professional selling Archives

Eliminate tyre kickers, and value your expertise properly

by Tony Vidler Being properly valued for your expertise and eliminating the time-wasting tyre-kickers is an ongoing problem for many financial advisers. That is even more true for those making the transition from purely commission-based remuneration to generating fee-paying work where they are charging for that time or expertise. Managing the remuneration transition whilst also […]

You need to get selling

by Tony Vidler Advisers: Good advice process is not enough. Being technically competent is not enough. You have to get selling. I know that “Sell” is seen as a bit of a dirty word these days, but we cannot back away from the need for it. You have to sell if you are going to […]

Just BECAUSE…..

by Tony Vidler One of the most powerful words in sales and marketing is “because”….and it doesn’t get used enough. …with BECAUSE we can link ideas of logic and emotion. The linking of logic and emotion makes ideas far more powerful and memorable because we can feel and analyse simultaneously. More importantly though it is […]

I sell…You sell…We ALL sell. Or should do…

by Tony Vidler I am a professional. I am a salesman. These two things are not contradictory. We all sell stuff. It seems like I’m selling my time these days…sometimes a product….sometimes it is just selling concepts and possibilities. Mostly it is selling behavioural change & fixing other peoples’ problems though. But I sell. […]

Brainstorming for fact finding financial advice

How to challenge clients thinking without being confrontational

by Tony Vidler Perhaps the toughest task any adviser faces is to challenge clients’ own thinking, but without getting into a confrontation that threatens the entire relationship. Most of us find ourselves occasionally dealing with a client who already thinks they know the answers – they haven’t come to us for advice, they have […]

Are sales letters useful?

by Tony Vidler A traditional marketing practice for financial advisers has been sending “pre-approach” sales letters to prospective clients. It seems that very few still do it, and yet I wonder if they are worthwhile in todays world? There is no doubt that most prospective customers are not exactly waiting around hoping a piece […]

Written Advice: Should it be Clear? or Concise? Or Effective?

by Tony Vidler When it comes to delivering our written advice to clients there is a tendency to be guided by the words used by the regulators, or law, in how that advice is framed or written. The written advice, be it financial plans or Statements Of Advice being delivered to clients, are however […]

Why your FREE service is a barrier to getting the right business

by Tony Vidler Most professionals at some point offer complimentary initial meetings or consultations with clients as a “free service”. It simply isn’t true, and that in itself prevents the right sort of clients coming your way. The fundamental reason why this just doesn’t cut it with consumers is because they don’t believe […]

Easy business in the low-hanging fruit

by Tony Vidler Everyone wants easy business yet we so often make it harder than it has to be. Get the low-hanging fruit first. Twice as easy to get, and just as sweet. Nothing is wrong with it – and it’s smart business. It’s not always simple to recognise where the easy business […]

How to find your Niche

by Tony Vidler Knowing and working exclusively in your niche is nirvana for most professionals. Your niche is that absolute sweet spot where what you are fabulous at overlaps with what you love doing, and it is something that other people value and will pay you for. It is not a simple […]

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