A few times I have received the response of "I would like to read the book first before we speak over the phone about it" even after I have shared with them that reading the book is not a pre-requisite to our Phone Consultation™. The response has come from "self-referrals" when I call to assess whether the book would be of benefit to them or not. I would appreciate your input on this matter.

Article ID: 144

Last updated: 20 Nov, 2019

I would take him at his word and say something like, “No problem. By when do you think you will have finished the book?”

Depending on how they respond, schedule the appointment or continue to explore giving them time to read the book and work toward scheduling the phone appointment for some time in the future after they have read the book.

Depending on how the discussion is going, I might ask something like, “Do you really want to read the whole book before you talk to me or are you just looking for a polite way to get rid of me? (With a sincere interest to know the truth and a Trusted Advisor Way of Being versus a sarcastic salesperson trying to be in their face.)

If they sincerely want to read the book and then talk to you they will work with you to determine a time-frame and set a phone appointment to have the discussion about how the book will have a positive impact on something that’s Meaningful, Important, Significant, & Compelling to them.

If they are just looking to get rid of you then you will have a difficult time getting a commitment from them.

If it’s a put-off, it probably stems from their belief that you are not genuinely trying to add value and be of service, but that you are really just trying to sell them something. What about you? Are you truly calling to be of service or are you selling? Listen to your recordings.

At the end of the day, remember your goal is to add Ideal Clients at the rate that will get you done, not get into an objection handling battle where you try to convince everyone that you get referred to be your client. Don’t get stuck and frustrated with the people who don’t get it.

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Referral Process/ Follow-Up Phone Call -> Referrals Reluctant to Schedule Phone Consultation™

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Could I get an example of wording in regards to making a self referral call to an acquaintance in which he did not have enough M.I.S.C. information about them to introduce Vales-Based Financial Planning™ to them?

When I am trying to go DEEP in the Referral Conversation and the client is explaining their feeling of comfort, security etc, and I am asking how does this effect you day to day etc, sometimes the clients start asking questions that take me out of the Referral Conversation. What is the best way to get back into the conversation without being rude or ignoring their questions?

I am now in the CAP program. Out of the 60 existing households I have 10 Ideal Clients. These clients have all been with me for 8+ years. For lack of a better word I've worn out my referral welcome with these folks. I'm in Rotary, Lions, Chamber of Commerce, and some other social networks. Of the many people in the Chamber I'm only familiar with a few, so I feel like I have to at least go talk with each person to get a self referral, find out a little about them and introduce myself since we have never met in person. I'm not having a lot of success with this in converting people to Ideal Clients. Most of my Ideal Clients are retired and not still working. I've finished all aspects of my Deliverables Team and trained a new internal staff since the last academy. To be bluntly honest I have time blocked time on my calendar for client acquisition, but just don't feel like I have a qualified (and I stress that word) list of candidates to call on for the process. Based on the 113 Ideal Clients I will need I'm going to have to call on almost 1,000 people to reach my goal of 113 Ideal Clients. I'm really struggling and would greatly appreciate your input on where I’m going to get all of these people? For our service to make sense they have to have a minimum of $500K, but really would be better for $1M+. I could call on people all day long with no money, lack there of, or a couple hundred thousand, but it would be a real waste of my time, yours, theirs, and my families time, because it won't create any REAL results even if they have a good experience.

How do I respond when book recipients say, "Call me in a later next month (etc.)"?

I’m really struggling with leaving compelling phone messages to schedule Phone Consultations with people who have received the Values-Based Financial Planning book & newsletters. It is a part of the Turn-Key Business Model that we need to script pretty much for ourselves, as the Meaningful, Important, Significant, and Compelling information is different for all. I’m struggling with effectively turning the Meaningful, Important, Significant, and Compelling information into a compelling call.

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