Selling to Clients
We have seen first hand the reaction to the word ‘selling’ from experienced professionals such as solicitors. ‘Selling’ is a dirty word often feared. However, all we mean here is without any pressure helping you develop or rekindle a love and passion for the delivery of the service products you are hoping to deliver for clients.
Without that passion, it is very difficult to ‘sell’ anything. Therefore, working on the core values really helps:
Many clients are not only wealthy but extremely wise, careful and intelligent (that is how they accrued their wealth no doubt). Thus, if you are asked to advise them on their Estate Planning requirements, they will already have a degree of experience and knowledge of what is available out there. Of course, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, we may explain. Nevertheless, the role you have with them carries a great deal of responsibility. The clients’ need and desire is very much to ‘add value’ for them. You must do something that they already do not know or cannot do easily for themselves. Otherwise, what value do they (and you) get out of the process?
By harnessing all the service products at your firm’s disposal you have the key ingredient of then being able to provide to them ‘value’. If you provide value to clients, you are then in return, ‘valued’. Then you love the job more as a consequence.
The key to a good ‘salesperson’ is a good sales system. The system ought to be able to make you good at marketing and selling the service products to your clients. We help you create or improve on your systems.
Adding Value to Clients
Adding value comes through having a full understanding of the circumstances and expectations of clients.
Once you understand them, you can advise on which of your firm’s service products is most suitable for them.
How do you approach this?
For us, a key cornerstone to adding value to clients is to ask questions. Asking questions leads to information being supplied. Information leads to options becoming available.
How do you ask questions?
A good sales system will create all of the main questions you need to ask. Ideally, they are structured in a logical way.
Use of a good Fact Find
A simple Fact Find or Questionnaire can contain all of the questions you need to ask. If you develop the Fact Find in the optimal way, it can lead you to ask questions that will lead to you selecting one or more of your firm’s service products, such as a Will or a Lasting Power of Attorney.
How do you take the Fact Find from a client?
We have found that if you can learn to touch type in front of your clients (in person or on a video-call) this will speed up your efficiency of taking details and instructions and also will help you take your clients through the Fact Find. If you cannot do this skill, do try to learn it or arrange for someone to be with you such as a secretary who will complete the fact find for the clients in your presence. Save for that, take the Fact Find in writing (by hand).
What are the other benefits of the Fact Find?
If done well, the Fact Find can be uploaded to the computer file and then it can be used to draft communications and legal documents. If the process can be harmonised, you can ensure efficient support staff who can pick up the file of any lawyer using the system. Efficiencies of costs/time savings can be made and errors in drafting can be .