Mutual Mystification…

What do you think?  If someone asked, “How much does something like that cost?” how would you respond?  Before you answer, think about whether your answer clarifies, confuses, or confounds your customer.

I have written about this often.  When facing the money question if we respond with something along the lines of, “Oh, I couldn’t possibly give you an answer without conducting a complete portfolio review first…” how do you think that response will go over?

I was the prospective customer in that very scene recently during a financial planning seminar.  The presenters wanted to be considered subject matter experts and not product peddlers.  They were presenting investment products and the underlying strategies they aligned to.  Their presentation was very interesting.  Interest on the part of the prospective customer almost always stimulates the money question.

I asked it – they avoided it; and just that fast they undermined their credentials.  They gave me the proverbial “non-answer, answer”.  They said I had to jump through more hoops first.  The prospective customer hates jumping through hoops needlessly; you and I hate jumping through hoops.

Oh, if they were here they would probably say that it is inappropriate to recommend any investment product before having an understanding of the customer’s financial situation.  In the brokerage industry, that is referred to as “know your customer”.  I suspect they would respond that they are financial planners and not stock brokers.  Fair enough perhaps, but just relating these events to you reeks of “hoops”.

Investing is complicated; I was mystified.  I wasn’t asking to buy; I was seeking context.  It’s the “fork in the road”.  When asking straight forward questions, customers prefer straight forward answers.  It’s not a quote; it’s an answer; we don’t know yet if the product or service is a good fit.  But before any more time is invested to clarify fit, fair or unfair today’s modern buyer needs an understanding of how the money works up front.

When we flinch in the face of money, the prospective customer will see it and make their decision based on our flinch.  If we flinch, more times than not the customer decides, “sounds expensive”; or “sounds complicated”; and that can easily put them on the defensive.

Mahan Khalsa, put it this way:

If you walk out of qualifying meetings with clients and do not know how much they are thinking of spending, and they do not know how much you are thinking of charging, you will both be guessing.  This is mutual mystification.

A direct answer to the direct money question is not a quote.  The transaction is not ready to be finalized.  But let’s not flinch in the face of money and inadvertently “spook” the customer.  Mystified customers do not transact.

Answering how the money works up front may lead to further conversations.  Or, the prospective customer may just walk away.  The cost may not be what they had in mind.  Our price may simply not be a good fit.

 

On the other hand, for every transaction that seems to be in the realm of possibility in the mind of the customer, they will then agree to jump through the necessary hoops.  The customer wants to confirm the degree of fit and cost justification.  When we are purchasing something, we all want to make fully informed decisions.

It’s not mystification that leads to a successful transaction.  Today, the customer’s money question must be addressed up front; before further hoop-jumping.

                              GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.