I was recently in the market for a financial investment planner. I didn’t want to take my search too seriously, so I passively called around to some friends to see if I could find any leads. I quickly remembered that an old friend of mine had recently started his own financial firm and that he was doing very well with the business. With an open mind, I decided to reconnect with him to learn more.
After a lunch one day, I was surprised by the amount of knowledge this young man had of the market. Being my age, I made the comparisons between his business and my businesses. His financial planning services are very “new school,” which is very similar to my constant argument about traditional marketing and media and our “new” social media online tactics. This idea is what piqued my interest most.
As a follow up, my friend called me into his office to sit down with him and his partner to go over my goals and interests and to enlighten me on how everything works. Of course, I was extremely interested in doing this since I was essentially getting a free lesson out of the meeting, at the very least.
During our meeting, I was impressed with the team’s professionalism and expressive care for my wellbeing. You could tell they knew what they were doing. But was this the best option for me? Shouldn’t I go with someone with more years of experience?
After over an hour of extensively reviewing all types of markets, funds, equities, and all of that fun stuff, I felt so excited and empowered. The oddest part about the entire hour is that they never talked about what’s in it for them or pleaded for my business. Actually, throughout the entire correspondence between both parties, they never pushed anything onto me. After all, I contacted him.They never solicited me.
The entire process was very refreshing to witness. It has been about a week and they still have not shoved anything down my throat. Instead, they check in to make sure that I understood everything and if I had anymore questions. Their only objective is to empower me. And that’s the way it should be.
Most sales pitches are just that – a sale. When people feel pressured, they get defensive, and in most circumstances, turn down the pitch angrily. But when you offer something of value to the potential consumer for free and never mention a product or service that costs money, comfort is established and a relationship can be forged more easily.
Needless to say, I plan on contacting my financial advisor friend to tell him that I would like to move forward with them this week. At that point, I’m sure they will begin pushing products and services on me, but rightfully so, I would have already committed to them – thus, welcoming the pitch.