Most of us are sales people when you get right down to it. Our job is to sell our services - and ourselves - as we strive to add more clients to our existing book of business. The unfortunate fact is that most of us are in such a hurry to sell our services that, in the process, we forget to do the most important thing relative to sales.

Remember the quote from Bill Gates? The most important thing we can do is gather as much information as possible and understand what our customers need. From there, we can construct a presentation that has a high probability of giving them exactly what they want and hitting the bull's eye.

We've all heard of The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

I prefer to consider The Platinum Rule™ which states, "Do unto others the way they would want you to do unto them." The only way to accomplish this is by asking intelligent questions up front when speaking to clients and making a better effort to understand them. Here are some examples of questions you should be asking clients at your first meeting:

1. What are your hobbies?


2. Do you have a clearly defined investment strategy?


3. Would you consider your investment strategy to be conservative, moderate, or aggressive?


4. How old do you want to be when you are financially independent and completely debt free?


5. Do you currently have a college fund set up for your children?


6. What is most important to you about the relationship you are seeking with someone in my profession?


7. What is your preferred form of communication during this process?

If you had honest answers to all of the questions listed above, on every one of your clients, wouldn't you stand a better chance of being able to provide them with what they need, thereby ensuring they will be clients for life? Wouldn't they also refer more of their family, friends, and co-workers to you?