It's OK To Be a Great Salesperson

“I'm a firm believer that advisors are not salesmen, and salesmen are not advisors.”

That was an actual response from an advisor, to an email regarding training for the next generation of advisors (he is a next-gen advisor himself) and this got me thinking, how did we get to a point where sales are such a dirty word.

Often when we think of “being a salesperson” the first images that pop into our head are a car salesman or door to door vacuum salesman.  As our industry evolves, we must evolve our thinking around sales as well.  We are not selling a product, we are selling the experience one receives when working with our firm.  Just as a doctor or attorney must sell us on choosing them to provide a service, we must sell clients in the same way.

• We must sell them on the fact that we are likable and trustworthy. 
• We must sell them on the idea of meeting with us, and how that will help them get a better understanding of their future. 
• We must sell them on going through our process and how that will give them confidence, clarity, and direction; providing them answers to their most pressing questions. 
• We must sell them on gathering their information and taking the first step with us so we can evaluate if and where we can be useful to their future. 
• We must sell them, through our planning presentation that we are thorough, independent, competent, knowledgeable and easy to work with. 
• Lastly, We must sell them on the solutions to their problems outlined in their plan.

So I counter with the argument, “To be a great advisor you must be a great salesperson.”