Before women care about your credentials, experience or even performance you must meet three important criteria before they will consider you as their advisor:
- Interpersonal Skills: Women want you to have good interpersonal skills able to converse and engage her in meaningful conversation.
- Understanding: She wants to know you understand what is important to her and respect and value her feelings and opinion.
- Communication: You must be able to communicate with her in a way that she understands limiting the industry jargon and speaking in her language
Once these three criteria are met your ability to win her business, loyalty and referrals accelerates dramatically. But sometimes you only get a few minutes to make a positive impression, and what you say in those few minutes will either entice her to learn more or totally turn her off to ever doing business with you.
By incorporating my Compelling Introduction. Using your authentic words and sincere message you can easily meet all three criteria in the first 5 minutes of conversation with a woman.
It’s that easy and that effective.
Your first opportunity to share what you do can easily make or break your ability to win her trust. Therefore you must have a message that intrigues her, one she can relate and connect to, and one that validates your commitment to helping women.
Creating your compelling Introduction is about her, NOT you. She doesn’t care what you know until she knows that you care.
- Your compelling introduction starts with complementing her and identifying what’s important to her. By sharing the challenges she faces, and clearly articulating the value you provide you will immediately intrigue her, engaging her in further conversation and ultimately build the opportunity to add her as a client often inspiring referrals and introductions to her friends and family along the way.
When asked, “What do you do?” the first step is to state what you do in a way that intrigues her to ask, “What’s That?”
Let’s be honest saying “I’m a financial advisor” is really rather dull and does little to inspire further conversation. It’s important that you articulate what you do in a way that is authentic and creates further curiosity.
In my former practice as a financial advisor my focus was women, when asked what I do whether asked by a man or a women I would share:
“I manage wise women and wealth”
This almost ALWAYS solicited the next question “What do you mean by that?”
- Now you have the green light and can begin to articulate your value and understanding by saying something like:
“Well most of my clients are wise women in Newport beach who are now responsible for managing their financial future. Most have little experience much less the confidence in their ability to make financial decisions, this creates unnecessary stress and worry. These women don’t just want to be told what to do, they want to learn, become more confident and feel more comfortable when addressing their money.”
- At this point they are truly listening which gives you the opportunity to transition to the next phase….. Her Needs
A typical transition statement can sound like this:
“And you know it’s interesting it doesn’t matter if they are divorced, single, or widowed they all come to me with the same three concerns! “
At this point the listener will often ask, “What are those concerns?”
- Will I have to go on a budget?
- Will I end up a bag lady?
- Will I be a burden on my children?
It’s important to note that the language spoken is her language NOT financial speak and it’s stated in a way that she would actually say it in conversation with you. This may be one of the most important factors when developing your Compelling Introduction.
Whether you are speaking to a woman (who now realizes you understand her) or a man (who is thinking about all the women in his life who could use your help), you have now connected with the listener, inspired additional interest, shown you understand your clients and really care about her all within the first few minutes of conversation. This all adds up to more business opportunities, new clients, more referrals but more importantly a clear message and brand.
Crafting your own Compelling Message can be found in my book, Keys to the Ladies Room or through my different Coaching Programs you and/or your team will not only have my help in writing your compelling message, but also learn many other ways you can take your communication with women to the next level.
At Adri Miller Heckman Consulting we make engaging women fun, easy and effective.
image credit: depositphotos.com @andrewgenn
