By Rebecca Lake, CEPF®

Mastering the art of selling is an important part of converting more prospects to clients and growing your business. Strong sales skills can not only set your advisory business apart from your competitors, it can also help you deliver a top-tier experience to your clients. Here are some strategies you can use to develop a comprehensive sales skill set as a financial advisor.

SmartAsset’s Advisor Marketing Platform (AMP) offers financial advisors services like client lead generation, automated marketing and more. Learn about SmartAsset AMP today.

7 Financial Advisor Sales Skills to Grow Your Business

Getting better at sales requires a combination of hard and soft skill development. Hard skills allow you to leverage your knowledge and expertise, while soft skills help you build personal connections. Both can help you build stronger relationships that lead to more sales with both prospects and current clients alike.

Here are some of the most helpful skills to include as you build your financial advisor sales toolbox.

1. Communication

Effective communication is a necessity when it comes to successful selling. You need to be able to communicate clearly with clients using both verbal and non-verbal methods.

Successful sellers know how to talk to clients, which includes the ability to:

  • Read a prospect or client’s body language and use it as a cue to guide the conversation.
  • Explain complex financial concepts in terms that are easy for prospects or clients to understand and digest (either verbally or in writing).
  • Practice active listening and give prospects or clients space to articulate their needs, fears and concerns.

Active listening is a valuable skill in and of itself. When you actively listen, you allow clients to talk without interruption, while demonstrating to them through verbal or non-verbal cues that you hear them and are absorbing the information they’re sharing.

Timeliness is also an essential element in the communication equation. When you respond promptly to an email or phone call from a prospect or client, you demonstrate that you value them. That helps build trust, which can lead to more sales.

2. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in a prospect or client’s shoes and see the world as they see it. Some people are natural empaths, while others may need to work on developing their empathy skills.

If you’re in the latter camp, these strategies can help you flex your empathy muscle:

  • Connect. Try to find common ground with prospects or clients by looking for personal connections or shared interests. Even something small, such as an interest in the same sports team, can help you better understand who they are as people.
  • Study. Consider reading articles or books that reflect experiences that are different from your own. Firsthand accounts can provide valuable insight into worlds that are unknown to you.
  • Ask questions. Posing open-ended questions to prospects or clients is the simplest way to get at the heart of what they need from you. And as you ask questions, remember to practice active listening so that the person you’re speaking with knows that they’re being heard.
  • Volunteer. While it’s also an opportunity to give back to your community, volunteering can be another way to learn empathy. For example, you might consider doing some pro bono work to offer financial counseling to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to hire an advisor.

Empathy becomes a sales skill when you use it to shape the advice you offer to prospects or clients. When you understand where another person is coming from, you’re in a better position to guide them toward their goals.

3. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions in others and yourself, and use that perception to fuel positive interactions. Advisors who develop emotional intelligence have an advantage in building stronger relationships with prospects and clients.

High emotional intelligence is characterized by:

  • Emotional awareness
  • Confidence (but not arrogance)
  • Control of your emotions and reactions
  • Flexibility and adaptability
  • Leadership skills

Becoming emotionally intelligent is similar to developing empathy. It requires a conscious approach to learning how to read reactions and body language, while being attuned to your own emotions and feelings.

Consider role-playing client meetings, seeking feedback from colleagues or even working with a coach to sharpen your awareness and responsiveness. Over time, these efforts can help you foster deeper, more meaningful client relationships.

4. Product Knowledge

An advisor sharing product knowledge with clients.

To sell clients or prospects on a product, you must first understand it inside and out. Otherwise, you won’t be able to explain it to anyone else.

Product knowledge as a sales skill is specific to your area of focus and the niche you serve as an advisor. As you develop new offerings, you may also need to acquire new knowledge to drive sales in that area of your business.

Aside from understanding the product you’re selling, you need to be able to show a prospect or client how it relates to them and their goals. Portfolio visualizer tools are a helpful way to do that. With a visualizer tool, you can present a prospect or client with a tangible representation of how Product A vs. Product B could impact their portfolio.

5. Resilience

In a perfect world, every prospect or client would respond positively to your sales pitch, and you’d close deal after deal. The reality, however, is that selling is in part a numbers game. The more prospects or clients you talk to, the more opportunities you have to make a sale. After all, a 100% conversion rate is the exception, not the rule.

Resilience is a sales skill that keeps you pushing forward, even when you’re not getting the exact results you’re looking for. An important ability that demonstrates resilience in selling is knowing how to overcome objections.

For example, if a prospect says, “I already have an advisor,” that doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity to convert them to a client. You just have to convince them to keep the conversation going, so that you have a chance to prove your value.

Fostering resilience as a sales skill means getting comfortable with objections and, in some cases, outright rejection. Creating scripts can help with overcoming objections, while rejections are best viewed as a learning opportunity to fine-tune your sales approach.

6. Tech Savvy

Technology is rapidly transforming the way advisors market to prospects and serve their clients. Artificial intelligence (AI), for instance, can be used for a variety of tasks, from content creation to portfolio management.

Embracing the possibilities of technology can help you improve your efficiency, manage your time more strategically and enhance the client experience. For example, you might use tech to:

  • Analyze prospect data in your customer relationship management (CRM) platform to identify the strongest leads.
  • Generate social media or website content that’s search engine optimized and tailored to your target audience.
  • Offer a streamlined digital onboarding process or access to a secure client portal.
  • Model client portfolios to make better investment recommendations or create visual components to demonstrate outcomes.

Evaluating your firm’s tech stack and your personal tech know-how can help you identify potential gaps that may need to be filled.

7. Collaboration

Collaboration and teamwork are integral to the sales process. Whether you head up a large team or a small one, each person on that team has a part to play in encouraging sales.

What does effective collaboration look like? It includes:

  • Creating systems and streamlining processes that save time and provide a better experience for clients and prospects.
  • Aligning strategies across the different parts of your organization so that everyone is on the same page.
  • Developing marketing and sales strategies that showcase the strengths and expertise of your team members.
  • Cultivating circles of influence with professionals in your network to help drive referrals to your business (and to theirs).

What if you’re operating as a one-person show? You might consider a collaborative partnership with an advisor marketing platform to expand your reach. SmartAsset AMP, for instance, uses a holistic approach to help advisors connect with prospects who are ready to work with a professional advisor.

Bottom Line

An advisor using his sales skills to convert a prospect.

Cultivating your selling strengths can take time, but the investment can be well worth it when measured against your firm’s long-term success. The financial advisor sales skills shared here are a good place to start as you focus on improving your techniques.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

  • Establishing a digital footprint can help the right prospects find your business online. A well-rounded online marketing plan includes a website that’s optimized for search, social media content and an email list. If you’re struggling to gain traction with digital marketing or want to simplify your approach, you might consider working with an advisor marketing platform. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
  • Business development is an important part of your sales and growth plan. Some of the most impactful business development ideas for advisors include creating partnerships, focusing on community engagement (both online and offline), and developing a strong referral program. Consider where these types of activities fit into your marketing plan and budget if you’re looking for ways to increase sales.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/TrixiePhoto, ©iStock.com/scyther5, ©iStock.com/Ridofranz

Information contained on this page is provided by an independent third-party content provider. XPRMedia and this Site make no warranties or representations in connection therewith. If you are affiliated with this page and would like it removed please contact pressreleases@xpr.media