Build trust with clients by being a better listener

The simple act of listening to your clients and asking them questions that encourages them to tell you more about their life stories can elevate you to truly a non-transactional financial advisor who clients trust.

I love listening to clients tell their stories about who they are, where they came from, and why they are in my office, and I relate those stories to other clients’ experiences as well as my own. This helps me connect to clients and understand their goals. And it’s always about their goals and objectives.

Favorite questions for clients

One of the best techniques to get clients into storytelling mode is to ask them what they’re looking forward to. They almost always have something positive they’re looking forward to in their lives, and that just leads to more questions. We don’t even have to get into the business of the meeting for quite a while. In the meantime, I’m digging deep and finding out what they truly want to do so that I can help them get there.

To prepare for a client meeting, I’ll often ask my clients ahead of time if their grandbaby was born, about a child’s graduation or how they’re enjoying a recent large purchase they made. This leads to more questions from me to find out more about them.

See more about the questions Aaron Hammer asks in the video, “Build trust with clients by being a better listener.“

Then it’s not just “What do you have for assets?” or “What do you have for policies?” or “What have you already done?” It’s a matter of finding out more about them personally, which then leads to, “Well, now let’s talk about a little bit of business,” and move that conversation forward that way.

Discover more client questions:

• Watch “Questions that build trust with clients” 
• Read “Questions to convert suspects to prospects to clients” [Available in multiple languages]
• Watch “We sell by asking questions”