Top Gun - Financial Sales: How to Double or Triple Your Results While Reducing Your Book

Prospecting, the process of contacting the right people with the idea of converting them to customers, is a critically important activity in the sales process. Since the stock market decline in 2000, financial professionals-many for the first time-are finding they need to prospect for customers. Author and financial services professional Scott Kimball advocates that reps cut their book, or client base, dramatically and follow his proprietary prospecting process. Called the "Top Gun" method after the renowned U.S. Navy flight school, this process provides individuals with the strategies and tactics they need to perform at levels usually never reached by the average financial salesperson. Kimball's Top Gun Prospecting for Financial Professionals is the only book to focus on prospecting for the financial services professional. It covers all aspects of the process, including contact management systems, lists, advertising, cold calling, direct mail, networking, seminars, referrals, the Internet, attitude, and time management. Readers will learn how to: * Execute and track the success of the four major prospecting process components. * Identify new, rich sources for clients. * Maximize the efficiency of the filtering/qualifying process, ensuring that salespeople meet only with highly qualified, "ripe" prospects. * Approach prospects so they agree to a meeting to discuss their financial situations. FOREWORD......Page 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 11 INTRODUCTION......Page 13 CHAPTER ONE: THE FACTS OF LIFE......Page 16 CHAPTER TWO: THE FUNDAMENTALS—TOP GUN FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS......Page 36 The Underlying Belief System......Page 40 The Two Key Principles of Top Gun......Page 47 Never Have More Than 50 Relationships......Page 54 Bring a Higher Level of Thinking to Your Clients......Page 57 You're Never Too Big to Prospect......Page 60 Sell to the Strengths of the Firm......Page 64 Discretionary Business for 80 to 100 Percent of Your Book......Page 65 Shorter Sales Cycles......Page 67 One on One, One by One......Page 69 Critical Core Concerns......Page 70 Diversify into Two or Three Noncorrelated Business Lines......Page 71 Eliminate Negative People in Your Life......Page 73 Never Say No for Someone Else......Page 75 Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse......Page 76 Know More Than the Competition......Page 78 Adjust Your Comfort Zones......Page 83 Find the Pain......Page 85 Things to Remember about a Top Gun Producer......Page 87 Mathematics......Page 90 Human Psychology and Behavioral Response......Page 97 Who We Call......Page 100 What We Say......Page 101 How We Say What We Say......Page 104 Using SWOT, the Boston Matrix, and CARVER......Page 108 Reaching Your Market......Page 116 CHAPTER SIX: COLD CALLING—STILL NUMBER ONE......Page 140 The Basic Rules of Cold Calling......Page 143 Conclusion......Page 147 Bloomberg......Page 148 Internet......Page 151 Contact Management Software......Page 152 Cell Phones......Page 154 E-mail......Page 156 CHAPTER EIGHT: THE TOP GUN PROSPECTING MACHINE......Page 160 Mental Approach......Page 163 Physical Appearance......Page 169 Business Approach......Page 170 The Model City Approach......Page 179 Ripe Fruit Picking Is Your Business......Page 182 CHAPTER NINE: REAL TOP GUN PROSPECTING STORIES......Page 186 The Cake Lady......Page 188 The Truck King......Page 189 The Junk-Food King......Page 190 The Garbage Man......Page 191 The Franchisee......Page 193 The Advisor to the Stars......Page 195 The New CEO......Page 196 The Treasurer......Page 197 The Orthos......Page 198 INDEX......Page 200 ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 204 FOREWORD 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 11 INTRODUCTION 13 CHAPTER ONE: THE FACTS OF LIFE 16 CHAPTER TWO: THE FUNDAMENTALS—TOP GUN FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS 36 The Underlying Belief System 40 The Two Key Principles of Top Gun 47 CHAPTER THREE: THE TOP GUN MODEL—RULES OF ENGAGEMENT 54 Never Have More Than 50 Relationships 54 Bring a Higher Level of Thinking to Your Clients 57 You're Never Too Big to Prospect 60 Sell to the Strengths of the Firm 64 Discretionary Business for 80 to 100 Percent of Your Book 65 Shorter Sales Cycles 67 One on One, One by One 69 Critical Core Concerns 70 Diversify into Two or Three Noncorrelated Business Lines 71 Eliminate Negative People in Your Life 73 Never Say No for Someone Else 75 Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse 76 Know More Than the Competition 78 Adjust Your Comfort Zones 83 Find the Pain 85 Things to Remember about a Top Gun Producer 87 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MATHEMATICS AND PSYCHOLOGY OF PROSPECTING 90 Mathematics 90 Human Psychology and Behavioral Response 97 Who We Call 100 What We Say 101 How We Say What We Say 104 CHAPTER FIVE: THE TOP GUN PROSPECTING PROCESS 108 Using SWOT, the Boston Matrix, and CARVER 108 Reaching Your Market 116 CHAPTER SIX: COLD CALLING—STILL NUMBER ONE 140 The Basic Rules of Cold Calling 143 Conclusion 147 CHAPTER SEVEN: TECHNOLOGY AND PROSPECTING 148 Bloomberg 148 Internet 151 Contact Management Software 152 Cell Phones 154 E-mail 156 CHAPTER EIGHT: THE TOP GUN PROSPECTING MACHINE 160 Mental Approach 163 Physical Appearance 169 Business Approach 170 The Model City Approach 179 Ripe Fruit Picking Is Your Business 182 CHAPTER NINE: REAL TOP GUN PROSPECTING STORIES 186 The Lawnmower Man 188 The Cake Lady 188 The Truck King 189 The Junk-Food King 190 The Garbage Man 191 The Franchisee 193 The Advisor to the Stars 195 The New CEO 196 The Treasurer 197 The Orthos 198 INDEX 200 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 204 Prospecting, the process of contacting the right people with the idea of converting them to customers, is a critically important activity in the sales process. Since the stock market decline in 2000, financial professionals-many for the first time-are finding they need to prospect for customers.

Author and financial services professional Scott Kimball advocates that reps cut their book, or client base, dramatically and follow his proprietary prospecting process. Called the "Top Gun" method after the renowned U.S. Navy flight school, this process provides individuals with the strategies and tactics they need to perform at levels usually never reached by the average financial salesperson.

Kimball's Top Gun Prospecting for Financial Professionals is the only book to focus on prospecting for the financial services professional. It covers all aspects of the process, including contact management systems, lists, advertising, cold calling, direct mail, networking, seminars, referrals, the Internet, attitude, and time management.

Readers will learn how to:
* Execute and track the success of the four major prospecting process components.
* Identify new, rich sources for clients.
* Maximize the efficiency of the filtering/qualifying process, ensuring that salespeople meet only with highly qualified, "ripe" prospects.
* Approach prospects so they agree to a meeting to discuss their financial situations.

Kimball is managing director for a Wall Street investment bank and brokerage, and has some 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. He presents techniques used by top producers in the financial sales world for high-impact prospecting, which are firmly ethical and treat clients with respect. Kimball's framework is based on strategies that have been tested and utilized in the military, sports psychology, and business for decades, and centers around three basic premises: deciding not to be average, embracing change, and accepting that responsibility for one's success or failure lies with the individual and the decisions he or she makes every day. Annotation ♭2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Annotation Prospecting: the process of contacting the right peoplewith the idea of converting them to customers, is acritically important activity in the sales process. TopGun Prospecting for Financial Professionals is the onlybook to focus on prospecting for the financial servicesprofessional. It covers all aspects of the process, including contact management systems, lists, advertising, cold calling, direct mail, networking, seminars, referrals, the Internet, attitude, and time management. This process provides individuals with the strategies andtactics they need to perform at levels usually neverreached by the average financial salesperson Sales consultants and so-called experts in the business give you their little diagrams and their lists of things to do and their formulas for success.