This first impression is based 55 percent on appearance, 7 percent on the words we use during course of our conversation and 38 percent on the tone of the voice.

So even before you get sufficient time to demonstrate your abilities, prospects and clients have formed their first impression and created “labels” (serious, fun, blunt, friendly, etc.) about your personality.

The same is true for you as you meet prospects and clients.

Why is it so important for you to prove (or disprove) these first impressions to understand who your customer really is deep beneath the surface?

Because it has major implications for three areas of your business:
1.    Attracting new clients
2.    Designing portfolios
3.    Ongoing service

Attracting new clients is all about the ability for you to quickly build trust. This involves understanding not only your client’s personality, but your own personality strengths and struggles.  Are you a natural listener?  Are you empathetic or more focused on outcomes?  If your style is matched with the prospects, you will build trust with less effort.

When designing a portfolio, many advisors neglect to plan for the financial personality risks. Some clients will envision themselves as bigger risk takers than what they project themselves to be with you.  Or, they may say they are a saver when their expense account proves the contrary.  Discussions on these subjects are very delicate because many clients do not want to admit (or even know) who they really are a deeper level.

Finally, how can you customize your client experience when you may not even know who your customer really is beneath the surface?  You have a lot of different personalities working with you in your office and each one may have to adjust their style to make the client feel truly cared for and understood.  Every marketing action should be tailored to the personality of your clients.  No need to send a long newsletter filled with market data and facts to your “big picture” clients.  Are you looking for more referrals?  Certain types of clients are much more likely to give them to you if you know their personality.

Is there a way you can know a customer within the first meeting, or even better beforehand?  Or, do you need to wait a year to observe whether their actions and words match to find out who they really are?

Dare to get beneath the surface with your clients. Discover practical and actionable behavioral solutions that you can use with your clients to uncover who they are to create unique customized experiences.

Learn more by visiting http://www.financialdna.com

I wonder where the strategic conversations will turn to… How can we attract and/or retain customers?

By now the majority of companies will have some elements of a social media some of which will be integrated with their CRM. But what actually needs to shift significantly to effectively engage customers for the long term lies not in the whizziness of the latest social media investment but more importantly in getting to know your customers communication style and matching service, advisors, product to them.

Social media is changing customer loyalty; suddenly customers have access to faster, wider rages of choices than ever before. Having the ability to track customer’s behaviors and their preferred communication style could be the difference between keeping and losing a customer.

Click here to see how you can get ahead of the game.

The most recent product release for the development team is our new DNA Talent Report and customizer. Personally, I am excited because this gives all DNA users a chance to play me (e.g. Product Development Manager) for the day and design their own reports from start to finish.

This new feature provides our users ultimate flexibility in the application of DNA Reports, regardless of the application.  This new flexible model allows us to apply personality data into any application and simulate how an individual’s natural behavior style will apply in a specific role whether it be a client/ customer role, job role, or any other role you define.

Get started and build your report by following the 2 simple steps below.

1. Choose to build your report using our templates or start your design from scratch

In our beta testing for this product, we did tests with sample groups who were in our Business DNA & Financial DNA communities and also in very niche communities such as book promotions, Leadership Coaching, or manufacturing. Through these tests we developed template reports which you can use or choose to start completely from scratch.

Templates Available:

Financial DNA Investor Talent Report
Financial Advisor Talent Report
Leadership Talent Report
Business Talent Report
Wholesaler Talent Report
Accounts Receivable Talent Report
Accounts Payable Talent Report
Outside Sales Talent Report
Inside Sales Talent Report
Career Talent Report
Sports Talent Report
Entrepreneurial Talent Report
Family Life DNA Report

2. Choose 10 items which you wish to show on your report

Next, choose 10 items which you wish to show on your report- choose any factors or insights available on our reports and choose descriptor words which will represent the success factors or risks which may apply to that specific insight you chose. Our system will do all of the calculations for you, show you what their score is for that attribute as well as determine if it is a success factor or a risk for the given role you specify.

3. Design your report

Finally, add colors and graphics to your reports to make it your own. Customize the heading colors, graphs and logos.

To start customizing your report, email inquiries@dnabehavior.com and request a Report Customization Guide.

There is endless ‘chatter’ around engaging customers; understanding the consumer’s headspace; how they are using ‘the cloud’; understanding their ‘buying behavior’ and how to shift focus to engage this new breed of customer to improve business bottom lines. IT departments and Marketing heads are likely left asking what it all means for their business. But they know they need to get on board in order to leverage customer insight to inform growth strategies.

To cut through the confusion the first step is to realize that there is an essential difference between winning market share and engaging and retaining customers. Going after market share as a priority is between business competitors and rarely involves the customer. However, engaging customers through gathering and understanding behavioral intelligence creates a high-value relationship, one that customers see as having worth.

To provide a tangible solution to this problem, more and more organizations are realizing the power of behavioral profiling; using this approach to not only understand how to communicate more effectively with customers but also to understand their decision making style.

With technological advances such as this it is now possible to understand, like never before, your customer’s behavior and communication style. This holistic knowledge of your customer will fundamentally improve how your organization interacts with customers. Taken a step further it allows businesses to match sales people and advisors to the communication and decision making style of their customers.

For more information, visit the Communication DNA website.

What were your favorite strategies for improving personal and business performance this year? What did you accomplish and what are your goals for 2013?

The following 10 behavioral strategies will lead you through to a successful year-end and help you plan for the new year.

1. Demonstrate customer appreciation based on knowing what motivates each customer.
2. Complete an organizational talent review to determine whether each of your employees is using their unique talents.
3. Review your team members’ communication styles as well as the strengths and blockages within your team.
4. Evaluate current levels of customer engagement in your services.
5. Know what motivates each employee to implement a non-financial employee rewards program.
6. Build customer workflows that manage each customer’s expectations and meet their service needs.
7. Review your leadership legacy.
8. Learn how each of your family members likes to be communicated with.
9. Address the amount of risk you are currently taking in your investment portfolios.
10. Reflect on your Quality Life goals.

To learn more about our DNA Behavior solutions for addressing these areas, contact us at inquiries@dnabehavior.com.

In The Center of the Universe, I wrote about how happy I was to complete a survey for BestCoffee.

Within a week, I got another request after I just completed a phone call with my insurance company.  But I must admit, I wasn’t so excited about this request:

Thank you for placing your trust in Popular Insurance Company. 
Your feedback is very important. Please let us know about your recent Customer Service experience by answering a few questions using the link below. The survey takes about 3-5 minutes to complete. We look forward to receiving your valuable feedback as we continuously strive to improve your experience with us.  We appreciate your business and thank you again for choosing Popular Insurance Company.
How did I feel?  The opposite of special: part of a mass production email that was  sent to millions of other customers.  Boring! This must be a parallel universe where they have good intentions but are missing the personalization concept.

Did I take the 3-5 minutes to complete the survey?  No.  Why?  There was simply no excitement or motivation for me to take the next step.  Even when I got another reminder (same type of wording), I hit the delete button.

The lesson?  You need to customize each communication to your clients in order for them to take action.  Clearly, this message was lost on my style.

How do you learn the communication style of your customers to create more meaningful, customized experiences?  Explore the Communication DNA website.

At the top of every business strategic planning meeting should be the following:

Item 1 – how can we increase revenue by leveraging social networking across the business (not just in the marketing department)?

Consider the following thoughts:

• Do you see social media as a useful tool in marketing but not much more beyond that?
• Is your social networking strategy highly targeted?
• Are the interactions you have with customers delivering sustained outcomes?
• How successful to your business bottom line are the two-way conversations you are currently having through social channels?
• How much more successful would your marketing strategies be if they were more effectively targeted to your audience and ultimately made better use of your marketing and communication $.
• Does your social networking empower your staff to be able to engage more effectively with each other and with customers?
• How is social networking being utilized in your business? Do you use it to break down internal departmental ‘silos’?
• What tools have you invested into for your frontline staff?
• How would business grow by matching staff to customers?

The addition of Communication DNA to your social media will unlock your business for revenue growth by navigating the human differences in your business and discovering and aligning the different communication styles, behaviors and solution preferences of your diverse customers and employees.

Using Communication DNA enables your business to have customized and focused conversations with millions of people. Businesses will be able to discover the emotional decision-making patterns of customers and employees to allow for the real time customization of sales, marketing and customer service activities using cutting-edge technology platforms.

Communication DNA can make 1 to 1 customer conversations count by ensuring no part of the exchange is lost. Communication DNA matches advisors to clients, sales staff to customers, product and services to the individual providing an engaging process at all levels of interaction to acquire and retain loyal relationships.

Random messaging and exchanges can make or break relationships and business opportunities instantaneously. Businesses that implement the Communication DNA app can achieve business performance gains of 40% in personal productivity for sales and service people, 70% in team productivity and a 23% increase in revenue.

Communication DNA gives you laser focused insight into how to conduct conversations between customers and employees. It puts influence into the hands of staff enabling them to engage more effectively with each other and with customers.

Communication DNA empowers employees in your sale, service and development teams to join forces to build effective customer relationships and experiences.

Communication DNA enables you to build deeper and more effective relationships by engaging with customers at the most critical point of reference – the first time they contact you.

Communication DNA delivers to businesses the ability to segment their customer base and their staff in a way that fundamentally changes the way you do business.

To learn more, please visit the Communication DNA website.

Does your call center, service center and reception know who the clients are when they call in? Do  they know enough of the clients behavioral style to provide a customized experience? Imagine the increased revenue gains and efficiency if the right employee could be matched to the customer starting with the phone calls. To do this the CRM and phone system must be connected, and the right behavioral data stored and programmed into the CRM.

Learn more: Why Businesses Connect Their Phone Systems with CRM Software to Manage Customer Relationships - click here.

A recent USA Today article detailed the mix of initiatives that retailers are testing in order to target you with products and promotions that are likely to resonate with you.

Loyalty cards, birthday promotions and sale pricing are all examples of how a retailer gets the demographic information so they can tailor the shopping experience for you. Understanding what life stage you are in, whether or not you buy on impulse or rational thoughts, what type of ambiance is best for you are critical in attracting the right type of customer.

David Forbes, a psychologist who consults with Nordstrom and Gap, recently came up with an “industrial chic” décor for outlet stores. “After all, Forbes says, a store’s ambiance can lure or repel consumers based on their mindsets and what they are looking for emotionally in a shopping trip.”

It’s not just retailers that are moving towards the behavioral model. Any business with a customer understands the more quickly they truly know and engage a customer on their terms, the stronger the relationship. What experience are you creating for your clients?

Learn more about how you can engage your customers on their terms.

According to a recent study in Harvard Business Review, sales increased 17% just by a salesperson mimicking the communication style of a potential customer.

Read on at: http://hbr.org/2012/01/monkey-see-monkey-buy/ar/1

Imagine a world where you could objectively learn the communication style of your prospect in three minutes!  How about matching the right salesperson to the right prospect at the very beginning of the sales process so that trust was built quickly and the sale was much easier?

That world is here right now with the DNA Relationship System.

In their recent management principle, Internal Innovations addresses an important aspect of good communication  – managing other’s perceptions. Dean Harbry writes, “it is important to realize that we are responsible for managing other’s perceptions of us. Taken to an extreme, this could be harmful and even manipulative, but utilizing self-awareness and empathy is crucial when others are left to judge. It is unfortunate but true that people will judge others by their actions and themselves by their intentions”.

When you find that there may be a gap between “what was said or done” and “what was heard or perceived”, make the effort to close the gap. Clarify your intentions to make sure that you have been fully understood. This will benefit your relationships in the long run.

How might you need to modify your behavior to manage other’s perceptions?

To read the full article on the Internal Innovations blog, click here.

Want to know how?  Here’s a simple example.  I was strategizing with one of my coaching clients, Greg, a financial advisor at a leading RIA firm, and he mentioned his firm was adding two more product providers to their preferred list.

Greg called eight high-quality firms and left a message for his local wholesaler to call him back.  Out of those eight, only five called him back.  Filter number one applied:  “I only do business with people who return phone calls.”

Greg had conversations with each of those five wholesalers. All seemed to be knowledgeable about their products and eager to earn his business.  To close the conversation, Greg gave each of them very specific common requests with a due date. Each wholesaler promised that his or her internal sales partner would promptly email the information to him.

Out of those five wholesalers, only three actually delivered the right material, if any at all.   Filter number two applied:  “I only do business with people who demonstrate credibility, that is, say what you will do and then do it.”

In the blink of an eye, we are down to three firms.

So, I asked Greg how he selected the two firms.  Was it the unique value proposition of the firm or the product track record, or the knowledge level of the wholesaler?  Greg’s answer will surprise some you.  “All of that stuff is pretty much the same story,” he replied.

“The real difference is that one of the wholesalers actually created a unique experience for me.  She understood exactly how to present her “standard” product to me in my terms.  The entire interaction was “all about me” and I felt a higher level of trust with her and her products.”

Greg added only one new firm to his list.  Will your firm be the ONE next year?

Start engaging your advisors now with an online tool that gives you and your team easy answers to customizing every advisor interaction.

Learn more about client engagement by visiting the Communication DNA Website.

But how would a call center employee know that about me if they haven’t had frequent interactions with me? And furthermore, what difference does it make?

The hard-edged measurable results are that you will get more business.  According to Gallup research, 23% more business to be exact: from me and from my referrals.

A few weeks ago I needed to call customer service at a major bank.  Like many of you, I was dreading having to even make the call.  Why?  Long automated menu selection, not even having the option that I need to select, then having to figure out how to get a “live” person, and then going into another “queue” that informs me I am calling at a high volume time and my anticipated wait time is five plus minutes.

To quote a popular phrase: ”Really?!”

Then, after the wait, I finally talk to a service person, only to get the wrong information.  I had to call back two more times (and yes, go through the queue again) before I received the correct procedure.

I certainly shared my experience on the prompt email survey I received the next day.  I guess it is no surprise that no one has acknowledged the poor service or tried to make me happy again.

How many calls come into the typical customer service center on a daily basis?  1000 plus!  The way I see it, a firm gets 1000 plus opportunities to build and strengthen client relationships.

If you are relying only on customer surveys to gain intelligence on how to create a unique customer experience, you will be left behind by the competition.

To provide unique customer experiences from the very beginning you need the right behavioral information.  And, yes, YOU CAN!!   Find out how to “know, engage and grow” your clients at communicationdna.com

Behavioral Insight 1: The Influence of Natural Behavior on Client Relationships

Chris Coddington tells the story of a first meeting with a man named Frank Butler. At the start of this first meeting Frank took over the agenda and wanted to get straight down to business to address the goals he had for the rest of his life and the way in which he wanted his money to be looked after. Frank made it clear that he wanted Chris to be direct and provide him with options and recommendations. He did not need to have detailed explanations up-front, although he expected Chris to be ready if he did ask for research. Further, Frank pointed out that his comprehension style was more to learn by discussion in a one-on-one interactive setting. Also, Frank said that he liked 30-minute meetings and that he did not see financial planning as a social experience. What is motivating Frank’s communication style?

We often assume that the way a person behaves and communicates is shaped by the energy of money or business conditioning. However, it goes much deeper than this. The correct starting point to understanding our clients’ relationship approach is to discover their natural DNA Behavior, the core of who they are. This is the behavior that was “hard wired” into them by the age of 3 based on their genetic DNA and early life experiences. The natural behavior often sits deep below the surface, and the client and advisor can be easily blind to it.

Behavioral Insight – Natural Behavior is Predictable
Natural DNA Behavior predicts how people wish to be communicated with, the type of service experience they desire and generally how they will respond to life and financial events. This behavior will then be the force driving advisory relationships and many of the clients’ life and financial decisions, particularly when under pressure.

When clients are under pressure they will revert to their natural DNA Behavior, as it is the
“go to” or “flip back” behavior. Pressure is often caused by money, relationships and events, which drive emotions. What we have learned is that a person’s natural DNA Behavior drives how he or she uniquely wishes to be communicated with and the type of service experience that person will desire. Also, it will generally drive how life and financial decisions are made. A key point is that the natural DNA Behavior will remain inherently consistent throughout a person’s life and therefore is highly predictive. Of course, people will communicate from time to time outside of their natural DNA Behavior because of current circumstances, life history, values and education. Therefore, it is also wise to know the influence of these life events on the way the clients want to be related to in specific situations and how their decision-making may be influenced.

What are your thoughts? For additional information on increasing engagement of others, visit our Communication DNA Website.

The Financial Performance in the New Behavioral Economy White Paper is a Behavioral Guide intended to serve as an introductory framework for advisors, so that they can improve the financial performance of their investor clients using validated financial behavior insights.

The Financial Performance in the New Behavioral Economy White Paper includes:

• 10 practical demonstrations showing how advisors can apply financial behavior insights to help guide and communicate with their clients to more confidently make committed investment decisions.
• Guidance on solutions for building the financial performance of clients including: Behavioral Profiling, building Behavioral Investment Policy Statements and Performance Reviews.
• The Financial “Blind-Spots” Exercise for building initial self-awareness and reducing the negative impact of financial blind-spots on financial performance.

Click here to download the White Paper.

The left brain can be simply described as the rational and thinking side of our brain. People who are left brained are very logical, literal, process and IQ focused. The right brain is the more emotional side of our brain. These people will be more naturally creative, empathetic, non-linear and EQ focused. As you can imagine, many “right brainers” have been shut down because this has not been how our society has been built.

The key point to remember is that success will require both the left and right brain. Not just one side. As people, we all tend to be naturally wired in our personality one way or the other. The right brained people will have behavioral styles that are creative, patient and spontaneous. Whereas the left brained people will have behavioral styles that are more anchored, fast paced and planned. We now have measurement of left and right brained behaviors in our DNA Behavior profiles because of the importance of this issue. Click Here to learn more about the DNA Behavior Profiles.

Are you naturally left or right brained? Learning this will help you cope in the “new behavioral economy”.

We want to really encourage people to know who they naturally are so they can succeed in the new economy. The key for the left brainers will be to accept and embrace the right brainers, and even further opening yourself up to adapting your behavior. However, the right brainers should never forget they will need to use the left brain to help get results.

A good read on this is “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink.

Although most advisors generate the bulk of their new leads from client referral, they usually have other business development programs to enhance the growth rate of their business.  These lead generation activities range from the more traditional methods, such as seminars and mail drops to more interesting methods, like radio programs and speaking at public seminars.

For lead generation programs to be successful, you need to create a call to action to create leads for your business.  These typically include offering an investment or financial planning report or a chance to win a prize.

One of the biggest complaints and reasons that clients change advisors is poor client service.  Poor client service generally starts with a poor understanding of that particular client’s communication preferences and the inability of that client to properly articulate his or her preferences.

By purchasing Communication DNA, you receive a unique link that can be put on your website, your e-mail signature, in brochures or handouts.  When a client or prospective client clicks on the link they are sent to a website to complete their assessment.  This process is very simple.  It takes less than five minutes to complete and upon completion, your client will receive an e-mail with their one-page report.  For a sample report, click here.  Simultaneously, you receive a copy of the report with, not only the report findings, but also all the contact information.

If you are doing a radio program, make the following offer.  “Independent research about advisor/client relationships shows clearly that the biggest reason clients change advisors is poor communication and client service.  When was the last time that your advisor asked you about your communication preferences?  If you would like to complete a free assessment to help you articulate your communication preferences, click here.  The process will take you less than five minutes and you will receive your report immediately by e-mail.  This is a service that we offer to all our clients because we clearly understand the importance of developing client service programs based on our clients’ preferences.

Similar offers can be constructed for other forms of lead generation programs.

If you have not complete your Communication DNA assessment, we welcome you to do so by clicking here.

By doing so, you will also get to experience our Communication DNA follow-up process to see how you can build a similar one for your business.

Behavioral segmentation will enable you to direct your communication and marketing to specific types of clients based on who they are. For instance, a Stability Need person needs to have communication which reflects safety and security. A Lifestyle Desire client needs to hear about how your solution will grow the fun side of life for them. When you segment your clients the emotional engagement with them will increase which leads to a longer term relationship with a greater share of the wallet.

Recently I was helping one of our Wealth Mentors with his client segmentation. He had all of his clients complete their Communication DNA profile. This enabled us to divide the client base into 4 quadrants of DNA style. Interestingly, because he is a Lifestyle Desire advisor this was the largest segment category. The Wealth Mentor knows having clients of a similar style to his makes relating to them easier.

However, the other key part about segmenting clients is addressing their values and life interests. The more that the clients values and life interests are similar to the Wealth Mentor’s the greater the chance of a sustained connection. The values are foundational as they will be at the core of every discussion and will be important when key decisions are being made. Having similar life interests eg sports or arts gives you something in common to relate to. In the case of our Wealth Mentor, he wanted clients who shared similar spiritual beliefs and also his interest in tennis. In his practice, other advisors wanted clients who were interested in environmental issues and football. What they found was that their relationships were much stronger with clients in these zones.

Once there are common values and interests, then whether you keep the relationship with the client will depend on natural DNA behavior. This gets back to segmentation based on behavioral style.

To learn more and to get started with implementing DNA Behavior Solutions to segment your clients, click here.

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The reality is that most providers of products and services know very little about their clients. For the first few hours from meeting the client research shows that less than 10% is known about the client and in the medium term less than 20%. How much better off would the client and the provider be if more was known earlier?

The question I have is: why don’t product and service providers seek to find out more about their clients? One reason is that it is hard and we do not have the time. So, the key is finding a way to quickly and non-invasively get the information you want and make the client feel understood. The process must be mutual.

Our “inside out” process for serving clients is below. Most providers start at step 3 – the product providing point. Whereas starting at step 1 is key – understanding the client’s life and financial motivations. Step 2 is to demonstrate empathy by communicating on the client’s terms, and then step 3 is to match the DNA of the client to the right product. Finally, step 4 is to guide the client to make the right choices.

If you want to get started on this process, please go to www.dnabehaviormarketing.com and take our complimentary Communication DNA profile. Then you can see how to bring this process into your business to get to know your clients at a deeper level much more quickly for a more productive outcome.