BachrachBlog

4. A Smart Script Has a Clear Agenda

Many advisors think they have to recite the agenda to the client. You know the old high school format: Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. A smart script does not describe the agenda, it lets you do the agenda.

When you make an initial contact, you should have obtained meaningful information about the prospect from the person who referred them. You can incorporate that information into your smart script. For example, if you know the prospect has four children, you might say something like, “Stan, your friend suggested we get together because there are some concepts in Values-Based Financial Planning™ that could help you provide a better future for your children, Mary, Jenny, Peter, and David. Did I catch you at an okay time?” Notice that I called the prospect by name, made sure it was an okay time, and stated my purpose clearly.

A dumb script often has a very different purpose and agenda: It’s designed to scare people into buying products designed to overcome their fears. For instance, a dumb script might be used to sell life insurance to address the fear of dying prematurely. Or it might be used to sell long-term care insurance to address the fear of not dying prematurely. I was trained by people who perfected those kinds of scripts. They taught mantras like: Dig ’em a hole and throw ’em a rope. Find a need and fill it. Paint them out of the corner you’ve backed them into with your product or service. Break their leg by asking questions that make them feel stupid, and then they’ll know they need you. One system calls it tunneling for pain. Another one of my mentors used to call it being a scab picker: Pick their scab, make it bleed, and offer your product or service as a Band-Aid.

I wouldn’t want to imply that dumb scripts don’t work. A dumb but well-executed script will make sales—but how does that bode for the long-term relationship? How do you think clients feel about having a regular meeting with someone who inflicts pain and makes them feel stupid? How do you think they feel about providing referrals to that person? Even if they’re happy with the products, they typically tend to buy what they need and then run.

At the end of the day, you can motivate people by fear, but most people would prefer to be inspired. A smart script talks about values, goals, and what’s important to the client. It offers to build a bridge to a positive future. A smart script is positive and inspirational, not fear mongering.

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

Yes. While I don’t believe there are any secrets to success, there are a couple of simple formulas that can serve as good reminders of what’s necessary to be successful. One of them is Effort x Effectiveness = Results. Simply put, you have to put out a high enough volume of work at a high enough degree of effectiveness in order to achieve your goals. If you feel like you are working hard, but not getting the results you want then you either are not being effective or the amount of time that has elapsed has not yet been enough for the desired results to occur. If you believe you are effective and not achieving results you probably just need to look at your calendar and you will likely discover you are not investing enough time in results-producing activities. You may be busy, but success comes from being busy doing results-producing activities. These two things go hand-in-hand, effort and effectiveness, because you tend to become more effective at those things you do frequently and consistently. This is especially true of the activities required to be a successful financial advisor building an Ideal Client Community. Ie: Serving clients, getting referrals, following-up with referrals on the phone, and conducting the initial client interviews that lead to referrals becoming clients.

A formula which I developed that may help you be more productive is Success = words on-purpose + time on-purpose. My experience is that successful people live and work “on-purpose.” They are good with words and manage their time well. Being on-purpose with time means that you plan your work and you work your plan. The most productive time-planning is when you know your priorities, place them on your calendar as appointments with yourself and others, and honor your calendar. Consider how seldom an unscheduled interruption is more productive than what you would have been doing if you had planned that time to do something highly productive on-purpose.

Far less productive is working from a to-do list. And the least productive way to manage your time is to go work with a mostly blank calendar and attempt to stay focused on the most important tasks throughout the day. Given that life, business, and the financial services industry in particular are distraction-producing machines it is difficult to be successful without managing your time and high-payoff-activities on-purpose.

Can you think of anything in your personal or professional life that would not be enhanced by managing your time and priorities on-purpose?

What about words on-purpose? I sum this up as knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. You could call it being articulate. The financial services profession is all about human interactions. Interacting with your clients, referrals as prospective clients, staff, subject matter experts who help you serve your clients, your company leaders and support personnel. It means talking with people. It means asking good questions. It means being a good listener. It means connecting what people tell you about their needs, wants, goals, and values with your value proposition. You will be most productive when scripted. At the very least you must have talking points you can instantly and effectively articulate. Who wants to trust their financial future to someone who stumbles over their words? It doesn’t matter that you are smart if you don’t sound smart. Politics aside, I find it interesting that President Barack Obama has gotten flack for using the teleprompter and he and his staff get criticized for being on the same page with their talking points. You can laugh if you want, but knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say propelled him into the Oval Office. What might this do for you?

Can you think of anything in your personal or professional life that would not be enhanced by being able to choose and deliver your words on-purpose?

The bottom line is that success is rarely, if ever, an accident. Successful people use their time and words on-purpose.

All of my business owner friends are becoming better business people. That’s why it’s called a correction. During times of excess we get sloppy. We didn’t even realize it was a time of excess. We just thought we were finally getting all that we deserved. It’s supposed to be this easy, right? Simply put, average people were getting above-average results because of the economic tail wind, not necessarily their true abilities. When the tailwind ends the results migrate back to their rightful owners. Much like lottery winners almost always wind up broke again. Where does the money go? Back into the hands of people who earn it.

For example, a billionaire lives in our neighborhood. (Actually, his home in our community is his warmer-weather second home where he spends just a couple of months each year.) I met him once at a party – 4 years ago. He’s very nice, seems approachable, and I always thought it would be a good idea to get together with him to learn more about his perspective about success. Perhaps I would get a few nuggets to be a better businessman. But I was too busy. Times were too good. A few months ago, while he was out for a walk in the neighborhood, I pulled my car over and asked if he would be amenable to a meeting. He said, “sure!” He’s got on my calendar for the next day. How much better might my business decisions have been if I had done this on one of the dozens of opportunities I squandered during the past four years? Too busy to meet with a billionaire!

The question is what can you do now? How do you get strong when times are difficult and carry that strength into the next boom so the subsequent bust has less effect on you and your business?

First of all, be hard on yourself about your mistakes. Hard enough to do something about them, but not so hard that you become immobilized. It is what it is. Move on. Yes, I was a bonehead for not stopping the billionaire to schedule a meeting on one of his many walks in our neighborhood during the past four years. It’s history. I made my peace with my stupidity and now I’ve done something about it. Lesson learned. Case closed. Next.

Be committed to seize the current opportunity. As I’ve written in articles and said from the platform, this is a great time to be a financial advisor. Everyone is conscious about their money, but few have a plan of action that’s being implemented. It’s up to you to step in and fill the void of leadership.

Grab your calendar by the proverbial tail and make time for new client acquisition. I recommend 15 hours per week for experienced advisors and more for rookies, maybe much more. Your biggest challenge may be the tug you feel to spend all of your time “nurturing” your existing clients. Of course you should do some of this, but don’t burn all of your time with your existing clients.

I was visiting one of our industry’s major broker / dealers one day and during lunch their CEO told me the story about his early career as an advisor. He was torn between his commitments in life. He had a young family, his career needed plenty of attention to be successful, and he had hobbies he was passionate about. His wife helped him solve his dilemma by telling him this, “Your family will take up as much time as you will give us. No matter how much you give we will want more. So, you will have to decide for yourself how to divide your time among your priorities.” Sage advice.

The point I took away from that story is that you will have to decide for yourself how much time you give to your existing clients and how much time you invest in new client acquisition. It’s possible that no matter how much time you give to your existing clients it will not seem like enough. This is simply too good of time to go out and get new clients to not invest a consistently large amount of time every week to acquire new clients. I would hate for you to reflect on this period of time in a few months and regret having not seized the day to add new Ideal Clients.

Heed the wake-up call of this business correction. Cut the fat. Improve operational efficiencies. Refine your systems and processes. Build momentum to carry into the next boom. Keep your antenna up for opportunities.

It’s a great time to be a Financial Advisor!