This is Part 3 of my series on sales for financial advisers.

By the time most advisers start thinking about “getting better at sales”, they’re already carrying a lot of baggage about what selling is supposed to look like.

In Part 1 of this series, we unpacked why sales can feel uncomfortable in the first place – and how that discomfort often shows up through undercharging or overexplaining.

In Part 2, we looked at what’s happening on the client side, and why even engaged, interested people who need your help still don’t say yes.

To sum it up quickly: the discomfort around sales doesn’t come from a lack of capability, but from how sales has been framed. And when it comes to the way people make decisions, it isn’t logical – it’s emotional.

So if sales isn’t about explaining more, pushing harder or having the perfect answer… what actually works?

The shift is simpler than most advisers expect, but it requires a different way of thinking about your role in the conversation.

Build trust before the meeting even starts

One of the most overlooked parts of the sales process is everything that happens before you actually speak to a client.

Most clients come into a first meeting feeling uncertain. They don’t know what to expect, how the process works, or whether they’re about to be “sold to”. Even highly capable, financially literate people can feel this way.

That’s why creating familiarity early can make such a difference.

A short “Why Video” – sent automatically once a meeting is booked – helps remove a significant amount of that uncertainty. It gives the client a sense of who you are, how you work, and what the conversation will look like. By the time they meet you, they’re not starting from zero.

This isn’t about polished marketing or trying to impress. It’s simply about making the experience feel more predictable, more human, and easier to step into.

When clients feel safe and clear before the meeting even begins, everything that follows becomes easier.

Help clients join the dots themselves

Most clients come to an adviser with one clear problem in mind – something like super, insurance, retirement or buying a property.

But as you know, those areas are rarely isolated. The challenge is that the moment you start pointing out everything else they need to consider, it can feel overwhelming. Or worse, it can feel like you’re expanding the scope of the problem in a way that triggers resistance.

That’s where client self-assessment can be incredibly effective.

Instead of telling a client what matters, you guide them through a simple exercise that helps them see it for themselves. When they can identify gaps or patterns in their own situation, the conversation shifts. It becomes collaborative rather than persuasive.

You’re no longer in the position of trying to convince them they need help. You’re helping them understand their situation more clearly.

And when that clarity comes from them, it feels different.

Sell the process, not the plan

A lot of sales conversations fall apart at the same moment – right at the end, when the adviser moves from a strong, connected conversation into talking about a proposal or engagement agreement.

It’s often framed as something the client can “take away and think about”, which sounds reasonable, but in reality creates distance and turns the decision into homework.

Instead, help the client make a decision in the meeting. Before you get to fees and pricing, say:

“I just want to check in.”

“How’s all of this sounding to you?”

“Do you feel confident this process will help you achieve [the outcome they told you earlier]?”

Then when you get to the next steps in the meeting – the taking payment and booking in the onboarding session – you’ll get far fewer people saying “I’ll think about it”.

But when you do get one of those, avoid reverting back to sending them the engagement agreement to take home with them.

Instead, say:

“When we work together, I want you to feel 100% confident. So I’d love to know… what is it that you need to think through? What’s coming up for you?”

If they can’t make a decision in the meeting, be sure to organise a second conversation to help them get over the line.

This looks like:

“Absolutely, I’ll send you an engagement agreement that steps you through exactly what working together looks like. Chances are after you read it, you might have some questions. So let’s pencil in a quick phone chat next week to go over those.”

This isn’t about being pushy – it’s helping a client make a decision.

Talk less, guide more

One of the biggest shifts – and often the most uncomfortable – is learning to talk less.

Most advisers have been trained to demonstrate value through knowledge. So when a client is unsure or hesitant, the instinct is to explain more. To clarify, expand, reinforce.

But in practice, that tends to increase cognitive load. The client becomes overwhelmed, stops processing, and often disengages without it being obvious.

A simple rule of thumb that works incredibly well in sales is 70% client, 30% adviser.

Talking less doesn’t mean being passive. It means asking better questions, and then giving the client enough space to answer them properly.

Questions like:
“Can you tell me more about that?”
“When you say that, what do you mean?”
“What’s making that feel important right now?”
“What’s worrying you most about this?”

What matters just as much is what happens after you ask these questions.

Silence often feels uncomfortable for advisers, but for clients it’s where the thinking happens. If you step in too quickly, you interrupt that process. If you let it sit – even for a few seconds – you give them space to arrive at their own answer.

The same applies when a client shares something uncertain or personal. The instinct is often to fix it immediately. But being heard is more powerful than being fixed.

Reflecting back what you’ve heard – “It sounds like the main concern here is…” or “So what I’m hearing is…” – shows that you understand. That builds more trust than another explanation ever will.

When clients are doing most of the talking, they begin to convince themselves. Rather than trying to move them forward, you’re guiding them as they move themselves.

Which brings me back to something I touched on in Part 2.

When the conversation feels calm, clear and client-led, the Croc Brain stays quiet. There’s no pressure, no confusion, no sense of being rushed or overwhelmed.

At that point, the decision to move forward feels like the next logical step.

In the final part of this series, we’ll look at how to stop winging it and start improving your sales conversations (hint: it all comes down to thinking like a professional athlete).

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