Wholesalers face aggressive activity objectives. Today’s standard is 25 in-person contacts per week. When covering larger geographies this proves challenging. As a result of insufficient scheduling, some wholesalers stop at an advisor’s office after calling to say, “Hey, I’m just down the street…” or – even worse – totally unannounced. “Do you have a few minutes?” turns into 30- 60 minutes. The wholesaler attempts to tell his or her story with little regard for the schedule of the advisor.

Recently a coaching client called me about a wholesaler dropping in unannounced and sucking up an hour of his Associate Advisor’s time. This wholesaler has a quality product, but my client called the wholesaler and advised him not to call or come back. You might ask if this is a little drastic; maybe so.  However, my client was waiting on a report that was to be prepared by the associate – and the report was late. Not only did my client fire the wholesaler, but he had to deal with a delayed meeting because the associate tried to be courteous to the wholesaler.

Are Drive-By’s ever appropriate? Possibly when dropping off a promotional item ONLY or to introduce oneself and schedule a future appointment. However, if a wholesaler expects the advisor to have empty time in his or her calendar because the wholesaler has empty time, the situation is totally unprofessional.

FOR ADVISORS: Be jealous with your time. Give wholesalers your “ground rules” for meeting. And be on time when you have a meeting scheduled with the wholesalers. Their time is as valuable as yours.

FOR WHOLESALERS: Schedule in advance. Use a scheduler. Set your next meeting at the conclusion of this meeting. And always be a pro.

Good Selling!

We are a society of gift givers. “Never arrive empty handed,” applies to business as much as it applies to social settings. Recently I dropped off some dry cleaning, and asked the impossible: Could I get it in an hour? Usually – in fact, almost ALWAYS – the answer would be “NO!” One-hour dry cleaning has gone the way of the full-service gas station. However, this time the answer was YES, because the owner is a customer service fanatic. In addition, I drop off cookies once a month. Gifts make a difference.

However, a gift protocol exists in business that says gifts should not be bribes. In addition, many industries have limits – or outright bans – on gifts to prospects and clients. Always be aware of firm and industry rules concerning gifts. Make gifts appropriate and compliant. Nothing is more embarrassing than having to unwind a gift that exceeds gift limits.

SOLUTIONS: First of all, know the rules. Second, know your client. A gift doesn’t have to be huge or expensive. A well thought out gift for a client based upon their interests or passions makes for a better relationship than something that you give to everybody.

FOR ADVISORS: Don’t do business with a vendor strictly because they always arrive with gifts in hand. Select products and services based upon their benefits to your clients and your business. Beware the product-pusher who wants you to business strictly on the basis of gifts or entertainment, especially when no previous relationship exists. In addition, make YOUR gifts to clients appropriate and compliant as well. An advisor I know makes it a point to select PERSONAL gifts for clients. One of his assistants does the shopping once he builds the list.

Gifts are a sign of friendship and relationship. Use them, and use them well.

Good Selling!

This is a series of ten major faux pas’ made by wholesalers, ideas on how to correct them, and suggestions for advisors on how to deal with wholesalers who make these mistakes.

Wholesalers are driven, competitive, outcome focused and BUSY. They focus on the next call; the next appointment. They follow up on calls. Wholesalers order kits and illustrations. They book travel and events. They entertain. Wholesalers watch sales figures, sales penetration reports, and market statistics. They SELL!

However, sometimes they walk right by the biggest asset they could have in getting advisors to sell their product; they snub the Sales Assistant.

Advisors rely upon their sales assistants (SA’s) to do many things, from administration to service to marketing. In addition, the SA helps the advisor focus on priorities, avoid distractions, and in many cases, wholesaler meetings are distractions. With the wide variety of products available, number of money managers, never ending product changes, and wholesaler turnover, an advisor could see one wholesaler every day of the month –or more! The SA often acts as a gatekeeper.

In addition, the SA is the person who will have to deal with a change in paperwork, processes, features, and home office contacts. The SA does not WANT the FA to change vendors, as this creates more complexity in an already challenging position.

If you treat SA’s with anything less than courtesy and respect, you impinge your opportunity to grow your business. Besides, you are never too busy to be nice to people – especially when that person can affect your ability to grow your business and your income.

SOLUTIONS: Recognize Sales Asisstants as people and the professionals who are, bring promotional items* and “goodies,” and be courteous and polite. Acknowledge the SA’s role within the business, and treat them as you would any professional. It’s good business, and the right thing to do.

FOR ADVISORS: Keep your team happy by refusing to do business with firms that disrespect your team. Make certain to introduce wholesalers to you SA(s). Communicate the SA’s role in your business to the wholesaler, and should you choose to add a product to your lineup, insist that the wholesaler spend time with your staff to facilitate smooth processing and good order transactions. Have the wholesaler introduce the SA to the wholesaler’s internal associate, as well as home office key contacts. Don’t forget to treat the wholesaler with respect as well. You get what you give.

Good selling!

* Always be aware of firm and industry rules concerning gifts.

This is the second post in a series of ten discussing major faux pas’ made by wholesalers, ideas on how to correct them, and suggestions for advisors on how to deal with wholesalers who make these mistakes.

Mistake #2: Telling, Not Selling

Presenting is an essential skill for wholesalers. You demonstrate your product in such a way so the advisor knows what it does, how it works, where it fits, and how to sell it. And to say nothing about group presentations! Master wholesalers dominate when it comes to individual and group presentations.

However, hear the words of Jaime Calva, a selling sage with 60 years under his still productive belt:

“Telling is not selling.”

Dialogue happens when two or more people converse. Like the Tango, it takes two to dialogue, and in order for a sale to be made, both parties must communicate. While this involves feedback, it means more than the typical sales feedback loops. Selling involves interviewing your prospect. Selling means knowing your prospect, and in order to know someone you must ask questions. Asking questions does NOT mean interrogation with “Fact-Finding” questions, but professional rapport building with “Foundation Building” Questions, such as:

• “Tell me about your family.”
• “How did you get into the business?”
• “If you were to bring me on as new vendor relationship, what has to happen in the next twelve months in order for you to consider your decision a success?”“
• In looking at your practice / business today, what do you consider your biggest challenges?”
• “What is the biggest factor in your success?

SOLUTIONS: Develop a standard interview structure, and be flexible. Build a list of 20 Foundational Questions as a goal for each advisor relationship. Ask these questions over a couple of meetings to find the advisors passions, drivers, and motivations. Don’t forget to build effective feedback loops into your presentations, as well.

FOR ADVISORS: You should do the same with your clients. Ask better questions. And, beware the wholesaler who leads with, “What part of your sales is made up of [PRODUCT]?” Chances are he/she is looking out for himself/herself alone. For your part, get to know your wholesalers better with every meeting. Learn about their internal drivers, and what they need and want in a professional relationship. Expect wholesalers to truly be your partners, and be a partner with them as well.

Good selling!

Today’s kids just aren’t motivated. We have spoiled and coddled them. They don’t have drive, and can’t deal with competition.

Yeah, right.

Yesterday Missy Franklin put an exclamation point on her first world swimming championships in Shanghai.  She won five medals in all — two golds and a silver in relays as well as a gold medal in the 200 back, and a bronze in the 50-meter backstroke. Her performance put Michael Phelps meet – which was outstanding – into the second paragraph of news articles. Phelps was quoted as saying, “She does it all… she’ll remember this for a long time.”

Did I mention Missy Franklin is only 16?

Missy teaches us some wonderful lessons. You are never too young (or too old) to realize big dreams, but those dreams come with a price! During the broadcast, the commentators from NBC mused about the influence of Franklin’s coach, Todd Schmitz. Schmitz taught his young swimmer that when you practice, it is similar to making deposits in the bank. You keep making deposits whenever you practice, and you equate the amount of the deposit to the quality of the practice. When you compete, you get to withdraw everything you have deposited!

Apply this to your business. How can you make “deposits” into your business? What can you “practice” that will result in significant withdrawals in the future? Consider practicing:

• Exceptional Service
• Keeping Promises
• Presentation & Delivery
• Staff Empowerment & Development
• A Never-Ending Commitment to Improvement & Excellence

Congratulations, Missy Franklin. Thank you for your inspiration, and best wishes for continued success, and a long and happy life.

And to you…

Good Selling!

This is a series of ten major faux pas’ made by wholesalers, ideas on how to correct them, and suggestions for advisors on how to deal with wholesalers who make these mistakes.

#1 Poor Defining Statement

Most wholesalers cannot tell you what they do. When asked, wholesalers tend to say one of two things:

“I’m a Regional Vice President for DCH Investors.”

OR…

… they drone off into a sales pitch.

Wrong, wrong, WRONG!

Advisors don’t care about your title, and they didn’t ask for a pitch. To be more precise, when you are asked (or volunteer) what you do, advisors want you to tell they what the advisor gets out of the relationship. The conversation isn’t about you or your title or your company or your product; it’s about them!

A “Defining Statement” is today’s Elevator Speech. Here’s the biggest problem with the traditional Elevator Speech:

It’s too long!

In today’s marketplace, where we send text more than we talk and commercials have gone from two minutes to as little as 10 seconds, you better be brief. The average buyer makes up their mind to listen in SEVEN seconds.

Build a Defining Statement that:

• Identifies Your BEST Client
• Focuses On Benefits To The Client
• Can Be Repeated In 7 – 10 Seconds
• Makes Them Ask A Question

An example:

“Advisors that want to add 10 to 20 percent to their bottom line without working harder use me because I ALWAYS give them three new ways to work smarter.”

9.4 seconds.

SOLUTION: Build a Defining Statement that tells advisors how they will benefit from doing business with you that is short, repeatable, and makes them ask, “How do you do that?”

FOR ADVISORS: Save some time for yourself. When a wholesaler calls on you, ask them to tell why you should hear their story, and ask them to do it in 15 seconds or less. You will find out real fast if the wholesaler is a master or just another product person.

Good selling!

Client reviews are sometimes difficult to schedule. The client says something like, “Well, no need to get together. We are happy where we are.” We assume that means they are “satisfied” – and we are right. However, satisfied clients are not necessarily loyal clients. Maybe we need to examine our review process. Maybe, just maybe, the client does not see the value of sitting down for a review. Maybe the problem is us; we don’t really provide a quality review! Many advisors consider a review to be a time to simply go over account statements, increase positions, and sell additional services.

One of the biggest constraints you face when making any presentation is a limited amount of time to get your point across. You have to deliver your information as efficiently as possible, and address everything you can in the time you have. Your goal isn’t to make listeners instant experts on the subject but to include as much information as they can effectively process. Keep the following pointers in mind, both during your preparation phase and while you’re conduction the review.

1.    Know Your Client. Knowing your clients well helps you determine how best to help them quickly, based on what they want and need to learn. Ask yourself: Who is this person, and do I not know about them?  What’s most important to them? How does your information help them? Don’t worry about your needs; focus on the review from their perspective.
2.    Prepare Carefully. A quality client review begins with a tight, succinct agenda; utilizing an organized, logical process which is goal-attainment. Use a standard meeting agenda. Keep everything as simple and straightforward as possible, supporting your message with facts, without being overly technical.
3.    Broaden Your Appeal. To maximize information transfer, you have to appeal to the basic types of learners. Build your review around their preferred method of gathering, sharing, and organizing information. Some people want the bottom line. Others want detail. Some like visual communication tools, while others are verbal. Know your clients’ communication styles.
4.    Use Effective Visuals. Speaking of visuals, the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words may be a cliché, but that doesn’t mean it’s untrue. Charts, graphs, and props can add immeasurably to your ability to get your message across, but only if they’re easy to read and easily grasped. Graphics are especially useful for quickly presenting statistical measures and numeric indicators, in order to get your points across. As with your words, though, they need to be concise.

Examine your review process, and consider how you can make it more effective. This pays dividends for the client and for you.

Good selling!

At this time, flood-waters  continue to savage North Dakota. Some of the communities affected include Fargo, Minot, Mandan, Williston, and Bismarck. These communities, and others are being challenged as never before . Bismarck is the home of Investment Centers of America (ICA), and they have offices in all of these cities. Several ICA employees face loss of their homes and possessions in floods that might last weeks, and in fact months.

ICA was founded in 1985 by Tom Gunderson, an investment executive and native North Dakotan. Tom Sr. is a leader, and he built ICA from the gound up, and guided the firm through its formative years. All six of his sons have worked for ICA over the years, and oldest son Greg Gunderson currently serves masterfully as President. From the time ICA was founded, Tom Sr. always spoke of “The ICA Family.”  Several years ago Tom Sr. sold the company, and today it is part of NPH Holdings, an affiliate of Jackson National Insurance Company.

While ICA is part of a much larger corporate conglomerate, it still is a “Family.” Like all companies, ICA is not perfect and faces its share of challenges, but in times of crisis, the ICA Family rallies itself. A significant number of ICA representatives from several states went to Bismarck, (at their own expense) to help with sandbagging, moving furniture, and providing other services to those in need. Other ICA reps and employees continue to help and provide assistance in other ways. Reps from across the United States plan to go to Bismarck after the water recedes to help their “Family” clean-up and get their lives back in order.

So can a large company still be a family? The evidence says the answer is “yes” for a broker-dealer firm in North Dakota.

Good selling!

(Note: Investment Centers of America is a client of mine. This has had no impact on this article, but this note is written in the spirit of full disclosure.)

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, both “customer” and “client” can be defined as “one that buys goods or services.” However, there are distinct differences.

• Customers need the transaction
• Clients need the relationship.

• Customers buy a product or service.
• Clients buy the people of the firm.

• Customers are dependent on the product for quality
• Clients are interdependent with the advisor for quality.

• Customers are “satisfied.”
• Clients are loyal advocates.

• Customers buy commodities.
• Clients buy commodities with value added services.

• Customers buy cheapest price.
• Clients buy best value.

• Customers might buy only once.
• Clients buy over and over.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. “What percentage of my accounts or professional relationships are customers and what percentage are truly clients?”
2. “What can you do to improve and in fact maximize your client relationships?”
3. “What do you need to do first, and when will you start?”

Good Selling!

Today I received an email from a financial advisor who is a coaching client. A portion of the email read as follows:

“Mike; I am working on a schedule for my assistant for blocking time and activities.  What are your thoughts on the subject…?  Thanks.”

This was my reply:

For a start, book appointments – as many as possible – on Tuesday through Thursday. Mondays would be for staff review, planning, and case preparation. Fridays would be for finishing the week, planning the coming week, and cleanup of messes.

Does this mean you wouldn’t see a client on Monday or Friday, or for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or possibly an evening or Saturday appointment? OF COURSE NOT! However, MOST clients can be guided to one of these time slots. Furthermore, I suggest that unless you plan to work Saturday, don’t schedule an appointment after 11:00 AM on Friday. This allows you to finish early – and let your staff catch up – from the busy and productive week.
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Please feel free to send me your thoughts on time blocking and scheduling appointments.

Good selling!