BachrachBlog

3. A Smart Script Has a Purpose

A dumb script lacks direction. A smart script has a purpose and doesn’t waste the client’s time. Here’s a simple example:

“Hi, Stan. It’s Bill Bachrach calling. Did I catch you at an okay time? I’m calling because we met on April 15 and completed your Financial Road Map^®. We decided at that point that it wasn’t time to take action but I promised to follow up on May 19, so here I am calling as I promised I would to determine if you’d like to move forward or not.”

Notice that the conversation is deliberate and the subject matter was predetermined. I couldn’t make such a call on May 19 if we hadn’t made an agreement on April 15. A smart script doesn’t leave things ambiguous and open-ended. A smart script leads prospects to the next step, such as scheduling an appointment. Even if they say, “I’m going to have to think about this and get back to you,” you can say, “That’s no problem. By when should I expect to hear from you?”

Stay tuned for the fourth way to tell a smart script from a dumb one.

2. A Smart Script Is All About Them

A dumb script is product or advisor centered; it’s more about you than it is about the client. Many dumb scripts try to impress people by talking about the advisor’s background, credentials, and designations. I’m not saying you shouldn’t earn credentials; studying and learning are great ways to improve your competency. But simply having a designation does not make you competent.

Another dumb script is the presentation script. It’s filled with lists of features and benefits, ways to handle rejection, and closes that must be memorized. A presentation script is much harder to deliver than a smart script, because you have so many lines to learn.

In all honesty, clients are much more interested in whether you care about them and whether you come across as confident and competent. A smart script is all about them. There’s no hidden agenda. You’re not using some cleverly designed language just to sell products. You’re not making superficial chitchat—the rapport-building stuff that fills a dumb script. When you use a smart script, it’s obvious that you’re trying to help people make good decisions that will allow them to achieve their goals for the reasons that are important to them. With a smart script, your goal is to build trust, not rapport. Yes, you will present some information about the clients that you got from the person who referred them to you, but a smart first interview script is all about discovery. You really have very little to say, because the clients should be doing all the talking. You just need to know which questions to ask and how to move the conversation forward.

Stay tuned for the third way to tell a smart script from a dumb one.

As a financial professional, your initial contact with potential clients will almost certainly be a telephone conversation. To maximize your results and progress to the next point of contact, do what the most successful advisors do: Have a smart script and be prepared to use it.

To avoid sounding canned, follow these two simple rules:

1.   Read the script so many times that you no longer sound like you’re reading.

2.   Practice in the real world. To master anything, you have to be willing to look foolish.

Advisors who choose to “wing it” often sound wishy-washy, uncertain, and unsure of themselves. Prospects sense their uncertainty and unconsciously judge their ability as an advisor by how they communicate. On the other hand, well-prepared advisors sound smart, articulate, confident, and certain. They give the impression that they know what they’re saying and they’re saying it on purpose.

Practice and preparation are only half of the equation; the other half is having a smart script.

Here is one of the five ways to tell a smart script from a dumb one.

1. A Smart Script Arouses Interest

A dumb script (such as, “Hi, I’m a financial advisor”) causes people to say, “I already know what you do and I already have one of you. I don’t want to talk to you because I’m afraid you’ll try to sell me something.” A smart script causes your listeners to be curious, interested, and eager to talk. When you tell them what you do, you articulate it in a way that will cause them to ask, “Oh, you help people make smart choices about their money. How do you do that?” “You’re a life advisor who specializes in money. Tell me more about that.”  A smart script triggers a conversation instead of a preconception.

Stay tuned for the second way to tell a smart script from a dumb one.

And that some things that you don’t believe to be true actually are?

I’m not talking about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy. I’m talking about crucial beliefs about what is actually true that you believe is not true and what you believe to be true that is false. These are called limiting beliefs. Sometimes referred to as baggage. Some of them are harmless and others can have a devastating impact on your success and happiness in life.

For example, most advisors believe that it takes many, many years to build a clientele, any clientele. Or that prospecting is a lifetime activity. Many believe that having a community of ONLY Ideal Clients, people who you LOVE doing business with and LOVE doing business with you, who appreciate your service so much they will help you build your Ideal Client Community by referral only, and happily pay you exactly what you need to fund your present lifestyle and future goals is a pipe dream. Many advisors believe this kind of clientele is an impossible level of financial advisor Nirvana that is unattainable. Most advisors don’t even know where these limiting beliefs came from. These limiting beliefs just live in their head, directing their choices at an unconscious level, from many years of failing to achieve certain goals, listening to the endless blather and excuse-making of mediocre advisors, and ineffective managers who simply don’t have the vision or the skills to actually help advisors be successful.

We have a compelling vision for where your business can be in 3-5 years, or less, that you may find hard to believe. More importantly, we have the tools and experience to help you make it happen. Can you set aside your limiting beliefs long enough for an objective analysis? What if it’s true? What if we’re right? What if you really can have the business we describe?

Go to www.baivbfp.com and read my message on our home page, several times. And try not to let your limiting beliefs get in your way. It’s a great time to be a Financial Advisor!

“I thought it was impossible too, before I did it.”
LANCE ARMSTRONG
7x Tour de France champion