Friday, February 19, 2010

Three More Effective Sale-Closing Methods

Last post, we discussed two very important means of closing that wealth management sale. They included:

Direct method: Summarized as simply, ask the question, ask for the business. Refer to the previous post for details.

Minor point method: Ask a what, when or how question that involves client commitment. Again, this point in detailed with examples in the previous post.

Three more effective methods to close the sale...

Alternate close method: Chose an alternative to asking for the entire relationship, it's almost a salami-slice method - one slice at a time. Ask something like "you mentioned that you're thinking about selling your business to your son. While the market is up since last year, it's still far below highs, and still provides discounting opportunities. May I arrange for a valuation?" Or, "without a financial plan, you may have difficult balancing your retirement and gifting goals. Why don't we work together on a solid financial plan for you?"

Buy Now Method: This encourages the agreement because of a concern for the future, and certainly everyone of wealth has a concern for what the current Administration and Congress are going to do to us about taxes. "We know that Congress is going to raise taxes, but we don't know how and when. The way things are going, we could wake-up tomorrow with horrendous changes in the tax laws. It's time, now, to start on the tax-advantaged strategies we discussed..."

Summary Method: Almost like a legal brief, summarize your points and get to your conclusion as to why your proposal is valuable and needs to be consummated. Answer those "unexpressed questions" discussed earlier and ask for the business.

So, there are the five "hard" closes to getting wealth management business. The questions you ask and the strategies that you take using the various methods depend on your style, the prospect, and the actual engagement dynamics. If you've used "soft" close techniques in your presentation and end with an appropriate "hard" close, you'll stand a great chance of getting the businesses.

Next: Working backwards from soft and hard closes and overcoming objections, to "creating desire." Following that, we'll put the segments into an actionable plan you can review prior to and during each and every sales engagement process.
Please, let me know your thoughts...

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