Have you ever walked into a prospect or client appointment needing someone to take action… only to walk out knowing you pushed too hard, missed the moment or simply didn’t create enough motivation for them to move forward? That’s not just a frustrating meeting, it’s a sign your appointment wasn't focused in the right direction.

Most advisors stall opportunities because they focus too much on what they want. Real momentum happens when you uncover what the other person wants. In other words, you must start Looking for the Leverage—the emotional, logical, or practical reason that makes the other person want to move ahead and you must design your conversation around that.

Theodore Roosevelt, said it best, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I believe that is true! The way to let them you know you care is to design your presentation around their perspective.

Let’s look at a stepwise approach around finding the leverage in every conversation.

Step 1. Clarify What You Want

Before you can help someone else understand why moving forward makes sense, you must understand exactly what you want them to do. If you don’t have clarity, they won’t either.

Early in my career, I was tucked away in a small office at the end of the hall, out of sight from everyone except Ellen, who occupied the large office next to me. When an even bigger office opened up, she moved into it, leaving her old office vacant. I wanted that space but wanting it wasn’t enough. I needed a strategy.

Step 2. Understand Their Benefits

Once you know what you want, the next step is understanding whether it benefits the other person. If it doesn’t, don’t ask for it. But if it does, you must see the situation through their eyes.

In my case, I knew marching into my former branch manager’s office and simply asking for Ellen’s office wouldn’t work. He needed to see a clear benefit. After thinking it through, I realized something important: he had no idea whether I was even working because my current office was hidden. If I moved into Ellen’s office, he would see me cold calling every morning, every lunch hour, and every evening. That visibility was the leverage.

Step 3. Illustrate the Benefits Clearly

Once you identify how the other person benefits, craft a question or story that paints that picture clearly. Stories work because they let the listener come to the conclusion on their own.

So, I knew I would need to tell my branch manager what it would look like if I moved into the big office: “You’ll see me working when you arrive, when you go to lunch, and when you head home.” Once he could picture the benefits, he would be able to agree internally.

Step 4. Present the Contrast

This step is optional but powerful. When someone understands the downside of not acting, the upside becomes even more compelling.

After mapping out things ahead, I began by pointing out the problem to my manager: “Right now, I’m in that small office around the corner with the door shut. You have no idea if I’m working or not.” Then I layered in the benefits of the new office: “If you move me into the big office at the end of the hall, you will see me cold calling when you arrive in the morning, go to lunch and leave at night.”

Together, the contrast created clarity—the current situation was a problem, and the solution was obvious.

Step 5. Create a Natural Close

The close becomes easy when the leverage is clear. They already understand the benefit, the logic, and the contrast. In addition, they most likely have attached an emotion to the outcome of fixing the problem!

After painting the picture, I simply asked, “Can I move into that office?” And he immediately said, “yes”. That’s the power of leverage: the decision feels natural.

Why Looking for the Leverage Works

Looking for the leverage works because it reframes the entire conversation around the other person’s motivations. When people feel understood, they open up. When they see the benefit clearly, they move forward. And when you lead them through the logic in a way that resonates emotionally and practically, the close becomes effortless.

In Advisor Solutions Podcast Episode #147 Looking for the Leverage, you will find a much more detailed account of advisors and agents that have applied each step and how it has helped them to help others make the right decision.

The key is simple: stop pushing your agenda and start uncovering the reason they would want to say “yes”. When you find the leverage, you find the momentum.