Hope Floats. Fear Sinks!

Have you ever considered using a "hope-based" sales technique instead of using fear?

There's no doubt that showing a grieving spouse next to a casket is an effective way to motivate a prospect or client to buy life insurance; or, showing a 70-year-old woman working at a grocery store to make the case for having a solid retirement income plan.

But, consider the impact of using FEAR to justify your financial solutions. Do you really want the relationship you have with a client to be based on - and mentally linked to - fear?

I would argue that for every fear-based scenario there's a hope-based image or scenario that will work just as effectively. Think about it. When you’re meeting with a new prospect, instead of scaring them with statistics about how inflation can turn their retirement dreams into a nightmare, place in their mind images of being with their grandkids for their soccer games, dance recitals and holidays.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never is, but always to be blessed:

The soul, uneasy and confined from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

– Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

Ultimately, isn't the goal of every well-drafted financial and retirement plan to give your clients peace-of-mind?

Hope-based marketing - give it a try!