Before we begin, you need to forget everything you have learned about selling from watching movies like ‘Boiler Room’, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’, and ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. Take note, by learnt I mean influenced even if it is at a subconscious level. There is no doubt that these are great stories. In my opinion, characters that Vin Diesel, Leonardo Dicaprio, Will Smith and co. essayed, would never survive one quarter with those skills. In fact, I am a bit upset at the portrayal of the profession. Liars, manipulators, aggressive people that make a living out of duping unsuspecting family men are a far cry from reality.
The Baggage Sales Executives Carry
To be perfectly honest, I am upset at educational institutions too. Schools and colleges teach various degrees but none that help people develop their sales skills methodically. Along with no educational assistance, there is also this societal stigma that is deep-rooted and often reinforced that adds to the stereotypical image of a sales executive.
But have you ever imagined what would happen if sales executives across the world decided to take a day-off? We are just tired of prospects demanding information about our products and services and vanishing into thin air. This blog post will hopefully prevent sales folks from giving up on their pursuits.
While the basics of consultative selling are applicable to several sales scenarios and industries, the approaches differ. This post contains call script for sales professionals working in the financial service sector who need to cold call either all day long or from time to time. Ok! It’s time to sell wealth management.
Call Script for Financial Advisors
Ring Ring
Prospect: “Hello!”
You: Pause. Pause. “Is that David?”
Prospect: “Yes. Who is this? what do you want?”
You: “You and I do not know each other but I need to minute to tell you why I am calling. Can we talk for a minute?”
Prospect: “Hmm…Okay. What? Who? Hurry Up!”
You: “I am sure there is no dearth of people who have phoned and met you in the past promising to do a great job of managing your personal finances and investments. And I am also sure that you decline on almost all occasions. Just checking, You wouldn’t have the time or inclination to talk about this matter with me, would you?
If Prospect says: “No I do not.”
Then you can say: “Sure. Before we hang-up just a quick question – If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your current wealth management provider? You could say nothing and you will never hear from me again.”
Prospect: “Nothing”. Hangs up.
You: Hang up. Dial the next prospect. Start the conversation again and wait till you hear something like this:
Prospect: “Well, I could talk a little about wealth management. By the way, whom am I speaking with? And what makes your service different from others?”
You: “That’s the hard part David. In my first minute of interaction with prospects, there is nothing I can say or do that can prove to my prospects that I am the best solution to any challenges they may be facing with their current wealth management providers. Could you please share who you work with and what you would like to change if you had, say a magic wand?
Prospect: “OK I work with -ABC and I am trying to diversify/optimize/add goals/sub-par returns/lack of visibility or control …….”
You: “Ok, that seems slightly broad to me. Can you share more details about (Whatever the prospect said about changing/improving)
Prospect: Shares details OR says I am busy send me an email.
You: “David, this might seem odd, but I feel I need to know more in order to ascertain if I can point you in certain directions to choose from. Unless this is too forward I do have a suggestion? May I?”
Prospect: “Yes.”
You: “Let us schedule some time for another call/meet. I know we would both have questions for each other, that we will try to answer. In the end, you may find we are not a great fit and we will be done- or we may even see some areas we can work on, in which case you can decide about what a good next step would be. Does that sound fair?”
Additional Points That Can Help You Ace The Cold Call
Q1: This call script for sales does not include an introduction or the achievements of my organisation?
Explanation: This is not a full-fledged script. It is a structure. It would work if you write your own and include your name and company details if you need to. Although, do you want to talk about you first or them first? Your focus needs to be on getting your prospect to talk about himself/herself.
Q2: It seems different and also a bit manipulative to say, “You and I do not know each other.”
Explanation: No it is not manipulative. It is stating the truth and helps your prospect prepare for an unexpected call about their financial health.
Q3: Why Pause? Pause, and Ahem is important.
Explanation: It slows down the pace, so the first 5 seconds seem unlike 100’s of sales calls that your prospect would have answered.
Q4: Why does this structure/script sound so pessimistic? eg; “You wouldn’t have the time or inclination to talk about this matter with me, would you?”
Explanation: You can use any tonality while having this conversation. This is an approach that you can try if your current approach is not yielding the results you need.
Q5: Why are we not sharing features/advantages?
Explanation: If you offer too soon, you would just end up sharing more details, answering more questions and learning nothing about the core of what you need to do in order to start a formal relationship with the prospect. Learn about the prospect today, share about your offering/solution tomorrow.
