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To be a successful broker you must first understand your clients, says Joe Jordan, and clients don’t want to buy products, they want to buy people
Success is about you, says Joe Jordan, arguably the world’s greatest insurance salesman.
MetLife’s senior vice president is considered by many Americans to be a legend thanks to his unique selling approach. To successfully sell to clients, brokers must first understand they aren’t ‘selling’, Mr Jordan says.
“If you are concerned with getting a deal over the line, you are not going to be successful. The first rule of broking is not to sell; brokers must establish relationships with their clients.”
People don’t buy products, they buy people, according to Mr Jordan, so clients want to deal with a professional who makes them feel safe, comfortable and well informed.
“If you can establish a relationship of trust with your client, the rest will fall into place,” he says.
The second most important thing for brokers to realise is that they are not salespeople but financial professionals and financial guides.
“Brokers, like insurance salespeople, are advocates,” he says. “True value is not measured by how much money you make; it is measured by the size of the problem you can solve.
“Brokers need to see themselves as being passionate protectors for those who can’t speak for themselves – for the beneficiaries.”
“We bring passion and motivation to ourselves and to our clients so we can both wholeheartedly believe we are doing one of the most important things in the world.”
Believe in yourself
According to Jordan, if brokers do not believe in what they do, their clients will struggle to maintain faith in them and their abilities. Moreover, without a high level of self-esteem, they will struggle in an industry filled with rejection.
“Brokers face constant rejection so it is very easy to lose faith and self-esteem,” Mr Jordan says, “but confidence is the most important thing a broker can possess.
“You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don’t have any self-esteem or belief in what you are doing, your clients won’t have faith in you and you will struggle to create longstanding relationships.”
Brokers, according to Mr Jordan, should tell themselves that they lead a life of significance, by constantly doing the right thing by the client.
“It is always the right thing when you approach a customer with their best interests at heart,” he says.
“They feel it and respond. You will know it and not only earn your business but feel terrific about the impact you are making on others’ lives.”
An emotional connection
Once brokers realise the services they provide are not only important but also highly valued by borrowers, their next goal, according to Mr Jordan, is to build an emotional connection.
Borrowers are not buying a home loan, they are buying a home, a new lifestyle, a new beginning and a new experience. Getting the loan can therefore be emotional and almost overwhelming in some cases.
“Brokers need to know how to connect with their clients emotionally,” Mr Jordan says. “You cannot be completely detached because you will never secure repeat business that way.”
If, however, brokers can get their clients using statements like “that feels right”, then they are on the right path.
“A lot of the time, you will hear borrowers say, ‘OK, that seems good to me’,” he says. “But ‘seems’ is not a strong word, nor is it a feeling. If a borrower doesn’t feel right about something, they will do whatever they can to get out of it.”
If a borrower pulls out of a loan prematurely, brokers will either find they do a lot of work for no commission or find themselves having their trail clawed back.
“Spend time connecting with your client, and help them feel comfortable with their decisions,” advises Mr Jordan.
“Never make a decision for them, guide them towards the right path but let them choose whether or not they want to go down it.
“If you do your job right, they will choose the right path, establish an emotional connection with you that is based on trust and they will ultimately become your strongest advocates.”
While this all sounds simple enough, creating an emotional connection with a client is easier said than done. Brokers should therefore spend time scripting their borrower conversations, says Mr Jordan.
Scripting for champions
“It is very important that brokers don’t wing their preliminary conversations with borrowers,” he says.
“Sometimes salespeople are obnoxious and they think they know all there is to know. I am here to tell them they don’t. The fact is, words can be very powerful when spoken in the right way.
“When you go and see a play, the actors haven’t just shown up on the day and winged it. They have spent time rehearsing what they are going to say.
“They spend so much time practising that when it comes to deliver the lines, they do not sound forced, but rather they sound natural – as though the lines were written for them.
“This is what brokers need to do,” Mr Jordan says.
By scripting their initial client conversation, brokers can ensure they get all the right messages across without being overbearing or controlling.
“If you practise your ‘elevator conversation’ so that it is short, simple, straight to the point and – most importantly – interesting, you will find you never have a shortage of business,” he says.
