© Copyright 2004                               Chapter 2: Never Behave Like a Salesperson Again Forget the undercover operations; really competent advisors don't need to do all that kissing up. But don't misunderstand. Not all advisors who schmooze are incompetent. And you should be nice. Can't you be nice and be a competent advisor? At the same time, don't you think your clients would prefer you have up-to-date knowledge of the progress they've made toward their goals, rather than up-to-date knowledge about their favorite basketball player, golfer, or tennis pro? If you're an expert advisor, you don't need to employ tactics that have nothing to do with the value you deliver your clients. "But," you may be saying, "all things being equal, they are going to stay with the advisor who remembers all the niceties." Then here's your secret, agent: Make sure all things are not equal. And it's so easy. Most "advisors" are not advisors. They are salespeople pretending to be advisors. Have you really sized up the so-called competition in your community? Do any of them really know what they're doing, or would they be more in their element at a car showroom? Have you considered just how wise it would be to raise your game and attract all the clients you want? But acquiring more clients isn't necessarily the goal. Consider "right-sizing" your clientele so they can all be fully served: having a small number of loyal clients you can shower with your constantly improving expertise. After all, if you want to keep your clients for good, that's what you've got to be: really good at taking care of their money so they achieve what's most important to them in life. If you choose this path of extreme competence, you will discover that you and your staff simply don't have time for the schmoozing and gushing, because being a highly competent advisor, as it turns out, is a full-time job. And one that serves your clients, your business, and you extremely well. Consider what a business would be if it were truly structured to take care of your clients. Would this be the kind of business you would like to have? The kind of business you would love to tell people you run? The kind of business you could sell because it would be worth something - consistently every year (year after year)? If the answer is yes, then you now know you may be the right kind of person to embark on this journey. The people who are attracted to this methodology are of the highest integrity, the most caring personalities: those who want to do the right thing for the client but who realize it works out great for the advisor, too. The bottom line? To become a Trusted Advisor, you must see that your business is not about you. When you're meeting someone new for the first time, it's not about you. When you're offering financial solutions, it's not about you. When you're guiding clients to implement the plan you write, it's not about you. That's right. It's all about them. This is the key difference between salespeople and Trusted Advisors. For the salesperson, it's all about "me": my commission, my income, my products, my customers. For the Trusted Advisor, it's all about them: their commitment, their financial future, their core values, their dreams and goals, their peace of mind, their trust in a relationship with a financial expert whose fees they gladly pay and whose advice they follow without hesitation. What is the Being Done Study group about? The Being Done Study Group is a group of advisors that collaborate and study weekly with Bill Bachrach. It is a study group that focuses on helping you, the advisor, to be done, sooner rather than later. The group focuses on the principles that Bill teaches in Values-Based Selling and Values-Based Financial Planning. The purpose of the Being Done Study Group is to coach advisors to stay in the Trusted Advisor role instead of the salesperson role by using Values-Based Financial Planning and assisting you in getting your business to the point that you no longer have a need to prospect and market for clients.