The shortest useful phone pitch in the world?
38 RepliesJump to last post
Does shorter work just as well?
What’s your best 2 line pitch?
Thx
How about ~ With the recent market action, we’re very active doing complete investment reviews,Is this something you’ve considered recently??? (Always end with a ?, does that make sense? etc)
With all the talk of income taxes increasing over the next couple of years, has the 2010 Roth conversion opportunity been something you have given consideration to?
I am not in to making short pitches, but both of your questions need to be adjusted. If you want to start a conversation ask open ended questions not one's that can be answered with a simple yes or no.
...is that something you considered recently......(client response) NO
...has the 2010 Roth conversion opportunity been something you have given consideration to....(client response) NO
Maybe say something like....what do you think tax rates are going to do over the next couple of years?? or How do you feel about the outlook for tax rates going forward?? I have found that by asking open ended questions it will help you get control of the conversation, but allow the client/prospect to do the majority of the talking. I like for my meetings to have the client talking 75% of the time. The more they say the more you will learn about what their true issues and concerns or dreams are and then you can become their advisor by addressing those issues.I was always taught ; " You are the director ; They are the dancers"
AFTO Ask them to %$^%$# buy something! (Ask for the order)
Unsure whether that still works as well, I will test your approach! Thx
p.s. I learned to ask ; bla bla blah, Does that make sense? NO
And I’d reply, Well the reason I asked is , many people are now bla bla bla and I’d get back in the thick of things,
Maybe I’m doing too much talking, Thx!
"No? You haven't thought about the 2010 Roth conversion. Did you have any idea that you have a one time opportunity to convert part or all of your tax deferred retirement funds to a tax-free investment, and pay the taxes on that conversion over a 3 year period, rather than 1? "No." "Wow. Do you think taxes will go up or down over the next 20 years? "Up." "Exactly. So its fair to say that paying a smaller percentage of tax on a smaller account balance would be more beneficial to you than paying a larger percentage of tax on a larger account balance in 15-20 years? "Yes." "If I can show you a way to do this efficiently and review your overall portfolio to ensure that your money is allocated in a way to take advantage of some tactical opportunities in this secular bear market would that be helpful? "Yes." "Great. What works better, next Tuesday or Wednesday?" Guy said 5 words in the conversation and you've gotten everything you need to set an appointment. Obviously though you'll want to delve further and qualify him after setting the appointment to increase the odds the meeting sticks though.…has the 2010 Roth conversion opportunity been something you have given consideration to…(client response) NO
I was always taught to avoid “yes/no” type questions when engaging a prospect, and I always have.
I always end with questions, but always open-ended ones.
Well he was asking for the shortest phone pitch in the world, and I figured the less the other guy talks the quicker I can finish my pitch. If time is not an issue then obviously getting the prospect to talk would be better.
[quote=BioFreeze] I’m calling to see if you want to sell all of your old sht and buy some new sht from me.
[/quote]
If you’re having a rough day, I bet this is would be a great way to blow off some steam.
3rdy - I was going to call you to have you talk about a Roth conversion with me, but you lost me with secular bear market. That scared me, so I'm going to take my money to the bank where it's nice and safe.
3rdy - I was going to call you to have you talk about a Roth conversion with me, but you lost me with secular bear market. That scared me, so I’m going to take my money to the bank where it’s nice and safe.
Damn 3rd. You just lost a typical Jones client.
[quote=Moraen] [quote=BioFreeze] I’m calling to see if you want to sell all of your old sht and buy some new sht from me.
[/quote]
If you’re having a rough day, I bet this is would be a great way to blow off some steam.[/quote]
Exactly. Nick Murray would probably argue that if you’re not doing something like this at least once a week you’re missing a lot of the fun you can have in this business.
< id=“gwProxy” ="">< =“jsCall;” id=“jsProxy” ="">
“What’s your best 2 line pitch?”
Me: "I have a meeting in your office at 10:00 on Tuesday with George Washington. Do you have a few minutes for a quick introduction either at 9:50 before my meeting with George or 11:00 after we are done?" When George Washington is higher up the food chain than the prospect, this will usually lead to a meeting. Not only that, but he'll schedule the meeting and then ask what I do. Often, they won't ask at all.[quote=Moraen] [quote=Spaceman Spiff]
3rdy - I was going to call you to have you talk about a Roth conversion with me, but you lost me with secular bear market. That scared me, so I'm going to take my money to the bank where it's nice and safe.
[/quote]Damn 3rd. You just lost a typical Jones client. [/quote] Do Jones clients know what secular bear means?
The best part is that most people who ‘think’ they know (including Financial Advisers and RIA’s on this board) say so because they read about it. Not because they produced their own technical analysis that came to that conclusion.
So the real question is, if you know the definition and read about it on amatuer-investor.com does that make you qualified to talk about it as if you could duplicate the statistical analysis on your own? (Not saying you in particular 3rdy, but as a general statement).[quote=3rdyrp2] [quote=Moraen] [quote=Spaceman Spiff]
3rdy - I was going to call you to have you talk about a Roth conversion with me, but you lost me with secular bear market. That scared me, so I’m going to take my money to the bank where it’s nice and safe.
[/quote] Damn 3rd. You just lost a typical Jones client. [/quote]Do Jones clients know what secular bear means?[/quote]
No, but they could always “Joogle” it.
[quote=LSUAlum] The best part is that most people who ‘think’ they know (including Financial Advisers and RIA’s on this board) say so because they read about it. Not because they produced their own technical analysis that came to that conclusion.
So the real question is, if you know the definition and read about it on amatuer-investor.com does that make you qualified to talk about it as if you could duplicate the statistical analysis on your own?
(Not saying you in particular 3rdy, but as a general statement).[/quote]
It’s likely that most people here who have had any level of statistics could possibly duplicate the analysis.
Also, it’s possible that people with the same data set could come to very different conclusions about when a secular bear started, how long it lasted, and when it ended.
Then you REALLY start getting into a debate.
[quote=3rdyrp2][quote=Moraen] [quote=Spaceman Spiff]
3rdy - I was going to call you to have you talk about a Roth conversion with me, but you lost me with secular bear market. That scared me, so I'm going to take my money to the bank where it's nice and safe.
[/quote]Damn 3rd. You just lost a typical Jones client. [/quote] Do Jones clients know what secular bear means?[/quote] No, they don't. I would venture a guess that it's not just Jones clients that don't know what it is. That's one of those terms, like Alpha, that we like to throw around to make ourselves look smarter than we actually are.
[quote=Moraen] [quote=LSUAlum] The best part is that most people who ‘think’ they know (including Financial Advisers and RIA’s on this board) say so because they read about it. Not because they produced their own technical analysis that came to that conclusion.
So the real question is, if you know the definition and read about it on amatuer-investor.com does that make you qualified to talk about it as if you could duplicate the statistical analysis on your own?
(Not saying you in particular 3rdy, but as a general statement).[/quote]
It's likely that most people here who have had any level of statistics could possibly duplicate the analysis.
Also, it's possible that people with the same data set could come to very different conclusions about when a secular bear started, how long it lasted, and when it ended.
Then you REALLY start getting into a debate.[/quote] I would bet that, based on the responses on this website that I have read, that maybe 1 or 2 people here could replicate those studies on their own. No more, and probably less. As to your statement about the analysis of that data and the conclusion disparity, I would agree. Just because someone skimmed John Murphy's works doesn't make them John Murphy. The question then becomes, a question of qualifications. If you have never done something, but have read about it, are you truely qualified to discuss it? Maybe, maybe not. Should someone who has never skydived, but read alot about it, teach a class on skydiving? Using terms like, Alpha, Beta, Secular Bear Markets, etc can be dangerous in the wrong hands and talking to the wrong people.
[quote=LSUAlum] [quote=Moraen] [quote=LSUAlum] The best part is that most people who ‘think’ they know (including Financial Advisers and RIA’s on this board) say so because they read about it. Not because they produced their own technical analysis that came to that conclusion.
So the real question is, if you know the definition and read about it on amatuer-investor.com does that make you qualified to talk about it as if you could duplicate the statistical analysis on your own?
(Not saying you in particular 3rdy, but as a general statement).[/quote] It’s likely that most people here who have had any level of statistics could possibly duplicate the analysis. Also, it’s possible that people with the same data set could come to very different conclusions about when a secular bear started, how long it lasted, and when it ended. Then you REALLY start getting into a debate.[/quote]
I would bet that, based on the responses on this website that I have read, that maybe 1 or 2 people here could replicate those studies on their own. No more, and probably less.
As to your statement about the analysis of that data and the conclusion disparity, I would agree. Just because someone skimmed John Murphy’s works doesn’t make them John Murphy.
The question then becomes, a question of qualifications. If you have never done something, but have read about it, are you truely qualified to discuss it? Maybe, maybe not. Should someone who has never skydived, but read alot about it, teach a class on skydiving?
Using terms like, Alpha, Beta, Secular Bear Markets, etc can be dangerous in the wrong hands and talking to the wrong people.[/quote]
Not to argue too much of who could and who couldn’t, I think I could say with 95% confidence ( ) that at least 4 people on here could.
I like your second to last statement. For instance. War commentators. As someone who has been to war, it often angers me when people who have never been speak about it. Academic research should have the backing of experience.
If you are going to talk Alpha, you sure as hell better be able to show how you are adding it (Gaddock is one who can likely show exactly how much he is adding, why and how much more he plans on adding). When you are talking Secular Bear markets, you are talking a LOT of information. I, for one don’t talk about things like that because I think there is so much room for error.