Daniel R. Solin's Blog, page 50

More Powerful Than Morphine, But Not Addictive

When I started writing my forthcoming book, The Smartest Sales Book You’ll Ever Read, it was not at all my intention to deal with the subject of happiness.  I was focused only on peer-reviewed research that would help salespeople close more sales.  I was surprised when I found that financial […]

This Trait Will Improve Your Sales And Make You Charismatic

  I won’t keep you waiting.  The trait is “empathy.”  I define it as the ability to feel and understand another person’s situation, and communicate that feeling.  Unfortunately, many of us don’t have it. Here are the most common causes of a lack of empathy: Interrupting; Not considering the feelings of the other person; Failing to mirror back those feelings to be sure you understand them; Failing to demonstrate an understanding of those feelings; Not offering to try to work out the issue together; and A desire to fix problems, rather than genuinely listening and hearing what is being said Without demonstrating empathy, you cannot make an emotional connection.  Without making an emotional connection, you have significantly lessened the possibility of making a sale. No less an authority than the late Stephen Covey, author of  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, considered empathy to be one of the most important “habits”. There’s another benefit to being empathetic.  Top sales people are considered charismatic.  Liz Wendling, an author and sales coach, describes these high performers as “inspirational, passionate, self-confident, insightful, ambitious, visionary and dynamic.” These are all traits that are important factors in the selling process. Empathetic people makes those around them feel important and valued, in both their business and personal lives. If you want to improve your empathetic skills, here are some tips: Listen instead of speaking; Feel what the other person is trying to convey.  Really feel it. Don’t argue By focusing more on empathy and less on conveying the features that make your service or product suitable for your prospect, you will likely increase your sales and improve all of your relationships.

The Sales Killing Mistake Made By Every Investment Advisor I Know

Every investment advisor I know has a fairly standard procedure for dealing with initial calls from prospects.  They “qualify” them and, if they are suitable, invite them to a meeting.  In order to make the meeting “as productive as possible”, they ask the prospect to either bring in, or send in advance, their financial information, including income tax statements, life insurance policies, and statements showing all of their investments.  When the prospect arrives for the meeting, after a few perfunctory comments, attention is swiftly focused on the information provided. Sound familiar? Based on the research I did for my forthcoming book, The Smartest Sales Book You’ll Ever Read, this process lessens the possibility of converting a prospect into a client. Instead, treat the initial meeting as a blind date.  How would you handle the initial call and your first dinner date?  Would you ask your date to bring anything to dinner?  Would you inquire about deeply personal issues like salary and future prospects shortly after you sat down? Of course not.  Instead, you would try to get to know the other person by asking very general questions.  You would want to find out if you shared interests and values.  Only after your relationship had progressed — perhaps on the second or third date — would the conversation turn to to details that could be considered “personal.”  By then you would have established a relationship of trust and confidence.  The conversation would “feel right.” Sales is akin to dating.  In my initial meeting with prospects, I just want to get to know them and I want them to do the same with me. I don’t ask them to bring anything to the meeting.  More often than […]

Self-Help Can Be Worse Than No Help

When I have an idea for a new book, the first thing I do is engage in extensive research.  I have no agenda.  I go wherever the research takes me.   I place the highest value on peer-reviewed research found in reputable journals.  I am amazed at the number of times I have been unable to find support for theories or “facts” that many assume are not subject to debate.  The self-help industry is a prime example.

No one could quarrel with the success of those in this burgeoning industry.  By some estimates, as much as $10.4  billion is spent on motivational “self-improvement” programs and products that seek to improve us physically, mentally, financially or spiritually. Unfortunately, much of this advice is either not supported by credible research or flatly contradicted by it.  Steven Novella, an academic clinical neurologist at the Yale University School of Medicine observed that, despite the ready availability of a vast amount of research dealing with the subjects discussed in self-help books, the big sellers “seem to be completely disconnected from that evidence.  What they are selling are made-up easy answers, personality and gimmicks.”

Among the popular self-help theories that fit into this category are:

1.  Raising your self-esteem will lead to success.  There is actually data indicating that low self-confidence (but not extremely low) is a better predictor of success.

2.  Simply visualizing your goal will increase your chances of achieving it.  Visualizing the tasks it takes to achieve a goal is much more likely to help you achieve it.

3.  Positive thinking can help you achieve success.  Blaming yourself for events not within your control is counter-productive.  Walking on hot coals without getting burned demonstrates nothing about your state of mind.   The irrefutable fact is that wood burned down to coals is a poor conductor of heat.

I found those who rely on quick fix, unsubstantiated self-help “tips” may be doing harm to themselves by not focusing on things within their control that could be beneficial.  Among the suggestions that have research backing their efficacy are:

1.  Understanding the difference between positive expectations (which are useful) and positive fantasies (which are not).

2. Working on self-compassion rather than self-esteem.

3.  Visualizing actions and not results.

Trying to improve yourself is admirable.  It’s sad so many go about it in a way that will ultimately be disappointing.

 

 

A Surprising Trait That Correlates Directly With Success in Sales

Innate talent is a wonderful quality, but there’s another trait that’s just as important  when it comes to predicting success.  It’s not creativity, emotional intelligence, charisma, self-confidence, emotional stability or even attractiveness.  What is this trait?  It’s “grit.”

“Grit” is defined as perseverance and passion for long term goals. Across all different disciplines, including sales, “grit” is as critical as talent in achieving success.  You can read a study on the importance of grit here.

“Grit” is an especially important trait for people involved in sales.  Another study found that 98% of sales are not made on the first call.  In fact, 81% of sales close on the fifth call.

If you want to be good at anything, you need to focus relentlessly on your weaknesses and find ways to improve them.  This maxim applies to amateur musicians who want to be professionals, chess players, professional athletes and salespeople.  In his seminal book, Outliers:  The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell quotes this finding by neurologist Daniel Levitin:  “The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert –in anything.”

Now you have the good and bad news.  The good news is that great salespeople aren’t necessarily born that way.  The bad news is that becoming successful in sales takes a tremendous amount of motivation, hard work, and perseverance.

If you want to increase your sales, focus on your grit.

Your Agenda is Killing Your Agenda

If you are in sales, your agenda is simple:  You want to make a sale.  When you meet a prospect, that’s the agenda foremost in your mind.  The research I did for my new book, The Smartest Sales Book You’ll Ever Read, persuaded me the way I was approaching my goal is completely wrong.  While this advice has special relevance to those in the investment advisory business, it’s applicable to all sales situations, whether you are selling mutual funds or dishwashers.

Our designation as “advisors” sets us up poorly. “Advisor” means giving advice. We have knowledge and we want to convey it. It seems obvious our prospects will sit passively and listen. The financial services industry emphasizes improving investment expertise, presumably so we will have more and better information to present. There’s no shortage of information, because the industry keeps turning out more specialized and complex products.

Presentation tools like PowerPoint or a whiteboard permit us to deluge our  prospect with a dizzying array of charts, graphs, and risk and return data. How could anyone fail to be impressed?

Here’s the stark reality: This is precisely the type of presentation that consigns you to a far lower close rate than you deserve.  As part of my research, I asked a group of women about their experiences interviewing investment advisors. Almost all of them had some variation of this reaction: “They never shut up and had no clue what I was about.” I asked one woman who expressed these views how she felt during these presentations. I will never forget her response: “Like they were throwing up all over me.”

Here’s my advice:

Ditch your agenda.  It’s killing your real agenda, which is to get the sale.  Replace your agenda with a new one.  You want to to get to know your prospect as a person and establish a relationship of trust and confidence.  When I am coaching sales teams, I tell them that if any statement they initiate at the first meeting with a prospect ends in a period, instead of a question mark, they have failed.

Try it.  You will be amazed at the difference in the tone of the meeting.  I would love to get your feedback.

 

 

 

 

The Secret to Converting Prospects Into Clients

Think about the most memorable times in your life.  Maybe it was when you bought your first car,  your high school prom, when you graduated from college or got married, or the birth of your child.  Unfortunately, we have all suffered sad times, like the loss of a loved one.  That is a memory that is also instilled in our brain.  Whether happy or sad, our brain retains information about emotional events.  Conversely, while we “hear” information without an emotional connection, we are unlikely to remember it.  That’s why we can forget where we put our car keys ten minutes ago, but remember minute details of a car crash that occurred ten years earlier.

An investment advisor who engages in a discussion of risk and return data, structured notes, hedge funds and annuities will make no emotional connection.  Instead of giving a lecture about the complexities and benefits of different investments,  approach the prospect with the goal of making an emotional connection.

In a social situation, most of us find it easier to make an emotional connection.  We ask questions about the other person to get to know them better.  ”Where are you from?”  Tell me about your job, your family, and your interests . The list is endless.  The person asking these questions is likely to establish an emotional connection with the person answering them. We wouldn’t consider introducing ourself and launching into a extended, one-sided conversation about ourselves.  Or would we?

You will find that asking people to talk about themselves changes a “sales presentation” into a very positive experience for both you and the prospect. There is a scientific basis that explains why this is true.  Studies from Harvard University Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab have shown that talking about yourself is as pleasurable as having sex.  Self-disclosure is directly linked to the parts of the brain associated with other positive experiences.  Researchers reached this conclusion by reviewing functional MRI scans to identify changes in the level of blood flows when people talked about themselves.

This research is a double-edged sword.  As a salesperson, you are motivated not only by what you see as you role “to impart information”, but also by a desire to engage in the pleasurable activity of talking about yourself and your work. This may make you happy, but you are doing little to make an emotional connection with your prospect.  Overcome your  proclivity to talk about yourself and your product or service. Instead, elicit information from your prospect about herself.  Get to know her as the unique and special person she is.  You will find her a willing participant in this dialogue.

Of course, there will come a time in the conversation where the topic of your product or service will arise.  Wait until the prospect raises this issue.  This may take some discipline, but your patience will be well rewarded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effective Sales Tips for Investment Advisors

When I speak to investment advisors about the principles in my Smartest Sales book, the only presentation tool I use is a picture of a huge elephant. Assets under management is “the elephant in the room.” I have never met an advisor who does not want to increase her assets under management, yet this subject is rarely discussed at advisor conferences. Instead, most sessions focus on technical financial issues, like active versus passive management, the direction of markets, alternative investments and similar subjects. There is little, if any, discussion on how to turn a prospect into a client. As a consequence, every advisor has her own way of “selling”, based largely on her background and intuition. Results vary widely. Many advisors would admit they are not very good at sales and have no understanding of why they succeed or fail with a particular prospect.

Sales training is important, but there is an even more fundamental issue. Many advisors refuse to acknowledge that they are engaged in sales. Is there really any doubt that you are engaged in “selling”? I can understand why investment advisors don’t want to be associated with the negative stereotypes of “salespeople”. In surveys of attitudes towards various groups, salespeople have been described in very unflattering terms, like “sharks”, “lower than pond scum” and “leg-humping dogs” who “will promise their first-born to get the sale.”

Investment advisors seek to distance themselves from this image by not only denying they are engaged in sales, but elevating themselves to the status of “educators.” On many occasions, advisors have told me they perceive their job as “educating” their clients. This misconception poses a significant barrier to effective selling for two reasons:

First, it is inaccurate. Real educators are teachers and professors. In the world of finance, these educators have advanced degrees in finance or economics and teach undergraduate or graduate students at universities. Their students are there for the purpose of being educated.

Second, while being perceived as an “educator” may be good for your ego, it’s bad for sales. Real educators lecture while students take notes. The amount of interaction varies, but there is no doubt who sets the agenda. Being an educator means conveying information rather than eliciting it. Effective selling relies on eliciting information rather than conveying it. To be effective at sales, don’t emulate the role of legitimate educators. Distance yourself from them.

The first step for investment advisors is to let go of the pretense. Then, take the steps necessary improve the way you sell.

Providing “helpful” data can kill a sale

Have you ever approached a stranger in a foreign country to ask for directions, and the response was something like  ”no speak English”?  There was no way for a dialogue to take place.  You may not realize it, but many of your prospects feel the same way when you do the “data dump.”

Let’s first define our terms.  I am using “data dump” to refer to the common practice of imparting large amounts of data to prospects in an effort to persuade them to become customers.   It’s easy to understand the mentality of salespeople who believe they must “educate” prospects on the merits of their product or service, or risk losing the sale.

Unfortunately, this thinking is fatally flawed.  There is compelling research  indicating that buying decisions are based to a significant extent, on emotions and not on data.  If you can make an emotional connection with your prospect, you are far more likely to make the sale.  It’s hard to “emotionally connect” with a PowerPoint slide filled with cold, hard facts, however compelling.

Worse still, the teachings of neuroscience tell us that our brains are unlikely to retain data that is unconnected to an emotional event.  Most of us can remember where we were on September 11, 2001.  Yet, I suspect few people know when they were on September 11, 2012.    We connect with emotion.  A date standing alone has no particular significance to us and our brains do not retain that information.  Information with an emotional connection is given a high priority by both our short and long term memory.

Don’t confuse the capacity of the brain with retention in short term memory.  By all accounts, our brains have the ability to process enormous amounts of information.  Yet it has a frustrating inability to retain more than a very limited amount of data in short term memory. There is a reason telephone numbers only have seven digits.  This is the amount of data disconnected from emotions that our short term memory can process.  Want proof.  Go to this website.  Take the numbers test.  It will tell you how many random numbers you are able to keep in your short-term memory.  The average is seven.  Few people can remember more than ten random numbers.

Think about the significance of this information.  If your prospect can only retain about seven pieces of data unconnected to emotions, you have two choices:  Convey only seven pieces of data, or relate your data in a way that it emotionally connects with your prospect.

If you ignore this advice, as you begin your data dump, picture your client holding a sign saying: “No speak English.”

 

 

Win the Argument. Lose the Sale.

Sales is hard.  We often encounter resistance to our product or service.  If you’re selling Fords, it’s likely a prospect might tell you Chevrolet has some features missing in your model.

As a former trial lawyer, I was trained to believe judges and juries will objectively view facts and reach the right conclusion.   The underlying assumption is that people process information rationally.  You just need to give them what they need.  This approach may work when the decision maker is unbiased.  However, it’s counter-productive when a prospect already holds a contrary view.  In fact, the more you marshal facts supporting your position,  the most likely consequence is polarization instead of agreement.  

One study  took MRI images of the brains of voters watching footage of two presidential candidates.  When the footage showed the viewer’s favorite candidate taking an inconsistent position, the logical part of their brain went dormant.  The part of their brain that copes with hostility, lit up.

When you are engaged in trying to persuade a prospect that his view of your service or product is wrong, marshaling facts supporting your view is the road to sales hell  Not only will you be unlikely to make the sale, you may also create an enemy.

According to persuasion expert Robert Cialdini, there’s a better way.  Consider these alternatives:

Elicit information:  Ask the prospect to set forth goals, interests and concerns.  In my car-buying example, parents may be primarily concerned with safety in the event of a crash.  Armed with this information, you can structure your proposal to address that concern.

The power of crowds:  People are very influenced by what others like them are doing.  If others in their position have made similar choices, convey that information.  An insurance salesperson might tell a young couple that a low cost term policy is the most popular policy her company sells to people under 30. That statement can be a powerful force in the decision making process.

We want what we can’t have:  If you truthfully tell a car buyer “this is the last 2013 model we have in stock at this price”, he is more likely to want it.

Impressed by credentials:  Credentials count.  They don’t have to consist of formal degrees, although those qualifications can be very impressive.  We are more likely to buy from the top salesperson in an advisory firm or the most experienced real estate agent specializing in whatever we are looking for, than from less qualified people.

When you reject the notion that you must persuade a prospect that you are “right” (which means  she is “wrong”), you will find many avenues open that will maximize the possibility of success.