself as merely a selling machine, your job is to provide a sense of perspective (comparison) for your clients, something to help them make sense of the world and see that they’re doing better than many other people out there.

How. During your Town Hall Meeting and your Strategy Meetings, show people a credible comparison. The best resource for showing investment comparisons is a website that does exactly that. It shows the top investors (Warren Buffet, Boone Pickens, etc.) and how they scored in the past six months and past year. That website is: www.gurufocus.com. Find the Guru Scorecard on the left side of the screen, then print it and use it with all of your clients.

Step 5. Repeat. It is essential that you jump into proactive mode immediately and take action in order to reap the biggest benefit. But this is not a one-time solution. You must continue to look for ways to enhance your credibility and strengthen the connection with your clients.

Connection and Credibility have always been essential in our industry. They will continue to be essential elements of your success. The only difference between today and a year ago is opportunity. Not only can you save or grow existing relationships, you can also win new clients by being proactive and stepping up to take care of the ones you have. That gives your existing clients a reason to talk about you.

The time is now. Are you ready?
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The Personal Approach.  In our research, we've learned that the number one concern of advisors is marketing - how to get more clients.  Well, that's what it was six months ago.  Now, it's how to stop clients from jumping ship.  The article above illuminates something that is so simple as to be nearly invisible - the power of a true personal (heart to heart) communication.  Pam and I have spent years learning the psycholgy behind that and helping our coaching clients be able to conduct that kind of conversation.  If you have trouble opening up to your clients (or other people), please let us help. 
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The difference between Ahhh and Huh.  Pam and I have been traveling across the USA teaching advisors how to built what we call an "Organic Business."  That's a practice that is self-sustaining and built on referrals.  We find it fascinating that some people are amazed at the relevance and practicality of our advice, and others simply don't get it.  We believe the former have the flexibility to see through their clients' eyes and will position themselves to turn today's trouble into an opportunity.  Conversely, the latter are much less flexible and will find themselves in quicksand, sinking deeper with nothing to grab onto. 
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The Secret.  No, not that silly movie - I'm talking about the secret for weathering this economic storm.  It's communication.  But, stop right there.  Just because you have a mouth does not mean you can communicate effectively.  That's as insane as thinking because you have hands you can create great art.  We continue to press one point - communication is not about you or your perspective.  It is only about your client and his perspective. 

Imagine your mind's eye as a TV camera.  Now, what would the world look like if you could see through the camera inside your client's head?  According to the research conducted by Russ Alan Prince, the client's world is drastically different from yours.  How different?  Well, isn't that one of the most important things you need to learn, espeically now?  One of the great skills Pam and I teach advisors is the ability to read and understand the world through the client's eyes.  Want to learn how to do that?  Just let us know.

-- Michael Lovas

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