In 1961, the Beatles drove 10 hours through a snowstorm for a 15-song audition at Decca Records. The Decca team thought the Beatles were good but decided to sign a local group instead. One Decca executive allegedly told the Beatles manager, “Guitar groups are on their way out.” Decca’s decision is known as one of the music industry’s greatest mistakes. Similarly, we can make the mistake of letting great prospects slip through our fingers. Avoiding that mistake involves recognizing prospecting opportunities when they present themselves or learning how to create them. Let’s discuss some tips from Oechsli for turning conversations into prospecting opportunities.

First, How to Respond to Impromptu Conversations

Many financial professionals are unsure how to respond when they encounter a prospect in social settings; they either avoid the prospect’s inquiry or they end up overdoing it. Knowing how to provide an appropriate response in the moment can lead to a more in-depth business conversation.

Now that you’re aware of the potential of marketing-related questions, let’s look at how you can turn a social contact into a client.

Second, Proactive Social Calls

Think about people you know socially but with whom you’ve never talked business. Unfortunately, many financial professionals avoid bringing up business with these people because they don’t want to come off as being too salesy. That’s a mistake. Follow the talking points below to turn social contacts into clients.

When you reach out to these people, your conversation should be simple and direct. The more lead-in preamble you insert, the more awkward the call becomes. Go straight in with something like:

“I’ve been talking with my clients and friends to evaluate the level of risk in their portfolios. I’d be happy to provide you and your family with that courtesy as well. Are you open to that discussion?”

A simple and direct approach tends to work for proactive social calls, and it works for our last category too.

To Summarize

First, when someone brings up the market in conversation, don’t talk endlessly about the state of the markets or economy. Second, it’s tempting to avoid talking business with friends and acquaintances. Resist this temptation. Third, previous prospects who never became clients may still be good prospects.

Next Step

Choose one of the methods above. Practice the talking points and make them your own. Put your method into action with prospects.