You could be the smartest person alive for asset allocation or stock options or anything else, but, if your area of expertise is not vitally important in the mind of the prospect who is in front of you right now, it is simply irrelevant. And, by association, so are you.

Advisors often default to talking about what they want to talk about, with little or no concern for whether the topic is immediately relevant in the mind of the prospect. The question you need to ask yourself is this, "Is my expertise already a concern in the mind of this prospect?" If not, then you have some teaching to do; you have to methodically teach that person to value your expertise. And, in order to do that, you had better be a master at building rapport and holding that person's attention.

The simple process to demonstrate relevance. If you are an advisor on the retail side, and want to show yourself as relevant, your job is to become conversant on a wide spectrum of financial topics, even if they fall outside your specific area of expertise. Mortgages, credit card interest rates, the logic of leasing vs buying, trusts, health insurance – anything connected to money, anything that might impact your clients' financial lives becomes an area on which you need to be able to offer wisdom. Then, be able to introduce your relevant connection, slowly and systematically.

Think of this as a nurturing process. You nurture the prospect through remedial information and questions to bring her to a point where she can appreciate and understand your area of expertise.

If you're a wholesaler, your job is similar. You need to show that you understand your prospect's situation, are able to offer insights, and then introduce information or ideas that display your relevance. (If you're a wholesaler, I'd like to tell you about the wholesaler program we teach for Met Life. Please fill out the Feedback form below.)

The questions you ask will demonstrate your relevance, and lead to credibility. On the other hand, it is the unwanted lecture you give on your expertise that will demonstrate that you either do not understand the prospect's situation or don't care about it. A lecture usually consists of the advisor diving deep into the technical aspects of his topic.

Ever been at a party and get stuck with someone who only wants to talk about old Star Trek episodes? That's not relevance – unless you're a Trek-head, too.

Lately, I've heard non-stop chatter about the counter-intuitive movement of the stock market in the face of the sub-prime mortgage situation. "See Michael, oil is up and the market is up at the same time. Get it?" The prospect might get it, but is she interested? If she's not, all your fascinating observations about Ben Bernanke's most recent statement merely dig a deeper hole for you.

Let's look at some of the players in the financial industry and determine their relevance. The descriptions on corporate websites are highly revealing. The following statements are taken from the respective websites:

"Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies… We're growing our business by helping clients grow theirs. Our client relationships are among our greatest competitive assets. We deepen and enrich these relationships through disciplined growth, innovation, and seamless execution."

Relevance? It appears that if you are active in the stock market, with an eye on growth, then ML might be a viable choice for you. However, if you're retired, growth might not be your best strategy, and ML would not be so relevant to you. Merrill seems to want to be all things to all people. That causes their message to get diluted. No firm can be all things to all people.

Ameriprise. "Our unique and collaborative Dream > Plan > Track > (R) approach to financial planning starts with your dreams, not just the numbers. Our financial advisors are dedicated to helping you develop a plan to help you realize your dreams and track your progress along the way… Our comprehensive approach looks beyond the numbers to get a clear understanding of your financial needs, goals and dreams… We'll start by reviewing every aspect of your finances. Working together, we can get the best picture of where you are and what you'll need to do to achieve your dreams of what's next."

Relevance? The Ameriprise approach eliminates people who are focused primarily on performance – the numbers. The firm is focused, not only on the big picture, they are focused on non-numbers essentials of goals and dreams. If you're sensitive to philosophical or spiritual legacy, Ameriprise could be the most relevant firm for you. But, if you're seeking performance and growth, Ameriprise might not be relevant to you.

"Union Securities is an independent Canadian investment dealer which was incorporated in 1963… In recent years Union Securities Ltd. has built an active network across Canada, offering all investment products. This has been accomplished by fostering a climate of teamwork and support with the ultimate mutual goal of client service… Union Securities Ltd. has launched a simple and unique approach to money management designed to maximize investment returns in a most efficient and low-cost manner – the Union Wealth Management Program"

Relevance? Union Securities is relevant to investors. Period. If you're Canadian and focused on investment returns, this firm is relevant. But, if you're looking for something more – financial planning, life planning, a comprehensive approach to all your financial concerns, then Union Securities is probably not relevant to you.

What are you talking about? You'll find it difficult or impossible to attract people or hold their attention if your conversation is not about either them, or something important to them. If you don't capture and hold attention, you cannot show that you are relevant. To illustrate this, let me tell you about a coaching session I recently led on this exact topic.

I was teaching a group of Canadian advisors how to facilitate a consultative conversation, and they were practicing on me. One of the advisors asked me what I wanted in a financial professional. In my answer I got very expressive on what I didn't want – I did not want someone who had limited knowledge or mediocre skills or who just wanted to sell me a product. Hearing that, the student quickly moved into his "pitch." He said, "I wonder if you would like to receive some information or would be open to phone calls where you could get answers to your questions."

Was that relevant? Did it meet my criteria or match my values? Did his pitch have anything to do with what I had just told him? Was he even present when I spoke? No, to all those questions. So, he and his pitch were irrelevant. That advisor failed to meet the test of Presence. Had he said, "Michael, I'm not sure if there is an advisor who can meet your standards – knowledge, skill, and NOT product focused – but if one did exist, would you consider having a conversation with him?" Now, that's relevance. That is a conversation that would have reached out and grabbed my attention – because it uses my own words and my own stated values. Had he said that, it would have proved that he had listened, paid attention and then responded to what I had said.

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