The Trap of -est

You can spend way too much of your time looking for ‘-est’. Whether it is the cheapest option, the one that will get you there fastest, managed by the smartest, which allows you to offer the best option.

Problem is, nothing remains the -est long enough to matter in relation to the goals of a lifetime.

Better to focus on doing the right thing for the client, and help them live with -er (cheaper, faster, smarter, better).

Even better to offer enough to do what they need (cheap enough, fast enough, smart enough).

Consistency

Look at any brand you trust, and what you will find is consistency.  You know exactly what you get when you go into a Starbucks (type of coffee, selection and the feel of the store environment). McNuggets from the McDonald’s down the street are the same as the ones across the country (handy if you have picky kids on vacation!).  It is about knowing what you are going to get, and getting it the same way all the time.

That’s not to say you can’t vary some things – some McDonald’s are quite different in their decor – but you need to keep consistent in what matters to clients to build trust.

As an advisor (or anyone trying to establish a personal brand), it is important to define what your clients care about, and deliver that consistently. Be very careful in defining this – you need to ensure that you can be consistent, that you control the factors entirely. Your logo, sending birthday cards, offering tea or coffee when they come to your office (or knowing their beverage choice before they come in), your overall planning process and how you proceed through the steps – all are controllable. Rates of return, product features and design, product availability, the brand image of companies you represent are not in your control, so should not be used to create trust.

Preach to the Converted

A wholesaler did a sales presentation recently to a group of highly successful advisors.  She believes strongly in what she was presenting, had proved it to herself, and did not hold back her passion and conviction. The result?  Two loyal advisors bought in immediately. Two other advisors did not, and felt she was too biased towards her company’s solutions. The majority are ‘undecided’ at this point.

I consider this a success. Why?

Too often, we try to appeal to either the ‘eternal naysayers’ or the ‘undecided majority’. Too often we sanitize or pull back from our message so we do not get a negative reaction from anyone. We end up ‘reverting to the mean’ in our messages to avoid offense.

No one ever achieved great things by becoming more average.

The two advisors who ‘bought in’ will be wildly successful, and act as an example to the ‘undecided majority’. The ‘eternal naysayers’ will always find a reason not to accept what they are told, no matter what you say.

Peer

You need to be viewed as a peer by your clients. A peer is someone they see as being on the same level as they are, having gone through many of the same experiences, and can truly appreciate and understand where they are in their life.

If they see you as ‘less than a peer’, they will treat you as an assistant, and an order-taker. They will question any recommendation you make, and likely provide direction to you.

If they see you as ‘more than a peer’, they may become self-conscious and not share things with you. They may enact your recommendations even though they may not understand them or feel comfortable with them.

If you find yourself as ‘less than’ most of your clients, you need to figure out how to rise to their level. If you find yourself  ’more than’ them, you need to show yourself as their equal, with your own weaknesses and compassion for theirs.

Or you need to find clients who truly are your peers.

Significant, but enough

You discuss your client’s hopes and dreams, analyse their current situation, and develop a course of action that is within their ability to fund. You present the plan to them, satisfied that this will change their lives, and replace worry with hope.

And they say no. Or put one small part into place.

Why?

There could be many reasons, based on your knowledge, their trust in you or both (I’ve written about this previously). Or maybe it is something more subtle.

You have just shown them that they need to put more money into their plan, or make a fundamental change, or both. You have asked them to take money away from their present self to help out their future self (in the case of income planning) or other people in the future (in the case of estate planning).  And you have likely put a lot of effort into showing them that the cost now is well worth the benefit later. You have made it seem cheap to implement.

But to your client, it might be easier for them to go back to ignoring the issues you are trying to solve – after all, they  happen in some potential future. Or maybe they only implement a small part of the plan to make them feel, “at least I am doing something”.

You need to recognize that the premiums or deposits that are required to fund their plan are significant, that they are ‘a lot’, regardless of the ratio of cost to benefit. You need to also let them know that based on your analysis, what you are suggesting is good enough to do what they need it to do – it is not ideal, and others may find small gaps or have different ideas, but your plan, if implemented, will get them there.

Say to your clients, “It is a significant amount, but it is enough”.

(Thanks to Seth Godin, and his recent post on the issues with marketing philanthropy for the inspiration!)