EJ Cold Walk
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[quote=Beagle]
You gotta think outside the box on prospecting and position yourself appropriately. Would you give a referral to someone you see as a professional financial adviser or that salesmen who knocked on your door?
[/quote]
See, that's just it. Most advisors aren't cold walking. That's pretty outside the box, no?
I would give a referral to someone I see as someone who can solve my needs and wants, regardless as to how we first met. No matter how you cut it, you have to prove to the client you're worth the money they will spend to hire you. I mean, at the point of sale (and yes, I consciously wrote 'sale'), the client is going to ask themselves:
"Do we trust this guy? Are we confident in him? Do we like him?". They DO NOT say "Gee, I dunno, he did just knock on our business door, I really don't think we should go with him...."
Would you give a referral to someone you see as a professional financial adviser or that salesmen who knocked on your door?
The answer is that the one who knows how to ask for referrals is the one who will get them. I get referrals on a regular basis on a cold walk.
Beagle, I hate using terms like this, buy you are definitely projecting your own feelings. I went years without cold calling and in fact, I never cold walked until this year. I've always had a pretty successful practice and I could go the rest of my career without making a cold call or a cold walk. That being said, I hope that I never quit with the cold prospecting. It has caused my practice to boom.
I'm not some rookie who can't read people. Business owners, especially those who built their businesses from scratch, admire the tenacity and guts of those who can cold walk. They didn't become successful waiting for business to come to them.
Disturb them and show them a solution and they'll become clients. It doesn't matter if you are an EJ cold walker, a Merrill Lynch corner office guy, or Anonymous from Anonymous Financial.
[quote=deekay]
[quote=Beagle]
You gotta think outside the
box on prospecting and position yourself appropriately. Would you
give a referral to someone you see as a professional financial adviser
or that salesmen who knocked on your door?
[/quote]
See, that's just it. Most advisors aren't cold walking. That's pretty outside the box, no?
[QUOTE]
You also don't see most advisors working stoplights and traffic intersections.
I’ve seen guys standing outside offering oil changes for $19.99. Maybe you should consider a sign that reads FINANCIAL PLANS $299.99 - hey, it is only unprofessional if you are projecting your own feelings
Better yet, why not produce a bunch of those little yard signs and secretly put them along busy streets advertising your business. That would be classy. I’ve seen a lot of doctors advertise that way and I would really respect a professional who showed the guts to do something like that.
Next time the guy selling poster art door to door says he was just working at a business next door and thought he’d drop by, I’ll ask if he saw you at that same mysterious business next door. I’ll give him a few bucks so he can take you for an ice cold soda. When the temperature hits 95 with 90% humidity, it’ll help you cool down as you walk the major streets of our fair city. Hate for you to show up with pit stains and a soaked suit at your next red hot opportunity to pitch another 100 shares of Washington Mutual Fund - Class A.
Lastly, when I’m looking to deal with a mortgage broker, I’m not looking for a guy or gal with proven excellence and professionalism at a reasonable price. I’m looking for tenacity so that he’ll hound my ass for the next 5 months.
[quote=Beagle]I've seen guys standing outside offering oil changes for $19.99. Maybe you should consider a sign that reads FINANCIAL PLANS $299.99 - hey, it is only unprofessional if you are projecting your own feelings
Better yet, why not produce a bunch of those little yard signs and secretly put them along busy streets advertising your business. That would be classy. I've seen a lot of doctors advertise that way and I would really respect a professional who showed the guts to do something like that.
Next time the guy selling poster art door to door says he was just working at a business next door and thought he'd drop by, I'll ask if he saw you at that same mysterious business next door. I'll give him a few bucks so he can take you for an ice cold soda. When the temperature hits 95 with 90% humidity, it'll help you cool down as you walk the major streets of our fair city. Hate for you to show up with pit stains and a soaked suit at your next red hot opportunity to pitch another 100 shares of Washington Mutual Fund - Class A.
Lastly, when I'm looking to deal with a mortgage broker, I'm not looking for a guy or gal with proven excellence and professionalism at a reasonable price. I'm looking for tenacity so that he'll hound my ass for the next 5 months.
[/quote]
Thanks for the insight. We've established how you feel about cold walking. Tell us how you've built your $1mm producing book. How would you propose getting in front of small business owners and earning their business?
Ok, Beagle, I get it. You failed at it, so it must not work.
If I walk in on you, I have no chance at getting your business. If I don't call on you, I have no chance at getting your business.
I'm not looking for the respect of a stranger. I'm looking to help people and make $1,000,000/year in the process. (no, I'm not there yet) I don't care about how many people don't want my help. I do care about how many people I do help. The ones who become my clients respect me. The other ones don't matter!
If the little yard signs worked, I would use them. If standing on a corner worked, I would do it.
See, I'd rather get 100 new clients with 10,000 attempts than get 50 clients with 100 attempts. Batting average in this business means nothing. It's all about the number of hits and the neat thing is that we get to take as many at bats as we would like.
I cold walk businesses because it works. I don't cold walk residences because I don't have the balls to do so. If I thought that it would work more effectively, I'd make sure to grow a pair.
You can be the professional. I'll be content to be the non-professional who makes lots of money helping others achieve their financial goals.
By the way, I have no doubt that your prospecting methods also work.
Anonymous:
Do you gain more respect on the phone or face to face? This is the question for Beagle.
anon - maybe you should try residential. It might be a nice change of pace for those people to hear something other than “Hi, I’m the newest EDJ guy around the corner from you.”
Anonymous,
Can you please make an example of:
"Disturb them and show them a solution and they’ll become clients"
Thanks,
disturb: means they are made to feel urgency (e.g. the need to save NOW, not later).
Solution: appropriate to this urgent need Sign the forms. if they won't, you did not creat urgency (disturb). This is the very simplest example to make a point. Normally it is of course more involved.Do you know how much money you'll need to reitre? Do you have a plan for accumulating that pile of cash? If you die today will your family's quality of living continue? If you get in an accident today will your family's quality of living continue? Do you want your kids to go to college? Do you have that pile of cash set aside? There are tons of disturbing questions, the key is to make the prospect talk 90% of the time. Let THEM tell you the problem and then give them the solution at a price they are willing to deal with.Anonymous,
Can you please make an example of:
“Disturb them and show them a solution and they’ll become clients”
Thanks,
I think the doorknocking idea is way overated. It is just a tool to get a name and number to prospect. New brokers need something to do for the first year to stimulate activities. I hated doing it and having been a business owner in the past and held management positions previously, I felt like a vac salesman, kinda wormy. If your a bank teller, used car salesman, shoe salesman etc…you wouldn’t think this is below you to dk. The perception I felt doing this, wasn’t probably the reality. But this was just the first negative thing that started me down the road of leaving and moving to something I could feel proud about. I mentioned before, I felt embarrassed saying I worked for Jones…not sure why, but did. I’m glad I stuck it out and hit the requirements to move to Indy.
Most Indy’s require minimum assets and minimum production numbers. Call a recruiter and get the info for the particular numbers.
That's a valid feeling that most of us had. Unfortunately, you need to find some way of starting in this business. Unless you are really plugged in, there is going to be a large piece of cold prospecting (calling, walking, ...). I must say that it did work (only to get the business started), but the number of real quality clients I acquired was small. Of course, some have become better clients, referred business, etc. And some people barely remember how we hooked up at this point. I am actually sort of shocked at some of the people that became clients from a doorknock. I guess it is all in the positioning or approach. There are actually some respectable business owners in our area (rather wealthy suburb) that doorknocked to get their name out. I know of a dentist and a chiropractor that did it when they came to town. And everyone loves to see the Town Selectmen, school board people, etc. coming door to door. I did the old "opening a business in town" skit. Never really handed out much, other than B card. Again, if done correctly (i.e. NO selling), you are simply introducing yourself. But man, it sucked while it lasted.I think the doorknocking idea is way overated. It is just a tool to get a name and number to prospect. New brokers need something to do for the first year to stimulate activities. I hated doing it and having been a business owner in the past and held management positions previously, I felt like a vac salesman, kinda wormy. If your a bank teller, used car salesman, shoe salesman etc…you wouldn’t think this is below you to dk. The perception I felt doing this, wasn’t probably the reality. But this was just the first negative thing that started me down the road of leaving and moving to something I could feel proud about. I mentioned before, I felt embarrassed saying I worked for Jones…not sure why, but did. I’m glad I stuck it out and hit the requirements to move to Indy.
The beauty of Jones is that the only time you are required to doorknock is during the training period. Beyond that, it is merely a best practice. Put prospects in the system, open accounts, and make $$ and nobody is going to call you and ask you how you did it. I like doorknocking because it’s free. I didn’t have the $$ when I started to mail out 10,000 invitations to seminars, or buy a bunch of decent lists. But I did have money to buy gas for my car and new shoes.
How long did you doorknock for?The beauty of Jones is that the only time you are required to doorknock is during the training period. Beyond that, it is merely a best practice. Put prospects in the system, open accounts, and make $$ and nobody is going to call you and ask you how you did it. I like doorknocking because it’s free. I didn’t have the $$ when I started to mail out 10,000 invitations to seminars, or buy a bunch of decent lists. But I did have money to buy gas for my car and new shoes.