By David Newman
Cab drivers run the meter. They throw the luggage in the trunk (that’s a $1 bag charge). They may or may not be personable. If you have extra passengers, that’s $1.50 each on top of the mileage. No smoking. And the radio is tuned to his favorite station—not yours. Many advisors are, well, cab drivers. From where the client sits, the meter is always running. The agenda is about getting more of the client’s assets, selling more insurance, earning higher fees and ringing up more commissions.
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The intersection of joy and business is called profit. |
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What if you came across a dramatically different kind of cab driver? Let’s call him Ike. Ike is the envy of the other drivers he knows, because he brings home more money time after time.
- Ike has his own business card with his personal cell phone number, a rocket logo and a humorous tagline, such as “Strap in. Hang on. Here we go!” One of his cab’s notable features is the Hot Wheels steering wheel cover. Your initial impression might be that he is direct and, most importantly, fast.
- Ike is a great listener. This would be in contrast to some “real character” cab drivers, who are great talkers.
- Ike takes credit cards and proudly displays the Visa and American Express decals inside his cab. A credit card transaction costs him between 2 percent and 4 percent of every sale. The cab company does not subsidize this fee; it’s up to each individual driver to decide whether to accept credit cards or not. But it also makes him easy to do business with—and, coincidentally, increases the likelihood of getting a nice tip.
- Ike is proactive and offers suggestions. For example, when a passenger asks Ike for a good restaurant recommendation, he has a few of his favorite places in mind and a restaurant guide available right in the front seat of the cab. Ike will offer to take his passenger to the restaurant, and also to come back at an appointed time to save the hassle of tracking down another cab. He is never late.
- When picking up or dropping off from the airport, Ike always finds out a little bit about his passenger. Is this his first time in town? How long is his visit? If Ike discovers that his passenger has come for business and hasn’t any time to see the sights or experience the city, he offers to take the passenger on a 10-minute sightseeing tour of downtown. Is this a gimmick to add 10 minutes to the meter? With some cabbies, it might be. But Ike’s passion and knowledge and eagerness to share it with his passengers cannot be faked.
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Empathy comes from your heart and your genuine interest in helping the client improve his situation. |
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Learn from Ike
Let’s turn our focus to the lessons for advisors. Feel free to compare these tips as they relate to your business with the corresponding lessons from the taxi business above.
- Successful advisors stand apart—both in form and in substance. Sales trainer, consultant, and author Jeffrey Gitomer uses a half-dollar sized coin with his image and contact information (and some clever slogans like “In Sales We Trust”) engraved on it as his business card. People not only remember it, they keep it and they show it to their friends. Your initial impression might be that he is successful, funny, creative, and different than every other “me-too” sales trainer wearing a nice suit and carrying sharp white business cards (yawn).
- Successful advisors aren’t good listeners. They’re DEEP listeners. “Good” listeners use surface tricks and techniques like “active listening” and “matching and mirroring.” Deep listeners listen with no agenda. Your listening focus should be on empathy—literally “feeling WITH” the client—and understanding the issues behind the issues. This isn’t a trick. Empathy comes from your heart and your genuine interest in helping the client improve his situation. Deep listening will help you understand the real value that the client seeks from you.
- Successful advisors are easy to do business with. One of the world’s finest consultants, Alan Weiss, says in his book Million Dollar Consulting, “You have to spend money to make money.” Part of that money should be spent on things that will make you easy to do business with. Some of these things are almost trivial—being able to accept credit cards, having an 800 number, etc. And some of these things will be a major investment of time, effort, thought, and energy—such as designing a resource-rich web presence or moving to value-based fees so people get you and your expertise without concern over conflicts of interest or wondering where your real agenda lies.
- Successful advisors are proactive and offer suggestions. When advising clients, it is easy to fall into their trap of “analysis paralysis.” Especially with all the hype around “getting close to the client.” The danger in this is that you’ll get mired in the same quicksand you’ve been brought in to rescue them from! Keep moving, and always offer options. It could be as simple as “Plan A or B or C,” but giving choices always enhances collaboration and provides a sense of shared responsibility for outcomes. And it’s harder to say “no” when asked, “Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry?” Ideally, your clients will reply, “Wow, they ALL sound delicious.” Then you are in a position to make a recommendation based on your deep listening (See No. 2!).
- Successful advisors work from passion, knowledge and eagerness to help. The irony of this is that the easier and more effortless the work for you, the greater the value it has for the client. The intersection of joy and business is called profit. Marketer, speaker, and author Seth Godin believes that in any business relationship, the sooner you ask for money, the less you will get. This has interesting implications for the financial and insurance world, where knowledge and expertise (and to a certain extent, even conversation) has monetary value.
David Newman works with advisors who want to get more done, make more money and rediscover the joy of business. He is the author of eight books on sales and leadership including Sales Science, Relish for Business, and The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Using Consultants. David’s members-only resource center, www.UnInsider.com, has leadership and sales ideas as well as lots of downloads. David can be reached at david@unconsulting.com or 610-527-5325.
March 2007
Don’t Say That!
Lessons From My First 100 Days
Planning for the Future
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