Everyone has their own style of engaging prospective investors and moving them through their pipeline. Having your own sales strategy mapped out helps you close deals more efficiently. In our conversations with managers, we’ve found 4 sales personas that seem to be very common across many strategies.
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THE FILM DIRECTOR – AUTHORITARIAN
The Film Director believes that he/she knows exactly what the prospect needs to achieve the best results for their investments. Film Directors express their opinions freely and are direct to ensure that the sale goes the way they believe is best. Some prospects do need that push.
THE MAYOR – DEMOCRATIC
The Mayor seeks the opinions of the prospective investor. From there, he/she advises them on the best plan of action henceforth. This gives prospects the sense of security and the feeling that they are part of the decision-making process, even if the mayor takes the sale in the direction he/she had planned for from beginning.
THE COACH – ADAPTIVE
The Coach has the game plan set out, doesn’t stick to just the one play. The Coach’s style evolves as his/her counterpart reacts; the wheels in the ‘game’ are always in motion. This involves micro-management or multiple touch points, but investors are more receptive to such an approach.
THE CONSULTANT – LAISSEZ-FAIRE
The Consultant believes that the most important attribute of any sale is educating a prospect. He/she educates prospects on the benefits of being invested into a certain fund, dangles some carrots, and then leaves it there. Waiting for the prospect to bite. The Consultant is willing to come back with advice, but is less aggressive with sales, believing that the hottest prospects present themselves.
Again, these are 4 sales personas that are common across managers and strategies, but certainly aren’t the only ones out there. Each persona brings its own strength, but there are advantages to being able to analyze and adapt.
There is however, one common trait that each persona has; the human element.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
Prospective investors are people too! The irony is that many forget that while many represent an institution, family office, or are even just the face of a HNW family, they possess the same malleability as you and I do. Every prospective investor reacts differently to varying emotional cues (i.e. sales approaches).
The cookie-cutter approach of making sales doesn’t work. In any big transaction, there’s comfort and reassurance when the right human interaction is provided. Think real estate: what benefit is your realtor truly bringing you? Expertise? There are plenty of real estate salespeople with the same level of experience, but some who you relate with, better than others.
It’s “that gut feeling”, not “that circuitry feeling”.
By Darragh Hill
