 
By Bill Bachrach, CSP
Basically, there are three ways to build a business
in the financial services industry. You can build it smart from
the beginning and start with the right kind and number of clients,
becoming a full-service advisor to a smaller clientele.
Or, you can build a dumb business, then rebuild
it at some point during your career. That’s what most advisors
do. Advisors seem to find us at a time in their life when they realize
they are this situation—too many clients and not enough time
to serve them.
Unfortunately, far too many advisors go with option
number three: build a dumb business and live with it their whole
career. If you have too many clients and feel like your business
is running you instead of you running it, you’ve got a dumb
business. Sadly, the vast majority of advisors are more trapped
by the business than freed by it, but they either don’t know
how to change it or think it’s too late.
|
| Telling
the truth is actually an interesting and surprisingly effective
marketing strategy. |
|
What kind of business are you running? Here’s
a test to help you find out.
1. How full is your appointment calendar?
And how productive are your conversations? Are you spending
your time prospecting and marketing because you’re not earning
the referrals you’d like? Are you meeting with people three
or four times before they hire you? Are you sitting down with clients
to discuss irrelevant, superfluous topics that waste your time and
theirs? If you answered yes to any of these three questions, you’re
running a dumb business.
Don’t allow your clients to pull you into
irrational discussions. After all, do you want to be in the business
of giving your clients a false sense of comfort, or telling your
clients the truth? Telling the truth is actually an interesting
and surprisingly effective marketing strategy. When you take a rational
approach—when you have rational discussions with rational
people—they respond rationally. If you’ve got an irrational
approach to try to move irrational people to buy investments and
insurance from you, you’ll end up with a high-maintenance
clientele, and your primary function will be to accommodate their
baggage. If you want to run a smart business, don’t let yourself
be drawn into these kinds of conversations. Instead, fill your appointment
calendar with meaningful, rewarding engagements.
2. Are you comfortable asking for referrals?
If you’re great at what you do, you won’t be uncomfortable
asking people to introduce you to others. When I was single, I noticed
that my most attractive friends were always comfortable approaching
someone they wanted to meet, and they always got a great response.
In the most extreme cases, they didn’t even have to do the
approaching—people would just find them. If nobody’s
finding you, maybe you’re not as attractive as you think you
are. Do your clients make excuses when you ask them for referrals?
Do you they tell you, “I don’t know anybody who’s
looking right now, but if I come across someone, I’ll let
you know. Why don’t you give me a couple of your cards?”
|
| Most
people want to work with one person that they trust. |
|
3. Do your clients give you all of their
financial business? In other words, do you have all the money?
In a smart business, you want your clients to give you all of their
money and do whatever you tell them to do with it. You want clients
who want more from you than state-of-the-art schmoozing; they want
you to be a trusted advisor, and they expect you to handle their
financial affairs. Most people want to work with one person that
they trust. If you aren’t getting that level of trust and
all the money, you’re running a dumb business.Yes, it’s
true—in a smart business, you get to work with clients who
tell the whole truth about where all money is, do what you tell
them to do, do all your prospecting and marketing for you, are more
influenced by you than anything else, and don’t let events
you cannot control diminish your working relationship. They sincerely
value your advice and their relationship with you. That’s
the proof of great client relationships, and the sign of a very
smart business.
Given the choice, which type of business will
you pick? Which kind of business do you think your clients would
want you to pick? Don’t be a salesperson; be a trusted advisor.
Bill Bachrach is the author of four industry-specific
books, including It’s All About Them: How Trusted Advisors
Listen for Success. He also runs the Three-Day Values-Based
Selling Academy. Contact Bachrach & Associates Inc. at
800-347-3707 or visit its website at www.bachrachvbs.com.
May 2005
Putting the
FSS to Work for You
The Only Option
Six Secrets to
Stellar First Impressions
|
