The 5 Most Common Sales Objections For Advisers And How To Handle Them

We’re going to be covering the top 5 most common sales objections for advisers in this article today. We’re also going to be giving you some bonus help on how to overcome these objections. This is a subject that has generated huge interest by sales people over the years. Many books have been written about the best way to handle sales objections as well as many studies done to understand why people have objections to being sold. Tactics and strategies have been developed that have come in and out of fashion, even to the point where particular closes have been devised to trick or persuade people into parting with their money. Don’t believe us? Check out this list of closing strategies.

Common sales objections for advisers are any concern or issue a prospect may have in regards to either setting up a meeting or indeed buying from you and becoming a client. They are an indication that you have to address more aspects of the buying process than you had initially thought.

Typically sales objections come from a lack of something from the prospect. We have often been taught that a refusal, rebuttal or objection is simply a request for more information, which more often than not, is true. So, without further adieu, here are the 5 most common sales objections for advisers:

The 5 Most Common Sales Objections For Advisers

1. I’m fine thank you, I already have someone managing my money.
2. I never requested this or gave you my contact details. Why are you calling me?
3. You’re all the same, so it doesn’t matter who I work with.
4. Send me the info via email and I’ll take a look at it.
5. This isn’t a priority for me right now/I can’t afford to do it.

We’re going to break these down one by one and explain why people say these as well as give you some help on how to get around them when they occur.

Important Notice…

If you have run lead generation campaigns and people have given you their contact details in regards to a specific campaign you have run then some of these may not apply. These are much more focused around cold calling tactics, but you will still get a variant of these objections from ‘warm’ leads.

1. I’m fine thank you, I already have someone managing my money.

Even if the person you called doesn’t have someone managing their money, it’s an easy way for them to get you off the phone as they think that you would be unwilling to chase someone else’s client. They think that if they say they already have a financial adviser then their needs are being met and you will not be able to help them in any way. The logic on this is sound. However, we have spoken to many clients who have spoken to people who have not had any interaction with their original adviser for months, or in some cases, years.

You may also find that a person who says they already have an adviser is doing a good job. In which case, logic follows that if they are doing a good job, why would they stop working with them? Good is quite a subjective term. Usually just a little bit of investigation leads to a clearer picture. What does good mean to them? Asking a few questions here may uncover that their adviser isn’t working as hard for them as they would like to think and may open the door to a more in depth conversation about their finances. Don’t forget, you can’t help everyone, nor should you. If you genuinely can’t, don’t try and get the business.

2. I never requested this or gave you my contact details. Why are you calling me?

When running lead generation campaigns, this is probably one of the most infuriating sales objections for advisers. Someone has filled in their contact details on a form somewhere online to get access to a piece of content. When you call them, they conveniently seem to have forgotten they did it and become quite upset that you have the audacity to have given them a call. Unless someone has magically taken their phone and filled in the form on their behalf, it is very unlikely that they didn’t willingly give their contact details.

In this scenario if you receive this reaction it is best to first apologise. Tell them it seems odd that this would be the case as you acquired the lead only through a form submission on an advert or on your website. Ask them if there is anyone who may have filled it out on their behalf as you don’t buy lists and would have approached a different way if doing cold outreach.

People do have very short memories when it comes to online activities, so it may well be that they simply don’t remember. Especially if you don’t introduce yourself, and tell them that you got their contact details because they filled out a form regarding the particular campaign you are running. A little memory jog goes a long way. Even if they are adamant they didn’t fill in the form, it’s a good way to start the conversation. Is this something you’re looking at? 

3. You’re all the same, so it doesn’t matter who I work with.

It’s hard to not take this one personally. It’s probably the most frustrating of sales objections for advisers as unfortunately the world of finance has been tarred with the same brush as many people who were doing some really bad things with other people’s money. To some degree this is true. All financial advisers are doing the same thing i.e. helping people to achieve their financial objectives, however not everyone helps all people in the same way. Generally a prospect will say this when they don’t have enough information about what financial services can actually do for them, nor have they had the opportunity to speak to you more about how you are different from the others.

A great way to start here is to ask what they mean by all the same. They will likely reel off a list of ways in which they may have had a bad experience or how one or more of their challenges weren’t helped by an interaction with an adviser in the past. From here you will be able to understand a bit more about their challenges, explain who you work with and how you overcame similar challenges of a client in the past. Again, if someone has filled out a form on your website or even on an ad you have been running it is likely that you know what sort of challenge they are looking to overcome and so will be better prepared for this type of response. 

4. Send me the info via email and I’ll take a look at it.

Don’t get fooled by this sales objection. It’s a sneaky way of making you think that you are making progress with a prospect but they have no intention of speaking with you further about it. Consider that you got their contact details because they filled out a form on an advert. It is quite likely that they already have the info, so what info could they possibly want on top of that? A good prospect will want to set time aside to discuss the content or info and learn more about how you can help them. Sometimes a guide simply isn’t enough for them. 

Ask the prospect what additional information they want so that you can send them the right info and look to book a time in with them to discuss it. If they aren’t willing to commit to a call later on with you, don’t waste any more time with them as it will simply be a dead end to chase. 

5. This isn’t a priority for me right now/I can’t afford to do it.

Many people feel that they aren’t ready for the help of a financial adviser. They couldn’t be more wrong! Some people genuinely believe that the time is not right for investing in financial services. These people are at the lower end of the buyer’s pyramid and are willing and open to working with you. They just need more information on how you can help them and why now really is the right time to be using financial services. 

Explaining who you help and how you help them is a great way to let them know that you are most certainly able to assist them with their financial goals. Digging in a little bit more as to why they feel they can’t afford anything or now isn’t the right time will help you to assess their particular challenges. Asking them when they think they will be ready to do it is often a great motivator as it helps to put things in perspective. 

Why Do People Give Objections?

To understand why sales objections for advisers appear so frequently we have to understand a little bit of psychology. If you have generated a lead using adverts or from your website, there is a certain level of interest. People who have no interest don’t fill out forms to learn more. At this point you have to look at the pain and action threshold. If the pain is not high enough, the action threshold is not low enough to make someone take action. 

Let’s look at it like this. If you are feeling unwell you may want to go and see a doctor. However, if you are mildly under the weather, can still function and get around then it is unlikely you will go and see a medical professional. You’ll likely take the least amount of action possible to keep you on your feet and wait for it to pass. However, if you fall over and break your leg, you immediately want to see a doctor and everything else becomes secondary to getting your leg fixed. 

Most people simply don’t have the pain threshold high enough to take immediate action. This is why people will give an excuse because they don’t feel it’s urgent enough to continue the conversation. There are 4 main reasons that prospects give you excuses:

• Lack of trust
• Perceived lack of funds
• Lack of need
• Lack of urgency

All of these can be overcome by going through the process of thinking about who you help and why you help them. It will take some practice to formulate an answer to these questions depending on your specific sales pitch, but it’s an incredibly effective tool when working to overcome objections.

How To Overcome Sales Objections For Advisers

The first thing to think about when trying to overcome common sales objectives for advisers is to be empathetic to the person you’re calling. Put yourself in their shoes. You’ve called them up and interrupted their day. Most of the time advisers try to sell them something immediately. Is it any wonder a prospect wants to get you off the phone as quickly as possible?

Prospects are going to have questions and push back. It’s completely understandable that they don’t trust the person on the other end of the phone. Being empathetic to that and helping them to understand you want to see if you can genuinely help them or not is key to earning that trust. 

There is a process for handling objections that has worked exceedingly well. It’s called LAER. It stands for Listen, Acknowledge, Explore and Respond. 

Listen to what your prospect has to say. Hear what their concerns are and then acknowledge them. Let them know you have been listening and are paying attention. Repeating it back to them is often a great way to let them know you are paying attention. With this challenge in mind, ask open ended questions to explore it in greater detail; e.g. what impact would having a retirement fund that you can rely on have for you and your family? Respond with ways in which you have helped to overcome challenges, give a recommendation or offer an alternative. 

Final Thoughts

Sales is a big area to cover. Overcoming objections is an area that could be spoken about for hours and is a huge sticking point for many advisers. The key to successfully overcoming objections is to understand that people want to buy from people they trust as well as feel like they are making a smart decision. 

Be genuine in what you are speaking to them about. You can’t help everyone so don’t try. Remember, it’s never about price.

If you want to learn how adviser leads can help you to create an automatic lead generation programme for your business, book a strategy call today (worth $500). Even if we don’t end up working together you will have a plan that you can implement straight away. Book Now!