Calll Reluctance

look at your bank account at zero and decide to pick up the phone.  Lift up the phone, make money.  Leave the phone down, out of business.   Seriously, it is that simple.

look at “Earning what you’re worth”. It helped me when I was first starting out.

Nick Murray, Excellent Investment Advisor, Chapter about Painless Prospecting. Buy the entire book, it will be the best $50 you have ever spent.

Quit. Cold calling is dead. Professionals don't cold call. If you want to work in this industry, find a different way. You're trying to call people up and say, " Hi, I'm a professional, I want to help you, pay me some money". Google the definition of professional, how many have cold called you recently?

[quote=Mishigun]

Quit. Cold calling is dead. Professionals don't cold call. If you want to work in this industry, find a different way. You're trying to call people up and say, " Hi, I'm a professional, I want to help you, pay me some money". Google the definition of professional, how many have cold called you recently?

Referrals through personal contact.

Right, right, right.

Jones is smart. They're in the business of maintaining neighborhood offices - the office itself, and the assistant (not the advisor) - are the main investment. Over time, "location" IS the brand. You go and you walk the neighborhood, saying, "the office" is at the foot of the hill. Of course, they lose money at first, and break even later. Sometimes, a hire has the right personality to make it through the mine field. Part of that requirement is overlooking #5. Sure, you can still find some nice people, even smart people who will overlook #5 as you go through time.

The more people who believe that cold calling is dead will lead to greater success for those who do cold call.

One does not need to cold call or door knock to be successful.  Yet, I see nothing that makes one who does any of these activities unprofessional.  

Maybe successful brokers make more than most of their doctor, CPA, and attorney clients precisesly because of their willingness to cold call and do whatever it takes instead of worrying about whether it looks "professional". 

It seems like a pretty poor business decision to not do some cold walking/ cold canvassing.  Ex. I have a 4:00 meeting with a lawyer in a law firm.  I arrive 5 minutes early.  What do I have to gain by not stopping in the CPA firm across the hall and introducing myself?

How do I get over this? I have a list a script, just can’t pick up the phone. Any ideas…

[quote=anonymous]

The more people who believe that cold calling is dead will lead to greater success for those who do cold call.

One does not need to cold call or door knock to be successful.  Yet, I see nothing that makes one who does any of these activities unprofessional.  

Maybe successful brokers make more than most of their doctor, CPA, and attorney clients precisesly because of their willingness to cold call and do whatever it takes instead of worrying about whether it looks "professional". 

It seems like a pretty poor business decision to not do some cold walking/ cold canvassing.  Ex. I have a 4:00 meeting with a lawyer in a law firm.  I arrive 5 minutes early.  What do I have to gain by not stopping in the CPA firm across the hall and introducing myself?

And yes, advisors can be more successful and a happier than doctors, if they act like professionals. I’m not going to be spending a lot of time trying to convice anyone here. " How do you feel when you’re door knocking ?" If you feel unprofessional, you probably are.

And yes, advisors can be more successful and a happier than doctors, if they act like professionals. I’m not going to be spending a lot of time trying to convice anyone here. " How do you feel when you’re door knocking ?" If you feel unprofessional, you probably are.

Good for you, buddy. Thanks for serving in Iraq. Guess you feel professional now, ain’t it a great country.

Good for you, buddy. Thanks for serving in Iraq. Guess you feel professional now, ain’t it a great country.

I feel very professional and my production is proof. Not sure why Mish is such a bitter little man but who cares about him. If he’s a noob he wont be around long. If he’s a vet WTF is he doing posting on this thread with his negative bitter tirades.

Now that you're a cold calling financial advisor, you must feel professional, because cold calling doesn't bother you. "Call reluctance" is good instincts.

Gaddock, you’re sounding a bit negative, dude.

“dude”? Now that’s professional

“dude”? Now that’s professional

You made it personal. That's an easy way out, Gaddock. I don't care about you, but saying that your production is proof of your professionalism is kind of like saying that your swagger proves you have a big d***. I don't need to know. Do whatever you want, some of us were talking about the big picture, not the little weenie.

You know what Army? I respect you, and I started my biz the same way, and I had fun and was one of the best. Of course, at some point, most get burned out, liked cooked, on cold calling. What I was talking about before is more like, "isn’t it a shame that the training firms, like Jones, don’t take some of their profits and invest in a way that makes all of us more professional, and more successful (instead of starting a brokers union, as was mentioned somewhere here) - a lot of people need our help, and we still approach them like we’re selling pots and pans.

<span id=“userPro140937” =“showDropDown’userPro140937’, ‘proMenu140937’, 160, 0;” =“msgSidePro” title=“View Drop Down”>Mishigun, you are my hero.  Will you train me?

[quote=Mishigun]And yes, advisors can be more successful and a happier than doctors, if they act like professionals. I’m not going to be spending a lot of time trying to convice anyone here. " How do you feel when you’re door knocking ?" If you feel unprofessional, you probably are.

You know what Army? I respect you, and I started my biz the same way, and I had fun and was one of the best.

I went years without doing anything cold…no coldwalking and no cold calling.

About 5 years in, I decided I had called enough. I bought into all the “never cold call again” books and seminar packages. Wasted a ton of money, Yes, I did get some clients from it. But dollar for dollar, it is easier and cheaper to pick up the phone.

At the end of the day this is still a sales job, no matter what you call it.

[quote=Mishigun]You know what Army? I respect you, and I started my biz the same way, and I had fun and was one of the best.

[quote=Mishigun]You know what Army? I respect you, and I started my biz the same way, and I had fun and was one of the best. Of course, at some point, most get burned out, liked cooked, on cold calling. What I was talking about before is more like, "isn’t it a shame that the training firms, like Jones, don’t take some of their profits and invest in a way that makes all of us more professional, and more successful (instead of starting a brokers union, as was mentioned somewhere here) - a lot of people need our help, and we still approach them like we’re selling pots and pans.

[quote=army13A] [quote=Mishigun]And yes, advisors can be more successful and a happier than doctors, if they act like professionals. I’m not going to be spending a lot of time trying to convice anyone here. " How do you feel when you’re door knocking ?" If you feel unprofessional, you probably are.

11B - eight years. Was in Iraq from Dec. 2003 - Jan. 2005.



That’s true - I know an Air Force guy that got drafted to go on convoys - that’s got to suck.



Should have gone Satellite Intel - could have been sippin’ margaritas down at CENTCOM for my deployment.

[quote=Moraen]11B - eight years. Was in Iraq from Dec. 2003 - Jan. 2005.



That’s true - I know an Air Force guy that got drafted to go on convoys - that’s got to suck.



Should have gone Satellite Intel - could have been sippin’ margaritas down at CENTCOM for my deployment.[/quote]

Hooah! Our time in Iraq was overlapped; I was there from May 2003-July 2004. 

Airforce doing convoy? You know he was hating life.  My cousin was a 1LT in the AF and he never left Boston during his entire stint; wore his nice Class A’s every day.  In hindsight, should have gone AF b/c they had all the nice stuff down range. 

I don’t see too many Vets in our line of business; good to know I have a fellow Vet on these boards. 

Hey TQ - looks like a lot of opinions are popping up on this one.

Names,

The only way to get over the reluctance is to do it, over and over again… repetition will gradually make it a more and more comfortable task. Call it unprofessional if you will, but that being said, it is a unprofessional act which works extremely well… BTW, so does door knocking, another supposedly unprofessional act…

I wouldn’t suggest to getting wrapped up in what makes you a professional or not, especially if that definition is coming from Wikipedia… professionalism is what you make it… I know people who shine shoes who are professionals. And to be totally honest, if it paid as well as this career does, I would have no problem pumping gas. I would just strive to be the best damn gas pumper there is…

[quote=Mishigun]

Like everyone else said, you just have TO DO IT.  Doesn’t matter if you suck or are an expert, just pick up the freaking phone.  What’s the worse that can happen? They hang up on you? Who gives a crap? Screw them and move on.  I made 3 appointments today so far . . . Getting back on the phones. 

[quote=Spaceman Spiff][quote=Mishigun]

B24

I call on several "campaigns" if you will and have different scripts for each.

If yes, then great - qualify by asking if they have 100k or more and take it from there. If not, I'll go for appointment. If they waffle or say they are all set - I ask what they mean by all set - ie - When you say you are all set, is that because you are already working with an advisor? Then I might ask them to describe what they use, etc.

[quote=Spaceman Spiff][quote=Mishigun]

Those of you calling residential… do you have a decrease in contacts from 1pm-4pm… I find I do real well in the morning but terrible in the afternoon…

Those of you calling residential… do you have a decrease in contacts from 1pm-4pm… I find I do real well in the morning but terrible in the afternoon…

Just keep calling… Then call those people who didn’t answer tomorrow or saturday morning…

Good evening call times? (to avoid interupting dinner)?

You will always interrupt somebody to talk about something EVERY time you call REGARDLESS of what you’re calling about.

You will always interrupt somebody to talk about something EVERY time you call REGARDLESS of what you’re calling about.

The first day, I sat at my desk, turned off my computer, and stared at the phone until I picked it up and dialed. Two hours, seven dials, one contact.



Next day, same thing. Turned everything off, stared at the phone. Two hours, 30 dials, 2 contacts.



Next day, did it again. Stared at the phone. Two hours, 50 dials, 7 contacts.



I just blocked the time out, told myself I couldn’t do anything else until I made the calls. It’s routine now, and while I still don’t really like it, I know that doing it adds to the bottom line. With everything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.



Some of my favorite and best clients were the result of cold calls. Don’t buy into the crap about cold calling not working, it does. You just have to do it. A lot. Besides, if you want to meet someone, picking up the phone and placing a call is a pretty simple act. Just be yourself and don’t try and sell them something.



Your brain will always take you to the worst place. What you imagine happening on a cold call never will. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you realize this.

I did something similar… I wouldn’t turn on my computer til I made 50 dials… First couple of days I sat there for a while, but eventually it became like clockwork…

No one wants to be cold called. Particularly about investing. Would you?? Its a pain in the ass. Its a nuisance and my opinion of anyone cold calling me is they are desperate and need me way more than I need them. Its an absolute waste of an FA’s time. If your a rookie, go at it. At least you may learn about your product that you are peddling. 

You have that opinion because you suck at cold calling.  That’s ok, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.  However, you shouldn’t dismiss cold calling.  I cold call regularly and do well at it.  Folks like BondGuy have built an entire career on it.  Fact is, if you want to break into a new market and don’t have tons of warm referral sources, cold calling is the only other way you’re gonna break through.

I was actually fairly good at cold calling. No fear of it at all. What sucked was having to convince people they need my help. Way to draining after a while.  Now, like you say, I have many warm referrals and they actually want my help. Different strokes…

It doesn’t have to be one or the other.  Picking up the phone and cold calling is better use of time than sitting in one’s office. 

Years ago, a broker from New York (I live in the south) cold called me and I let him give his schpeel.  I told him I was also a broker and obviously not interested in doing business with him.  We chatted for minute or two about the biz and I said my goodbye.  He closed by asking if he could just get a piece of my investments to try him out.  I was impressed by his persistence.  I never did business with him but he called me every few months for two years because I was on his pitch list.  It got to the point where I almost invited his call because he was good. 

I rarely hang up on a cold caller because I might actually learn something about the technique and on occasion I will critique the caller.  I don’t need to cold call these days but it never hurts to keep an open mind.

[quote=KensLoveChild]Years ago, a broker from New York (I live in the south) cold called me and I let him give his schpeel.  I told him I was also a broker and obviously not interested in doing business with him.  We chatted for minute or two about the biz and I said my goodbye.  He closed by asking if he could just get a piece of my investments to try him out.  I was impressed by his persistence.  I never did business with him but he called me every few months for two years because I was on his pitch list.  It got to the point where I almost invited his call because he was good. 

I rarely hang up on a cold caller because I might actually learn something about the technique and on occasion I will critique the caller.  I don’t need to cold call these days but it never hurts to keep an open mind.

[/quote]

Yeah, we’ve had a lot of good chats…

seriously though this is a good perspective, I have worked in offices where guys get CC’ed and actually bust the callers balls, like by putting them on speaker phone and then not saying anything, only to begin CC’ing as soon as the call is over… it never made sense.

 

While I don’t remember where I got, I have used it w/ guys in the office who I could tell were ashamed or reluctant to make the dials…

You may assume it's only natural to think angry or contemptuous thoughts when someone tries to "sell" you. This is a trap. Don't do it. It's essential to your own prospecting success that you view sales people from a neutral position. Here's the how and why.

Picture this: You're in your office, concentrating hard on a financial plan for a new client. Your telephone rings. Your focus disrupted, you pick up the phone and half-heartedly greet your caller—only to find yourself talking to a salesperson pitching a time management system for FAs. Not only is he interrupting you, but he is awkward and unprofessional to boot. He mispronounces your name and is obviously reading from a script.

You're caught off guard—and worse, you feel annoyed and resentful, maybe even angry. You gruffly tell the salesman you are "not interested" and hang up before he can utter another word.

Welcome to the world of prospecting and sales!

How do you feel when a salesperson prospects you or solicits your business?

Come on, fess up—because your candid answer to that question may hold the key to whether or not you'll become wildly successful.

Do you feel irritated and annoyed when someone else prospects or attempts to sell to you? If you do, you may have what's been termed role-rejection call reluctance. This type of call reluctance is fueled by feelings of shame about selling or even outright denial that selling is part of your job.

When we advisors associate salespeople and selling with negative emotions, that association can't help but carry over into our own prospecting. Why? Because, when we view other salespeople in a bad light, some part of our brain (even if we're not aware of it) projects that viewpoint onto others, including ourselves.

We become convinced that our own prospective clients must feel the same negative feelings we do about being prospected—and that subtle or even unconscious certainty stops us in our tracks. After all, who wants to irritate or annoy people? Who wants to be the very thing they themselves find annoying, irritating, or even downright offensive? It's only natural to want to avoid those feelings. That causes us to procrastinate or avoid making calls—and that prevents our business from growing.

Some financial advisors want so badly to avoid these negative feelings that they actually deny to themselves and to others that they sell at all. Only used-car salespeople, they insist adamantly, would sink so low as to sell.

In fact, the very title "financial advisor," while it captures an important part of our role, also makes it easier for FAs who suffer from role rejection to deny that selling is part of their job.

Let's get real. Being a salesperson does not mean pitching product. Selling is simply a business process of exchanging goods and services for money. Nothing happens (including your first appointment with a prospective client) until something gets sold. FAs do not make one red cent unless they sell their ideas, their expertise, and their services—and yes, in some cases, even some product.

Even if you are a fee-only financial planner working on an hourly basis, you must find prospective clients—and when you get in front of them, you must sell yourself before they're going to hire you.

Prospecting is a core competency of any FA. Prospecting is vital. It's that simple. If you're going to be any good at prospecting and become consistently comfortable with it, you need to accept the truth that you are, at least in part, a salesperson. You need to question and quite possibly change your own assumptions about sales and selling.

Oddly enough, one of the easiest ways to start the process of changing ourselves is by changing how we view others. That's because we tend to project our feelings about ourselves onto other people.

If you want relief from role-rejection call reluctance, you can take a big step in the right direction by choosing to view salespeople who prospect you from a different perspective. Believe it or not, doing that will eventually transform your feelings about your own prospecting.

There's an old aphorism that goes, "Your thought becomes your action, your action becomes your habit, your habit becomes your character, and your character becomes your destiny."

It follows that if you can control your thoughts, you can control your destiny. Learning to change your thought patterns is a first and vital part of overcoming role rejection.

Allowing yourself to feel resentment or contempt for other salespeople is a destructive habit that can only sabotage your success.

Note that I used the word "habit." That means you learned it—and you can unlearn it.

But how do we do this?

Consider this: it is not a situation that causes annoyance and irritation. It is how you choose to think about that situation.

It is not the salesperson on the other end of the phone (or in the office next to ours) that causes us to feel resentful, annoyed, or downright angry. It is the thought we choose to think about that salesperson that triggers our negative emotions.

As simple as that sounds, it is very profound. You may assume it's only natural to think angry or contemptuous thoughts when someone tries to "sell" you. In fact, though, there are many possible reactions to that experience.

Let's go back to that earlier scenario of the salesperson interrupting your concentration, and look at some of the very different perspectives through which one could view a sales call. Here are some different ways of thinking about the call—and the salesperson who made it.

·         Annoyance: These telemarketers are so frustrating. They just have no respect for other people's time.

·         Contempt: Why can't these people get a real job and stop interrupting people who are trying to make an honest living?

·         Neutrality: He's just an ordinary guy, maybe even an interesting guy with a decent product. He's obviously just new at the job and needs some pointers.

·         Willingness: He caught me at a bad time. But maybe I'll give him a call back later and give him a chance to tell me more about this time management thing—maybe it's something I could use.

·         Compassion: The guy's call was not well-timed, but he was just doing his job. I'm sure he has a mother and children who love him and think he is a nice person.

·         Peace: Calling people is part of my job too, and I'm a nice, decent person who genuinely wants to help others—so maybe this guy is really interested in helping others, too. He reveals a side of me. (This is probably how the Dalai Lama would view the prospecting call!)

I will not insult you by suggesting you should shift immediately from intense dislike of salespeople to loving it when someone tries to prospect you (although at some point in your career, you may actually find yourself feeling that way!). You don't need to make such an extreme change. All you need to do is shift your thought process into neutral.

You're in your office, concentrating hard on a financial plan for a new client. Your telephone rings. Your focus disrupted, you pick up the phone and half-heartedly greet your caller—and find yourself talking to a salesperson pitching a time management system for FAs.

You are caught off guard. But you immediately remind yourself that this salesperson is doing exactly what you do to be successful: prospecting.

You think to yourself, "He is doing his job. He is seeking success, just like me. He has children to support, just like me. He has mortgage payments, just like me. He is learning about prospecting, just like me. He has feelings, just like me. He makes mistakes, just like me. He fumbles his words once in a while, just like me. He mispronounces difficult names, just like me. He is prospecting, and I respect that."

You politely listen to his scripted message without judgment, and ascertain if you want to know more. If not, you kindly thank him for calling, hang up the phone, and get back to your work without any negative feelings.

Doesn't that feel better than being annoyed or irritated?

Over time, as you practice this shift in your thought pattern and assumptions, you will start to notice a subtle shift in your feelings about prospecting, and its role in your business.

A side note: many salespeople say that they respect other salespeople who prospect them, as long as the salesperson is professional, engaging, and pronounces their name correctly.

This is a trap. Avoid it. Do not allow yourself to be judgmental. You cannot afford to have negative feelings and resentment toward other salespeople, regardless of their level of competence. The only purpose those feelings will serve is to undermine your own business development efforts.

Instead, work to achieve a stance of neutral observation that you can use to improve your own skill set. "Wow, that salesperson really turned me off. Why? What was it about that call that did not engage me? And what can I personally learn from that?"

Even if you encounter a salesperson who behaves in a questionable or unethical way, you can maintain this neutral stance. This doesn't mean you condone the behavior or seek to replicate it. It means simply that you acknowledge what is inappropriate and learn from it. You can even use the experience as a tool to fortify your own ethical position, perhaps as an inspiration to codify your core beliefs.

Remember: the only thing we can change is our perspective. Are you willing to shift your thinking so that you can get more comfortable and consistent with prospecting? Challenge yourself to make that change. When you do, you will take a dramatic step toward success.

Jackofalltrades, that was a great post!

This is my first post on this forum, and would like to say that was a great post. 

Jack, good stuff!

It’s interesting, the multi-dimensions that advisors face (this holds true also for CPA’s, attorneys, etc.).  Since most of us do not have a “sales team” like a traditional business, we are forced to be the sales and operations person at the same time (not “operations” in the B/D sense, but operating the “business” or “doing” the business).  As one veteran FA put it to me once, we are trying to build the ship and sail it at the same time.  There are very few businesses where you have to wear both hats simultaneously - normally you have other employees performing certain tasks for you.  In our world, until we reach a point that we no longer need new clients (or enough walk through the door from referrals), we will continue to be salesmen.

I like the ship metaphor. Exactly right.

Not sure if my boat has a rudder!

95 dials this morning… 2 appts, 3 mailing info, 8 callbacks…

What were you calling on? Anything in particular?

Same as always… tax free muni’s that are insured, paying twice that rate of a five year CD at the local banks, with maturity under 8 years.

[quote=BondGuy]Jack, good stuff![/quote]

Glad you guys enjoyed and I hope if nothing else you got something from it…

I will try and post some of the other things I have amassed over the years…

Great thread. Excellent post Jack. Definitely worth a bump back up!

Oddly enough, one of the easiest ways to
start the process of changing ourselves is by changing how we view others.
That's because we tend to project our feelings about ourselves onto other
people.

If you want relief from role-rejection
call reluctance, you can take a big step in the right direction by choosing
to view salespeople who prospect you from a different perspective. Believe it
or not, doing that will eventually transform your feelings about your own
prospecting.

Second. Thanks, N.D. .

First - I see call reluctance as I am bothering people in their "space".  I don't personally want to be bothered but I tolerate it because I know they are doing their job. So it is a struggle sometimes to pick up that phone even with warm leads at times. But at the end of the day, the only way to be successful in this business is to TALK TO PEOPLE and it doesn't matter how you do it so long as you are doing it. If you are not successful it is because you have not talked to enough people.

Second - Anytime my friend

I always tell myself before a call, "Lots of upside, little to no downside."  That's a great trade in my opinion.