Sales & Prospecting Coaching
- Frustrated with your prospecting results?
- Need prospecting ideas to get in front of more qualified people?
- Want to save yourself years of frustration?
Sales & Prospecting Coaching: Hello, I am Suzanne Muusers, Sales & Prospecting Coach with 19 years’ experience working with motivated finance and investment professionals.
As a financial advisor, prospecting for new clients is not easy. You know that your financial success depends upon selling and getting new clients, but you’re not sure how to go about it.
You’ve tried a few prospecting tactics, but they are slow to produce results, leaving you staring at your computer monitor, checking email and voicemail.
You’re frustrated with cold calling and you surf the Internet to find other prospecting strategies that might work. You know you need help in order to perfect your prospecting so that you can provide a better lifestyle for your family.
80 % of sales are made on the 5th-12th contact! I help you create the strategy and make the contacts
I coach my clients to be more comfortable with prospecting for new business, meeting with prospective clients, and asking for the business.
Creating a Prospecting Plan for Financial Advisors
Work with me one-on-one to prospect for new clients. We will establish a step-by-step customized Prospecting Plan focused on key activities to help you land new clients and increase your sales.
Who’s this for?
All types of financial advisors: wirehouse advisors, independent advisors, registered investment advisors, financial planners, branch managers, and insurance advisors. Newer advisors and experienced advisors alike.
Private Client Website
Work with me and gain access to my Private Client Website with my Prospecting, Marketing, and Sales Coaching Program tools and exercises to use during our one-on-one coaching sessions.
• You will focus on prospecting and getting new clients
• Using all my tools, ideas, and time-saving exercises
• You will perfect your message so that it resonates with your ideal clients
• Leverage existing connections
• Make new connections
• Increase your activity and get out of the office
• Improve your sales and marketing skills
• Overcome typical objections from prospective financial planning, wealth management, and insurance clients
• Create life-long clients who willingly refer you to their friends/family
• Develop an Action Plan focused on your unique situation
23 ways to achieve more with Prospecting Coaching:
• Improve your skills
• Prospecting
• Presenting
• Closing
• What does Sales Coaching include?
• Develop a Business Plan
• Develop a referral network
• Earn credibility in the marketplace
• Sell the dream
• Find the “pain”
• Formulate your offer
• Learn how to build rapport
• Become an Active Listener
• Create a Sales Process
• Motivate prospects to make a commitment
• Learn how to overcome objections
• Learn to be better at asking for the business
• Be bolder closing the sale
• What do you do when you don’t make the sale?
• **** 50 PROSPECTING IDEAS for financial & insurance advisors
• Prospecting to women
• 45 Prospecting Strategies for Affluent Clients
• 8 Prospecting Tips to Ensure you Get the Business
1. Improve your skills
It’s crucial that you improve your selling skills. “Sales” means more than selling. It means being AUTHENTIC. It means being good at developing relationships. It means being a good listener. It means listening for key signs that your prospect is NOT ready to buy and then learning how to overcome each issue. It also means asking for the business when the opportunity strikes.
Become More Polished
You may already have some of the key personality factors that a good salesperson needs. You may just need to be more polished in your sales approach by learning how to perfect your 30 second elevator pitch so that you are addressing the needs of your target client.
You Need Prospecting and Marketing
We may also need to incorporate Marketing Coaching into our Coaching work because learning how to market your firm goes hand-in-hand with Prospecting Coaching.
Could it be that you need sales coaching to help you step out of your comfort zone, be bolder, and ask for more?
Which skills do you need to improve?
2. Prospecting
In order to sell, financial professionals must have people to sell to. That means developing a prospecting list either through purchase or by creating your own list. You must also gain exposure to a larger number of prospects so that you are getting your message out to those who want to hear it.
3. Presenting
Developing your message or your Value Proposition so that it speaks to your ideal client is an art. What are the key concerns you should address in your presentation so that it doesn’t sound “salesy”?
4. Closing
Getting the prospective client to sign on the dotted line is a skill that many people have no idea how to develop.
5. What does sales coaching include?
What do you need to be successful at selling? More than likely you will need my help to improve your skills. Too many people believe that selling is a dirty word. This limiting belief prevents capable, intelligent investment professionals from reaching their full potential and finding financial success.
6.Develop a Business Plan
A sound Business Plan that focuses on prospecting is an absolute necessity. My clients follow my program “90 Days to New Clients”
7. Develop a referral network
Successful financial professionals learn to build a network of professionals who refer new clients to them. Do you have a network? Are you actively engaging your network?
8. Earn credibility in the marketplace
You have to demonstrate that you are the best person for the job by showing your expertise and building raving fans to spread the word for you.
9. Sell the dream
Are you failing to sell the dream of what your product or service provides your client? Piece of mind. A secure retirement. Organized finances.
10. Find the “pain”
As you have the sales conversation, try to ask questions to get at the PAIN prospective clients face in their lives. If you address the pain, you’ll be able to identify solutions that you offer. Most people will do more to get away from pain than they will do to go towards pleasure.
11. Formulate your offer
No presentation is perfect until you perfect your offer. I have never seen a good speech or pitch that does not have a great offer. What’s yours going to be? No obligation portfolio review? Social Security analysis? Mini Financial Plan?
12. Learn how to build rapport
Earning trust by truly listening to your target clients is crucial. The outcome of most sales calls is determined in the first few minutes of meeting by building rapport. Allow your prospective clients to talk.
13. Become an Active Listener
If you’re not truly listening to what the person in front of you is saying, you won’t hear the nuances of their objections. What does this mean? Truly listen. Don’t be thinking of the next thing you’re going to say. Pick up on the clues your prospective client is giving you and act on them.
14. Create a Sales Process and maintain control
The reason many financial professionals are not good at selling is that they don’t have a process. What are the step by step actions in your sales process? What happens at each step and what are the deliverables?
What are the activities that open dialogue with your prospective clients? Are you doing the majority of the speaking or are you listening?
Are you maintaining control of the sales process throughout the sales cycle? Do you end each meeting with a scheduled next meeting?
15. Motivate prospects to make a commitment
If the prospective client were to purchase your service, how would it benefit them? How would their life be different? Learn to motivate without sounding pushy.
16. Learn how to overcome objections
Any answer besides “yes” is an objection. You should have an answer at the ready for every possible objection. Learn common objections for the finance and investment field such as “I already have an advisor,” “I have to think about it,” “I wasn’t expecting it to cost this much,” “Can you guarantee results?” “I don’t need a financial advisor,” “Call me in a few months,” “Vanguard has lower fees,” I prefer to manage my own money.”
17. Learn to be better at asking for the business
This can be as simple as asking “When would you like to get started?” Or it can be “I would love to work with you on this matter. What do you need to get started?”
18. Be bolder closing the sale
Many times, getting the prospect to sign on the bottom line requires a direct question such as “Would you like to hire me?” It takes boldness to ask. But what’s the worst that could happen?
19. What do you do when you don’t make the sale or close the client?
This usually means you haven’t proven your VALUE. When working with my clients, I have them give me 3 things prospective clients will miss out on if they don’t hire you or purchase what you offer.
My objective when working with my clients is to make the sales process as natural and genuine as possible so that you are growing your network, getting more appointments, and closing more sales. I would love to talk with you about your needs!
Sales coaching questions I may ask you when we work together:
1. Tell me 3-4 qualities that are important to your typical prospective client when they are considering hiring you? (Like experience, results, etc…)
2. Tell me 4-5 emotions or feelings that the typical prospective client might have before, during, and after making the decision to hire you? (anger, fear, confusion, skepticism, etc., towards their situation, the industry, your company, your product, and/or service?)
3. Under what circumstances does the typical prospective client think about hiring you? (When are they in the “buying mood”?)
4. What does a prospective client anticipate (negative) might happen when hiring you/buying from you?
5. What does the prospective client WISH would happen upon hiring you?
**20. 50 Prospecting Ideas for financial advisors**
There are many ways to prospect for new clients. What are the best ways? That’s difficult to say since every advisor is different and at a different stage in their practice. I help you identify what will work best for you.
The KEY is making a plan, and implementing the plan.
When you work with me, you’ll have access to my Private Client Website with the following tools:
1. **Over 50 proven Prospecting Ideas**
2. Sample prospecting plans
3. 27 Referral scripts
4. Client Service Model examples
5. Sample Elevator Speeches
6. Phone Prospecting Procedure
7. Power Hour instructions
8. Propecting Letters
9. Sample New Client Prospecting Procedure
10. Referral scripts for clients
11. How to create a Referral Campaign – step by step
12. Client events that don’t break the bank
13. Seminar success strategies – what has worked for my clients recently
14. Sample phone scripts to work with Centers of Influence
15. Too much to mention
..after many years working with financial advisors day in and day out, my expertise will help you find the financial success you’ve been seeking…
21. Prospecting to Women
Work with me and gain access to my Prospecting to Women Program via my Private Client Website. Learn 5 sophisticated strategies for how financial advisors can target and land women clients in today’s marketplace.
22. 45 Prospecting Strategies for Affluent Clients
Access my Private Client Website and learn from 45 ways to attract affluent clients to your financial advisory practice. Where are the affluent? How can you find them? How can you get them as clients?
23. 8 Prospecting Tips to Ensure You Get the Business
When you work with me, you’ll be better at prospecting: You will become willing to talk to and approach strangers!
Here are some issues we will work through during our coaching sessions:
A. What fears and limiting beliefs are stopping you from the success you deserve?
Are you asking for referrals? Are you afraid of self promotion? Do you fear public speaking? Work on your fears and overcome them.
B. Are you thinking ahead? – Schedule your next meeting before you end your current appointment.
Most advisors forget to schedule their next appointment and therefore lose control of the sales process. You can casually say, “I know we’re both busy. How’s your calendar next week Wednesday? Let’s set up a meeting to go over your questions and concerns.”
C. Phone call follow up success – Tell them you’ll be calling back!
Advisors always ask me, should I leave a message when calling prospective clients? Yes, of course you should! Not only should you leave a message, let them know you will continue to call back until you get them. You can say, “Gee, I missed you again. I’m so sorry. I’ll call back next Wednesday afternoon and if I don’t get you then, I’ll try the following week. Looking forward to speaking with you!”
D. Are you blocking time to prospect? Make prospecting one of your top priorities!
When advisors work with me on prospecting, I have them create a Model Work Week where they block time on their calendars to prospect: time for follow up calls, time for calls to your own clients, time for handwritten Thank You cards. When you block time on your calendar you are more likely to get it done!
E. Perfect your Value Proposition – Make it appeal to prospective clients.
Instead of talking about what’s important to you, frame your VP to hone in on what your prospects want, while saving them time. You could say, “I’d like to share with you the top 3 mistakes people make when it comes to their money and how you can avoid these problems. I promise to take only 20 minutes of your time.”
F. Are you allowing rejection to stop you? Keep going back for more!
Learn to be resilient and keep moving ahead. Not everyone is at a point in time when they need your services. They may not have the money. They may not be motivated. If you keep them on your callback list, they may need you in the future.
G. Are you giving up too soon? Studies show that most sales people give up too early. Stay on top of prospecting!
This relates to the point above. If the prospect finds you likeable, they may be ready to hire you at a future time. Don’t give up. Keep moving forward and know that you will be more successful the more determined you are!
H. Are you allowing Impostor Syndrome to stop you from prospecting?
Work with me on confidence and kick your fears to the curb. High-achieving advisors often suffer from some form of this disorder and overcoming it will boost your success.
Work with me on prospecting. You will focus on high payoff activities, be accountable to getting it done, and you will produce results!
“Suzanne’s advice was invaluable when it came time for me to brand my independent financial advisory firm. Our work prior on target market, combined with help selecting my company name and colors and building my website have helped me attract my ideal clients and a consistent flow of leads from my website.”
Shanna T.
Financial Planner & Leader
“Don’t think twice about hiring Suzanne. Give coaching the time it deserves, be open, and trust that Suzanne will keep you on the right track.”
Kevin G.
AIF, CRPC, Financial Advisor, New Jersey
“I highly recommend Suzanne’s services to anyone who is interested in growing their business and maintaining a healthy balance outside of work as well.”
Monica B.
Holistic Practitioner
“Working with Suzanne has helped me to develop a distinctive brand. Having a cohesive brand gives me the confidence to network with and approach high level prospects. If I had not hired Suzanne, I would not have made this progress.
Nicholas E.
CFP® New York
“I truly feel that without Suzanne’s guidance, my business would not have flourished. Her expertise in my field helped me produce the results I needed more quickly. But most importantly, she made me safe enough to recognize the weaknesses in my business (and myself). You can fix anything once you recognize the problem!!”