PROFESSIONALS DON'T "CLOSE"

When I hear someone talking about wanting to help me “close”, “overcome objections” or “disturb”, I know they are not MY people. 

Salesmen do those things, but professionals don’t. 

You might say, "but what’s the big deal, that’s just how they describe getting hired"!?  But I say, "WORDS MATTER"! 

Words both guide and reflect our state of mind.  

-If a client is sitting in front of us and we are trying to disturb them into buying something or hiring us, we are trying to emotionally manipulate them. 

-If they tell us they aren’t interested in buying what we are selling and we try to overcome their objections, we are just strong arming them.  

-If our primary measure of success is how many closes we do, we are just salesmen. 

Our industry is begging for legitimacy.  We so want to be treated with respect like CPAs and attorneys.  We want people to listen to us and take our advice.   

But we aren’t yet acting like professionals, we are still just salesmen in nicer suits. 

Do you think CPAs and Attorneys disturb their clients to get the close and spend untold hours training on scripts to overcome objections? 

No they don’t! 

Professionals have a process they use to assess the client’s needs and then they offer their services to help their clients improve their situation.  

That’s it.  It’s not magic.  It is respect.  Respecting the client. 

I challenge you to do a self-audit of the language you use to describe your work with clients. 

-Ask your staff 

-Talk to your peer advisors 

-Take a look at the coaches you follow 

And ask yourself, am I operating like a professional or like a salesman?  Learn to catch yourself and re-program your language around your client interaction.   

Whether you realize it or not, the way you think absolutely affects how you show up with clients.  And it definitely affects how others see our industry! 

We can’t change our reputation until we change the way we interact with clients! 

With Purpose,

-Lucila

If you are looking for a place to interact and connect with other purpose-driven, advice-based advisors, I invite you to join us in the TIA Mastermind Group on Facebook.