Advisors – How to Build Your Confidence on Solid Ground

One of the most powerful predictors of success for any sales professional is their level of confidence. We know this instinctively, but why is it so? For the simple reason that thoughts generate feelings, and how we think and feel determines how we act.

Case in point:

On those days you wake up feeling confident…

I can’t wait to review my prep notes and get on the phone with those HNW prospects.

I’m excited to show Bill and Andrea how the gaps in their planning are costing them money.

I know exactly what to do to get those fence-sitters to take action.

Closing business was easy today! I am on fire! Who’s next?

On the days when you can’t locate your confidence to save your life…

Why would a HNW client want to work with me? 

There are more experienced Advisors. I don’t have anything special to offer. I feel like a fraud.

I don’t want to bother anyone. I’ll come off salesy. I’m not up for rejection today.

Now’s not the time. Tomorrow (next week, next quarter, full moon, after tax season, in the fall, after the Holiday) is a better time to reach out. I’ll do it then. 

So, yeah. Confidence matters.

You can tackle your confidence from a few directions, and each has a place.

First, the obvious:

Professional Education

Beyond the baseline certifications and required con-ed credits, you may choose to continue collecting additional licenses over your professional career. As you deepen your knowledge and the value you can offer to clients, some additional confidence will come as a by-product.

However, many Advisors have spent a lifetime reading books, attending conferences, and accumulating additional certifications but still struggle with self-doubt and lack of confidence. Imposter Syndrome never seems to go away.

Additional education isn’t a fail-safe provider of confidence.

Sales Mastery

Generally, people who choose a career in financial planning choose it because they believe in the importance of it or they believe it is a respectable profession that will provide a decent, even lucrative income. They generally do not choose this career because they want to be salespeople.

And yet, especially in the first several years of your practice, that’s exactly what you need to be.

Selling is emotional. As an Advisor you are selling yourself which means that you are putting yourself up for rejection. No one likes that!

Here is the good news: sales conversations are a set of skills that can be broken down and mastered just like any other. Even if ‘I’m a numbers guy, not a people guy’ or ‘I get intimidated when I have to prove myself’, or any other instinctive reaction kicks in, you can do it. 

Why do I know this for a fact? I have coached thousands of financial professionals to master their sales conversations and I’ve seen it first-hand. When you have a safe, private, realistic way to practice and you get specific feedback from the client’s perspective, you get better! You use your new skills on real clients, the skills work, and you close more business. 

What happens then? Your confidence shoots up, right along with your closing rate.

Mastering this necessary skill is guaranteed to increase your professional and personal confidence.

Owning your Origin Story and Life Wisdom

The deepest and most lasting confidence starts on the inside. Knowing your value as a person, being able to reflect on the wisdom you have accrued through lived experience, and how it informs you as an Advisor. Starting here guarantees two important benefits:

First, that you can find your way back to confidence regardless of what is happening in the market, your company or your career, and

Second, that by bringing some of that lived experience into your client relationships, you differentiate yourself from every other Advisor out there.

In my work with Advisors, we gradually build your confidence through skills mastery, and through a process of pulling your brilliance and lived wisdom out of you so that you can see it and own it. I show you how to articulate it and connect the dots for potential clients so that they understand how what you offer benefits them.

This leads to a sense of self-respect, a feeling of fulfillment in your work because you are being true to yourself, and of course, confidence. 

#sales #trustedadvisor #confidence #salessuccess #kiracallahan

Kira Callahan is an expert sales conversation coach serving the financial industry. Her private clients typically experience 30% – 100% increase in appointments and business booked. To discuss your goals, message Kira through LinkedIn https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/kiracallahan/ Or send an email to [email protected]