Turning Persuasion Strategies into Selling Skills

Kevin Hogan

Imagine you sell financial "products." (They aren't products any more than they are services...as if those are the only two things that can be sold...really more of investment coaches, advisors and growers of money!)

You can sell me (persuade me) on the idea of having me invest in:

Universal Life
Whole Life
Term Life
Annuity
Variable Annuity
Growth Stock Funds
Value Funds
Balanced Funds
Asset Allocation Funds
Long Term Bond Funds
Short Term Bond Funds
Municipal Bond Funds
Small Cap Funds
Large Cap Funds
Global Growth Funds
International Funds
Gold and Precious Metal Funds
Precious Metals

Well...you get the idea.
And I've just scratched the surface right?

If you show me your portfolio of all these cool options, you are out of luck.

You have given me TMI (too much information). Your chances of being the cause of my investing with you, your company or in the funds you recommend are remote. Less than one in 10... and that was with a qualified appointment. (Qualified = I have the money, I said yes to the appointment, I want to invest my money...)

What is the RIGHT thing to do?

Remember the "jam study" where people could stop at one of two tables in the retail store?

7 times as many people stopped at the table with the dozens of jellies. 10 times as many people BOUGHT from the table with SIX.

Try this approach and tailor it to the prospect after learning their specific needs...WANTS and DESIRES...

The right thing to do is open the newspaper (NOT a financial newspaper...the LOCAL newspaper that I READ!). Show me the pages that have the lists of the 7000 choices that I have for investing...and that's just in the mutual fund arena. (This approach will vary from prospect to prospect.)

OH...Do NOT be stupid and give your client a complicated test to determine his risk tolerance. Ask a few questions. Make a call. You are an EXPERT not a test proctor for heaven's sake.

"Kevin to look at all of these funds and predict which will actually make you the most money (you MUST say MOST money because humans filter by PRIMACY and if you say "might make you money," you have lost the sale immediately) in the next five years is something that I get paid to do.

"You can imagine (slide right into the unconscious mind with imagine....) that there is a lot of money being made out there and I confess I follow the men and women that are making the money. I watch the people at Wasatch Funds and look at the incredible amount of money they generate over the years and it gives me chills. The same is true for all the others that I follow.