sales skills Archives - Page 15 of 17

The cost of convenience in insurance: Underwrite at proposal time, or claim time?

by Tony Vidler Convenience in insurance can come at a steep cost: When does your client want to have the drama with their insurance company? At underwriting time, or at claim time? The cover is going to get underwritten at some point, it really is just a matter of when. This is a confusing facet […]

Lost Sales Skills? Trial Closing Techniques Are Still Very Useful

by Tony Vidler Trial closing techniques from the world of sales are still very useful for modern professionals wanting to figure out whether their prospective client is getting onboard with the advice or not. Nobody likes to be “closed” by a sales person, and we sure don’t want prospects to feel like we […]

The 5 Essential Soft Skills For Professional Advisers

by Tony Vidler Technical knowledge will only take you so far, and sometimes (like when the world is in lockdown and there are no rational markets) they won’t tyake you anywhere at all. There are times when what you know just doesn’t matter. Knowing how to deal with people is all that matters sometimes. They […]

The Words We Choose To Use Have Power

by Tony Vidler If we want to give ourselves the best chance possible of influencing clients and prospects to change course, which is what professional advice is all about really, then there is no doubt that the words we choose to use can make an enormous difference. Enough experts have done enough research over […]

Prospecting: Reconnect to Create New Opportunities

by Tony Vidler A simple prospecting idea which usually pays off is simply re-connecting with those who you have spent time with, but did not do any business with. I am talking about “prospects” from 6 months ago…or 12 months ago. There are always people we are seeing who are potentially great customers, but […]

The Right Way To Present An Advice Recommendation

by Tony Vidler When you are presenting quotes or recommending product solutions, are you still giving the prospect a few choices, like 3 perhaps? Don’t do it. Consumers are onto it, so as a “sales technique” it loses impact…and it was never fabulous technique to begin with. More importantly, it undermines your professional […]

Compliant Advice: Paper Beats Scissors Every Time

by Tony Vidler When it comes to compliant advice Advisers really need to grasp that they are playing a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” with every client engagement now. There almost certainly will be an instance where a client throws the Rock…. We try to beat it with Paper. Complaints authority or regulator takes to […]

Becoming Elite Comes From Being Just 1% Better

by Tony Vidler Becoming an elite adviser, or building an elite practice doesn’t come about by chance. It takes graft and grit…and help. Building a great business is rarely the result of a single champion taking on the world. The champion business owner is usually the captain of a team that has taken on the […]

You are a professional? That doesn’t mean I trust you.

by Tony Vidler You’re a professional. Should I trust you? Nope. As a consumer, a user of professional services myself, I’m tired of hearing from professionals that they should be trusted just because they are labelled professionals. Let’s face it; many carry the label “professional” only by association anyway. The industry they are in […]

The Continuous Cycle That Is Social Media Marketing

by Tony Vidler Marketing via social media is a bit like riding a bike: you have to keep pedalling that cycle or the lack of momentum will make it fall over. Many professionals beginning with social media as part of their marketing mix fail to recognise that continual movement is a critical part of making […]

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