Poor communication can cause you to lose up to 50 percent of your sales. You can fix that by making sure clients understand you’re an expert and what you sell can benefit them.
Brad Elman, CLU
1) Communicate your expertise
Advisors who are respected in the industry are valuable to clients. “Brand yourself as an expert,” said 24-year MDRT member Brad Elman, CLU, CLTC. Clients want convenience, but not at the expense of expertise. In fact, clients will often pay more for expertise that’s specific to their needs. You don’t want an expert on BMWs working on your Mercedes, Elman said.
2) Communicate to clients based on their preference
Communication, or marketing, is only effective when it’s looked at. You must be where your clients are and understand how they like to be communicated with. This could mean that you’re on Facebook, email, text messages and the phone, said eight-year MDRT member Ryan J. Pinney.
3) Eliminate jargon
Advisors can get too technical about products. Most clients don’t know what you’re talking about. Consumers don’t care about the name of your product and all its details. “They think, ‘How’s it going to help me, and what’s it going to do for me?’ Only then do they care what it is and who you are,” said Pinney.
Ryan J. Pinney
4) Educate your clients before you sell to them
Describe benefits of the product before naming it, Pinney said. “Put it into a context that most consumers are going to find acceptable and helpful to them, because you’re saying, ‘If you have this problem, here is the solution.’ It shifts the marketing around to being educational-based.”
5) Buy or die
“We take this buy-or-die philosophy,” Pinney said. “Until consumers buy a product or service from us, we’re going to continue to market to them until they die physically or virtually by opting out.”
“Ten percent of the clients who you interact with are going to buy today. Another 20 percent are never going to buy from you. That leaves 70 percent If we continue to educate them and stay in contact with them, over time, 84 percent of the 70 will eventually convert,” Pinney said. “If you’re effective in your ongoing marketing and interaction with the client, you can pick up five or six additional sales over time with the exact same 10 prospects. Think about what that does to your bottom line as an advisor.”
Written by Antoinette Tuscano, MDRT Content Specialist.
- Watch “Brand yourself as an expert: Inside high-performing offices,” with Brad Elman.
- Watch “Is communication costing you clients?” with Ryan Pinney.
- See more videos in MDRT’s high-performing offices’ video series.
- Learn about joining MDRT.
Thank you????
Thank you for this timely advice!
Thank you for advice. Very helpful information.