Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

Are you sure you know how to answer the simple question, “So what do you do?”

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Recently I got this asked this by an advisor who was a little confused and frustrated. He’d read an article, and he’d watched a video about how to respond cleverly regarding having this question asked, and the wording was just twisting him up. I told him, “You’ve got to let this flow naturally, and let them know who and how you work and help.”

So, wording like this, for instance:

• “I help families who are serious about their financial planning.”
• “I help C-level executives who are serious about their financial planning.”
• “I work with families who are serious about their financial objectives.”
• “I work with business owners who are really serious about protecting what they’ve earned and looking after their financial future.”

So, it’s really straightforward, succinct, not clever. Not trying to trick it up, just let it flow and then a quick redirect: “I help business owners in this area who are serious about financial planning. Do you work here or do you live around this area?” You immediately redirect the conversation to them. You avoid the so-what-do-you-do question coming back, and you engage with them about another question or aspect about their life so that they can converse back to you and you can find out even more about them and if they may want to work with you.

I recently spoke with an advisor who was very specific about who she works with: she works with C-level females who have ISOs (Incentivized Stock Options) and want to know how best to plan for them. Now that’s a very specific niche. But then she can very quickly redirect and ask them, “So, who are you working for in this area and how long have you lived here?” It’s an interesting question about, not so much what they do, but who are they working for. Remember you’ve got the Amazons, Googles, Facebooks of the world in that area, and that’s who she works with.

So,

1. Look at the language you want to deliver powerfully.
2. Practice that verbiage and delivering it.
3. TGet so comfortable with it that it just rolls at every opportunity.

You’re not going to get it right the first time. But by time number ten, you’ll probably still mess it up. But you hang in there and you practice it and practice it, and then you know when that conversation’s coming around and that question is going to get asked, you’ll know exactly how you’re going to answer and know how best to then redirect to the person who you’re talking with, who maybe you’d love to have as a client.

I look forward to bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor Idea next week.