The end of face to face advice?

Jennifer Stretton, Marketing

Traditionally, Advisers have always favoured face to face interaction with their clients and it really did take a global pandemic to make us realise that we could work from home and conduct business online. The pandemic has been a catalyst for change in many ways and given us all the opportunity to redesign the way in which we all work.

At the Right Will, we were no different. Our processes were all set up for face-to-face client appointments and our adviser training was delivered exclusively from our head office each month.

How we have adapted to remote selling

When it became clear that social distancing rules were here to stay for some time, we began the painstaking work of re-hauling our processes so they could work for remote sales. After a couple of months, we were able to achieve a completely paperless sales process and have just recently moved our ID certification online too.

Possibly the biggest change we made was moving our monthly adviser training course online and beginning to host weekly training webinars for our members on a Friday. The webinars have been a brilliant way for us to keep in touch with our members during lockdown and have had the added benefit on how to maximise your product knowledge, handle objections and to ensure you are offering high quality advice to your clients. Some tips for remote sales Although we may get away with clumsy body language when we are face to face with clients, the added barrier of communicating at a distance means that we really have to put extra effort in to bridge the gap. Here are some tips I recently gleaned from a body language coach for communicating effectively online:

1) Show that you are actively listening

Our facial expression when we are concentrating, is very similar to our facial expression when we are bored. Help your client know that you are listening to them by nodding, expressing agreement and looking at the screen when they are talking to you

2) Make sure your webcam is fitted to the screen you will use most during the appointment

Although many of us now work from multiple screens, it is quite disconcerting to be in a meeting with someone who is looking the other way so make sure your webcam is fitted to the screen you will use most of the time

3) Don’t forget the niceties

Although online appointments are much more time efficient, this efficiency comes at a cost. Be sure to make time for small talk during the appointment too. Asking questions, smiling and making eye contact are all ways to build trust and positive regard.

Our referral service

Demand for Wills is currently up 30% due to the pandemic, but if you don’t have time to offer this service why not pass your clients to TRW and we will pay you a referral fee?

‘My client was overwhelmed with the service she received. Stefan was very professional and explained everything clearly. At no point was she lost with all the jargon. She mentioned the word wonderful, and you can’t ask for more than that. Thank you for being a perfect extension of us.’

(Happy Introducer, The Right Will)

Find out more

Email admin@therightwill.co.uk
Call 01564 732 740