As sad as my car story is, I see that exact same fatal error being committed daily by the average financial advisor.
Financial Advisor Fail
This is how it usually goes: They visit with a prospect, get to know them, analyze their investments, maybe even produce a financial plan…and then when the prospect doesn't sign on the dotted line, the advisor forgets that the prospect exists.
To further understand the gravity of this mistake, let's look at the psychology of consumer decision-making behavior.
The consumer will take a journey across five distinct phases.
In my case, I clearly went through the first three phases of the buying process. I recognized that I needed a new SUV. I scoured the Internet for information. I then visited several dealerships to evaluate my alternatives.
Yet I didn't buy.
I procrastinated because the pain of going through the car buying process was greater than the pain I realized by driving a less than stellar ride—until it wasn't. For me that day came fourteen months later.
The same is true for your prospects. Once you have figured out your prospects true pain points and come up with a solution to solve their financial problem, it now just comes down to timing.