Close Close
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
ThinkAdvisor

Life Health > Running Your Business > Prospecting

Here are 2 good answers to "I've got an advisor"

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

I work with one agency multiple times a year.I visit them 2-3 times and we role play monthly.The advantage of constant interaction allows me to be part of the team and the advisors are more likely to tell me the truth about what happens on the phone. 

Without question, the “I’ve got an advisor” response is the most common and it’s the hardest to overcome.The three most common responses make up more than 80 percent of what an agent will hear when offering an appointment.The other two are: “I’m busy” and “I don’t have any money,” or some version of monetary stress. 

There are many ways to make this challenge easier.First, if you are prospecting in person and having a conversation with someone before offering an appointment, you will know more about who they are and, possibly, who they work with.

You will establish yourself as a listener who is able to position your professional work as relevant to their life.The challenge of your prospect having a financial professional will be diminished by their own in-person perception of your intelligence, your demeanor and how you share information face-to-face.

Barring that in-person opportunity, you can deflect this problem before they utter a word on the phone.Your script needs to be “offensive,” in the football sense of the word, by inserting language that clearly states you do not intend to replace their current professional team.

How to do that? Instead of saying “I’d like to position myself as a financial resource to you” change it to “I’d like to position myself as an additional financial resource to you.” That makes all the difference in the world.

If you still receive some version of the “I’ve gotta guy”, you must be prepared to give an answer.I am still a fan of the theory behind “feel-felt-found,” but we need to modernize it.

Here’s one way to answer the No. 1 objection:

“I hear you and, in fact, most business owners already have an advisor. But they found after meeting with me that no one person has the cornerstone on all the good ideas, so I’d like to see if I can do the same for you. Sound fair? With that in mind, which time is less hectic in your office — before or after lunch.”

Or:

“I understand. Most people I speak to have already worked with a financial advisor, but they found that our meeting would have the following two promises: (1) I will never undo any good work another financial professional has done; and (2) any ideas I DO share will only be those that complement your existing portfolio. Sound fair enough? With that in mind, what is easier for you, earlier or later next week?”

You need to memorize ONE of these and stick to it. If you don’t practice, it will never get conversational and natural.Most people abandon good response handlers because they initially sound canned. Of course they do! Practice is the only way to own it.

Without a good answer to “I’ve got an advisor,” you are going into the task without the right tools.Learn one of the above suggestions, write it on an index card in black magic marker, keep it in front of where you dial and use it!

Remember: Words matter!

Sign up for The Lead and get a new tip in your inbox every day! More tips:

 

Let’s continue the conversation on Facebook!


NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.