Your prospect’s subconscious routines for making decisions

The following is based on one of The Covenant Group’s clients. All of the names and telling details have been changed.

Mike Burley is one of my favorite clients. Like all high-performing advisors, Mike is hungry to learn and apply new skills to his business. It’s no coincidence that in the five years he has been a financial advisor, Mike’s business has grown rapidly. In fact, he has seen his revenue rise from $40,000 a year to well over $600,000 a year. When asked, he always credits his success to the wide variety of sales strategies he has learned and implemented during that period. He vows that he will continue to learn and grow until he meets his vision, and is able to retire from the business with a personal net worth of $15 million. He’s only 35 today, but he thinks he’ll be sunning himself on a beach in Southern France before he’s fifty.

Unfortunately, six months ago, Mike uncovered a potential roadblock on his path to easy street. He had been growing his business by doing a lot of marketing and promotion, which put him in front of business owners, or high net worth individuals. He knew their needs and felt that his solutions were the best the prospects would find anywhere. But, inexplicably, a great number of them were not interested in his services. In most of those cases, Mike said he felt like something was missing. He felt he was having trouble relating to certain prospects - that he just wasn’t on their ‘wavelength’. Something about his personal style was getting in the way of building confidence and trust with his prospects.

At first I was a little surprised to hear this. Mike had been my client for years and I found him easy to get along with. He was always self-confident, polite and, above all, a great listener. But, as he described the problems he was having with his clients, I began to understand what was wrong. When he told me he had ‘trouble relating to certain prospects,’ I knew exactly what was going on and how to solve his dilemma.

My solution was for Mike to focus on his prospects’ and clients’ subconscious decision-making routines. Over the next couple of meetings we explored this idea and how Mike could use it to overcome his problems with certain types of prospects. I explained to him that all of us have subconscious routines that we go through when we make decisions. We go through those same routines every time we decide something. And, understanding those routines is the key to unlocking a sale. For Mike the concept was an eye opener and he was anxious to try it out with two of his more difficult prospects. I was eager to see the impact this new idea would have on his business.

When I next met Mike two weeks later, he was all smiles. I asked him how he had done with the new concept. He just smiled even wider and then started to tell me the following story.

Mike was scheduled to meet his first prospect, Craig, for lunch on Tuesday. Craig was Mike’s age and he was a district manager with a retail chain. Twice in the past few months Mike had made an investment proposal to him, but, after careful consideration, Craig had said no both times. This time Mike was determined to change that result.

Mike always enjoyed eating at the Green Stone, and he knew Craig had never been there, so he reserved a table for two at one o’clock. When they met the following day, Craig was very impressed by the restaurant and complimented Mike on his choice of restaurants. 

After taking a quick look at the menu Craig asked, “So, what do you recommend?”

“Do you like Fish?” Mike asked.

“Sure,” Craig replied with a smile.

“Well then you’ll love the Cod Rockefeller,” Mike suggested.

“Sounds great!” Craig enthused.

However, when the waiter appeared with his notepad, Mike thought for a second and then, instead of ordering the fish, said, “Actually, I think I’ll have the Chef Salad.”

Craig looked shocked for a second but then recovered and said, “Uh, yeah, sounds great. Me too, thanks.”

Based on that interaction, Mike knew he had the measure of Craig. He had just seen the subconscious routine Craig used to make decisions. Craig was outwardly directed. He took his behavioural and buying cues from the people around him.

At the end of the lunch, Mike pulled a proposal for a mutual fund purchase from his briefcase and showed it to Craig. After they had gone through it, Mike said, “I think you should do this.” That was all he had to say. Craig acquiesced and the deal was closed.

The next day, still flying high from his success with Craig, Mike had a lunch appointment with another hard to win prospect, Louise. Louise was a different story altogether than Craig. She was in her fifties, she had no investments, and she had a high net worth. She was a perfect candidate for Mike’s services. In fact, in Mike’s eyes, she desperately needed to begin investing for her retirement. Her need was so clear and so urgent that Mike had been shocked when she turned down every proposal he put in front of her without even thinking about them. There was clearly something about her decision-making routines that he didn’t understand.

Mike knew that Louise hadn’t been to the Green Stone either, so he arranged to meet her there. Just like Craig, she asked Mike what he recommended from the menu. He asked if she liked fish and then suggested the Cod. When the waiter came, Louise deferred to Mike. This time, however, Mike stuck to his guns and ordered the fish. Louise, paused for a second, looked up at the waiter and said, “Actually, I’ll have an orange and walnut salad, with balsamic vinegar and lemon slices on the side.” That salad wasn’t even on the menu.

Mike had what he needed. He now knew Louise’s subconscious decision-making routine. She was inwardly directed. She didn’t take her behavioural cues from anyone but herself.

At the end of the lunch, Mike showed her his investment proposal. This time however, he knew not to get too excited and push for a close. Instead, he backed way off, and said, “I know this is an important decision for you, and you should take as much time as you need to think it over. Why don’t we talk next Friday?”

Sure enough, when he called the following Friday, Louise was ready with the answer he wanted. She agreed to his proposal and Mike became her advisor.

Lessons Learned

Mike’s case shows how an effective salesperson can use his prospect’s subconscious decision-making routines to make a sale. As Mike demonstrated, everyone uses their own different routine to make decisions, and an advisor who can read his or her prospect’s routines will have great success.

In Mike’s story, Craig was outwardly directed. His subconscious decision-making routine was to ask for guidance from the people around him. Mike was able to determine Craig’s decision making routine very quickly by observing his behaviour in a new situation. By taking Craig to an unfamiliar restaurant, Mike was able to see how Craig reacted when faced with new information. Once Mike understood that Craig’s routine was to follow his peers, Mike knew he had to ‘tell’ Craig which solution was right for him.

On the other hand, Louise had the opposite subconscious decision-making routine. By ordering an item that was not even on the menu and ignoring Mike’s input, she revealed that she was inwardly directed. When faced with a decision, Louise’s routine was to look within herself for the answer. As a result, Mike knew that he could not pressure her into making a decision that he knew was the right one. She had to find her own way to the correct answer, and that meant giving her time to think for herself.

Its up to you as an advisor to figure out what your prospect’s decision making routines are as soon as possible. This will allow you to relate to your prospects better and will enable you to sell them something the way they want to buy it. It will allow you match your selling process to their buying process.

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The Covenant Group is referred to by many as the place entrepreneurs go to become Business Builders. They are considered to be thought leaders and have authored the best-selling books, The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople, The Entrepreneurial Journey, and The Business Builder.