By David H. Kinder

The Never Discussed Niche Market: Shared Attitudes and Beliefs

Just because someone is in the profession you serve, age bracket, or homeowner status, or any other characteristic we normally associate with “niche marketing”… does not mean that they will do business with you.

In Simon Sinek’s YouTube video “Start with Why”, he says this provocative statement: “The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.”

We have found that it is far easier to attract, create solutions, answer clarifying questions, and retain clients when you attract them based on what you believe, not just by what you do.

There are generally three ways financial professionals prospect:

By what you sell or who you sell for: “I am an insurance agent.” or “I’m with (insert company name here).” The problem with that statement is that you are leading with the solution rather than the problems you solve. You’re leaving it up to the other person to determine if you have any value for them. Since most people’s understanding of life insurance and annuities is very little, they will see or believe that you have very little value for them. The worst case is if someone has had a negative experience with someone ‘like’ you and they may associate you with that negative experience and believe that it’s not in their best interest to engage with you.

By who you are (title): “I am a financial consultant.” The advantage of this one over by what you sell is that you can lead with an identity rather than by what you’re selling. I believe this is just one reason why various “captive” insurance agencies want to get their agents securities licensed – so they can promote themselves at a higher perceived level. You are promoting yourself as an authority. Generally a financial consultant’s image can be favorable, especially as you expound on the kind of work you really do. The problem is when there’s a lot of financial consultants, how do you stand out? What do you really do? By how you do what you do (process): A process based marketing approach is better than your title or by leading with what you sell. It allows you to fill in the gaps as to the value of what you bring and the impact you can have on other people. However if you leave it only to your process, it could just sound complex without proper value, and even then do they really believe what you believe? Just because you can do it for them doesn’t mean you should do it for them.

Allow me to introduce a fourth way: Why you do what you do: I believe this is the most powerful way to begin a conversation to introduce yourself and why you do what you do. It engages the imaginative side of the prospect’s brain rather than the analytical side, so that you can have a more exciting conversation rather than the prospect saying “I already have somebody like you.”

When most people ask you the question “What do you do for living?”, do they really care about the answer? Usually they don’t. They asked so that they could pass the time and usually out of courtesy, particularly if you had already asked them what do they do for a living. If you want to capture their mind and hopefully their heart and engender trust, I believe that you should lead with what you believe, rather than talking about how smart you are with your process, your title, or your product/company.

What happens if you don’t lead with a belief statement? You may get more challenging client interviews, reluctant clients, and late or missed appointments because they’re going to challenge everything you say. They may call you at inopportune times such as 5:00pm Friday afternoons to ask you to work on something for them. They may require that you prove whatever it is that you’re telling them. While you can prove what you’re telling them… should you? What would that answer really mean to them? Would they really do business on a favorable basis with you if you can truly ‘prove’ your work? If they don’t believe in what you do and why you do it… why start in the first place?

If you lead with your belief statements and you get an engaging conversation, all you have David Kinder is a Tax Exempt Wealth Educator who believes in the fundamental right to be the primary beneficiary of your life’s work and of your financial and retirement planning. He is also a member/ promoter of a large mentoring group of over 50 professionals nationwide called The Breakaway League that studies tax strategies for retirement and the use of unusual language to better engage the public.

to do is show them how big their problem is… and determine if they want to fix it. Many objections in the sales process are brought up because they are questioning the solution (the product) to the problem, and they lose focus on what the real problem is to be solved.

How can we attract people based on our beliefs and our why rather than a menu of services and what we do? Simply reframe your answer. “I can fully explain what I do for living but I’m far more excited about why I do what I do. You see in everything I do I believe... “

You need to have this memorized. The better you have it memorized and can share it with feeling… the more you can pay attention to their non-verbal responses. When would you like to find out that someone you’re talking to is not a good prospect? 10 months? 10 weeks? 10 hours? 10 seconds? When you lead with what you believe, it’s far easier and more fun to sort people.

So when someone asks you from now on what do you do for living never answer with “what” you do. Always answer with why you do what you do, rather than with what you do. Start like this: “In everything I do I believe... Do you happen to believe as I do? Do you happen to believe that too?”

David H. Kinder, CLU, ChFC®, RFC®

www.DynamicAdvancedWealth.com www.TheBreakawayLeague.com www.TheExplanationofServices.com