Only high-level industry training will allow you to become a trusted adviser to your clients.
Hold onto you hat and please do not fall out of your seat. I am going to dispel a common myth that some people hold so dear, they may see it as blatant heresy. “The customer is always right.” No. No the customer is not always right. Now, I know that many have learned to believe this old saying as fact. However, the fact is that the customer is not always right and actually, much of the time the customer is wrong. Before you shut me out here, bear with me and let me explain.
Think about this: if your clients knew exactly what they needed and exactly what was best for their situation, then there are only one of two possible reasons: One; they know as much or more about the mortgage lending industry (as an example) or the real estate business than you do; or you just don’t know a whole lot. Does that make sense? I am not saying that your clients do not know what they want and desire more than you, but you should have a far deeper understanding as to what they need to achieve want they want, more than they do. You are the expert right?
As an expert, as a true professional, your job is to do what is absolutely best for your client and often what is best and what they think is best, are not the same. So what do you do? Do you do what the client wants because, hey the client is always right? Or do you help the client see what is best for them and protect their interest?
Consider this analogy: You go to the dentist because you have a tooth ache.The doctor gives you a thorough exam including a full set of x-rays and looks deep into your medical history. After the exam the doctor comes back and says, “Ok, I know the problem. You have an infected tooth right here and I will have to pull that tooth. However, we also have to do a root canal on that tooth to clear the infection completely. If I remove the tooth only, it may give you a little temporary comfort, but the pain will come back and you stand the risk of developing serious gum disease.”
Now imagine the patient who insists, “Well, Doc, that’s nice. But I think I just need a good cleaning and maybe a filling. Just clean my teeth with that sweet tasting stuff and fill the cavity and that’s it.” Should this dentist do as the patient asks? I mean after all, the customer is always right. What the dentist should do is inform and educate the patient. The doctor should be a consultant; a counselor, enlightening the client to all of the possible options and their consequences both positive and negative. The doctor must become a trusted adviser to the patient. And this is what you have to do.
You must be the adviser; the expert, that’s why they came to you. You have to be able to inform and educate in order to do your job. However, there is a catch. The only way you can inform and educate; the only way you can effectively consult, counsel and enlighten your clients as to all of the available options and consequences, is if you KNOW all of the available options and consequences. And how can you possibly know if you know, unless you have had high-level, formal training in your field?
Look, if you think that you are a true expert capable of being a trusted adviser based on the initial licensing training you received and some “good advice” from some of your friends; think again. If you haven’t already, you will run into clients who have taken real estate courses, read mortgage lending books and many who have embraced the advice of late-night-cable-TV rich-quick-gurus. When these clients come to you with what they think is best, you better be able to offer correct advice based on your solid foundational industry training and experience. Otherwise you perform a disservice to your client, your company and the industry as a whole.Simply put, without on-going career training in your field, you can not do your job.
Does training make a difference? Training IS the difference!
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