Unlock your confidence in protection

Confidence is something we learn and earn. In the advice world, it’s something that develops with an ongoing experience of clients and products. The ultimate proof of confidence is a willingness to have difficult conversations and to risk failure.

With protection, confidence – underpinned by a genuine passion for the subject– is self-perpetuating. It generates success in an undervalued area, which in turn feeds adviser confidence.

When you’re confident in what you’re selling, your clients will be confident in you.

Lack of confidence undermines success

Fear of failure, gaps in product knowledge and a lack of conviction in their own abilities can mean advisers find themselves in the position of paying lip-service to what protection offers. They may come across as pushing a sale rather than offering something of value, which can degrade trust. They may feel less able to handle objections and more prone to embarrassment if a client notices their discomfort.

This combination can make conversations awkward, putting advisers off trying again. When they attempt another sale, they expect failure and this becomes self-fulfilling.

Soft skills are key

‘Seeding’ the idea of protection early into conversations means it’s there in the background, ready to be discussed in detail should the right opportunity arise.

Clients as well as advisers can find talking about death and illness difficult. By listening to the client’s story and being ready to reassure them with information about the benefits of protection, conversations can take place naturally and meaningfully. Advisers who lack life experience and stories to tell can still instigate natural conversations by staying close to their client’s story in this way.

Become a confident protection adviser

Successful advisers always have the protection conversation – no matter how difficult or sensitive. With practice, they may even be able to harness these sensitivities to their advantage. Their approach is not to sell at all costs, but to convince clients of the need and be ready to offer a solution without scaremongering.

According to our recent research, successful advisers tend to:

• Present protection as fundamental element of any holistic advice meeting that underpins other financial planning
• Integrate the protection conversation throughout the advice journey
• Feel ok addressing uncomfortable issues head on – it’s important enough
• Work with a client to identify any gaps in their protection and develop solutions
• Have faith in, and rely on, the process they’ve developed
• Have good memory of recent similar conversations to draw on.

Boiled down, this amounts to:

• Belief in the products and a passion for protection
• Reliance on a tried and tested advice process and sales journey
• Knowledge of the products, provider variations and optimum configurations

Ready to find out more secrets of protection success?

We’re here to support you on your path to protection success by providing you with tools, resources and insights backed up by top protection adviser insights. Visit the research homepage to download the report and browse our expert toolkits and sales aids.