by Mitch Anthony and Scott West
Highly persuasive individuals, including many top advisors, engage clients by using metaphors, anecdotes, and illustrations. They ask open-ended questions, and listen to clients’ answers in order to elicit valuable information and make deep human connections. This communication style allows them to better serve their clients’ financial needs—and also become more successful advisors.
In Storyselling Revisited, a revised and expanded edition of their groundbreaking book Storyselling for Financial Advisors, authors Scott West and Mitch Anthony explain how to make these intuitive connections. They outline clear and practical strategies that any advisor can use to engage prospects and clients. The stories of Warren Buffett—still one of the greatest “storysellers” of all time—and others help advisors tap into the power of storyselling and learn how to engage both sides of the brain—the logical side and the emotional, intuitive side. Storyselling persuasion techniques include:
- Understanding your client’s story before attempting to tell your own story
- Appreciating the power of emotion in the decision-making process
- Standing out in a “me-too” marketplace
- Developing powerful and impactful story openers
- Using objects and props to describe value propositions and concepts
- Understanding the power of the analogy and metaphor in explaining your products and services
As the best financial services professionals know, success depends on making human connections—and it takes more than mathematical, selling, and organizational skills to make those connections. It takes intuitive insight and a desire to know who your clients are, so you can begin speaking a language they will understand.