Creating an Engaging Approach

Good Morning!

Do you have a compelling elevator pitch that makes people interested in engaging with you?

In my last message of 2023 (FPP #3) we discussed how turning an action into an identity makes a significant impact on a prospect or client’s desire to engage (e.g. I do financial planning for my clients versus I help my clients become better planners in their financial lives) People are generally more excited to become better than to have someone do something for them).

I was recently with a career advisor study group and, after discussing their target markets, I asked for their compelling language that would make a prospect want to have a conversation with them. Each of them could easily articulate their target market, but struggled significantly with their compelling language. Luckily, in a previous meeting we discussed an interesting guest Ben Beshear had on his podcast by the name of Bobb Biehl, and his book Decade by Decade. The book outlines his observations on the dominant feelings experienced by people based upon their current decade of life. This study group discussion organically turned into a great workshop on identifying what each target market’s worry/desire was, and how to quickly engage them in seeing themselves overcoming this worry, or achieving their desire.

The process is pretty simple (not necessarily easy, but simple):

• Step 1: Identify the key market you’re approaching and list out what, generally, their common key pain points or worries are at this stage of life
• Step 2: Turn the pain points into a question that they can identify with
• Step 3: Help them see themselves overcoming their pain points with your help

Here’s an example that hits close to home... Prospect is a professional mid-50’s couple, now empty nesting, thinking through where they are at in life, what the next life stage is going to bring them, and will they be prepared for what comes next??

Default language: I’m a wealth management advisor. I help people build financial plans for their retirement and position themselves where they can get to and through retirement in the most tax advantaged way possible.

Targeted language: Have you ever observed - or maybe even experienced - that many people, somewhere between 50 and 60, go through a really interesting transition in life? As their kids become independent and they have more free time together as a couple, they begin to think about how to maximize their career opportunities in harmony with their personal ambitions and also wonder what comes next after their career begins to wind down? I work with couples to help them think through and document these transition thoughts, and then assist them in building a guide/plan so they can become better decision makers on how to maximize not only the opportunities in front of them today, but also position themselves for success in the stages of life that follow.

Would one of these approaches be more compelling to you than the other?

This is a really impactful exercise you can do with advisors at any length of service for prospects at any age, or even with your recruiters to attract prospects from Interns, to new graduates to career changers.

Attached are 4 resources to help your team with this process:

• A link to Ben Beshear’s podcast episode with Bobb Biehl if you’re interested in listening: Enjoying Every Decade of Life – Bobb Biehl (Life, Money, and Living Well podcast)
• A pdf of two pages from the table of contents from Bobb’s book that provide a couple examples of what people are feeling by key decades: Decade by Decade table of contents pages (PDF)
• A job aid to help with the exercise: Designing a Compelling Elevator Pitch → View in FPP Tools
• Finally, a link to Bobb’s charitable site. The book is $15-20 on Amazon or his business website, but he sells 10 copies for $20 if purchased through his charitable site.

As always, I am happy to help your team think through how to implement this workshop in your office if you’d find it of value!

Think Differently,

Steve