02 September 2018
Many financial advisers have read about the value of active listening, yet do they then automatically do it?
In my opinion they don’t, for 3 reasons:
1 - It doesn’t sound like a life changing habit
2 - There are too many rules and suggestions offered
3 - We don't always remember to do it
Here’s what Active Listening could bring you…
- Chances to create better client relationships
- More respect from the people you meet
- Greater Professionalism
- More personal introductions
- Ability to identify more client needs
Three Ways to Listen Actively - more easily, more often
1 - Tune in to Tonality
This is an easy thing to do and often we do this anyway at a subconscious level. Yet if you do it consciously and think about how the person sounds it’s a great ‘gauge’ for measuring how well the conversation is going and what you may want to do, say or ask to improve things.
2 - What are they NOT Saying?
If a new client prospect says they ‘possibly need some more life cover’ are they actually saying:
- Yes I absolutely do
- I have no idea because I haven’t checked recently
- I have zero cover but was thinking about it recently
The point being that by hearing the word ‘possibly’ it gives you a hint that there’s a lot that’s not being said.
3 - Ask Back
This is a clarification tool that uses the some of the other person’s words in your reply that tells them you are paying close attention while progressing the line of thinking. So for example:
CLIENT: I have been thinking about more life cover recently because my partner mentioned it.
YOU: In chatting with your partner about it recently, what conclusion did you come to?
This will now open a far bigger and more significant conversation than just saying… “Oh really? That’s interesting”. Is 'Offering Added Value' just a Bunch of Words?
A Bit of Humour for You
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