Knowing a prospect can gain you a client
The following is based on one of The Covenant Group’s clients. All of the names and telling details have been changed.
Why preparation is as important as the sales pitch.
For twelve years Henry Spender has built a $300,000 a year practice advising doctors and lawyers. When Henry became a client of The Covenant Group he had began working through the 8 Best Practices of High- Performing Advisors program. At our first meeting, we discussed Henry’s marketing plan and he told us he saw business owners as a new target market. He was thrilled about this new growth opportunity because he knew he could obtain introductions to business owners from his existing lawyer and doctor clients. He had known some of his clients for more than ten years and expected they would feel confident introducing him to their own clients.
At the close of that first meeting, Henry couldn’t wait to start on his new plan. He calculated that, if things went well, his untapped vein of prospects would enable him to double his income in two years. Unfortunately, his euphoria wouldn’t last.
When he arrived for our second meeting, Henry was solemn and subdued. We asked him if he would like a coffee and he just shook his head morosely. He was a changed man from the advisor we had seen a month ago.
Speaking to one of our senior coaches, he said, “it’s this new target market. It’s just not working out. It looked like a ‘can’t miss’ idea, but I’ve seen three business owner prospects since our last meeting and I haven’t even had a nibble.”
We knew he was a good advisor and hadn’t had trouble converting prospects into clients before. We wondered what his problem had been.
Henry told us that one of his ‘A’ list clients was a lawyer named Carol and she had arranged an introduction to her client Mr. Rippen who owned a large aluminium extrusion business. Henry told us that Carol had really been enthusiastic about the amazing work he had done for her and told Rippen that Henry could be trusted to take care of his financial affairs. Rippen seemed interested and Henry thought he stood a good chance of winning his business.
After Rippen left, Carol was quick to warn Henry that Rippen was a workaholic who guarded his time very closely. He only came to see her about his legal affairs if she bullied and badgered him for days. Luckily, she had gained his trust and was a tremendous help in getting Henry an appointment.
To that point, we couldn’t see anything wrong with what Henry was telling me, but I knew that he had put a lot of energy into this new approach and was very disappointed in what had happened. We needed more details if we were going to help him.
Henry told me that, when he showed up for their meeting, Rippen was pacing his office. He barely smiled at Henry and told him to sit down. His brusque attitude didn’t help Henry relax at all. Luckily, Henry knew exactly how he was going to open hisinterview.
“Mr. Rippen,” he said, “tell me about your business.”
Our coach winced when he heard that. Henry said it was a fairly standard opening for him and he felt it had a lot of merit. He wanted to get his prospects talking, and hoped they would open up about their financial situations. He knew that everyone loves to talk about themselves and thought it was a no-brainer opening. He couldn’t be more wrong.
Rippen had stared at Henry for a long minute. Deathly silence smothered the office. Henry said he worried that Rippen could see the sweat forming on his forehead.
Finally, Rippen said, “I’m in aluminium. Extrusions. It’s big business. A very busy one. In fact, I don’t really have time for this kind of meeting right now. I’m sorry if I’ve wasted your time, but I really must attend to some urgent business.”
Before he knew it, Henry found himself sitting in his car in the parking lot, watching trucks full of aluminium rumble past, and wondering what had happened.
Even worse, his next two meetings were just variations on that theme. He set up appointments through introductions, but both prospects had been curt and terminated their meetings prematurely. Henry never even got close to learning about their businesses, let alone earning it. “Henry,” our coach explained, “It looks like you’re having a problem in the first five minutes of the interview, but, in fact, your real mistake was made before you even arrived at your appointment with Mr. Rippen.” Henry looked confused.
“Think about what Carol told you about Mr. Rippen. He owns a large business in a fast-paced industry. Time is crucial to his success. His days are filled with sudden crises. I’m sure he feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day. He’s so busy that he can’t afford to spend time securing his own financial future. That’s why Carol knew he needed to see you. But, when you began asking him about his business, all of the credibility you gained from Carol’s introduction evaporated. Suddenly, he didn’t see an experienced advisor who understood his business and personal needs. He saw a salesperson who needed his help in order to do his job.
“Instead of asking Mr. Rippen about his business, you should have been armed with that information before you walked through his door. To gain his confidence you should have prepared for your appointment by identifying his personal issues, based on his stage in life. Then you should have researched his industry and his company. There are a wealth of books, magazines and web sites you can source to familiarize yourself with your prospect’s challenges. In addition, Carol, the source of your introduction, can also provide a wealth of understanding about Mr. Rippen.
“Once you are prepared, your challenge is to communicate your expertise to Mr. Rippen in the first five minutes of the interview, instead of asking him for information. You can open with a story revealing how you helped a client who faced similar challenges. You need to establish your credibility.”
Henry suddenly became more animated. “You’re right,” he told me. “I just haven’t been doing my homework. I’ve been taking for granted the fact that I have spent 12 years learning about the personal and business issues that doctors and lawyers face. But I know comparatively little about business owners.”
Before he left, Henry told me he was committed to obtaining another introduction. But, this time, he would prepare more thoroughly, uncover his prospect’s personal and business needs, and script a story that illustrated how he had helped a client with similar challenges.
Over the next few weeks, we helped Henry research his next prospect’s industry, identify the challenges this prospect would face and give him feedback on the risk/return script he would be using to open the appointment. By the time we were done Henry was confident and convinced he would soon have a new account.
Henry walked into our next meeting with a huge smile on his face. Not only had he converted his prospect into a client, but it had been so painless he now had the confidence to call back Mr. Rippen and push for another meeting. Henry knew he was going to make his new target market work. Armed with his new preparation skills difficult prospects like Mr. Rippen would no longer be an obstacle.
Lessons Learned
Henry’s case shows that even veteran advisors can ruin an appointment before they walk through the door.
To establish his credibility at the outset of the interview, Henry had to learn to apply Best Practice Number 2: Know your client. Knowing your clients means being intimately acquainted with their personal and business needs. Once you do this, your prospect will begin seeing you as a valuable resource. Unfortunately, Henry began his first encounter with Rippen by asking a broad question about his business. That gave Rippen the impression that Henry would be of little help, or that in order to help, Henry would have to spend a great deal of time learning about Rippen’s problems — time that Rippen didn’t have. When Henry took the time to identify his prospect’s personal and business needs, he found himself in a much stronger position going into the appointment. Once he was properly prepared, Henry was able to ask intelligent questions or make insightful comments in the first few minutes of the interview, demonstrating that he had a keen understanding of his prospect’s business. He was able to establish credibility and closing became a much easier task.To turn your introductions into accounts you need to show your prospects you can solve their problems and help them achieve their goals. Simply, you need to know your client.
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The Covenant Group is referred to by many as where entrepreneurs go to become Business Builders. They are considered to be thought leaders and authors of the best-selling books, The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople, The Entrepreneurial Journey, and The Business Builder.