2012 Archives - 3/4 - PleinAire Strategies

Two Reasons Bad News Belongs in Prospecting

At any given time, the majority of prospects won’t be interested in your products or services. Nowhere is this truer than in financial and professional services. Whatever combination of channels you use― from phone, email or social media to seminars, direct mail or trade shows— it’s a fact of business. To underscore what market developers are up against, consider this: “After examining more than…

Four most vexing words in Financial and Professional Sales

Outsmart the Four Most Vexing Words in Business: “Send me some information” Ever call a prospect to follow up on a lead, only to hear those exasperating words: “Send me some information.” You know she’s interested. You did your research. What’s more, your center of influence set you up with the call. Still, she drop kicks you by asking for information to be sent.…

Why Compete in a Crowded Market?

Ever complain to yourself that there are too many advisors doing what you do? Seems everyone goes after the same piece of business. Of course, markets are saturated, and we see competitors step on their collective toes all the time. Right? Consider these facts: 434,800 insurance agents1 in the United States, expected to grow 15 percent by 2018. Add to this, more than 300,000…

Why You Never Lead with Your Brand, Product or Service

One of the toughest challenges in solution selling― client decisions usually require change. People hate change, especially buying groups. For them, change brings risk. In complex sales, you deal with multiple decision makers. Each one needs to be educated on how your offer affects their area of responsibility, so you must lead them to the solution rather than lead with your solution. If you…

Breathe Life into Lead Generation

Always the hot topic, questions on lead generation sizzle on LinkedIn daily. How do you define a lead? How do you create leads? What’s the best content? What’s most cost-effective? How do you improve conversion rates? Do I buy an off-the-shelf solution or do it organically? Do I outsource to a third party? Avoid Anemia The beating heart of business depends on flows of…

The Cap & Gown in Educational Marketing

If you don’t stand out in the crowd, others will. With hundreds of thousands of advisors competing in financial and professional services, making yourself standout is no small feat. The lawyer who specializes in estate planning and trusts, or the employee benefits consultant whose talent moves clients through mergers and acquisitions, they can stand on the shoulders of others . . . because they…

Get Out from Under Price Wars

To gain an edge in this slow economy, prospects negotiate for better pricing and terms before making their final selection; they do so even with preferred partners or vendors. Even though many industries moved to strategic sourcing, partnering, and cross-functional purchasing teams, buyers still haggle with suppliers on price. That’s why more advisory firms have fallen into price-driven RFPs (request for proposals). Free yourself…

5 Dangerous Issues Facing Advisors – New White Paper

Are you following a defined sales process? CSO Insights reports that professional services firms operating from a sales methodology grew from 42 percent in 2008 to 84 percent in 2010. And in a recent survey of the Million Dollar Round Table (ultra producers) PleinAire discovered that 78 percent of those individuals polled do not rely on a consultative sales process or are not following…

Three Reasons to Show Your Downside

You delivered one of your best presentations ever. Lots of nods and smiles. But as you leave the room, your internal champion whispers, “Someone on my team didn’t like the proposal. Too much risk.” Solutions to complex sales are chock full of risk tucked under the rewards. Why then do so few salespeople do the proper risk-reward analysis before attempting the sale? Experience proves…

Why Good Advisors End Up in a RFP Process?

In a complex sale, the decision making cycle typically unfolds over months, even years. Deals carry high dollar values. Buyers risk consequences of wrong decisions. Smart advisors don’t waste time stuck in a crowd of faceless vendors vying for recognition on a Request-for-Proposal (RFP list). If you want to be viewed as a strategic partner, not a name on a form (boxed in by…