The Business Case for Being Blunt

Being blunt eliminates unfounded client expectations and positions you as an honest advisor who delivers on his promise.

By John Pojeta

Honest advisors fight an uphill battle in the sales process, but they can turn this disadvantage into a strength by approaching the sales process differently.

Whether they mean to or not, many salespeople have a tendency to exaggerate during sales meetings, and the public has responded with a general distrust of anyone who works in sales.

Consider the case of the used car salesman who is often portrayed in stories: He happily guides you around the lot, praising every car for its reliability, fuel efficiency and stellar performance, even when he knows about the car’s shortfalls.

To fight back against distrust, you should be blunt, and:

• Don’t overpromise.

• Don’t under-promise.

• Don’t sugarcoat the truth.

Instead, you should cut to the point in simple and direct terms in areas where others might tend to waffle or fudge the truth to soften a blow.

The uniqueness of this approach will make you stand out from your competitors, and the right prospects will respect your honesty. If you’re willing to address the difficult conversations with your prospects now, that says a lot about how you will treat them later when they become your clients.

For many advisors, being blunt is uncomfortable at first, but it is a useful strategy for building relationships and overcoming the toughest moments in the sales process.

The Benefits Of Being Honest

Honesty is especially helpful when bringing on a new client who already has an advisor. Although you may feel tempted to tell the prospect that transitioning to your firm is a simple matter of completing some paperwork, try not to do so because if you do, you will be missing an important detail: Once the client submits his documents, they should expect an uncomfortable phone call from their salesperson, who will most likely try to talk them out of leaving his organization. If the prospect is unprepared, they may cave under the pressure and decide to remain with their current advisor.

To keep the prospect on your side, prepare them ahead of time. Try saying something like this: “After you submit your paperwork, expect your advisor to call you and try to talk you out of leaving. It will be uncomfortable, and he may be upset, but you don’t need to give him any specifics. Tell him that you want to go in a different direction and that you are expecting him to process the paperwork.” This lets the prospect know you won’t shy away from problems that might appear in the future.

Such honesty may turn some prospects away, but that’s OK because they won’t engage with you under false expectations. With this approach, you win in the long run because the clients who stay reap the rewards. When these clients see the return on investment as you predicted, your credibility will increase, and your reputation will be enhanced.

The Value Of Asking Questions

To maintain this level of clarity throughout the relationship, ask clarifying questions whenever a client or prospect has a request. This extra step may seem redundant, but it helps you consistently meet expectations.

A Case In Point

This same bluntness can be used to manage the expectations of your prospects and clients. In our business, for example, we arrange appointments between our customers and their ideal business-to-business prospects. We tell clients to plan for a year of appointments before they will recoup their investment and start to hit the exponential profit upswing. If a prospect insists that he can close enough meetings in the first half of the year to break even early, we address that expectation.

Our response to that prospect is: “You know, I talk to a lot of advisors like you in similar situations. There’s always a hope that you can speed up the sales cycle, but the reality is that it is much easier said than done. You’ll probably need to work at it for a full year before you can truly evaluate it and understand its long-term potential.”

Although this response may not be welcome at the time, the clarification it provides realigns the prospect’s expectations, which saves you from a bad client experience down the road.

For example, when a prospect asks for a detailed projection of their retirement income in 20 years, you can easily generate a report that meets their request, but it may not be what they actually want. They may be more curious about the mechanics of receiving and accessing retirement income, the time they have before their funds dry up, or the impact their medical expenses will have on their savings. If you avoid asking clarifying questions, you may deliver the wrong information to the prospect.

Being blunt is not the same as being negative. You can be blunt while remaining upbeat and positive. Better yet, being blunt eliminates unfounded expectations. When clients and prospects recognize you as an honest advisor who delivers on your promises, you will improve client retention and grow your referral pipeline.

John Pojeta is vice president of business development at The PT Services Group. He researches new types of businesses and manages and initiates strategic, corporate-level relationships to expand exposure for The PT Services Group. Pojeta joined The PT Services Group in 2011. Before that, he owned and operated an Ameriprise Financial Services franchise for 16 years.