Know Your Customer or KYC is a term used in the financial services industry and is regulated by FINRA. It is meant to protect the investor and ensure their advisor knows their situation inside and out and make the appropriate recommendations.
While all sales reps are not regulated, we should be taking the KYC, discovery process as serious as if it was. Let’s dissect this KYC process, shall we…
You as the sales rep on your first conversation with a prospective buyer, your only job is to dig. Digging to understand where they’ve been, where they are currently and where they want to go. This takes time and can’t be rushed or forced. Take the time to learn about your prospect and yes discovering the problems.
Once you have thoroughly uncovered some issues your prospect is dealing with, then and only then should you start talking about your solution. And this is less about your product and more about how their problem is solved or their burden is eased.
Many times, I hear sales reps trying to lead the prospect down the road of having a problem that they know their product solves. That is wrong, don’t lead. Use that as a story of how you have helped other clients like them and tell it that way, don’t lead or assume.
The worst thing you can do as a sales pro is try to sell something that just doesn’t help them. Yes, making the sale will help you! Sometimes, yes sometimes, you cannot help the prospect with their problem(s). I don’t care what you’ve been told as far as make the sale at all costs. I call bullshit. Sometimes you need to say, I cannot help with that problem, but I know someone or a product that can. Yes, terrible, because you didn’t make a sale. But no sale is better than a problem sale.
Lastly, this prospect will respect you and if they have another problem, they will come to you because you took the time to KYC and make or not make recommendations.
