The core question in the prospecting process is often one of mutual fit – balancing personality compatibility with the advisor’s value proposition versus the problem to be solved. The typical prospecting process involves multiple meetings, and a fairly common response for advisors to hear after giving their ‘pitch’ is that the client needs some extra time to think about it. However, challenges can arise when a client continues to delay making a decision – either by not responding or continuing to ask for more time. Advisors then face a dilemma: How do they follow up politely, without being overbearing, and still help the client either make a decision or voice their real concerns?
One potential tool to address this challenge is a tactic called the “negative close”. This sales technique involves asking a “negative” question such as, “Joining with a financial planner can be a really scary jump to make, right?” where the ideal response would be negative (“No, it’s not scary! Let’s do this!”). When used thoughtfully and in the right context, the negative close can be a powerful way to lower the stakes for a prospect to surface and address any reservations they may have.
There are a few techniques that can strengthen negative close questions. First, as demonstrated above, negative close questions can be used empathetically to acknowledge the high emotions that often accompany big decisions. Second, they can aid in self-persuasion by giving prospects the chance to affirm why they were interested in working with the advisor in the first place. Finally, a negative close can invoke scarcity, where a deadline or an advisor’s limited capacity is used in the context of the question (e.g., “I can only onboard 3 clients in a given quarter. Are you interested in onboarding this quarter, or should I reach out to others who are looking to onboard?”).
Advisors can use negative close questions at different points after the presentation meeting. In the early stages, gentler self-persuasion questions may help prospects remind themselves of why they sought out an advisor in the first place. If, after a week or so, a decision has not been made, an empathy-based question may probe deeper into a prospect’s underlying concerns. Finally, if the prospect has had a few chances to decide and has not moved forward, a scarcity-based question with a hard deadline may be necessary in order to achieve closure, one way or another.
Ultimately, the key point is that the negative close – and the rhetorical tools surrounding it – can be a powerful way to help ambivalent prospects move forward by creating clear opportunities for them to voice reservations or ask deeper questions. When used effectively, these questions can help advisors reveal a prospect’s true concerns, demonstrate their value, and hopefully gain more clients in the process!Read More…