At a recent 2 hour workshop session for a group of wholesalers, one of the activities we did was strengthening the quality of the questions that they asked both existing advisors (to deepen the relationship) and prospects (to find the point of pain).
As the group was sharing which of the 76 Great Questions they would be adding to their repertoire, one wholesaler piped in with the following (paraphrased but damn near verbatim):
“Rob, I’ve been a wholesaler since 1993 and in all the time I have found that my best approach in appointments is to talk about me. Reps want to know about my accomplishments, why I’m qualified and what I can bring to the equation”, he said.
He continued, “If I’m the 6th guy in his office that asks him the same questions he’s just going to get aggravated.”
My reply was that, “I respectfully disagree.”
Now I’d like to amend that answer to I couldn’t disagree more.
When was the last time you were successfully sold anything by someone that only talks about themselves?
Isn’t the whole point of asking great questions (not to be confused with the standard, seemingly obligatory, bullshit questions) and then listening to the answers with a high degree of empathy, to get insights that help you formulate how you’ll sell to the prospect?
To demonstrate your ability to walk in the advisors shoes?
To find out where their pain is?
To discern what solutions you’ll provide that will be attractive?
The whole exchange of questions and answers is about client discovery, yes.
And it’s also about the foundational building blocks of solid advisor relationships that are formed by what you ask and how you react/respond.
Want more about this topic?
Listen to Nobody Cares How Much Wholesalers Know with our special guest Sam Richter.
Great Wholesalers Succeed In Any Market – Mark Sanborn
Should Wholesalers Stop Making Thank You Calls?
Sales Trap: Chasing One Hit Wonders
5 Things To Not Do At Your Next Conference
Advanced Wholesaler Technique: The 8 Benefits of Forward Scheduling