Trim the hedges. Organize the closets. Paint the fence. Shampoo the carpets. Clean the garage. Sell that dusty old piano that you never play.

If you’re like most people, you keep a running list in your head of all the things you need to do — someday, when you eventually get around to it. You never do get around to it, though. The days pass, and productivity always loses to procrastination.

Except when it doesn’t. Sometimes, occasionally, inspiration finds you. You wake up one day, and out of the blue you find the time and the will to do something you’ve been meaning to do for months, or maybe even years. It’s miraculous. But also, mysterious. How did you suddenly find the motivation that was missing? Why now?

Securing their financial future is at the top of many people’s to-do list. At least, it should be. As a financial advisor, it’s your job to find those who need financial advice, and to convince them to take action. But that’s easier said than done. It requires knowing not only why prospects need financial advice, but also why they haven’t done it yet and what it will take to move them.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. What makes someone decide to meet with an advisor and purchase financial products after years of thinking about it is just as mysterious as what makes them decide to clean out their garage. If they get creative about finding and converting new clients, however, advisors can be the nudge that finally gets procrastinating prospects to act.

Following are four tactics worth trying.

1. Break through with creative marketing.

A 2020 study by psychologists at Queen’s University in Canada found that the average person has approximately 6,200 thoughts per day. It’s no wonder that so many people put off their finances: On any given day, they have literally thousands of other things on their mind.

Advisors may be able to break through by occupying more thoughts, more often. And by making sure those thoughts are unique and positive enough to leave a lasting impression.

“I want to put a smile on my clients’ and prospects’ faces,” said Ashok Sardana, a 29-year MDRT member from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “I want to be at the top of their minds when it comes to financial services.”

To capture more real estate in those crowded brains, Sardana cultivates outside-the-box marketing ideas that are as effective as they are simple and inexpensive. Among his main targets, for example, are employers.

“We are very big on employee benefit medical insurance,” Sardana said. “Generally, it takes a long time to get these clients on board. They have a current relationship and renewals, so it might be six months to a year away before they can make any change.”

To stay connected during that time, he sends prospects thoughtful and memorable gifts — like apples. “We’ve all heard the saying, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ But we need medical insurance. So I send fresh apples in a box,” Sardana continued. “The next quarter, we send a Slinky with a note that says, ‘Our plans are flexible. We will work with you to design a plan that suits your budget and benefits.’”

Next comes binoculars with the message, “Let’s take a closer look at the benefits you’re providing,” or a chess piece with a note that reads, “When it comes to providing benefits, we can help you make the right move within your budget.”

Gifts can be just as effective with individuals as they are with employers, said Sardana, who suggests gifting measuring tapes (“Does your current financial advisor measure up to your expectations?”) or paintbrushes (“Let’s paint a brighter future for your family”).

Personalized gifts are especially memorable. “I have many clients and friends who are passionate about golfing. Every year, my golfing clients and prospects will receive a dozen personalized golf balls with their names embossed on the balls,” said Sardana, who also gifts magazine subscriptions. “We send parenting magazines to new parents and soon-to-be parents. One full-year subscription is $25, and it is delivered every month. They will not forget you.”

The best gifts of all, however, are experiences: When it’s safe to congregate in groups, Sardana hosts private screenings at movie theaters for clients, as well as their friends and family members. “The movie has to be a feel-good movie, so everyone comes out happy after watching it,” he said. “We always host a James Bond movie. Every seat will have popcorn and a drink.”

2. Tailor your pitch based on life stage.

But capturing prospects’ attention is only half the battle. Next, advisors have to actually close the deal. That requires focusing not only on the products they’re selling, but also on the people to whom they’re selling them, suggests Glen Perez Dasig, a six-year MDRT member from Manila, Philippines.

“It is crucial that financial advisors understand one thing when meeting prospects: We must all prepare and do our research about our prospects,” Dasig said. “I make time to prepare, do background study on my prospects and even practice my conversation points with my manager before meeting my client. We must not shortcut this step, and it will also show the respect we give to our clients.”

Dasig’s research is evident in the conversations he has with prospects, which he often tailors based on their life stage.

“For prospects who are just building their careers,” Dasig explained, “a conversation starter I have is, ‘Mr. Client, would you drive your car without a seat belt or an air bag? Have you ridden in a car without one or both? Having insurance is just like having a seat belt and an air bag.’ This conversation starter allows for a simple understanding of an everyday occurrence in their life.”

For more established clients who are starting families, Dasig often compares insurance to travel. “I find that traveling is a great passion most people have. It helps build lasting memories for the family, and most people swear that it strengthens the bond formed among family members,” he said. “So I would start my conversation about insurance with this: ‘Ms. Client, I’m very happy that you and your family make it a point to travel abroad and create memorable experiences with each other. During your flights, have you ever used an oxygen mask aboard the plane? Isn’t it comforting to know that if something happens during the flight, you will be protected by an oxygen mask? And it usually says that you should put on your own mask first before you help your children. Why is that so?’ I believe this makes for a great conversation starter, as it underpins the importance of securing the breadwinner first before anyone else.”

For older clients who are thinking about estate planning, Dasig asks about what hardships they went through in building their wealth, and whether they want their children and grandchildren to experience the same challenges.

It’s all about understanding prospects’ motivations, then making emotional connections with them. “Be curious about people. Ask them questions. And pay attention to what they share with you,” Dasig advised. “Analogies are most effective when appropriately used, and that is why preparing beforehand and researching about the client is a must prior to meeting them. These ideas must connect with the client, and relatable scenarios further enhance the concept that you are trying to make them understand.”

3. Accommodate different personality types.

Building emotional connections with prospects requires more than memorizing facts about them, such as their age, occupation or marital status. Instead, it requires understanding why they behave the way they do.

“The key behavior we need to look at for ourselves is how we identify their thinking patterns and customize our presentations to the language that suits them the most,” said Himanshu Joshi, a financial services trainer and innovator from Surat, India. “The first step in achieving that goal is the most difficult art of listening and observing. Most salespeople create a powerful pitch and expect that it will succeed with everyone. But that is not true.”

Instead, the best presentations are tailored to the individual prospect. Although they can be customized to prospects based on their life stage, as Dasig suggests, Joshi recommends customizing pitches to prospects based on their personality type.

“Do you remember a joyful prospect, fully engaged in the discussion? But, despite this, the prospect did not make a decision?” he asked. “Do you remember a straightforward, dominating prospect who was directly interested in ‘the result’? Do you remember a detail-loving prospect, who asked you a lot of technical questions and for ‘the proof’ or ‘the source’ or ‘more details’ of whatever you were saying? Do you remember an indifferent prospect who was only physically present in the discussion and ended the conversation with ‘I have to ask …’?”

All have different financial orientations because each has a different personality type. There are “driver” personalities, for example, who are officious and impulsive; “expressive” personalities who are sociable and enthusiastic; “analytical” personalities who like to research their decisions; and “amiable” personalities who are calm, unexcitable and perhaps even indifferent.

“We need to be able to quickly identify these [personality] types through various keywords, statements and body language interpretations,” Joshi continued. “And we need to understand the importance of dealing with each type in a manner that creates the highest comfort for that type. When different personality types meet and are entrenched in their style, they create challenges for each other and, in some cases, even discomfort or conflict.”

Advisors who understand, recognize and adapt to different personality types are well positioned to move prospects through the process to become clients.

“You will be someone whom prospects will be very comfortable with,” Joshi said. “They will look forward to your visits, and they will open up about themselves. Sustained behavior using these techniques will convert prospects into friendly clients. This is one of the ways to earn respect, honor and dignity as an insurance professional.”

4. Use simple stories to sell complicated products.

If you’ve gotten prospects to open up by approaching them with their life stage and personality type in mind, it’s still necessary to explain the complicated products and solutions you’re offering.

The best medium is storytelling, said Martin V. Higgins, CFP, ChFC, a 35-year MDRT member from Marlton, New Jersey, USA. When he wants to explain tax-advantaged retirement savings, for example — the benefits of a Roth IRA versus a traditional IRA — he tells a story about seeds and harvests.

“Let’s say you’re a farmer and I’m the tax man, and we’re having a discussion today on how I want you to pay,” Higgins said. “Your choice is this: When you go to the general store in the spring and buy your little pack of seeds, you can pay tax on the seeds. Or, you can wait until the fall when you come into town with your harvest and you want to sell it, and we can tax you then. Which would you rather pay taxes on: the packet of seeds in the spring or the harvest in the fall?”

Although most people assume they’ll be in a lower tax bracket when they retire, the intention of retirement planning is to accumulate wealth, in which case clients may be in a higher tax bracket upon reaching retirement. In that case, Higgins said, it’s better to pay taxes on the seeds instead of on the harvest — on contributions, as with a Roth IRA, instead of on withdrawals, as with a traditional IRA.

Or there’s the story of the goose and the golden eggs, which Higgins uses to illustrate the benefits of life insurance. “Your most important asset is your ability to earn income,” he explains to clients. “If you had a goose that laid golden eggs, what would you insure — the eggs or the goose? The eggs could be your car, home, property and jewelry. But the thing that provides all of that is usually not insured. All the stuff is insured; we want to insure the moneymaker as well.”

Embrace a no-excuses mindset

There could be countless reasons why you haven’t trimmed the hedges or shampooed the carpets, and there likely are just as many reasons why prospects haven’t planned for their financial futures. In both cases, there’s only one way to ensure that undone list of items get done: You have to eliminate obstacles.

Is the prospect too busy to think about planning for their financial security? Persuade them to make time by marketing to them consistently, persistently and creatively. Does the prospect think they can’t afford a financial advisor? Show them they can’t afford not to have one by making presentations that speak to their life stage and personality type. And if they’re intimidated by the idea of financial planning? Make concepts approachable by telling relatable stories that help clients understand the benefits of financial products.

Everyone has excuses for not doing the things that need to be done. The best advisors learn what those excuses are — and then they take them away. Not because it’s good for their business. But because it’s good for their clients.

“It’s not about your organization,” Sardana concluded. “It’s about their families and their businesses.”

Contact

Glen Dasig glen.dasig@gmail.com

Martin Higgins marty@familyweathadvisory.com

Himanshu Joshi himanshu@meratrainer.com

Ashok Sardana ashok.sardana@cfsgroup.com