The late Zig Ziglar observed that every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire or no trust. Which of these obstacles is a financial advisor likely to experience and can they be forestalled?
We can eliminate three of those obstacles as unlikely. We can reasonably assume that folks sitting with an advisor recognize the need for professional planning. They have money available or they wouldn’t be sitting with you. The same can be said about desire.
What about if people don’t feel the need to begin right away? That objection should not come up if the need for action is put into perspective. Explaining to young parents that in 180 months a 3-year-old will be in college is provocative. Telling a 50-year-old that he only has 180 monthly paychecks left until age 65 is sobering.
The issue of trust is an interesting one. Trust is simply a belief in the reliability of someone. That’s of utmost importance when your goal is to change someone’s mind. If people trust you, they will assume you won’t let them make a mistake.
But people cannot judge your reliability if they haven’t had time to see you in action. Fortunately, people place a premium on potential. Feeling you are trustworthy goes a long way. And there are actions you can take to engender trust.
Dr. Richard Reece wrote an interesting article on the Health Care Blog. He pointed out that a recent Gallup Poll revealed that trust of doctors is at an all-time high. People don’t trust insurance companies. People don’t trust big health companies. People don’t trust the government. Why, then, do 76 percent of Gallup’s responders trust doctors?
Doctors aren’t seen as agents of a larger institution. People trust the face-to-face relationship. They feel doctors are trying their best. To quote Dr. Reece, “Doctors are more likely to describe the downside of treatment, put the odds of success in perspective, and give more respect to the patient’s choice. In a sense, doctors are more likely to team up with the patient. Doctors have slowly learned a lesson. An honest appraisal of the situation, based on data and an honest apology should things go wrong goes a long way towards preserving patient-doctor trust. Patients can forgive honest mistakes or unexpected complications but not denials or cover-ups.”
Objections in some form will always be a part of your life. Objections to getting started are commonplace. Delaying taking action is a knee-jerk reaction, especially when undertaking a new venture.
Giving out too much information will earn you an objection. People don’t buy what they don’t understand. The more you flood someone’s senses with new information, the less they understand. Verbal spamming invites objections.
Objections will come up if the other person doesn’t like you. We all do business with people we like. People may make an allowance for an advisor who is not as competent as he or she might be, especially if they like the advisor. Nobody makes an allowance for a competent advisor who is not likable.