Step 3 – Ask to conduct a "fact find."

Step 4 – Present your solution (product).

Step 5 – Try to close the sale.

That model falls apart more often than it works. Still the industry tries to use it. What are the problems with it?

1. It presumes that the person you're talking to has your exact personality type. But, let's look at probabilities. Theoretically, only one in four people has anything close to your personality type.
2. It relies on the prospect having a real need for your product.
3. Research continues to show that advisors rely on industry lingo, thus confusing their prospect. So, unless you're selling to someone who is an expert in your product category, you're probably confusing all your prospects.
4. As important as those problems are, there's one other that is even more destructive.

If you can relate to what you just read, you're making it hard on yourself to get results. Let's see how to solve that problem.

The better sales model. This is the sales model used by nearly every person in every other industry. As you can see, it's simple and gives sales people a better chance of success:

Step 1 – Build rapport.

Step 2 – Ask situationally relevant (short-answer) questions.

Step 2 – Capture the psychology/values of the prospect.

Step 3 – Discuss the viable solutions citing the prospect's values.

Step 4 – Determine next steps.

But, it too breaks down at the same place as the Financial Model. Can you see where? The skill that makes any sales model work or fail is Listening.

Where is this going? This article is focusing on two things: 1) improving your sales model, and 2) improving your ability to listening. They are directly connected. When you can improve both, you should see your success improve, too.

One of our business beliefs is that the keys to success are so natural as to be invisible, and therefore over looked. Listening is one of them. A few years ago, Pam and I conducted some intense research into listening. Since then, we've watched many people's ability to listen improve with simple assumption shifts. We've conducted lots of listening exercises and in nearly every case the person charged with listening can't do it.

The exercise works like this. Two people face each other. Person A tells a short story to person B. The story has to contain three facts. Person B's job is to listen, then parrot back the facts verbatim. Sounds simple, but very rarely does the listener ever get even one fact right.

Now, move that conversation into a real business situation. Person A is your prospect. You ask a business-related question, and she gives you personal business information. Odds are overwhelming that you can't quote the information. When that happens, all you can do is break out the hammer and sell your product. When your listening fails, you're forced to use generic logic that might not have any relevance to the prospect.

I'm sure you already know about the listening problem. I'm not the first person to write about it. But, let's look at how you can solve that problem. No sales model will work well until you can actually and truly listen to your prospect.

Proactive Listening. The solution lies in a process we call "Proactive Listening." In order to understand it and use it, you have to visualize it. So, visualize the face of a clock. It's a circle with numbers. Now, replace the numbers with categories of values. For example, in a personal situation, the categories include Money & Financial Security or Career or Family. The tool we use for this is called the "Wheel of Life." First step is to list values under each category. Second step is to place each set of values in order of importance.

Here's what the Wheel of Life looks like:

In a business situation, say with a 401k, the categories might include: Tax advantages, Rates of return, Flexibility and Portability.

Proactive Listening comes in when you listen for those values to plug into the categories, rather than for links to a sales pitch. The pitch is focused on you, but the values are focused on the prospect. That's 180-degrees different.

After you collect some of the values, you can place them in order of importance. This becomes a seriously powerful tool to guide you. It's technically known as a "Hierarchy of Criteria." That means the criteria for making a decision in that category. If you don't listen, you can't hear the prospect name those values. And, if you don't know what those values are, you'll have a hard time proving your relevance to that person. You'll also be reduced to logic that is probably off-target for that prospect.

Now, imagine a new category called "Professional Advisors." Where would you fall in that list? If you can't listen effectively, you'll find yourself far down – thus, unimportant. But, if you listen carefully and recite the exact values back to that client, you'll find yourself high up – irreplaceable.

In Conclusion

Why is this important? Your business does not rely on selling. It relies on turning buyers into advocates for you – proactive referral sources. Because so many advisors are so bad at listening, if you can develop this one skill, you will find yourself writing more business, gaining more "share of wallet," and getting more referrals. How can I say that with confidence? Who else would those people recommend? By proactively listening and focusing on the prospect's values, you immediately show that you are different, better and referable!

Your Reward

If you would like a digital copy of the Wheel of Life that you can use in your business, just send me an email: [email protected]. Include this paragraph and your contact information. It's my way of saying "Thanks for placing your trust in me."