How can advisers help increase their protection business? Philip Calvert offers some practical tips
Our industry is yet again undergoing a period of change. Rightly so, our clients and regulators demand ever increasing standards of expertise, and while in some quarters there is a feeling of sledgehammers being used to crack nuts, most industry practitioners agree that high standards of technical expertise are vital.
On the other side of the coin, one can't help feeling that less attention is being paid to helping advisers to turn their technical skills into increased business, increased profile and increased profits.
Fact finding
With a great many IFAs turning their attention to exit strategies, presumably they would wish to see real value being built into their businesses. According to the IFA acquisition specialists Broker Exchange Ltd, one of the key factors in building value in an IFA business is a track record of rising renewals and strong profits.
So what should IFAs be doing now to position their business well for the future, and at the same time create an immediate change in their fortunes?
Protection still offers financial advisers considerable opportunities for growth. There is no need to quote the usual health statistics as this only serves to reinforce the point that as an industry we are well served for statistics and technical knowledge. If we are to make significant steps forward, we must start to once again embrace the 'selling' word.
Selling has become a bit of a dirty word in our industry. But the really big producers over the years will tell you that they don't actually do any selling. They are simply proactively helping clients to discover for themselves that they urgently need to buy life assurance or income protection - or whatever it will take to reassure them that both they and their family will be able to maintain their lifestyle in the event of ill health or death. And it is the 'discover for themselves' bit that is important, as all too often the processes required in effective financial planning do not help prospective clients to fully appreciate the consequences of not being properly protected.
Fact finding is a good example. Yes, of course we need to have facts about our clients in order that an appropriate financial plan can be devised. But the problem with such a formal fact-finding process as we have is that the client is not able to get involved emotionally. To them it is just a series of questions to which they need to find answers. Really good financial advisers help clients to see a vision of the future - one without them as the breadwinner.
Such advisers will also ask probing questions which help these clients to put themselves in the shoes of their surviving spouse and to question if the financial position they have left behind is what they actually want for them. Some readers may recognise this approach as The Broad Concept which was very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Broad Concept was a highly professional form of fact finding which sought to help prospective clients discover financial problems for themselves. There was no selling involved and it was based on almost nothing but 'soft fact' questioning, with the client's own imagination serving as the adviser's best sales aid.
If you are serious about building your protection sales, it may be helpful to seek out a copy of Messrs Pooley, Greenstone and Zlotnick speaking at the Million Dollar Round Table event in 1979. It makes great listening and reminds us of: a) how important protection is at the heart of all financial planning, and b) that it is entirely legitimate to interact with clients and to disturb them at an emotional level. If you want to call that selling, so be it.
If many newspapers are to be believed, you wouldn't go near financial advisers. Unfortunately this simplistic view does little to build the public's confidence, which is a shame given how spectacularly underinsured we all are.
There are one or two financial advisers however who use a sales technique which apart from also being an old idea, specifically helps clients to feel more confident in dealing with their profession. It is a technique which unashamedly uses the word selling, namely 'seminar selling'.
Demonstration
So how does it work? It is a fact of life that some products and services simply sell better by being demonstrated. Take cars or Tupperware for example. A car salesman wants you to get behind the wheel and to take it for a spin. Seminar selling is the equivalent of 'taking an IFA for a spin'.
Most of the producers in our industry, particularly in the US, have used seminars or formal presentations as their main promotional strategy. Not only that, having your own seminar programme is a distinctive and efficient way of differentiating your business and helping you to stand out from your competitors locally.
Again, for those wary of the word 'selling', you are not selling anything at all. If you are selling something, it is your own expertise and professionalism. You are doing nothing more than allowing potential prospects to see and experience you live, so that they can build an impression of you before they commit to their financial planning consultation. By experiencing you in the non-threatening environment of a seminar, they are also able to build a picture in their minds as to how much they can trust you, your expertise level and the quality of your overall service.
In fact, seminars and financial planning workshops are probably the single most effective way for advisers to rapidly and significantly increase sales, profits and profile. Unfortunately most financial advisers discount this approach over concerns about the costs and organisation involved and fear of public speaking.
These are all understandable worries, but you should not be put off if past attempts at seminars have not produced the desired outcome, because when you get it right, the results can be amazing.
Many IFAs will freely admit that they could be spending much more time with existing clients. We all know that these are the most profitable of all our contacts, so why not make more effort with them? Seminars also help here as existing clients will often attend such events to find out more about their adviser, build the relationship or even to reassure themselves of their earlier decisions.
Perception
In short, IFA seminars are first and foremost about enhancing people's perception of your expertise and trustworthiness. They are proactive, positive and distinctive and a great way of finding hundreds of new prospects extremely cost effectively.
Many people ask me about the presentation skills that are needed to get your message across clearly, but if you really are an expert on your subject, your passion and enthusiasm will shine through which, in turn will be appealing to your prospects.
Protection as a subject is potentially a winner at your seminars, if you keep it generic and engage the imagination of the audience. Avoid too many gory health statistics and encourage people to visualise the situation they and their families would be in if the worse came to the worse. A good tip is to ask for volunteers from the audience who are willing to be your guinea pigs. You will be amazed at the response you get.
While we would all agree that the public needs to be reassured as to the professionalism of our industry, equally it is our duty to use professional selling techniques, which will ultimately be of benefit to us all.
Philip Calvert is national sales manager at Pioneer Friendly Society
COVER notes
•To increase protection sales it is vital to tap into the imagination of clients and help them realise for themselves the need for products.
•Seminar selling can be a way of informing prospective clients about protection. It can also enhance advisers' expertise and help build trust with clients.
