Getting more appointments: It would be silly of me not to share this

Nate, a very successful referral coaching client of mine was expressing how he still felt a little uncomfortable sometimes approaching some of the more affluent people he knew that he wanted to help. He found them a little intimidating. So I suggested he try something I have found that works well and am now finding works well for my clients too.

Whenever I’m talking to someone I believe I can help professionally, I tell them: “You know, it would be silly of me not to mention that I specialize in working with (people who do what you do) insurance and financial professionals and helping them get more referrals.” Usually then I’ll ask them some questions about their referral business to see if they are interested (since I’ve never met anyone I couldn’t help – have you?).

So after church one day, Nate went up to this one highly accomplished acquaintance and said:

“I know we’ve known each other for years and I think you know that I’m a financial advisor, but it would be crazy of me not to mention that I specialize in helping executives such as yourself in making sure they’re doing all the right things financially. I really believe it would be a good use of your time if we were to get together for lunch some time.” The man agreed and he has since become a great client.

The reason it is ‘silly’ is because you are 98% sure you can help this person. That’s what should make it easy to bring up in conversation. It is about belief in yourself and what you do for a living and following the imperative that most of the time we need to ask for what we want!

Recruiting? “It would be silly of me not to mention that I might be able to help you professionally. My company is always looking out for high caliber individuals who enjoy working with people and want to make a difference in the world. We work in the abc industry and I’d be happy to chat more with you and see if it might be a good fit.”

Selling a product that helps fit a need? “Based on what you were saying about x, it would be silly of me not to mention that my company helps people in this situation/with this problem.”

As with all ideas, play with the wording until it sounds like something you would say. Also, try it more than once. There’s no magic pill. Let me know about your success stories!

Who else might enjoy using this idea? Please forward it on and share the wealth!