Originally published on Advisor Perspectives, March 21, 2018

I asked a videographer to accompany me on my current speaking tour. I want to document my talks and put a montage together for my web page.

The advisory firms sponsoring my sessions have been very accommodating. Faithfull to the “principle of reciprocity,” I offered to interview representatives of their firms, which could be edited and used on their web page and on social media. This offer has been enthusiastically accepted.

Here’s what I learned.

The interview mindset

When I interview advisors, I have no agenda other than to generate good content for the edited video. I’m not trying to “prove” anything.

My job is to ask very basic, open-ended questions and let the advisors dominate and control the conversation.

Because I’m not trying to steer the conversation in any particular direction I’m motivated to listen very carefully to what’s being said and to ask appropriate follow-up questions.

I don’t have a script. I just want to find out as much about the firm – and the person I’m interviewing – as I can.

Because I have no agenda, I can be totally relaxed. The person being interviewed knows a lot about their advisory firm and has a good idea of what should be discussed. I follow their lead.

I have some standard follow-up phrases that rarely are used in business conversations. Here are some of them:

Tell me more about that?

How did that make you feel?

Was it difficult to remain professional under those circumstances?

What’s the best part of working here?

These questions always stimulate more discussion, which generates more follow-up questions.

In its purest form, the interview mindset is about setting your ego aside. I make no effort to demonstrate how smart I am or that my background permits me to have insight into the subjects being discussed. Instead, I keep the entire focus where it belongs – on those being interviewed.

Applying the “interview mindset”

The “interview mindset” is a good way to implement the Solin Process℠. When you meet a prospect, try to have the same mindset I had when interviewing advisory firms.

Remember, this means you have no agenda. “No agenda” is difficult for many advisors to grasp. If you really have no agenda, your goal is not to convert the prospect into a client. How can that be? Let me explain.

When your goal is converting the prospect, you’re likely to believe there are a number of boxes you have to check in your meeting. These may include a discussion about your firm, expertise, investment philosophy, your approach to financial planning, fees or the value you add, among others.

If that’s your mindset, you will control the meeting to be sure these subjects are covered. If you do so, the possibility of converting that prospect is actually lessened.

When you have the “interview mindset,” you have no boxes to check. You will learn a lot about the prospect. The conversation – lead by the prospect – may veer into different directions from anything you anticipated. If the prospect has questions, you can provide, brief, direct responses, secure in the knowledge you are discussing something of interest.

When the prospect leaves a meeting conducted in this manner, the overriding feeling is one of liking and trusting you. The prospect will (correctly) believe you took the time to get to understand him or her.

The likelihood of converting a prospect who has been “interviewed” is very high.