Thought leadership on client acquition

People who manage to get a lot accomplished each day aren't superhuman, they've just mastered a few simple habits. Some may be easy to guess: Keep your desk organized and aim for around eight hours of sleep a night.
In this episode, Moment Masters Show Host Shakira M. Brown a.k.a. Small Biz Whisperer interviews Bill Walton, President of Bill Walton Sales Training, a national authority on client acquisition, who provides helpful strategies to help you rethink productivity in a way that will provide you with not only more efficiency but also a better sales strategy. Now who wouldn’t want that? Click here to listen and learn how!

momentmasters.podbean.com/e/bill-walton-productivity/

For sellers there’s always time to enjoy the lingering reverie of a sale gone well.   The perfect touch points, the internal sponsorship, the business value you personally brought to the sale are all parts of a great deal.  Who doesn't want more of that? But more and more of us are sitting scratching our heads trying to figure   out why a prospect isn’t converting, why an opportunity isn’t advancing. 
 
In competitive sales situations in wealth management, there’s a force out there to be reckoned with and it’s not about you or your firm. It’s not about the markets, and it’s certainly not about the lack of “wealth”.  So what’s happening? 
 
Financial professionals need to realize that anyone worth working with is likely engaging another advisor.  In a way you want that – you want a prospect that sees the value of advice and thought partnership.  More good news, many investors are mildly satisfied with their current advisor.
 
But it’s the negative perceptions around change that’s slowing the sales process down or stalling it altogether.  Some see too much effort in locating statements, consolidating accounts or learning a new platform and user interface. Others fear the time it will take to educate another advisor on their affairs.  Some just hate change. Period.  So we de-veloped a diagnostic for assessing and working with prospects based on their appetite for change. For simplicity’s sake (and for a little fun) we’ve labeled these change types   as five animals: The tiger, the eager beaver, the wise owl, the chicken and the alligator.
 
THE TIGER
This prospect is excited by new and innovative developments in investing. They see change as opportunity rather than a risk. They ask inquisitive and challenging questions based on their own research. 
Questions to assess if you’re working with a Tiger:

• What information do you like to have access to when making important financial decisions?
• How did you become so proficient in your knowledge of markets and investing?
• Where should your advisor to fit into your investment decision-making process?

Ways to work with the Tiger:

• They are ready to move quickly and have no interest in kick-offs or group events
• Build on their desire for change by being excited during your communications
• Send them agenda’s, reports and topical research before first meetings and follow-up
• Don’t tell them how your approach can help them – ask them, because they’ve done their               own research and like to show it off

 
POINT: These are great clients to work with. Keep them informed, keep your commitments, and maintain  a good information flow. They are low maintenance and will remain relatively loyal.
 
THE EAGER BEAVER
The eager beaver is excited by new and beneficial solutions and will eagerly be a proponent to their contacts. They’re often the first to adopt new ideas and will share their knowledge and insights with others.
Questions to assess if you’re working with an Eager Beaver:

• What gets you most excited about having a plan for your financial future?
• Can you share with me something new that you’ve added to your method of investing over the past year or two?
• What information, training, or resources would you like to be involved in over the life of your relationship with your advisor?

Ways to work with the Eager Beaver:

• They’re excited about being first to do something new and exciting – emphasize that they’ll be a thought leader among their peers
• Provide them with information and training – they’ll take advantage of all you offer
• Ask them for their endorsement and referrals to other prospect’s
• Have them stand up at your educational events and tell their story

 
POINT: Eager Beavers are your de facto salesforce so fully educate them on your process so they can accurately communicate it to others. Keep the idea flow rich.
 
THE WISE OWL
This prospect is willing to change with good reason. At the outset they see more risk than opportunity in change. They’re cautious about change and need time to think and deliberate.
Questions to assess if you’re working with a wise owl:

• What type of research do you like to do before making big decisions, ones with a significant financial implication?
• Who do you like to consult with when making such decisions? Do you have a thinking partner or two that you trust?
• What information, training, or resources would you like a firm to provide you over the life of their relationship with you?

Ways to work with the Owl:

• Stress the benefits of the process to the prospect
• Keep communication clear and straightforward
• Stay in constant but not oppressive communication-six to seven touches over 90 days
• Share success stories frequently
• Encourage their involvement with Eager Beavers (attend events or joint calls)
• Don’t push too quickly

 
POINT: This change type is highly analytical, which provides a great opportunity
to inform and educate. There is comfort in the details for this change type.
 
THE CHICKEN
Chicken’s are fearful and skeptical of change and will not change until it is proven and the majority of their peers have done so. The more you try to convince them, the more they will resist.
Questions to assess if you’re working with a chicken:

• When thinking about investing, whose opinion do you trust the most before making a decision?
• Can you think of a significant change that you’ve made in your life recently? How did you go about it?
• What value would you place on speaking with some of my existing clients who were in a similar situation to yours?

Ways to work with the Chicken:

• Provide them with consistent, repeated information about your platform and process
• Give them regular updates on progress
• Provide solid business AND personal reasons to make a change
• Provide opportunities for them to connect with Eager Beavers

 
POINT: If you have good research at your fingertips combined with solid testimonials, the Chicken can be a valuable prospect.
 
THE ALLIGATOR
This prospect is very alluring. They have asset levels that make them attractive and they are receptive to meeting. But their theory is, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” and will work to refute your claims and the elements of your approach. Alligators despise change and will adopt only when it becomes the standard.
Questions to assess if you’re working with an alligator:

• What metrics or gut feeling do you use to determine if your investments are performing as you expect?
• Picking an advisor to work with is a big decision. How did you go about that process with the person you’re currently working with?
• What consequences would you like to avoid given your age and goals for retirement?

Ways to work with the Alligator:

• Alligators will look for ways disturb your approach and possibly distort the facts
• Don’t ignore their resistance, but consistently and repeatedly state the consequences of NOT changing
• Don’t spend time and energy trying to convince them of the merits of changing

 
POINT: You may be tempted to work with the Alligator, especially if he or she has sizable assets or engages in serious debate that feels like interest. Be aware that change means loss to the Alligator, and you may wind up spinning your wheels with a prospect that will never commit.
 
Have any other thoughts on change and its impact on closing? Send us a note at bwalton@billwaltonsalestraining.com.
 

Coffee talk meetings are a great way to meet potential prospects. There’s typically no obligation on anyone’s part and coffee most often happens in comfortable places. Done well, coffee talk meetings can pave the way to a fruitful relationship. Unfortunately too many business developers are not thinking “pie”.
 
I’m occaisionally guilty of saying “I’d really love to pick your brain” or “When we get together I want to hear about your most pressing challenges”.  I try not to make that    the platform for all discussions but even the best slip up from time to time! Now we all know meetings like this can be really helpful – for us. What also tends to happen is the curse of “the two extremes”. 
 
Extreme #1 - The seller totally surrenders the meeting to the prospect and scurries at the end to make a pitch or suggest a next step. It typically lacks context and faint pledges to email each other while jumping into cars never materialize.
 
Extreme #2 - On the other side of the spectrum is total domination – either pitching or questioning with little prospect engagement. These meetings feel good, but lack bite when attempting meaningful follow-up.
 
                   The best coffee talk meetings achieve the number one goal of any first meeting
                                                             – agreement to a second meeting.
 
Pie Concept
So to have more productive meetings, think pie – you get half, and the prospect gets half. Also realize that your prospect wants to walk away with an asset for their time investment. This can be learning something new, a contact that can help their business, or an insight they would’ve never received without meeting you. Use this asset concept when setting the purpose and value of your next meeting.
 
Those of you who get caught in Extreme #1 should realize that this is your time too. Come prepared to engage the prospect in their issues or universal issues that you think they'd enjoy engaging in.  For you Extreme #2 folks, work more curiosity into your conversations – think a smaller number of questions and push for clarity and intent. 
 
Here are some additional steps to ensure you get your share of the pie in your next coffee talk meeting.

1. Asses a client type category that you think your prospect falls into such as a Rental Car CFO, top producing commercial Real Estate Executive or Brand Director for large Pharma. This can help you get some fluency in the specific trends these folks encounter.
2. Introductions: Try it’s nice to “see you” vs. nice to “meet you” It implies more intimacy and projects confidence.
3. Check timing: ask if your contact still has the full hour that was pledged. You want to make sure you can bring your conversation to a good segue if time gets cut short.
4. Ask these three “journey” questions during your meeting for light discovery (and be ready with your answers!):
   1. What’s been your journey? (Gets at the prospects view of their path)
   2. Where are you now? (Gets the prospect to divulge the current state)
   3. Where are you going? (Gets at goals, and potentially some dissatisfaction in the current state)
5. Take notes selectively. In your notebook, draw four rectangular boxes one over another on one page. As you hear a key point, fill in the box. Remember this is a connection meeting, not a court case.
6. Based on your journey question answers, offer to help in your own special way of authentic generosity.
7. Context is king - if your meeting is scheduled for an hour – protect the last 10 minutes like gold.     Use this time to play back and clarify key points and suggest a next meeting.
8. Have one specific ask. This should be tied to what you thought the client type (prospect) could realistically help you achieve. Link the ask to the value of the current conversation and extend that    to a second meeting.
9. Craft a hand-written thank you as soon as you can. Bullet your playback points as  a tee-up to meeting #2.
10. A few days later, send an email follow-up that looks something like this:

 
“Hi Ellen, it was great seeing you this past Tuesday and thanks for being so generous with your time.        We covered a lot of ground together but wanted to follow up on some of the things we both thought     were important:

• This is the video of my Chamber talk on messaging
• A Whitepaper on what the best are doing around prospecting in wealth management
• A link to my blog post on social media that I told you about. Nice tie to your team’s challenges.

 
Thanks also for your help in connecting me to Steve over at TKD Securities. I know we said that we’d connect at the end of the month - here are some additional dates and times for us to reconnect on the prospecting topic. Please feel free to pick one that works or suggest another.
 

• June 6 – after 12p
• June 7 – all day
• June 13 – before 3pm

 
Thanks again, Ellen. I look forward to seeing you soon." 

If no response in two weeks, send a calendar invite with the same message  above around timing flexibility. This assumes that you made firm and purposeful connections in the coffee talk meeting and the next meeting was implied and agreed upon.  

What are your best coffee talk tips? Send me an email at bwalton@billwaltonsalestraining                or join/post your thoughts in the Client Acquisition Group on LinkedIn. 

A few years ago we conducted a research study into the barriers to effective prospecting. The usual suspects revealed their heads as they always do – “no time”, “I don't want to appear too salesy”, “most of my business comes from referral”.  While these may be true on occasion, two interesting nuggets also came from this study on “barriers”:

• I’m not really sure who I should be targeting
• I don't really have a great story to tell

Here are some tips on messaging that have been helping our clients connect a little faster: 

​Seek Client Input
The best companies know what their customers value in their service, and figure out how to deliver on that consistently. For new prospects, more needs to be said around why customers and clients work with you and the impact you’re having. Prospects want to “see themselves” in the relationship with a provider. Let them know why they might be interested and what it could look like.
 
Sell Comfort
So much of what you are selling is not the nuts and bolts of your solution, but the comfort that it’s the right time and investment for it. Customers hate to be wrong with their limited capital. Sell what’s right with stories of where you’ve been successful before. Ask a prospect to describe their ideal scene and continue to align your message with that.
 
Make it part of who YOU are (Within the realm of compliance of course)
Great messaging comes when you’re not thinking about it. For sellers, it’s about finding a connection to a business problem for a certain client or customer type and aligning your solution to that. Messaging also supports the reason for your solutions’ existence (the why), and the impact that it’s having. Don’t forget to explain the special process, or technology that enables that value.
 
Client Type focus vs. Niche
A relevant and timely message speaks to a client type, the problems or aspirations they share, and relevant solutions that align. When building a conversation, start with a conversation starter that primes a path for how you help customers, the problems you solve, the impact you’re having and that a special process or technique is behind it.
 
Download our messaging best practices tip sheet below: 
​

SALES / EMAIL MARKETING / SOCIAL MEDIA INTERN
 
Description
Bill Walton Sales Training, a nationally known sales training and coaching firm are looking for a qualified intern to join our sales/marketing team. Our firm provides cutting edge sales training and tools to companies in the Fortune 500 that need to articulate and deliver clear value.  The firm seeks an intern who can help with email marketing and social media campaigns to support the firm’s vision in the marketplace. The position begins January 9th 2017 and will run through the end of May 2017.  You are expected to work 15 hours a week and will be paid $15/hour.
 
What you will learn
This job will provide valuable insights in the world of business-to-business selling and relationship management, with an emphasis on digital relationship building.  You will have input over how best to disseminate our message and with what medium to a discriminating Fortune 500 business audience. You    will also learn valuable insights into the world of training and development and its impact on results and corporate cultures.
 
Responsibilities

• Assist in the creation of email campaigns, blog posts, and social media communication, etc.
• Assist in the management and maintenance of an email database
• Assist with the export and import of contact information for key prospect segments
• Assist with execution of local speaking engagements, training programs and marketing events
• Assist with the production and delivery of training materials
• Perform analysis of email marketing and social media campaigns (click throughs, etc.)
• Enter contact information into contact management systems (Microsoft Outlook)
• Provide support to social media efforts
• Maintain tracking report of traditional and social media activity
• Working with outside designers on email creation/creative assets
• Proofreading emails to ensure accuracy on desktop and mobile
• Fulfilling inquiries related to prospect engagement

 
Requirements
Company is looking for an undergraduate student in the Greater Princeton, NJ area who is majoring in    Sales, Marketing or Digital Media. This person should have excellent verbal and written communication skills, with extensive knowledge of Web and social media. Outlook, PowerPoint, Word and Excel experience is a must. You must be a 3rd or 4th year undergraduate majoring in Marketing or a related discipline.  Ability to work effectively and independently is critical.  Must have a min 3.00 GPA in your major or equivalent; a 3.5 GPA is preferred.   All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. 
 
Majors
Marketing, Sales, Advertising, Computer Science, Digital Media Arts, Communication – New Media

Contact:
​Bill Walton, 917-439-3271

Bill Walton's Core Four training programs boost productivity for Financial Advisors &  Wholesalers:
 
Bill Walton Sales Training has created a suite of programs as a product of its 15-year history of supporting Financial Advisors and the Distribution organizations that support them. Grounded in adult learning principles with a “how to” approach, Walton offers four hard-hitting programs that advisors can self implement, and wholesalers can coach to.  The Core Four are also delivered as an engaging keynote presentation.
 
Telling Your Story:  Value Prop Mixology
Prospects respond to how an advisor describes situations they can personally relate to.  Helping prospects see themselves in the relationship engenders trust and staves off procrastination. So why aren’t advisor value props better?  Too many advisors fail to state why their clients work with them, and why specifically the prospect would be interested. Prospects want to hear an advisor’s credibility and issue fluency – this workshop helps advisors communicate that through three levels of messaging: a 12-word tagline, a 45-second elevator pitch and a 2-minute value proposition that answers the “why should I work with you?” question.
 
A Giving Hand is Always Full: A Roadmap to Lasting COI Relationships
Centers of Influence want what you want – more business. But what COIs want from advisors and their partners can be something entirely different. Credible networking sources are looking to make a valuable impact on their contacts by providing a trusted resource.  And that is you. This program addresses the common categories of COIs, their sources of value, and specific relationship building tactics financial professionals can adopt to attract them.  Participants learn how to trade on the insights they provide vs. simply asking for referrals.  
 
Taking the Stress out of Asking for the Business
Closing effectiveness is declining. Bill Walton Sales Training’s recent survey of sales managers revealed that in 75% of prospect interactions, their people were not requesting commitment. In the same survey -nearly 90% of opportunities are not closing as forecasted. Participants are given a process that leverages a last call/next call rolling engagement model that orients every interaction around a client type and solvable problem. Financial Professionals will learn to present solutions with context – using the spoken words of prospects to ask for the business.    
 
Personal Effectiveness: A Financial Professional’s Survival Kit™ 
Bill Walton has been coaching financial advisors for over 15 years. While smart, credentialed and well meaning, not all advisors have an inner drive to seize all opportunity all of the time. Often what’s needed is a process for getting the right work done right. In this tools-driven program, financial professionals learn to create their Perfect Week, to adopt a time-slot strategy for their outreach, and take a “Big 6” approach to what’s realistic to accomplish in one business day. This program allows for best practice share and peer coaching.  

For more information: bwalton@billwaltonsalestraining.com or call 917-439-3271

In financial and professional services, your client and professional advocates (centers of influence) are incredibly important to the success of your business. The best have experienced the value you can offer or have intimate knowledge of the impact you’re having on others.  While everyone would agree COIs can be as important as a client itself, most go about attracting additional sources all wrong.
 
Much of what we see among financial professionals is that they do their prospecting on a limited time budget. That’s reality. But what this is driving is a transactional approach to attracting coveted referral     and introduction sources. In short, we see too much of a “take” mindset vs. a “give” mindset.
 
Renowned sales coach and author John Orvos, speaks to this concept. John is fond of saying “a giving    hand is always full”. As a peer I’ve found this advice to be invaluable. As a friend, I’ve found it to be the   best “retention tool” going. So when thinking about gaining more COIs in business, it’s about balancing   two buckets – a give bucket and a take bucket.  Managing your give bucket is about what you can offer   COIs in terms of insights and eventually valuable introductions. Your take bucket holds what you can realistically ask of COIs, namely referrals and support for your business once earned.
 
It’s also important to note that there are two dimensions of time between you and your COI – time together and time apart. Face it, you are apart more than together so it’s important to drip on your       COIs    to let them know what you’re up to and to provide valuable insights for their business.
 
Let’s take a look at a few COI types:
 
Attorneys:

• Attorneys make money on transactions and the billable hours that result from them.
• Be attuned to transactions associated with the risks and business issues your firm can address.
• Attorneys need help prospecting – they don’t like to take time away from billable hours. Help       them be successful.

 
Financial Planners:

• Financial planners (and most COIs) value your ability to provide expertise to their clients.
• They’re in the planning business – focused on future events. You’re in the same business!

 
Real Estate Professionals:

• Realtors value those moving into certain neighborhoods, neighborhoods where your ideal prospects reside.
• Be a net giver, tap into that information and know the inventory.

 
So here are 6 proven tips to attract and retain the best centers of influence for your practice.

1. Ensure that the COI has a business model you can identify with. If you cant get excited about their business, you will have very little to give in terms of insights, support, and ultimately referrals.  Attorneys and CPAs make their living on billable hours – help them see the value in prospecting.   Give them actionable ideas on how to do more in less time. 
   
2. Find a link between your value prop and theirs.  Every one of your COIs, whether they be real estate professionals, financial planners or lawyers all have a value prop for their practice. While   some are better than others, find the connection between how you both go to market. Some of the best CPA firms we’ve seen have done a great job of creating industry and market specialization and promote that heavily. There’s bound to be a connection there for you. 
3. Be their number one referrer. Make sure that you have a referral mindset - A “giving hand is   always full”. Be on the lookout for their ideal client type.
4. Support the networking events or social gatherings of your COI. The Woody Allen rule works     in this case – there is high value in showing up. Put each one of your COIs on the mailing list for   your events and functions. 
5. Share helpful insights that they can use to grow their business. Always update them on new developments in their industry that affect them, as well as what’s happening in yours. For example, help your real estate partners know the inventory in your market and share what your affluent clients are looking for as they look to live their life in your community, not just find a home.
6. Keep a client type focus. Certain client types- such as serial entrepreneurs or retiring land owners– have unique problems, concerns and aspirations. Identify the client types you both serve, the problems you both address and the impact you’re having on solving those problems. Work that understanding into your messaging and support for one another. 

For more information, visit https://www.billwaltonsalestraining.com
 

Rumor has it that leadership development is cool again. As an executive coach, I’m happy about that. Spending on Leadership education and development is up over 60% since 2013 and seems to be increasing. But not in the areas that you might think.  In the area of sales leadership, frankly we could use  a little rain.
 
As a former sales leader, I really felt that my role served as the pivot point in the organization. Who better to translate strategy into execution for the field and to process and package customer feedback for marketing and senior decision makers. 
 
But today if you ask a rep when was that last time they worked with their manager in their territory, you’d be hard pressed to hear anything recent.  In working with salespeople daily, we’ve observed that the sales manager is rarely working with the rep in the field. Rather they’re in countless meetings, rolling up data in Salesforce.com for other senior leaders, or negotiating for resources and competitive pricing. They may attend a key customer meeting or organize an offsite in a neutral location, but outside of email and text, the new way of connecting is disconnected.  My fear - the traditional “work-with” may be a thing of the past.
 
Now I’m sure there are readers out there that would bristle at the suggestion that they don't “do” sales management.  If you are doing it and doing it well - I’m really happy for you and your team. If you're not,    I have a few ideas.  Lets go to the Doppler:
 

• First, validate or install a buyer-based sales process. Each step should be behaviorally meaningful and lead to a logical and mutually beneficial next step. Make sure it aligns with how your customers buy and engage over time.
• Second, ensure that your people have a firm grasp of your company’s value proposition. I’m not talking back of the brochure sales copy – I’m talking language that states that your firm knows the needs of the market, has a process to address them, and that you’re having an impact.
• Third, train against the competencies that underpin each step of the sales process. From prospecting to close, articulate what good looks like and model the process. Expect flawless execution. Your people need a clearly defined set of goals against which to measure the progress they’re making.
• Fourth, work with your people - regularly. Coach them on the steps of the sales process that are relevant for your visit.  Keep in mind that your best reps want more time with you, not less. They want to know how their contributions contribute to a higher mind. So connect them to the strategy. According to the Corporate Executive Board, sales coaching can yield as much as a 20% increase in revenue.
• Fifth, write follow-up reports. Let your reps know what you saw, what worked well and areas where additional attention can pay dividends.  This will make performance reviews easier and less stressful.
• Lastly, manage your time. Do what’s closest to the money first. If your calendar looks like a meeting placemat, beg off of some of them and get out into the field.  Bring your insights back to leadership.  Ask yourself if you’re being reliable or merely responsive. There is a difference. And, you can always ask your team for feedback!

Prospecting is a rhythm thing. But to achieve rhythm, you need the constant space and time for repetition. Prospecting is also a cumulative success phenomenon. The more prospecting you do, the better it gets. Your message gets clearer, you respond more easily to resistance, and you get a better sense of who truly is ideal for you.
 
The thing to remember in selling is to move away from selling a noun, to selling a verb.  For example, while Business Process Improvement may be a strike zone capability for your firm, your client is not really buying business process improvement. They're really buying what that enables - the ability to reassign resources, to potentially reduce headcount, or to increase speed to market for the R&D function. So your "verb" mandates that you speak to what it is and what your projects enable. So sell the “enable”.
 
Here are four things that we can all do to improve our success in prospecting and have more enjoyment in the process.

1. Target and Segment: When you know where you’re going, you tend to get there. Warm doors and faces are always easier than connecting with those who we don't know. With these folks, move upstream in their business strategy to find/ source/ capitalize on the issues of the day that can be augmented by your solutions. Solicit introductions from sponsors – 68% of senior executives say they will take a meeting upon the recommendation from a credible internal recommendation. For friends and family networks– tell your story at a 10th grade level – keep it simple, but anchor the value that clients feel when they work with you. Use that to ask for an introduction.
2. Leads vs. Prospects: Prospects are qualified leads that have indicated an interest and intention to buy. A lead and a good one, possesses all of the wonderful characteristics of companies/people you are already working with.
3. Messaging, messaging, messaging. You need it, they need it. What are you passionate about communicating? What will resonate with that title or role? Your friends and family network also need this – after all, they are your de facto sales force.
4. Don’t pursue business you can’t win. If it’s not strike zone, if it's resource intensive or if the client needs to be sold on even thinking about doing something about their problem in the first place – pass. You don't want to have to sell three times – to have to sell the concept of changing their current state with outside help, to sell them on your firm and then to sell them on an actual project. Sell two times, but never three. Save these prospects for follow-up after some of you warmer opportunities develop.