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March 04, 2015 at 06:49 AM
Most financial professionals are really good talkers. We like people and we tend to be out-going and friendly. This trait is important when you are in a relationship oriented business. However, sometimes your natural ability to talk does not work for you on the phone.
When setting an appointment with a new prospect, it is critical to come across in a professional manner. Although you want to sound natural and friendly, that does not mean eliminating a script. It means having a script that:
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Says what you want it to
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Sounds like you and the way you normally talk
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Has “natural sounding” sentences that get your point across
The challenge starts with your script. If you write a “literary” script that would work for an SAT exam, then it won’t come across in a conversational way. So the trick to sounding natural is to write the script and then practice!!
I conduct role-playing sessions with several agencies. I am appalled that someone who professes to be a financial professional would get on the phone without knowing what they are going to say. And the newer you are, the less you can fake your way through a call.
I hear producers say many, many good things over the phone, but when they aren’t linked together properly (i.e. having a beginning, middle and end that matches my ABCDEFG format) the impact of the words gets lost. You have to clearly identify yourself based on your relationship to the prospect; then tell them why you are calling (and it’s not to get the appointment); then mention the idea of getting together; then give them the benefit of the appointment.
