sales and marketing Tis the Season to Talk About Your Value

Here are some suggestions for communicating your value to prospects during this holiday season.

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By Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE

We are quickly approaching the holiday season, when all of us will be spending time with friends, close family members, distant relatives, neighbors, and yes, total strangers. Many of these people might make great clients while others may never become clients but might refer and introduce you to others. And a few might represent products and services that you can refer to others. Here are a few ways to talk about your value to these people, courtesy of my new book, Radical Relevance — Sharpen Your Marketing Message, Cut Through the Noise, Win More Ideal Clients

Let’s say you’re at a holiday party or another social event and someone asks you: “What do you do?” How do you respond? Do you whip out your best elevator speech or do you pretend you don’t want to talk about the great value you bring to your clients and quickly change the subject? Are you blowing an opportunity to expand your business by being too promotional or too modest?

The following are the two biggest mistakes financial professionals make when communicating their value at social events. Try to avoid them as you enjoy time with friends and family during this holiday season.

Mistake 1: You smile because you have a chance to use that great networking event elevator speech that you’ve practiced 20 times in front of a mirror. You’re confident, passionate and irresistible (or so you think). But the person you are talking to looks a little stunned and responds to your elevator speech this way: “That sounds very interesting. Excuse me while I freshen my drink.”

Mistake 2: Because you are at a social and not a business networking event, you don’t want to scare anyone away. So, when you are asked what you do, you downplay your value, become overly modest and change the subject.

Fortunately, there is a middle ground between these two options. In fact, there are a number of ways to talk about your value that don’t make you come across as too pushy or salesy. Here are a couple of examples:

Example 1: Give an example. When you are asked what you do for a living, you can say: “I’m a financial advisor or a financial professional.” But don’t stop there. Give a specific example and say something like this: “Let me tell you about a client I was working with the other day — ” then tell a short story.

Remember that at social events, you don’t want to talk as if you’re reading your marketing brochure. Instead, tell a story. The more interesting or more amusing the story, the better. Of course, leave out the names of the clients involved, and as best you can, tell the story in an interesting way. State the problem that the client presented to you and offer one or more of the solutions you used to solve that problem.

At social events, don’t talk as if you’re reading a marketing brochure; instead, tell a story.

Example 2: Use the Miracle Value Positioning Formula. I call this the Miracle Formula because it allows you to say a lot in just a few sentences. You can use it both in written and oral communication. By filling in the formula, you can create your ideal message.

Formulaexample

I/we specialize in … My firm specializes in financial planning and financial management.

I/we work with … We work with owners of fast-paced businesses.

I/we want clients who want to …

We want clients who want a financial quarterback to make sure all aspects of their financial life remain in perfect shape.

For example … For example, most successful business owners are laser-focused on achieving their business goals but don’t devote the time to create and manage a plan that will help them achieve their personal financial goals. As their financial quarterback, we pull together the perfect team to make sure they have the right insurance in place, a benefits package that helps them retain their best employee, and that all of their investments are working hard for them.

Example 3: Ask a question. Ask a question that will help put a frame around the work you do and draw the other party into your answer. The question usually reads something like this: Do you know how most people face retirement are concerned about running out of money? I work with …. who want to … Do you know how most CEOs wonder if everyone around them is sharing their most pressing concerns and best ideas? I work with CEOs who want to …

Bill Cates CSP, CPAE, is the author of Get More Referrals Now!, Beyond Referrals, and Radical Relevance, as well as the founder of The Cates Academy for Relationship Marketing. Subscribe to free referral tips and other free resources at www.ReferralCoach. com/resources. Cates works with financial professionals who want to increase sales by attracting high-quality clients through a steady flow of referrals. For more information, contact him at BillCates@ReferralCoach.com