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There is a stage in a sales conversation with a prospect that feels like momentum. The discovery has gone well. The conversation has been warm and substantive. The prospect has shared their situation and a picture has begun to form of what the right path forward might look like.
And so a proposal is prepared, thorough and professional, and sent.
And then things slow down.
The proposal that arrives too soon has a particular effect on a prospect, one that is easy to miss because the proposal itself is entirely appropriate.
What it does, when it arrives before the prospect has arrived at a felt sense of wanting to work with this specific advisor, is shift the conversation from relationship to analysis.
The prospect, now holding a document with numbers and fees and recommendations, enters a comparative mode.
They begin to evaluate rather than to connect. And in the evaluative mode, every element of the proposal can become a reason to hesitate or to look elsewhere.
This is not a problem with the proposal. It is a question of what the proposal is being asked to do.
A proposal is a beautiful thing when it is the formalization of a decision that has already been made at a human level. It is confirmation rather than argument.
The prospect reading it is looking for reassurance that what they already feel is also substantiated by the numbers. In that context, the proposal lands exactly as intended.
When the proposal arrives before that human-level decision has been reached, it is carrying a heavier weight than any document can bear.
It is being asked to produce trust rather than to reflect it. And the nuance of numbers and allocation and fee structure, however carefully considered, cannot do what a genuine conversation can.
The question worth sitting with, before preparing anything that looks like a formal recommendation, is whether the prospect has yet arrived at the feeling that this is the right relationship.
Not the intellectual conclusion that qualifications are solid and the process is sound.
The felt sense that this person gets my situation, that I would feel safe making significant decisions with them, that this is the right fit for my life at this stage.
That feeling is produced by a specific quality of conversation.
It is produced when questions have gone beneath the surface, when answers were followed with genuine curiosity rather than pivoting toward a presentation, when something shared that was slightly complicated or slightly vulnerable was met with interest rather than a quick reassurance.
That quality of conversation tells a prospect more about who the advisor actually is than any proposal ever could.
When that conversation has happened fully, the proposal is easy.
The prospect is not comparing it to anyone else's because they are not in a comparative state of mind. They are looking at the formalization of something they have already decided.
Let the conversation do what only a conversation can do.
Let the proposal confirm what the conversation produced. In that sequence, proposals are almost always straightforward. And they almost never arrive to silence.
Related: The Objection That Was Never Really About Your Fee
Ari Galper is the world’s number one authority on trust-based selling and is the most sought-after high-net worth/lead generation expert for financial advisors. His newest book, “Trust In A Split Second” has become an instant best-seller among financial advisors worldwide – you can get a Free copy of Ari’s book here and, when you click the “YES” button in the order form, you’ll also receive a complimentary “plug up the holes” lead generation consultation. Ari has been featured in CEO Magazine, Forbes, INC Magazine and the Financial Review. He is considered a contrarian in the financial services industry and in his book, everything you learned about selling will be turned upside down. No more chasing, no pressure, no closing.