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!

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!