Have you ever…?

Have you ever struggled to interest a prospective client in your investment, wealth management, or financial planning services? It’s not easy.

When speaking with prospects, a good “have you ever” question can help you to engage them in a two-way conversation. If you touch on a topic that means something to them, you’ll learn information that can deepen your relationship. Try it to see what they tell you about their challenges, fears, and strengths.

Looking for another example?

My intro gave you one example of a “have you ever” question. Here’s another idea, inspired by Marie Perruchet’s One Perfect Pitch: How to Sell Your Idea, Your Product, Your Business–or Yourself (Business Books). In her book, she quotes someone talking about how they help clients, saying “We tell our companies about the bad days—and there will be bad days—and how we will help them through.”

I think that person should ask prospects, “Do you ever have a bad day?” Then, they should wait for the answer, as Perruchet suggests, before diving into their pitch. Your pitch is more powerful when you can tie it to your prospect’s pain as explained in their own words.

As I’ve said elsewhere, your marketing will go further when you focus on your prospects, instead of how great you are. Talk about your readers’ WIIFM (what’s in it for me). You’ll increase their interest in whatever you say.

If you’re writing something, consider taking the approach I discuss in “Make your writing easier with my fill-in-the-blanks approach for structuring articles,” which focuses on your readers’ problems.
Disclosures: I received a free copy of this book from McGraw Hill in return for agreeing to mention it in my blog. If you click on the Amazon link in this post and then buy something, I will receive a small commission. I only link to books in which I find some value for my blog’s readers.