How You Almost Always Win Your Clients’ Hearts and Sometimes Even Get Raving Fans By Just Reversing The Order of Your Story

Thank Ronald, i’m your italian fan

Great information. Lucky me I discovered your website by accident (stumbleupon).
I have saved as a favorite for later!

Biggest issue is clients are open to getting some information from you and then thinking they can do it themselves

My biggest problem attracting more business is trying to distinguish myself from the crowd. I know that I am different but I don\’t know how to put it all into words.

My biggest problem is clients thinking they know it all

Getting prospects to realise that Lifestyle Financial Planning is a complete departure form the established but broken system of commission driven sales

I think Marty and Chris\’ view point sums up what I am experiencing. I am very client centric and adding value is not difficult in a client portfolio, however how to differentiate my value proposition to stand out from the crowd is something that I think I need to work on and also how to change the behavioral programming that clients have in spending money on non wealth accumulation items. The feel good items seem to dominate household expenses these days. Changing that perception in creating a mental shift in the client is the challenge.

Ray nailed it very well. The financial service industry is distrusted by many people, in some cases for very valid reasons. The constant deluge of news about Ponzi schemes and crooked planners stealing from little old ladies does not build confidence, any more than finding your \”planner\” is really a salesman dedicated to his/her commission at the expense of the client, even if they hold a CFP designation. As a fee-only registered investment advisor I have a fiduciary (the new F word) responsibility to the client, not to myself. Regretfully that is not just not understood by the public, it is unknown. Until a single legal definition of \”fiduciary\” that favors the client is mandated the confusion and distrust will continue. And thus, as Ray pointed out, distinguishing oneself from the pack is difficult.

The biggest hurdle for me when I first started out is projecting the emotional dilemma into the prospect minds. Too often I fall into the \”professional standard\” routine of telling about my services, which does nothing to engage the prospects I met.

Establishing trust !!!

The biggest show stopper for more business is typically limited budget. Nevertheless, once true desire has been aroused, even the alleged limited budget is not a constraint anymore…

For new clients it\’s articulating value. The same as Chris\’s comments on 25 July. I also read your response and am now using all these comments to improve my techniques. Thankyou.

My greatest issue is articulating the value I can deliver – especially opposed to accountants, who are in my cases than not already the potential client\’s trusted adviser.

I feel the biggest problem is attracting the right type of client and having confidence to turn down clients who take away from your specialty and from your client focus by then solving other problems unfamiliar to the desired practice.

I actually feel there are 2 big issues I face — establishing trust and then differentiating myself from the masses of other planners.

Being real is the starting point. Recognizing and addressing the challenges of the client and letting them see how you will address them, with only their best interests in mind, is key.

What is your biggest problem in persuading your client to do (more) business with you?

Selecting the right clients and focusing in on clients that want to and have the ability to do more business. Learning to say no more often – sometimes that can be a hard decision .

I know clients want to feel secure. Have a sense of freedom, less stress and not be a burden to others. Ideally being able to do what they want, when they want, where they want. How do I craft a compelling story to communicate this?

The biggest challenge is determining my WHY and articulating that to my the clients I am refferred as not all will value my beliefs?

Trying to articulate and find my elevator pitch without having to defend the industry

My biggest problem is that I am still following the \”telling is selling\” approach coupled with left-brain thinking. I am in need to change this to a story-telling approach coupled with questions which connect with prospects on an emotional level

too much competition

I think that the biggest problem is the lack off thrust of our clients in the financial industry. Reason is the bad information by the companies about the cost in their products ( see the Dutch law suites against the insurance companies like Aegon, Reaal about their bad products ) The television programs like Tros Radar etc.

The common people does not trust us. And also the bad financial situation their in.. ( jobless, less income by regulations like Tax. )

It will take time. es I see the Industry changing from a Product-selling to advice-selling…..

Not having enough experience in the industry and being relatively young compared to other financial planners out there.

Biggest issue is get clients to see beyond cost of advice versus the value of the advice.

Getting clients to believe I am different than all the other financial service providers out there.

Amazing article Ronald.
My challenge with prospects is that they like the process,appreciate the kind of professional work involved, but are stuck due to some sort of inertia..Quite often it is the fee and they are not ready to spell it out.
Most of the times it is their previous experience where they have been taken for a ride and are scared to change.Challenge is to create a sense of urgency ….

I\’d like to get clients more engaged in follow-through. Too often, we discuss good ideas and plans, but execution lacks commitment.

Convincing clients that the effort & risk of change; planning & investing with me, is necessary.

My challenge in getting prospects to act is getting them as emotionally involved in solving their problem as I am. When I work with someone that has a burning desire to improve or change, it is so rewarding for both of us! Helping clients understand the difference between simple and easy and how to filter out the media noise is a huge challenge.

I think that you covered the biggest challenge well. THere is often a barrier that exists between myself and a prospective client and that barrier is trust. I\’ve always felt that intentions are one of the most important pieces to evaluate decisions, and when clients have a more thorough understanding of our intent, they will be in a better place to evaluate and accept the decisions we are making behalf.

My biggest problem in persuading clients to do business with me is that I talk TOO much! My intro is not short, solid, and impactful. I believe it\’s too much info and may be overwhelming for prospects. In my passion for financial planning, I need help in telling my story with a high degree of transferring the empowerment outlook.

Great article Ronald.

It was in fact Simon Sinek\’s video on Ted.com which led me to your site as I was searching for more details. Like you Ronald, I now realise the importance of story telling and explaining my WHY to potential clients as this will allow me to attract others who share similar beliefs and I will have more influence and can provide more value if my clients and I are aligned on a more emotional level.

The biggest challenge is determining my WHY and articulating that to my the clients I am refferred as not all will value my beliefs?

A problem in the UK industry is that many processes in business are driven by compliance (rather than client needs) which kills the engagement and confuses the real planning. We have a population that is highly suspicious of the industry because typically they have not received great value in the past . We also have an investment industry that is generally ultra short term in its thinking and this can be highly misleading for clients planning long term.

True performance

Getting them to understand that we invest money in a better way than the competition.

My biggest problem is: how is connecting with the affluent prospects and not having any network.

What is your biggest problem in persuading your client to do (more) business with you?

Too much talking – not enough listening…

My biggest problem in getting clients to do business with me is not tapping into the right brain emotional stuff as much as I should. I am so glad I have found your blog as I find the articles positive and motivating and I will use them to re-think my client engagement process. I can explain the benefits of doing business with me until the cows come home and they seem so compelling to myself – but without the emotional buy in of the customer – they fall on deaf ears.

Ron: I am new in the industry and am continuing to work a lot with my base flow clients. I am leary at times as I don\’t want to seem pushy and thus deter them from seeing the importance of what it is I do. I truly am learning that the right brain approach is more effective and appealing to my prospects. I also work as a nurse in a large hospital and thus have a large niche market. My trouble is getting those I know to understand my value as a financial planner. My boss in the industry is very right brained in his approach and I foresee this as a tremendous asset as my career moves along. That being said, the more stories I hear and can draw from the better.

My biggest problem in getting clients to do more business with me is \”shiny object syndrome.\” Many seem to want a quick fix or quick result. We may have a sound plan that will meet their goals, but they expect me to pull a rabbit out of a hat every so often, rather than stick to the same strategy year after year.

Hi Ronald,

For me, the biggest problem is cutting through the noise and the clutter that has become the face of the mainstream financial industry.

There\’s an enormous amount of money in this industry. It\’s this money that buys the advertising, and gets the air time, and the publication space. All this money let\’s these huge firms tell their story very loudly, and with such pervasiveness that people buy into that story, and accept it as Gospel.

They feel that if this information is so ubiquitous, it has to be right … right?

Wrong. But those of us who see things differently, and try to do things differently in this industry have a huge built-in bias to get through in order to tell our story.

Obviously, we can\’t yell louder, and we don\’t want to yell louder. We\’re seeking a different approach. A way to cut through the din. A way to have our story be given a fair listen, and evaluated for what it is, instead of what the mainstream tells people it is.

That\’s why I\’m here, and I suspect that\’s why a lot of people are here. You are on to something really important. And I\’m trying to internalize it. Not just for me and my practice, but for the people who need good planning, and are not getting it.

Hi Ronald,

Interesting blog indeed! The biggest problem/challenge currently in this part of the world is to persuade clients to pay for the professional advice. Being a product oriented market, free advice coupled with mis-selling of products is freely available. Under these circumstances to make clients believe in a process (and not a product) and then to persuade him to pay fee for it is challenging given the varied nature of different individuals.

I agree with a few of the above posters in that I spent a long time trying to inspire prospects to take action for themselves. I finally realized that no matter how much hand holding I provided, it ended up being a waste of time. Move on, cut your losses, and find the individuals that my message resonates with.

My challenge is convincing prospects, particularly those that don\’t know me, that the service I provide from my one man shop in my home, actually has much more value than the product pushing big firms with their fancy offices and \”research\” teams. A lot of smoke and mirrors and the public doesn\’t get it…

My biggest problem when talking with prospective clients is articulating my value proposition in a way that will inspire people to take action. I know the value of adivce but as you\’ve mentioned clients need to go through the process to see the value

I think the biggest challenge facing my firm is the general lack of trust in the Financial services sector. If consumers don\’t know where to turn too to get unbiased and client centric advice then they wont engage at all. It is also really difficult for someone to honestly know whether the advice was in their best interest until years later. I know we deliver advice with real integrity but how does the consumer distinguish that with the advice from a glib and slick sales person. With a product such as Apple computers they can see that it just works. Much easier with a tangible product.

One of the biggest challenges is to articulate the value of true, goals based financial planning to potential clients. It is difficult to clearly explain what it is, how it is delivered and the real value, both financially as well as emotionally for individuals.

I have found that the best way is story telling – providing examples of the work we have done for others \’just like you\’ and explained their situation before they worked with us and then after we had helped.

We live in an instant gratification world and our objective as financial planners and professionals is to help others. One huge challenge is persuading clients to do what is in their best interest; ie: sacrificing today through savings and delayed gratification so they can achieve goals down the road. I\’m curious how others have assisted their clients in overcoming this behavioral shift.

My biggest problem in persuading clients to do business with me is I don\’t know how to distinguish myself from the crowd. How do I articulate my value proposition in a way that is inspires people to act?

Great post, Ronald. Thanks for sharing.

I have spent and continue to spend a lot of time thinking about my personal \”why\” and have also been inspired by the work of Simon Sinek along with Apple\’s \”Think Different\” ad campaign.

My biggest challenge in winning the hearts and minds of new clients is \”conventional wisdom.\” Many people have latched on to what they hear in the media and from other so-called advisors about how they should make financial decisions and manage their money.

When I present a different and often much simpler approach, many people honestly don\’t believe it can be as simple as I make it for them. They want to make things more complex (and often more expensive) than it needs to be in managing their personal finances.

I\’ve since come to realize that I can\’t win over everyone, and those that my approach resonates with will be attracted to me and those that don\’t \”get it\” can take it or leave it. This has been a liberating realization for me as I no longer try \”convince & convert\” everyone I meet with.

Thanks for the writing and work you\’re doing