12 tips for standing out, talking to clients and focusing your work week

Future proofing

When a client’s CPA recommends dropping life insurance, I ask them to put the recommendation in writing and give me a copy for my file. I tell the CPA that if the client were to die, I want to be able to respond to the frustrated spouse with the reason they don’t have life insurance. This often results in the client opting to keep the insurance in place.

—Peter Jason Byrne, Coorparoo, Queensland, Australia, 15-year MDRT member

Structure your week

A key part of the structure I’ve incorporated in my life through working with a business coach is using Tuesday through Thursday only for revenue-generating activity. The focus of these three days includes appointments with clients, trying to get appointments with clients or anything client-oriented that is designed to generate profit. I would never spend time on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday doing something that wasn’t client facing. That really has made a big difference. It can be tough but having that structure has really been a big help.

—Mark D. Olson, CFP, MSFS, Austin, Texas, USA, 24-year MDRT member

Empathy counts

To earn the trust of our clients, we must approach them with sincerity and empathy. When clients are heard and understood, they will be more open, which helps the relationship between you and them improve quickly. Interact with your clients with love and show your real feelings, and you will receive happiness in return.

—Pham Thi My Trang, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, five-year MDRT member

Think differently

A difficult challenge in financial services is doing something different that people haven’t done before. With that in mind, we’ve banned the phrase “We’ve always done it that way” in our office. It kills innovation, so if you say that, you have to make a charitable donation.

—Tristan Karl Robert Hartey, Chester, England, UK, nine-year MDRT member

Daily win

Make an appointment with yourself to be face to face with a prospect at the same time every day. When that time comes, head without fail for the meeting with the prospect. After that meeting, reward yourself with a small token like a cup of coffee, a drink or a break. Repeat this activity and make it a habit. By continuing this process every day and making it your daily win, you will be able to defeat procrastination and call reluctance and consistently increase your productivity.

—Cherian Panavila John, MBA, FAIQ (CII), Abu Dhabi, UAE, 14-year MDRT member

Referral source

I ask my clients, “Who would be the first person you’d call if an emergency happened to you?” I will then contact this person, tell them that they’ve been nominated as an emergency contact and start conversing with them. That phone call has often helped me secure these individuals as new clients.

—Felicia Oh Su Lin, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, one-year MDRT member

A better approach

Prospects are worn down by the traditional sales approach, so they end up becoming suspicious, which prevents advisors from establishing trust. A buyer who doesn’t trust you combined with a salesperson who wants something from that buyer is not a scenario for success. The best way to overcome uneasiness is to serve and take the buyer’s defenses down quickly. The first conversation you have should be 80% about them and 20% about you. When you approach a prospect with the goal of wanting to bring them to a better place instead of explaining why they should buy your product, they are more inclined to listen and to engage with you. The goal should be to get them to want to spend more time with you rather than to sell them immediately. This will set yourself apart from the average sales professional.

—Amal Grammas, executive coach and 2022 MDRT Global Conference speaker

Business 101

A successful business doesn’t create itself, and the most successful businesses don’t occur by happenstance. A good business starts with a vision, begins by implementing a strategy and excels when that strategy evolves into a process. In the best businesses, that process gets delegated and automated to ensure continued success.

—Timothy Daniel Clairmont, CFP, MSFS, Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA, 13-year MDRT member

Your own fund

The question that should be on every advisor’s mind is: How do I stand out in an ultra-competitive world where financial products are becoming a commodity? I launched my own, exclusive mutual fund for my clients with me as the portfolio manager. The fund is our best ideas at our best prices, with client-friendly convenience. What I have created is something that:

• Is unique for my clients — you can’t buy this from the guy down the street
• Offers clear, meaningful benefits 
• Treats them like VIPs
• Comes at a very fair price
• Is very simple to work with

It has exceeded my expectations. This wasn’t something that I set out to do as much as it was the evolution of my long career as an investment advisor and always seeking optimal solutions for clients. Simply put, this is the very best that I have to offer. It’s what I would want if I was the client, in terms of product quality, value and service. It’s my way of standing out and being exceptional.

—Brad Brain, CFP, CLU, Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, 14-year MDRT member

An entryway to approaching prospects

I had a difficult time approaching a prospect from a very well-established circle, so one day I contacted him and said: “Hi, I need your help. I just graduated from CFP class and need to do a practice presentation. May I borrow some of your staff to listen to my presentation? I’m not selling anything, and I will also prepare lunch for them.” He approved and even allowed me to make a sale if the opportunity arose. I presented for 15 people and ended up making six closings on the spot. Later, when I connected with the prospect to ask what he thought of my presentation, he asked me what kind of program would be suitable for him. These closings all came from my initial request for practice.

—Winarni, LUTCF, FSS, Jakarta, Indonesia, three-year MDRT member

The life insurance scenario

When discussing life insurance with a prospect, I think it’s important to talk about what if something happened to you yesterday or the week before because then people have to think about it as if it happened. I always say, “What if you retired yesterday or last week, what if you died yesterday or what if you got married and had children yesterday.” That makes people think, “Yeah, I can actually envision myself in that position and what I would need right now.” That’s better than presenting a scenario that’s anytime ahead in the future because they can always put it off.

—Simon John Gibson, DipPFS, Newmarket, England, UK, 24-year MDRT member