Do your prospect’s eyes glaze over when you present them with recommendations? Do they accuse you of teaching them how to build a watch when they ask you for the time   Do they seem suspicious when you present investment data?

The fact is, how your clients hear your facts depends on their level of trust in you….which is impacted by your verbal, emotional and physical consistency….

As a successful financial advisor, you know how important it is for you to connect your products and services with the emotional needs of your clients: How not to outlive their money….how to make sure their family can still pay the bills if they die….paying for the children’s college. ..taking care of elderly parents….

What you many not know is this: even when you are stating facts, emotions come through in a way that subtly affects how well your clients “get” your intended message….

According to neurological research, there is no such thing as a completely neutral, objective comment. As human beings, it is impossible to not have an emotional and physical aspect to our conversation….try this, say out loud, 2+ 2 = 4,  What did you say to yourself when you recited this fact? Even if you are “neutral”, neutrality is actually an emotion, and carries with it a certain body language and demeanor (think of the character “Spock” or “Data” from Star Trek).

Notice that your belief and confidence in the facts comes through your words, your body language and your mood. Do you use the facts in a way that answers the “so what?” test?

Do your facts tell a story that evokes emotion in you? Do you believe in what you are presenting? What do you think (really) of your audience? What are you telling yourself about them as you present your data? If they knew, would they be pleased?

Whatever you are saying to yourself, if it is not consistent with your words, your body language and emotions will betray you, even on a subtle level, and your clients are likely to react negatively to that discord

You can probably remember how this felt when you first started your practice, as you struggled to become fluent in the jargon, technical concepts and compliance requirements of your complex profession.

To help you with your next prospect proposal, try this to prepare:

1. Prepare yourself by sitting in a quiet, comfortable and focused locations without distraction. Take a few deep breathes to relax.

2. From an objective, curious mindset, answer these questions about your prospect(s):

• • what problems do they have that I can solve?
  • what are they most concerned about?
  • what challenges get in the way of them making decisions that I can address?
  • why should they trust me?

3. What facts are most important for my client to understand? Why?

4. What doubts, if any,  do I have about my recommendations?

5. What do I need to do to ensure I speak with competence, reliability and sincerity?

Once you have your presentation prepared, try practicing it until  your words, body posture and emotions match to create an irresistible offer your prospects will not be able to refuse?

Getting an objective party to observe your presentation from the standpoint of your words, emotions and body posture is recommended, as you may have difficulty seeing these elements yourself  (see ” Blind Spots – Who Me? )”

Doing this exercise before you meet with your prospect will help you discover any gaps to address so that you come across with all 3 parts of yourself behaving consistently.

Want to learn more? Check out “Blind Spot Removal for Financial Advisors”