A coaching client asked me this week to discuss my thoughts on social prospecting. This is a delicate subject because you do not want to be labeled a “networker” which is synonymous with “always selling” and becomes a fast track ticket to the “Black List.”
When asked about what you do for a living you should have an effective Elevator Script which results in the person saying “tell me more.” But what do you do when you are in a social setting and no one inquires about your job and you look around the room at all these great prospects.
First ask yourself, why are you there? Was the purpose to prospect, if not maybe you should stop trying to sell and just enjoy the company and conversation. If your purpose was to prospect, then you should ask yourself whether the other’s expectations are to be solicited. If not maybe you should amend your purpose.
Too many sales people join organizations solely to find prospects and they are soon identified by the group and “Black Listed.” If you join a group, be there for the purpose of the group. Be there because you believe in what they are trying to do, if not leave.
As I mentioned in an earlier post clients and advocated first need to like us before they trust us. If you want to work with your social contacts, be likable and participate in the activities because you believe in them. If they like you they will trust you. Then when they ask what you do, you are prepared with your Elevator Script.
Until a practice becomes an Exponential Business and has over a hundred unsolicited introductions a year, it must focus on three areas of marketing simultaneously. To maintain consistent revenue a practice must have short, intermediate, and long term revenue sources. continue reading…
The press continues to encourage investors to watch what the institutional and hedge fund managers are doing as an indicator for what they should do. And because they are selling, so should the investor. This is foolish advice, because institutional managers, during the extremes of the market, are never doing what they personally want to do. Because of redemptions during crashes and infusions of new money during rallies they are forced to liquidate or invest against their own best judgment
Investing is counter intuitive. One of the great counter intuitive investors is Warren Buffett. Read his letter to the New York Times here.
Forwarding this letter to clients might be a good way to comfort them in these difficult times.
Below is an email from the Manager of Advisory Services of a corporate client, following the Attract Clients workshop we did last month.
Lloyd, I just got off the phone with one of our Financial Advisors. He had a meeting with a $50 million prospect Friday. He used, as he called it, “the Lloyd approach” at the meeting and let the prospect talk about himself for an hour and a half. At the end of the meeting, the prospect commented on how his FA at another firm never gave him the opportunity to speak about things the way he was allowed to do that day and felt like the other FA was not proactive in coming up with investment recommendations that were appropriate for him. At the end of the meeting, the client agreed to move his account. Thanks for the inspiration!!!
Congratulations to the advisor. The one topic clients want to talk about more than any other is themselves. Give them the opportunity.
