Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Bev,
We have a successful process for identifying potential clients. Most prospects are in our target market with respect to asset size and areas of need. The problem we are having is closing. For every five prospects that come through the door, we only close the deal with one. A 20% hit ratio doesn’t seem good to me, especially when the prospects fit well with what we do. What are advisors doing to increase their close ratios that could help us?
Jay W., Midwest
Dear Jay,
You are on the opposite side of the question that I typically hear, which is, “Once we get a lead, we can always close it, but how do we get more leads?” One of the hardest areas for advisors is finding new, incoming, qualified leads. This is why industry statistics stay stuck between 60-80% of new business coming from referrals.
So please congratulate yourself that you have this problem! The leads are coming in and you are closing some of them. It’s a good place to start.
Without knowing exactly what you are doing, it’s hard to pinpoint what you could do to change your approach or tell you what others in similar situations are doing. What I can do is outline a few sales secrets that could boost your close rates. You can try a few and see what works for you:
- When you meet with prospects, before you launch into your pitch, be sure to explore “Why now?” with prospects. What’s happening in their lives that prompted a response at this time – why not six months ago, or six months from now? You might make a common assumption that just because they responded to your inquiry/call to action that they are in need, but it’s best not to assume and ask them to explain.
- Lay out the expected process for prospects. “We’ve worked with hundreds of clients, so let me explain what we typically see in the decision-making process.” This also allows you to ask about other ideas they might have had.
- Don’t do all of the talking – use the beginning, middle and end to get them talking. What concerns do they have? What exposure have they had to other advisors? What did they like and not like? Let them know you want to gear your presentation to their needs and their concerns. Then do so!
- End a meeting with a specific next step. Establish how best to get in touch with them, how they like to be communicated with going forward, what kind of information they need to make a decision and whether they see any obstacles to making a decision.
I hope you are able to try one or more of these ideas and see those close ratios rise. Good luck.
Dear Bev,
I grapple with a team member who is always disorganized, late to meetings, rushing to finish projects for my clients and forgetting to follow up when asked to do so. I have few people in my sphere who can help me, so I am stuck with this coworker. My boss tells me I am not efficient and I need to delegate more, but when I do, it results in frustration. I have started taking notes of the problems and want to present them to my boss so he understands why I won’t delegate. Do you have ideas for how to present my case?
Name withheld
Dear Financial Professional,
I have to admit – you threw me a curve ball! I was reading the inquiry assuming you were going to ask me how to deal with your errant team member. I was already formulating my response by the end of the first sentence. It’s the question I would have preferred to answer, because I’m not sure yours is going to lead to success.
Typically, if a boss registers a complaint or tells you to improve, you don’t want to respond by pointing a finger and saying, “The problem is over there!” The adage “two sides to the story” comes into play a great deal when you are the boss. I have been the boss in many situations, and I can verify this to be true. Disagreements between employees can be differences of style, communication, fit within the company or personality. In any event, compiling a list of your teammate’s sins and then presenting them to your boss won’t look like you took the feedback seriously and have considered how to address it.
I do understand the desire to uncover the culprit and expose his or her weaknesses, but I haven’t seen this work in practical application. The boss can sometimes move to defend the person or make you the problem.
Instead, take a hard look at your boss’ feedback. Ask for some specific situations and examples of where you did not delegate. Make sure they are all related to this team member. Then, have a sit down and take a more partnering approach with this person. Explain what you need, why you need it and what you need that person to do. Get his or her buy-in and confirmation that he or she can perform accordingly. Then follow up. Don’t leave follow-through to chance.
Alongside, document what you are doing to delegate. Make notes of specific actions you have taken in response to your boss’ feedback. Show him you are working to change. Highlighting your positive steps can make the negative behavior of others more apparent, too.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995; in 2008 she co-founded Advisors Trusted Advisor to offer dedicated practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
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