10 tips for successful prospecting in a hybrid world

During the height of the pandemic, many advisors hunkered down in their offices and were forced to use remote communications to reach their existing clients and acquire new ones. Now that a sense of normalcy has returned, a growing number of advisors are looking for methods they can use to effectively prospect in today’s hybrid world.

When advisors are conscientiously focused on value creation for their prospects and on earning their trust, they will connect to their humanness, said Connie Kadansky, as she shared some strategies that resonate well with prospects. Kadansky is a sales call reluctance coach.

When advisors discover what is essential to their prospects, these prospects will become more present and their Call Reluctance will go away, she added.

Prospecting requires a unique mindset, Kadansky said. Because of the nature of the business, advisors need to recognize and come to terms with the fact that they are professional lead generators who happen to sell insurance and financial services. “Without a healthy pipeline of new prospects, they are not going to grow their business,” she pointed out.

How to achieve success

Kadansky offered the following 10 steps advisors can take to acquire new prospects and grow their business. The first three she described as the fundamentals of prospecting.

1. Rub shoulders: Position yourself to get noticed. Rubbing shoulders with people who can significantly affect your career requires you to be visible.
2. Use your contacts: Fully utilize your existing contacts, networks, and social systems, and remain on the lookout for ways to develop new ones daily.
3. Make a positive impression: Once you get noticed, work on getting remembered positively. What is there about your style that is memorable? Having a style that sets you apart from the crowd is critical, she said.
4. Mine LinkedIn: If you are working on LinkedIn, start by thoughtfully commenting on your prospects’ posts, share their content, and build a relationship. There are dozens of Linkedin training courses for financial advisors.
5. Ask "no" questions: Most prospects have decision fatigue; they are worn out by what is happening in the world. So relieve them of this fatigue by asking them "no" questions and stop craving "yes" answers. For example, she said, ask them questions like: Are you opposed to having a quick cup of coffee? Are you opposed to going to lunch? Are you against dropping by my office?
6. Be prepared:  Also, when making prospecting calls, she said, ask prospects this question: Is now a bad time to talk? Some prospects will answer yes, but most will say no. “Just be prepared to continue the conversation,” she said.
7. Practice your poise: When you speak, are you present, poised, and confident? Brush up on your skills. Remember that only 7% of your communication is the words you speak, 38% is your tonality, and 55% is your body language in person. When you are on the phone, 27% of the communication is the words you speak, and 73% is your tone. “If you are grumpy, gloomy and pessimistic, guess what?” she asked. “Your attitude will show up in your tone.”
8. Show up: Stay in the spotlight and be consistent where you choose to be visible. Consistently show up.
9. Perfect your value prop: Polish up your value proposition. When someone asks you what you do, you have only 11 seconds to have them “lean in.”
10. Attend meetings: Start attending association meetings. “Golden information is shared at these meetings, and you can learn from others,” she said.

Learn to listen to your prospects with tactical empathy, demonstrating how deeply you are listening to them and how thoughtfully you consider their current reality, explained Kadansky.

“Step into their world and stop trying to fix them prematurely,” she said. “Let them speak first. Be genuinely intrigued by your interaction.” Also, she said, resist the temptation to interject with similar experiences and stories. Instead, listen to your prospects and they will love you because no one else is listening to them.

Once you listen to them and to what is essential to them, she said, vocalize their perspective. For example, you can say: "It seems like financial stability is important to you." After this sentence, make sure to pause and say: "It seems like you need a solution." The act of labeling what you are perceiving will move them into giving you permission to share expertise that meets their needs and feels right to them, she added.

“Your prospects must feel good about you before they will move forward,” Kadansky stressed. “If they don't, they will give you a counterfeit yes and ghost you, never to be heard of again. Remember: We are feeling beings who think – not thinking beings who feel.”

 

Ayo Mseka has more than 30 years of experience reporting on the financial services industry. She formerly served as editor-in-chief of NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine. Contact her at amseka@INNfeedback.com. 

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