Creating "Trust" with Prospective Clients by Utilizing the ACE Principle

Today I want to share with you a quick idea directly from the book "Creating Trust", co-authored by Matt Zagula & Dan Kennedy. It deals with the concept of the ACE Principle and how to create it with prospects:

• Authority
• Celebrity
• Exclusivity

So when you think about this concept, the example I love to use is Suze Orman. Love her or hate her, she has done a masterful job of creating Authority, Celebrity, and Exclusivity in her market.

Imagine for a second - what would happen if Suze Orman opened up a financial services firm a block down the street from you??? How would that affect your market???

The last time I listened to Dan Kennedy present, he made a VERY POWERFUL statement - "Consumers buy the WHO, not the WHAT."

So as a financial advisor, you can be the absolute best, most qualified estate planner, retirement income specialist, you name it (THE WHAT)... all of that is great. But unfortunately, to prospective clients you are just a face in the crowd of financial advisors they've talked to that are telling them the same thing. They are buying from the advisor that wrote the book, spoke on TV, they listened to on the radio (THE ADVISORS THAT CREATED THE WHO).

To master this concept, all of your marketing, everything you're doing needs to be centered around the idea of creating or manufacturing ACE, which more importantly leads to TRUST. Here's a quick example that will cost you NOTHING and will get you started down the path of manufacturing Exclusivity in your practice. It comes directly from my own experience of working with Greg, one of the advisors I consult, who was producing $3 Million of annuity business annually and has transformed himself into an advisor that has submitted $4.8 Million YTD!

He made 2 simple changes in his meeting process:

1. No meetings last longer than 1 hour (Not finished? You need to book a follow up with his assistant to get you in as soon as Greg's schedule allows. If a client can meet with you for 3 hours, how important can your time be, would Suze Orman meet for 3 hours?)
   
   
2. His assistant knocks on the door with a "10 Minute Warning", letting both Greg and the prospect know that his next appointment will be arriving shortly and they need to be wrapping things up (this happens regardless of whether another appointment is booked or not)

This has created a couple of positive changes in Greg's business, his clients and prospects maximize their use of his time and he has now positioned himself as EXTREMELY EXCLUSIVE. It's amazing the transformation you will see with clients opening up in the last 10 minutes of the appointment when they know that it is their last 10 minutes!

I'll leave you with this thought. If Suze Orman puts a sticky note on the front door of her new firm she just opened a block away that says, "Accepting New Clients," how long until she has captured $10 Million, $50 Million, or $100 Million in assets???

The answer: "Not Long"

This is the power of creating Authority, Celebrity, and Exclusivity in your business.

Please share your success stories or challenges below on implementing the ACE Principle in your practice. For those that comment, I'll be sure to get you out a free copy of the book "Creating Trust"!