New Hires - How to Handle Those Who Play "Stump The Chump"

The Situation

Today I presented a small seminar to a class of new hire financial advisors. I arrived about 45 minutes early so I could sit in the back of the room and learn a couple of things.

• Name of as many of the participants as possible. Everyone loves the sound of their own name.
• What type of questions are being asked, and who asks the most/least.
• Who is trying to dazzle their fellow advisors with all they know.
• Who is really trying to learn.

My colleague was up in the front of the room talking about how to treat clients in the first few minutes of the advisors first meeting. She was doing a nice job until the questions started to come.

"Can I start asking for the client to roll their assets to our firm in the first appointment? I saw a financial advisor in my office do this."

"Can I start presenting options or solutions that will help the client in the first meeting? The advisors in my office do this."

These questions are quite common as new hires try to balance what the learning folks are teaching, with what they see going on in their local offices.

The Solution

• Have you ever noticed that in today's corporate environment no answer is wrong? We must always start with, "That's a great question Tom, and you are right..." We never say, "That is totally wrong"
• Have you also noticed that the questioner will keep hammering away until you say "in rare cases you can do X or Y or Z." They then say, "so we can do that...great!" This blows the point you are trying to make. The individual is like a lawyer in court asking if it is possible for the sun to rise in the West. The individual on the stand has to say, "It's possible but not probable." Then the lawyer says, "so it is possible!"

Rather then go down these "rabbit holes" with class participants here are a couple of ways to stop the bleeding when this starts.

1. Whenever someone asks a question, have them attempt to answer it with their own experience. For example one class member asked "Should we have client's come to our office or should we go to theirs?". I said, "What is your experience in your local office?" The new advisor said, "Some advisors will do it once in awhile." I asked, "Under what conditions will they do this?" The advisor said, "When the client has a large account or when we need to show that we are flexible to win the business." I asked, "How often would that be?" The advisor said, "Rarely." I asked, "What is the cost to the rest of the business when you leave the office." The advisor said "when I am out of the office I am unavailable to handle the needs of all my clients." - The new advisor asked a question and by just asking a couple of questions in return, I was able to have him answer it. This avoids other members of the class piling on with their wild stories and one-time client meetings in out-of-the way places.
2. Keep the seminar moving and very focused - These questions come up when quick thinking folks have time to mentally wander. If your seminar or learning event is fast-paced you will keep the crowd focused on the learning and not on one-off situations.
3. Anticipate the questions and answer them as part of the seminar. "I know many of you may be tempted to say "yes" to a client that want's to meet at their home. This will only happen rarely and you need to weigh the cost in time and potential business lost with the assets/referrals the client could bring in."
4. Finally - You could also tell a story at the start of the seminar that emphasizes the importance of being crisp and precise when learning and then allowing best practices to creep in with experience.