Before I’ll tell you what a PSNIOR is, I’d like to tell you a short story about a flea trainer. Because a financial planner can be as successful as a flea trainer. Successful as in meaningful, happy and satisfied. I’m serious.
Do you want to know how to train fleas?
There’s a myth about the success of setting goals.
The myth says that back in 1953, Harvard University conducted a study on the graduating class. They discovered that only 3% of the graduating seniors had definite predetermined objectives.
Twenty years later they did another survey of those same people, and of the 3% that had set those goals and committed them to paper and had made a commitment, they had accomplished more in their lives than the 97% who had not written it down.
However, there seems to be evidence that this myth isn’t true.
Now, you can call me pigheaded, but I strongly believe that this myth most certainly is true. Here’s why:
Marco van Basten
When I think of people who made the biggest impact in my life, it was not their expertise or their accomplishments that provided me with direction, guidance and reassurance I needed to accomplish my goals.
It was their sincere belief in me. They let me know through their words and actions that I mattered.
Your clients want that same validation.
In fact every single person you meet, shares this common desire. As I wrote last week, the largest part of a financial planner’s target audience want to know they matter. Mattering is a universal human need. And it’s one you have the opportunity to satisfy.
But it’s not only the people who believed in me which had an impact in my life.
There’s one other person who totally influenced me. He didn’t believe in me. Actually, he doesn’t know me.
But although he doesn’t know me he still means the world to me. He mattered to me in the past and he matters to me now. No matter what he does or doesn’t do, I believe in him.
This person is Marco. Marco van Basten.
Raving fans for the financial planner
Not a single financial planner wants to scare his potential clients off when telling the story about their business. Yet, very few financial planners dare to really attract their clients with the real reason they are in business. But what if that reason is a story that makes you more believable, trustworthy and gets you more clients (and maybe even some raving fans)?
Let me tell you a short story before we go in depth. It’s about the new reality of a car salesman. Traditionally, many car dealerships are based on a simple idea: they know more about cars and pricing and profit than the customer does. By leveraging the information advantage, they can sell cars at a higher markup, upsell add ons, etc.
But what happens when the customers know more then they do, when potential customers know about every option, the inventory at every dealer, etc?
This is going to happen to every business, every sector, every level. Also to our financial planning business. When information is set free, does it help you or hurt you?
If it is not helping you, now is the time to act. Continue reading
What if you can save at least 60 minutes worth of explanation, reasoning, justification, comparison and analysis in your client interviews? I believe that in the financial planning business there is still a traditional reasoning-centered approach to selling the service. It’s not strange. Most advisors don’t know about the possibilities of right brain selling. I didn’t for 11 years although I continually studied during this period. Are you still using the traditional approach and therefore missing chances to engage, connect and sell more? Continue reading
“I believe that financial planners will be more successful when using their right brain potential”. Actually it’s strange for me to say. I’ve always been a typical left brainer for years. Good at maths, very rational and successful with study. And always focussing on building knowledge. Because when I finished a study I could say that I achieved something. And that’s very tangible. That’s great, because left-brainers love it when it’s tangible.
I also thought that with this knowledge I could help my clients the most. But after reading Simon Sinek’s book ‘Start with Why’ about three years ago, my perspective changed. The book gave me the urge to search my WHY. And I discovered something I never knew before. Since ‘Start with Why’ I’ve read many, many other business books and found out that almost every successful and innovative influencers (like Seth Godin, Robert Cialdini, Anthony Robbins & Daniel Pink) wrote about the power of the right brain. Since then I can’t stop reading and researching about it. And more important: I’ve applied it in my financial planning profession.
Now, my goal is to inspire other financial planners to believe in their right brain potential. I believe in the importance of the financial planner. Financial planners are by definition highly educated. They have the ambition to reach for the best. And more important: they truly want to help people. Not by selling products. But to give real advice based on what their clients really want. Because financial planners have these strong ambition and are almost always smart people I know financial planners have this right brain potential. When using it right, it’s going to build more profitable and enduring relationships.
To prove it to you I’m not going to tell you a story, influence you with a metaphor or let you see the big picture. In other words, I’m not appealing to your right brain. To show you that what I believe is true, I’m going to appeal to your left brain in this article. Because I know your left brain asks you to rationalize your choice to work on your right brain potential. And therefore it needs facts and numbers. So please take a look at the picture below.
We are very proud, happy and overwhelmed with emotions with the birth of our beautiful and healthy daughter and sister Julia. Julia was born this Wednesday the 26th of June. Please take a look at the picture below. We love your comments. Thank you.
With love,
Ronald & Denny, Frenk, Sanne & Julia Sier
Look at our beautiful daughter Julia
Picture this: a technique to seduce people which makes them do the things that you want them to do. In his best selling book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials)
, persuasion-professor Robert Cialdini presents 6 scientific based seduction techniques from social psychology. The book gave me ideas a financial planner can use to make their clients say ‘YES’ to the service financial planners are offering.
Imagine that girl in fifth grade.
The one you really like, that special one. You’re having eye contact for a while now. Mostly at lunchbreak.
You want to talk to her, but you don’t know what to say.
But one day you finally got yourself together. You finally got the guts to walk up to her.
You are standing in front of her. And then you say: