How "Slowing Down" Your Process Can Speed Up Your Results

Prospecting can be time-consuming and — if your closing ratio is low — anxiety-inducing.

Not only will the industry tell you to prospect everywhere (Literally, “If there are breathing people there, you can go and prospect.”), you’ll also be encouraged to close any piece of business right away, just so you “get” the client.

Maybe they’ve told you to drive out to the prospect’s house, tell them all about you and your company and how awesome you are (nothing about the client), do a little bit of “fact-finding” to direct them to the right plan. If all goes well, you’ll wrap everything up in four hours and drive back home with the promise of a little more AUM. . .

But if it doesn’t go well? Then you’ve lost half a business day and a fair chunk of gas money. Sometimes, you might even feel like you closed the client, but surprise! They pull out the next day and totally ghost you.

Wouldn’t it be better if you only spent time on quality prospects? And instead of doing some rushed fact-finding, you could provide radical transformation to your future clients?

That’s why I had Melissa Myers on a recent episode of Growing Your Financial Business… The Woman’s Way. Since she started working with me in 2018, Melissa has more than tripled her revenue and implemented new processes that attract more qualified prospects and ideal clients. She is also the author of Going Rogue: Unconventional Financial Strategies for Women, so she’s no stranger to breaking industry tradition.

One thing Melissa does to optimize her time and talent is to. . . slow everything down?!

Great Haste Makes Great Waste

It’s no secret that money has a lot of emotional baggage. From impulse buys to investor anxiety, people aren’t as logical with their money as they might think.

They’re just as emotional when choosing a financial professional to work with, and successful advisors like Melissa always keep this in mind.

For example, if a prospect tells you they’re also talking to other advisors, you definitely shouldn’t panic and try to close the sale before the competition can get to them. In fact, you should respect that they’re exploring options — you can trust that they won’t rush into something they don’t understand.

Melissa reassures her prospects: “You need to feel comfortable with your advisor. If you don't feel comfortable taking advice from them, you're never going to get everything they could offer you. It’s most important to find the right fit."

A little bit of sympathy can go a long way toward building trust, and the prospects who do become clients can rest easy knowing Melissa has their best interests in mind.

From there, Melissa breaks her process into bite-size pieces. Instead of tackling a 4 hour session in one day (and completely exhausting all parties involved), she implements a system that lets her schedule several short meetings with a prospect over the course of a few weeks.

A few weeks might seem like a long time to close a client, but the total time that she actually spends converting clients is WAY less of her time than she did with the 4-hour marathon meetings. And instead of driving an hour to meet a prospect who doesn’t want to work with her, Melissa only has to spend 10 minutes on Zoom before she knows if she should let them go.

Better yet, when people have more time with you in small chunks, they’re less likely to get cold feet and pull out when you start suggesting new strategies. When someone doesn’t feel rushed, they’re more likely to remember what you say, do what you ask, and trust you with their assets.

You’d be amazed: by slowing down the process, you’ll find extra hours in your day, and your clients might just become raving fans!

Wait — I Have to Do What?

Of course, slowing down your process won’t do much if you don’t have the right systems and messaging in place. Each step from prospect to client has to be intentional, which Melissa explains in more detail on this week’s episode of Growing Your Financial Business… The Woman’s Way. She also talks about overcoming imposter syndrome and how to provide services beyond financial advising.

Make sure to listen to her interview here!

What was your biggest takeaway from the episode? Let me know in the comments!