Dec 18, 2022
Most business owners and marketers do NOT know their enemy.
Recently I have been looking to do some work for a financial advisor and I came across a comprehensive survey of 600 financial advisors, where they ranked their biggest obstacles to acquiring clients:
(1) Competition from other advisors 64%
(2) Financial misinformation, free advice, competing services, reviews, etc. online 16%
(3) Interference by family and friends 13%
(4) Client’s own fears, past disappointments with advisors, and distrust of them 7%
In another comprehensive survey of over 3,000 unconverted client prospects who responded to advertising, attended workshops or otherwise interacted with advisors and did not do business with them, here’s how those consumers ranked the same four obstacles:
(2) Competition from other advisors 32%
(4) Financial misinformation, free advice, competing services, reviews, etc. online 9%
(3) Interference by family and friends 15%
(1) Client’s own fears, past disappointments with advisors, and distrust of them 44%
Look at the advisors misperceptions:
(1) Competition from other advisors – OVER-ESTIMATED BY DOUBLE (32 POINTS)
(2) Financial misinformation, free advice, competing services, reviews, etc. online – OVER-ESTIMATED BY NEARLY DOUBLE (7 POINTS)
(3) Interference by family and friends – UNDER-ESTIMATED BY 2 POINTS
(4) Client’s own fears, past disappointments with advisors, and distrust of them – UNDER-ESTIMATED BY MORE THAN DOUBLE (37 POINTS)
Simply put, the advisors are WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING.
This is a caution for Marketers: NEVER believe your clients’ opinions about their own customers. Consider them, but do NOT accept them without question and, if possible, verification. Do all you can to distinguish between Fact v. Opinion or Belief. Beware the most zealous beliefs. Recognize that most “kings” create circles of belief reinforcement around them, and have little tolerance for “heretics” who dare challenge their orthodoxy. In fact a client of mine said he was paying a lot of money to be asked annoying questions. Over time, he stopped paying for this service.
The Three Most Common Mistakes of Opinion
#1: MOST now believe that what’s going on, on the internet, with “ratings” on Google or Amazon, etc., in social media is far more important and influential (with their customers and potential customers) than it actually is.
#2: MOST obsess over their believed, external Competition.
#3: MOST grossly underestimate their own “ugliness” and “scariness” and/or how dull and uninteresting they are.
In most cases, your most formidable competition is yourself and the negative emotional state of your prospect towards you and what you do. Not the business across the street with the bigger sign and cheaper prices or more 5 -star reviews.