The Ultimate Value Proposition

Most people in sales are familiar with the idea of the Elevator Pitch. The concept is simple enough, you board an elevator with someone who fits your ideal client profile, and for the next 60-90 seconds you have a captive audience. The question once was what could you say in the next minute that would be compelling enough to have the target of your efforts suggest they would like to sit down and hear more?

The problem with the elevator pitch is two fold. One, it is very difficult, particularly in financial services sales, to say anything in thirty seconds that is different from what everyone else is saying. You therefore blend yourself into the throng of those promising much, but offering little, rather than separating yourselves from the noise. Second, virtually every elevator pitch that I have ever heard consists of a litany of what wonderful things that you do and how much better you will make the prospect's life if they just grant you a moment of their time.

Don't get me wrong, the problem is not in the words that you are saying. The problem is in what people hear. Think for a second the last time that someone approached you that you did not know and they offered you something free. Did the offer excite you? The word free is so over used today, that we are conditioned to believe one of two things:

1. There must be a catch

2. It must be worthless

When we seek to engage a client or prospect, we must keep in mind that everything that we say or do will either; cause them to open up, cause them to clam up, or have no impact. If I am hoping to engage Mr. or Mrs. Ideal Prospect, I am only interested in one of those outcomes. It is also a fact that things in this world happen either by accident or by design. Since not mastering this skill could cost of millions of dollars in revenue over our career, I would rather not leave it open to chance.

Step 1 is the Audio Logo. How do you want to be remembered and presented to potential clients by your bank partners or existing clients? Follow the KISS principle (Keep it short and simple) 15 words max. The audio logo has 2 functions, create an identity and lead to a conversation. My friend Harry Hoynes has mastered this. When asked, "What do you do?" Harry would respond, "I untie financial knots." Almost always the response back was either, "How do you do that?" or "financial knots, what's a financial knot?" With that, he was off to the races.

This is the test. When you recite your Audio Logo, does the client choose to engage?

Contrast this for example to a very common "elevator pitch" "I work with affluent and ultra affluent investors to design and implement long term financial plans where the risk-return profile of the asset allocation within the portfolio is in line the client's risk tolerance and time horizon." Talking over people's heads is not a pathway to their heart anymore than baffling them with BS is, particularly if your goal is not just to close a sale, but more to begin a relationship.

Next, we move to the value proposition. The Ultimate Value Proposition® targets our ideal client and joins the conversation already taking place in their head. This ability is the key to the most powerful rapport and trust building skill ever created. The best analogy of this is Mel Gibson in What Women Want. Because he literally knew exactly what was going on in their head, he was able to recognize, sympathize with, and solve their deepest fears and concerns. This is the connection that we should strive for with our clients and prospects. Perhaps you are thinking, I don't want to shave my legs, cover my chest with Nair and dive into a full tub with a hair dryer, just to increase sales. I am with you. Let's look at a simpler way.

The body of the Ultimate Value Proposition has four parts:

1. Desired Outcomes and the Obstacles to reach them

2. Agitation

3. Solution

4. Benefit

What should it look like? Let's go back to my friend Harry.

After causing them to engage, "what do you mean by financial knots?" he would start into his UVP

Obstacles and Outcomes

You know how sometimes the more money you get, the more problems that come along with it?

Agitate

In fact, I know some people that get to the point that they almost feel like they would be happy to give up the money if they could also give up the problems. Of course, even if you did give up the money, the problems would stay with you.

Solution

Well, what I do is work with a team of professionals to look at every aspect of your financial situation and after understanding what it is that you are trying to accomplish, untie all the knots that are holding you back today and create a roadmap to get you where you want to go.

Benefit

The benefit is you can rid yourself of the problems and still keep the money and have a sensible plan with a team of professionals so that you never find yourself in that situation again.

The biggest benefit for nailing this core competency with Harry has been the way the bankers positioned him. Many bankers use the, "he is the guy that does the investments for us" positioning model. As we have talked about already, this is not a very compelling message. For Harry's bankers, the process was easy. If someone started to complain about money problems, the bankers would say, "Sounds like you have some money knots." To which the typical response is, "Do I ever" or "What is a money knot?" Either way they could easily segue to Harry's value proposition.

This hits many noble goals:

• Engages the prospect

• Gives our bankers and prospects a clear idea of what to refer to us

• Eliminates unwanted referrals from our life

• Gives the bankers a perfect way to position us

• Sells the relationship, not the transaction

So while you might not necessarily want to be an advisor that unties financial knots…mastering the Ultimate Value Proposition will help your current clients and bankers put a nice bow around the gift of the referral they are about to give!