Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach recently posted on LinkedIn:
“My definition of selling is two-fold.
The First part is that you intellectually engage the person you’re selling to with a future desirable result, something that would be an improvement or achievement in their life. And it’s not what you want for them—it’s what they want for themselves.
The second part is that you then enable them to emotionally commit to that goal and then to courageously take action to move forward and achieve the goal. And if you do both of those things, one of them intellectual, the other emotional, you’ve got yourself a sale.”
In the financial industry, this couldn’t be more true. Yet time and again we miss out on closing sales because we omit one or both of these components. If you’re struggling to close, it’s time to consider a change in strategy.
Truth Concepts Helps You See the Truth
Truth Concepts was made to help advisors move away from sales gimmicks and just show the pure mathematics of financial products and strategies. As an advisor, your role is to build trust and communication with your clients over their lifetime—which means starting off on the right foot.
When we talk about gimmicks, in part we’re talking about over-promising or even mis-representing the financial products you sell. Everyone wants a magic solution, yet there are no magic financial solutions.
We like to remind advisors of this, so that we can advocate for products honestly. There are tremendous benefits to whole life insurance—such as certainty, liquidity, and growth—yet it’s disingenuous to promise tax-free wealth or “paying yourself interest.”
The best thing we can do for our clients and our industry is to advocate for whole life insurance honestly, and without marketing “gimmicks.” There are many reasons why whole life works, and the policy loans and tax structure strengthen that, if you’re willing to understand why.
Read: The Truth About Whole Life Insurance Taxation
Combining the Emotional and Intellectual
Like Dan Sullivan said, you have to combine the intellectual understanding with the emotional desire for progress. Combining the two means learning to listen and put your clients first, so that they can envision a better future and feel ready to take action.
Why You Can’t Just Look at Pure Economics
While it’s important to avoid the gimmicks, to uphold the industry’s integrity, the pure economics don’t always hold the solution.
If you’re numbers-oriented, the math can be an easy hill to die on. Because there’s no arguing with the calculators when you input everything correctly. From a pure numbers standpoint, one asset may be the better option for the client. Yet it’s not what they want at the time. And the more you push to be right, the faster you’ll lose them.
A classic example is the 401k discussion. When you look at the future tax liability, management fees, and penalties, a 401k doesn’t stand up to cash value life insurance. Yet how often does it go over well when you tell a client to stop funneling money into a 401k in favor of insurance?
If they have an employer match, it likely doesn’t go well for you. Especially when every major financial news source preaches the benefits of a 401k.
Rather than dying on that hill, you can live in the house of both/and. Your client can contribute to their 401k up to the employer match AND contribute to a life insurance policy.
It’s Time to Listen
If things go well, you’ll have the next 30-100 years with your client. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it’s probably better that you take your time too. You may be the expert, yet it’s okay to impart your knowledge over a lifetime.
Take the time to hear your clients first and get to know who they are. You’ll have a more rewarding relationship, and you’ll be of more help to them.
Clients tell us what they want all the time. The advisor who can hear what they’re really saying will win the day. When a client asks for a particular product, there’s often an underlying reason. They want certainty, or they want liquidity. They want more cash flow, or more control.
By listening first, and giving clients the space to be the hero of the story, you can get to the truth sooner. You’ll find you establish a better emotional connection too.
Building Lifelong Trust With Clients
If you’re ready to build an emotional and intellectual rapport with clients, come to a 3-day Truth Training event. You’ll learn how to use the calculators we offer, and position yourself as your client’s most trusted advisor.
We’ll help you sell without the gimmicks, and teach your clients the whole truth about money.