What would happen if, starting today, you had to begin selling your service or advice without the use of numbers, statistics or charts? Would you suffer paralysis by analysis? Let’s just pretend that this scenario did take place and ponder which alternative forms of presentation you would choose to use.
You might have to start telling stories, drawing pictures and illustrations and using metaphors. You might start paying more attention to the individuality and personality of your clients. And start focussing on discovering who they are and what’s right for them. You might spend a lot time less talking and a lot more time listening. You might learn to intuitively read between the lines of what they are saying instead of force-feeding every client the same intellectual data.
Warren Buffet says…
… that investing is part art and part science. For financial planners it’s important to be knowledgable (the science part). But to communicate this knowledge, I believe it’s crucial that you understand that you have to relate to your client (the art part) as well. To become a more effective relationship-builder you must know how to capture and keep people’s interest. And learn to integrate visual, imaginative, sensory and emotive aspects in your client presentations through storytelling.
More Confidence and Trust
I believe when you master the art of building a relationship you will gain tremendous confidence in your ability to communicate and connect with your clients. Your clients will feel a stronger bond to you as a financial planner because you are not just a planner who gives financial advice of directs their assets. But you are a teacher who simplifies and illuminates concepts they once found confusing. Their personal confidence level is now raised because of their increased understanding. And their confidence and trust in you is raised because of this connection you have established. You have turned on the light about a topic that has confounded and perplexed them in the past.
So, why does this approach work?
Because it appeals to both sides of the brain. It gets us fully involved in the decision-making, intellectually, imaginatively, emotionally and intuivetely. But what is it about the human brain that makes this approach so effective? I will use a metaphor to make this clear (and I think more memorable).
Think of the map of your brain like a map of the United States. Not as you look at the map but as if you were looking out from the map. On your left side is Washington D.C., with its rules, regulations and bureaucracies. Then, there is Wall Street analysis with its number-crunching accountants and economists. Some basic functions of the left side of your brain are logic, reasoning, rationale, planning, organizing and analyzing.
On the right side of this map is Hollywood with its imagination, visual stimulation and emotion-packed stories about relationships and experiences. Hollywoord stirs us, entertains us and moves us. Some basic functions on the right side of your brain are imagining, seeing the big picture, relating, laughing and feeling.
Just as Washington D.C. and Hollywood are many miles apart geographically and in function, so too are the left and right sides of your brain apart. Even though they are geographically joined, they are many miles apart in function. The way we communicate to those two sides of the brain is no less than the difference between science and art.
3 Mistakes
Usually, the more planners know about a given topic, the more complex and detailed their explanations become. They are only using the left side of the brain. Which is why we often fail to truly connect with clients. Here are 3 mistakes we make when trying to connect with our clients:
- use complex language
- assuming clients understand more than they actually do
- assuming that when giving a visual, storytelling or metaphorical explanation, you’d appear too simplistic or average to your clients
These 3 mistakes has it’s origin in the left brain. The left brain is rationalizing a clients perception. But in reality it’s the right brain who’s in charge of perception and connection.
How about you?
Now, think how you communicate with your clients. Do you use only the left part of your brain or are you using both sides of the brain? When not using the right side of your brain as well, I believe you are not using 50% of your potential and therefore missing huge opportunities.
Want to be successful?
If you are ready to know more about becoming more successful in really connecting to your client, I’ll send you the 10 Triggers You Can Use to Really Connect With Your Clients. All you have to do is to answer this:
What question(s) do you have about connecting to the right brain of your client?
Please, leave your question(s) here below in the comment field. You’ll receive (within 24 hours) a personal email from me with the 10 Triggers You Can Use to Really Connect With Your Clients.
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To your success,
Ronald Sier
