Client Conversations

Mitch Anthony

I’ve been working on a new book that discusses the importance of conversation. Real conversation. Not texting. Not a Facebook posting. Not a Tweet. I’m talking about a real, honest-to-goodness, in-person, face-to-face conversation. Excuse the pun, but let’s face facts: if you aren’t looking your client or colleague in the eye, you are both at a disadvantage. You can’t possible know for sure what they really mean or how they’re feeling.

Flash back to 10 years ago…

When Scott West and I wrote StorySelling for Financial Advisors in 2000, we introduced the idea that in order to be successful, you had to engage your clients; you had to relate to them in a way that would get them to listen. Given the changes that have occurred during the last decade, I thought it would be a great time to revisit the concepts that became StorySelling. The concepts we discussed in this book are even more important today, as communication becomes less and less personal.

Why are some of us thriving while others are struggling to survive? Why are some of us just not able to reach that next level in business? Why do some of us struggle to keep up with the referrals we get when others have to claw and dig to get just one?

Scott and I were determined to find the answers to those questions—to find exactly how top advisors were able to grow their practices. The characteristics we identified were both profound and simple:

1. The way they engaged clients was illustrative and simple.
2. They excelled in relating and communicating with both clients and colleagues.
3. They developed specialized audiences for their services.

Successful advisors simplify; they purposely avoid complicating matters. Many advisors purposefully add complexity to their presentations, thinking it raises their stature and indispensability in the eyes of their clients. This approach almost always backfires.

The advisors we studied (all top producers) did just the opposite with amazing results. By using simple illustrations, anecdotes, and metaphors, they brought themselves and their ideas into the mental grasp of every client. Consequently, clients love talking to them and referring their friends as well. By communicating openly and honestly––and in most cases, in-person––they increased their client base.

This technique has come to be known as storyselling. Storyselling is the key to building a large and loyal book of business. It is a proven psychological fact that storytelling puts the mind in a light trancelike state and makes us more susceptible to influence. Everyone loves a good story.

Why Statistics No Longer Sell, but Stories (and Conversations) Do

What would happen if, starting today, you had to begin selling investment products without the use of statistics, charts, rankings, or ratings? Would you go mute?

I sure hope not. Instead, you should sit down with your client and have a real, honest-to-goodness conversation. Use stories, draw pictures and illustrations, and use metaphors—whatever it takes. My guess is that you’ll find yourself paying more attention to the individuality and personality of your clients and start focusing on discovering who they are and what’s right for them. You might spend a lot less time 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.

And guess what? This is what top advisors are doing right now. They have crafted and refined the art of storyselling.

It is important for advisors to not only be knowledgeable but to be able to communicate as well. All the knowledge and understanding in the world is useless if you can’t effectively transfer and relate that understanding to your clients. To become a more effective communicator, you must:

• Understand how the human brain works and how to capture and keep people’s interests; and
• Learn to integrate visual, imaginative, sensory, and emotive aspects in your client presentations through the art of storyselling.

We want clients to understand and measure risk, to look into the future and visualize how the decisions they make today will affect them 20 years from now.  These are abilities that they possess in the right side of their brain and we simply need to learn the language that will trigger those abilities.

Typically when we sell financial products, we speak the language of the rational left brain––which is necessary to a point––but in the end, the left side of the brain does not decide on anything! It will analyze from here to eternity. The more information you give the left brain to analyze, the more it will procrastinate. Left-brain dominant people are those who can’t get enough information and have a terrible time making decisions.

People analyze with their left side. They agonize over information and numbers, but they don’t decide. The right side puts it all together and forms a picture, gets a feeling, and then makes the leap. Once the decision has been made, the left side kicks in and wants to get it done with planning and organizing. 

Once you understand this point––that decision-making and risk-taking are right-brain functions––you will immediately see the relevance of learning to speak the language of your right brain. Your livelihood depends on your ability to do so.

When having a conversation with your client, be sure you keep the following in mind:

• Put your conversation into the right context for your client. Make the conversation significant to your client.
• Be sure you understand your client’s priorities (and I’m not just talking about financial priorities). Clients want to have a strong relational bond with the individual who is helping to determine their financial destiny. 
• Learn to read your client’s body language.
• Learn to listen––really listen. Ask questions, and keep your mouth shut as you listen to answers.
• Don’t put yourself on a pedestal. Clients will respond to you more favorably if they feel comfortable with you instead of intimidated.  You want your clients to take as much responsibility for their actions as you do for your own. They won’t do that if they’re afraid of you.

Adapted from StorySelling for Financial Advisors: How Top Producers Sell by Scott West and Mitch Anthony.  ©2000 Dearborn Financial Publishing. 

Mitch Anthony is the founder and president of The Financial Life Planning Institute, the leading provider of financial life planning tools and programs. 

For more than a decade, Mitch and his team have provided training and development for both individual advisors and major organizations throughout the world. Mitch personally consults with many of the largest and most-recognizable names in the financial services industry on both financial life planning and relationship development.

Mitch has been named one of the financial service industry’s top “Movers & Shakers” for his pioneering work, and is interviewed by the media on a regular basis. The Institute is partnering with both Texas Tech University and the University of Georgia to develop financial life planning programs for their undergraduate programs. Mitch is a popular keynote speaker, columnist for Financial Advisor magazine, and host of the daily radio feature, The Daily Dose, heard on approximately 100 radio stations nationwide.

Mitch is also the author of many groundbreaking books for advisors and consumers, including From the Boiler Room to the Living Room, StorySelling for Financial Advisors, The New Retirementality, Your Clients for Life, and Your Client’s Story. For information on these books and more resources, click here.

Contact him at mitch@mitchanthony.com.

© 2008 Mitch Anthony