How to encourage different types of clients to make decisions

If you have earned MDRT membership, you are good at it. But getting prospects to make decisions in the face of uncertainty is a challenge that never goes away.

It can be made easier, however, if you are able to understand your prospects’ mindsets. Let’s look at four scenarios where prospects are sitting on the fence, and how to get them to take action.

SCENARIO 1: The linear thinker

Umberto is a mechanical engineer with a large multinational construction company, building power plants worldwide. With degrees in engineering and management, he understands processes.

Strategy: You learn about Umberto and gather enough information to produce a comprehensive financial plan. Based on Umberto’s needs, you establish a financial target and the time he has to get there. You explain your five-step investment process and propose an asset allocation based on his tolerance for risk. You present a proposal, suggesting different mutual funds or money managers aligned to each asset class. Along the way, you often ask, “Does this make sense to you?”

Closing: After explaining that implementation is the next step, you pass him the paperwork and ask him to start signing transfer papers.

Why it works: Umberto is an engineer and a linear thinker. Power plants are built according to an established step-by-step process. You are talking his language.

See advice on encouraging decisions from three other kinds of thinkers in the Round the Table article “Closing the deal.”

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc., which provides high-net-worth client acquisition training for the financial services industry. Contact him through perceptivebusiness.com