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Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod for today's lesson, the third in a three-part series on how to sell financial services.
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For people with money, choosing a wealth manager is a high-stakes decision.
They want to be able to sleep well at night, knowing their hard-earned money and assets are in good hands.
They want to choose a financial services professional or a firm they can trust.
To build the trust required to sell financial services, you need to ask the right questions and provide the right information.
To develop rapport and understanding with a potential client.
You might ask about their major financial concerns and you might have to answer tough questions about your performance to convince them that you're the right choice.
In our last lesson, we learned a lot of great collocations or common expressions related to financial services.
Some expressions are well known, but you may find yourself explaining some jargon or special terms to a potential client.
And at a certain point in the discussion you'll have to find a diplomatic way of introducing the topic of fees.
In today's dialogue, we'll rejoin a conversation between Robert and Jessica.
Robert works for Vickers Wealth Management as a financial advisor.
Jessica is a potential client.
She's looking for someone to help manage her assets.
Now they're nearing the end of their first conversation in Robert's office.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What are Jessica's biggest worries about?
2.
What is Robert going to send to Jessica to help her understand his company's performance?
Three, what special wealth management term does Robert explain to Jessica?
All right, we've talked about your goals, got an idea of your risk appetite and the types of investments you're interested in.
Now then, can I ask you what keeps you up at night when it comes to finances?
What are your main concerns?
To be honest, my big worries aren't about me.
I've done well.
But my kids' generation?
Many of them can't realistically hope to buy a house.
That's crazy.
At the same time, I need to know my finances are being taken care of and that I'm getting absolutely everything I can in a responsible manner.
And so I'm curious about your performance and how I will know that I'm getting all that.
Excellent question.
And I'm attaching our last two performance reports to the email I'll send you when we're done, so you can see why we were awarded by the Western Wealth Management Association for the last three years running.
Yes, I'd like to look at those.
Great.
And another thing I like to remind potential clients of in terms of overall performance, is that our AUM has almost doubled in the past 10 years.
AUM?
My apologies.
AUM stands for Assets Under Management.
It's basically the grand total of all our clients' assets.
So it underlines how successful we've been in taking care of our clients.
Good to know.
Now, there's one thing we haven't discussed, but I think is important to be upfront about.
And that's how we get paid.
I do have questions about that.
I'm assuming you work on a commission basis.
Well, there may be commissions on certain transactions, like if we help you take out an insurance policy.
But like most wealth managers, we take a percentage of the assets we manage.
And what's that percentage?
Typically around 1%.
We do well when you do well, as we like to say.
Alright.
Well, you've certainly given me a lot to think about.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques Robert used in his conversation with Jessica.
All right.
We've talked about your goals, got an idea of your risk appetite and the types of investments you're interested in.
Now then, can I ask you what keeps you up at night when it comes to finances?
What are your main concerns?
Not all sales involve asking people about what keeps them up at night, or what they worry about.
But financial services are highly personalized.
Wealth managers need to know about many aspects of a person's outlook and life.
So Robert is asking Jessica about her main financial concerns.
Understanding someone's worries will help you make good decisions about their money.
And asking questions about these worries helps to show a potential client that you care.
Let's run through some more ways of doing this.
When you think about your future finances, what are your main concerns?
In terms of financial security, is there anything that causes you stress?
Now let's hear about Jessica's major concerns before she turns the tables and asks an important question of her own.
To be honest, my big worries aren't about me.
I've done well.
But my kids' generation?
Many of them can't realistically hope to buy a house.
That's crazy.
At the same time, I need to know my finances are being taken care of and that I'm getting absolutely everything I can in a responsible manner.
And so I'm curious about your performance and how I will know that I'm getting all that.
As you can hear, Jessica has serious concerns about her kids' generation or age group and high expectations regarding financial management.
And this leads her to ask about Robert's performance.
Performance in this case is about how well someone does their job.
Obviously, Jessica wants someone who can perform well.
Let's hear how Robert answers this question.
Excellent question.
And I'm attaching our last two performance reports to the email I'll send you when we're done, so you can see why we were awarded by the Western Wealth Management Association for the last three years running.
In answering questions about his firm's performance, Robert doesn't get defensive and doesn't just provide his own opinion.
He starts by saying, excellent question, which shows his confidence and understanding.
Then he offers some data that will show Jessica how well they performed.
And finally, he mentions the fact that they've received awards for wealth management.
In these ways, Robert is providing evidence of what his company has done.
And clear evidence is the key to answering tough questions about performance, as we can hear in these examples.
Our advisors have outperformed the market every year for the past three.
In fact, clients come to us because we are known for maximizing earnings.
The foundation of our growth is the returns we make for our clients.
In terms of performance, we've ranked in the top five nationally for the past ten years.
Robert has one more piece of evidence to provide Jessica regarding his firm's performance.
Let's listen.
Yes, I'd like to look at those.
Great.
And another thing I like to remind potential clients of in terms of overall performance, is that our AUM has almost doubled in the past 10 years.
AUM?
My apologies.
AUM stands for Assets Under Management.
It's basically the grand total of all our clients' assets.
So it underlines how successful we've been in taking care of our clients.
Every job or field of work has its own language, with its own jargon or special terms.
We need to be careful, when we talk with people who don't work in our field, to either avoid or explain this jargon.
In this case, Robert uses the term AUM, which he says has doubled in the past 10 years.
But Jessica clearly doesn't know what AUM means.
Notice that Robert starts by apologizing, rather than making Jessica feel bad about not knowing the terminology of wealth management.
Then he explains what AUM stands for, what it means, and why it's important.
What are some other ways we can explain jargon to a prospective client?
Let's practice with some more examples.
Well, when we say absolute return, we mean how much an asset earns over a period of time.
Basically, a bear market is one that has declined for two consecutive quarters.
Simply put, capital gains are the increase in value realized when you sell an asset.
Now, at a certain point in every sale, we need to talk about how much things cost.
Let's hear how Robert introduces this topic.
Good to know.
Now, there's one thing we haven't discussed but I think is important to be upfront about, and that's how we get paid.
Notice that it's Robert who brings up the topic of fees, rather than waiting for Jessica to do so.
This is part of what he calls being upfront or open and honest about the topic.
Every potential client is thinking about what your services will cost them.
Rather than avoiding it, it's best to acknowledge the issue and introduce the topic yourself.
Let's run through some more ways to do this.
So, this might be a good time to talk about our fee structure.
Now, you may be wondering how we charge our clients.
If you're curious about our fees, I'd be happy to explain how it works.
As we hear next, Jessica has an idea of how the fees might work.
Let's listen.
I do have questions about that.
I'm assuming you work on a commission basis.
To work on a commission basis is an example of a collocation which we looked at closely in our last lesson.
A collocation is a natural combination of words.
When we say to work on a commission basis, we're talking about a salesperson earning a commission.
A commission is a type of payment set as a percentage of a transaction or business deal.
Like, if a real estate agent earns 5 commission on a million-dollar house, she'll earn 50000 in commission.
Let's run through some more ways to talk about working on a commission basis.
Dave works on purely a commission basis, so if he doesn't sell, he doesn't earn.
I work on a commission basis, but I'm guaranteed a minimum salary.
Now let's hear Robert explain how they get paid and when a commission might be involved.
Well, there may be commissions on certain transactions, like if we help you take out an insurance policy.
But like most wealth managers, we take a percentage of the assets we manage.
As Robert explains, there are some services that involve a commission.
One example he gives is taking out an insurance policy.
This is another useful collocation in the financial services field.
The word policy just means contract when it comes to insurance, and when we enter a contract or purchase insurance, we use the verb to take out.
So you can learn these expressions together as take out an insurance policy.
Let's try some more examples of this collocation.
Since getting cancer, I'm not able to take out a life insurance policy.
I've taken out a special insurance policy on my collection of antiques.
As Robert mentioned, they take a commission on some transactions but overall they get paid a percentage of the assets they manage.
Let's hear more about that.
And what's that percentage?
Typically around 1%.
We do well when you do well, as we like to say.
All right.
Well, you've certainly given me a lot to think about.
From Jessica's final comment, we can hear that the conversation is drawing to a close.
She has lots to think about as she chooses the right wealth management firm.
And Robert has not only given her information to consider.
He's tried to gain an understanding of her personal needs and concerns.
With this understanding and the rapport and credibility he's established, he's in a good position to be Jessica's top choice.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you work for a wealth management company.
You've been talking with a potential client in your office.
You'll hear a cue by the client, then I'll give you a suggestion for what you can say in response.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
So now I hope you have a good understanding of my financial goals.
Start by saying yes, but you're also curious to know what her biggest financial concerns are.
Answer.
Yes, but I'm also curious to know what your biggest financial concerns are.
Well, not being able to save enough for retirement, for one.
So I need to know my advisor can perform well.
Now say that's understandable, and your company always aims to achieve the highest absolute returns.
Answer.
Totally understandable.
And we always aim to achieve the highest absolute returns.
I'm sorry, but what do you mean by absolute returns?
Next, explain that an absolute return is how much value an asset gains over time.
Answer.
An absolute return is how much value an asset gains over time.
Alright then, that makes sense to me.
Finally, say that this might be a good time to talk about your fee structure.
Answer.
Great.
And so this might be a good time to talk about our fee structure.
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear...
You can say, After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
What really keeps me up at these days is the economy.
Answer.
What really keeps me up at night these days is the economy.
My financial advisor is a nice guy, but is disappointing.
Answer.
My financial advisor is a nice guy, but his performance is disappointing.
Answer.
Real estate agents normally work on a commission basis.
My advisor suggested I take out another life insurance to be safe.
Answer.
My advisor suggested I take out another life insurance policy to be safe.
We've learned how to ask about someone's major concerns and how to answer questions about our performance.
We've also covered how to explain technical jargon and introduce the topic of fees.
And throughout the series we've covered lots of useful vocabulary and language for talking about financial services.
For more practice.
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Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
