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Financial Planning > Behavioral Finance

6 tactful ways to ask for the order

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“C’mon. Are you going to buy or not? I don’t have all day.”

Agents and advisors often have problems closing the sale. We are great at getting to know prospects, and then developing and presenting a plan. What happens next is where problems develop. Often there’s a pause. The prospect says: 

  • “Very interesting. Let me think about it.”
  • “I’ll talk with my wife/husband/trustee/parole officer and get back to you.”
  • “I’ll let you know.”

We don’t want to pressure them into a decision because:

  • It doesn’t work
  • If it does, we’ve made a sale (which might be undone) but lost the long-term relationship.

Other ways to ask for the order

While developing a training seminar on “Closing,” I surveyed and interviewed lots of successful financial advisors. Of the many responses that came back, six stood out. You will notice they share certain similarities. These will be highlighted later:

  • Are you ready to address the issues?
  • Are you comfortable enough with the recommendations to proceed?
  • What do you think? Can we proceed with the plan?
  • Can I have your business?
  • Can you see yourself benefitting from the strategy?
  • I want to work for you. I need the go ahead from you.

Similarities

It’s likely you picked them out already:

  • They are closed ended questions.
  • The uncomfortable answer is “No.” (Read them over again, answering “No.” How does it feel?
  • Every example included the word “you.”

Next steps

The good news is: You’ve got some form of agreement.  The bad news is: You need to make them aware of exactly what they are agreeing to. In other words, what happens next? This involves reading back the order in detail, signing documents and funding by check or electronic transfer of funds. Reading back the order (and confirming it after execution) is a major legal requirement in the financial services world.

The six expressions above are good examples of how to ask for the order in a tactful, polite way. 

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