This post is the fourth in the series of  Top 4 Internal Wholesaler Skills.
What to stop doing… to increase your sales results. Choose the stop that hits your personal bull’s-eye:

Telegraphing you’re not important

A few of the most common call openings include: “Do you have a quick second…” or “I’ll be brief…” or “I know you are busy…” or any statement that promises that the internal will go away as quickly as possible. “I wanted to make sure you received the literature I sent you.” As one advisor said to us, “Someone should tell them that the U.S. mail works.” “My external wholesaler said I should call you…” or “You met with of my wholesaler…” or any opening that indicates that the caller is some sort of lesser being.

Missing your opportunity with the gatekeeper

Many internals devote lots of energy to getting around (or under or over) these fierce guardians. In today’s market, many high-end advisors have junior advisors who answer the phone for them and screen out internal wholesalers. These gatekeepers can and will divulge important qualifying information and get the advisor to take a call, but only if the internal can convince them it will benefit the advisor (and not make the gatekeeper look bad).

Wishing And Hoping

The number one mistake made by sales people (including internals) across all industries? Not asking for the business. Internals are especially “ask-averse” with advisors they know well because they don’t feel they need to ask (or they don’t want to be pushy). And, like their partners in the field, they often confuse a trial close (“Is that something you could use?”) with a specific request for the advisor to take action.

Using email templates and rote voicemails

If you want some sobering news about your emails and voice mails, start tracking your response rate. The best internals know subject lines and content need to be highly customized to address the number one request advisors have today: Know how I do business. Ditto for voice mails, and, your voice mail needs to be different than your email. Yup it takes time and conflicts with your activity metrics. But that’s another whole topic.

Killing your productivity:

Not calling your advisors at the right time of day
Any type of start and stop when you are making your calls – usually because your wholesaler wants something now
Not having a list of advisors to call ready and waiting for you every morning
Doing any kind of admin work during prime calling hours
What did I miss?