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Many advisors we work with have a straightforward path in mind as they approach prospecting calls: introduction and small talk, the pivot to explore opportunities and then, schedule a meeting. What if we can smooth out this approach and reduce the likelihood the prospect feels that it's a sales call?
In our advisor workshops, the premature pivot—asking for a meeting before uncovering anything of interest—seems to be the easiest target for improving results. There are two antidotes to the premature pivot:
- Reframe your mindset about the purpose of your call. What if you reframed your purpose from getting a meeting to a mutual exploration, to see if it makes sense to have a first meeting? You might think there's a subtle difference—hardly.
- Tame your inner voice. Our inner voice is often whispering or even shouting "I know what I can say right now to look smart." Replace that thought with "What can I ask right now to learn more?" instead.
Reframing your mindset and taming your inner voice can help smooth out your introduction and small talk in such a way it eliminates the premature pivot all together.
By definition, "small talk" is small. That is, unless you do it in such a way that opens the floodgates and allows you to go deeper. The start of a new year is such a golden moment to go deeper, literally right out of the gates. Consider the difference between these two questions:
- "How's your year kicking off?" This tends to lead to a superficial response like "Great! You?" That leaves you saying something similarly superficial and struggling to find a way to pivot to a more substantive conversation.
- "What are you most excited about in 2025?" This might lead to a far more interesting response such as, "We're starting to talk about retirement plans and what that means for the family business." Think of how many places the conversation can go from there. No pivot required.
Bottom line: Go past the superficial and be intentional with your approach to small talk in your prospecting calls to avoid abrupt, off-putting pivots.
Reframing your mindset and taming your inner voice can help smooth out your introduction and small talk in such a way it eliminates the premature pivot all together
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