When I do progress meetings with clients and review the Values Staircase™ I originally did with them a year or two years ago, it does not feel as crisp as a new one would. Would you ever recommend re-doing the Values Staircase™ with existing clients now that I am much more comfortable with the process?
Very unlikely. A good recap should be quite compelling as they are looking at their entire Financial Road Map® as the foundation for every progress meeting. You might also have them read their values form the Financial Road Map® out loud because them saying their values instead of you will be more compelling and emotional. It’s okay to ask something like, “What are you thinking and feeling as you read your values aloud?” “Does that still ring true for you?”
Many clients appear to be busy this summer and have been putting off, or canceling, Progress Meetings. Is this a reflection of perceived value they are receiving at the meeting, or do they feel all is under control and that I am taking care of it? Do you have some ideas on how to keep the relationships close while we are apart?
If your clients truly understood what you’re doing for them, and have quarterly assignments to what needs to be done next on the deliverables checklist, they would see the value in meeting with you for the Progress Meetings. And, obviously, they don’t really consider you to be their advisor because they’re blowing off your advice to meet regularly. I have a Values Based Financial Planning™ Trusted Advisor, too, and our meetings are scheduled a year in advance. Other than an emergency, I can’t imagine canceling a meeting. And it’s not just because I have to follow the process I invented. It’s because that’s what it takes for my wife and I to keep our financial stuff together. We still have work to do as does every other person on earth. It’s a lot like being physically fit. You don’t one day arrive at a level of physical fitness that puts you in a position to never have to exercise again. You may get to a level where you are as fit as you ever want to be, but you have to keep...
At which progress meeting should I do the Quality of Life Enhancer Exercise®?
Typically the third of fourth or whenever the client is struggling to behave like a delegator.
I gather that, at the Implementation Meeting and the Progress Meeting, the meeting should start with a review of the client’s values and goals. But rather than summarize it ourselves we should have the client walk us up their values staircase and articulate their goals. Can you give an example of how you might position that and any other notes about how to get the client used to doing that each Progress Meeting?
Either way. Most advisors we coach speak their clients’ Financial Road Map® instead of having them do it. Keep it simple – short, sweet and to the point is best. It could sound like this, “At each Progress Meeting we’ll begin with a review of your Financial Road Map®, starting with your values and then your goals. Let’s have you each speak your own values and then you can take turns with your goals.”
What should I tell a long-time client to effectively get their spouse to attend our meetings? Do you ever just proceed with the long-time client only?
You should say, “The conversation we’re going to have is not as much about money as it about planning your future, setting goals, and determining what will become the basis of your financial plan. It’s proven that couples who plan their futures together have a higher probability of having one. The bottom line is that in your Old World, you met with one spouse. In your New World you work with couples to help them actualize their Financial Road Maps®.” If they don’t want to do that then he has to find a new advisor.
How often do you update the Financial Road Map® and what exactly is updated?
The All the Money Conversation™ is updated at every Progress Meeting. What does Mark Little teach in the Three Meeting Process™? A Financial Road Map® update meeting, which is mostly just a goal update. Are the goals still relevant? Do the dates need to change? Do the amounts of money need to change? I think that it is seldom necessary to re-do the Values Conversation™. I can't think of a scenario where I would re-do the Values Conversation™. I would trust my instincts based on the actual experiences between myself and the clients to determine this.
I started using the Values Conversation™ last year but have trouble getting my current clients to sit down with me.
I would like some help with this and some suggestions to get referrals from my current clients.
It sounds like you are just barely dating Values Based Financial Planning™. Which is fine because that’s where everyone starts. However you will get much better results when you get more serious about really implementing Values Based Financial Planning™ as we teach it, versus just using bits and pieces. The reason that I say this is because when you say that you are using the Values Conversation™ that’s an indicator to me that you are only using part of what we teach and, therefore only getting a fraction of the results, if any results at all, that you would be getting if you really implemented the entire Financial Road Map®. Instead of viewing the Financial Road Map® as a service for your clients that will help them make better choices about their money so they can achieve their goals for reasons that are important to them, it’s possible that you view the Values Conversation™ as a technique to help you sell them something. This is likely coming across in your communication style...
I found it beneficial to receive a PDF copy of my Success Road Map®, to easily reference versus scanning my actual one. Do we have something similar to provide to customers. For example, once I do a Financial Road Map®, I would like to maintain one in my clients file and reference that in every meeting. I would also like the client to have one - do you have a tool or suggestions to simplify that?
Give your clients a hand-written Financial Road Map® at every Progress Meeting. It’s more personal.
I recently met someone and did a self-referral. We completed his Financial Road Map® and then asked if we could meet again for me to meet his fiancée as well as his personal accountant. We met and I helped his fiancée complete her Values Staircase™ and discussed their goals. During the meeting the accountant made it clear that she was the gatekeeper for these clients, that she'd be reviewing our statements every month and that she would need to have input on the asset allocation, etc. Any advice on how to work with the accountant? The client values her and their relationship very much.
You are the Trusted Advisor. The accountant may or not be on your team, not the other way around. Remember, it’s you who are going to make sure they get their entire financial house in perfect order and keep it that way forever… not the accountant. Explain how you work to your clients and get them on board. As you continue your journey and work through the Trusted Advisor Toolkit and attend the Values-Based Financial Planning Office™ for further Leadership development your skills and confidence in this area will improve.
At a Progress Meeting my client wrote 4 notes on books and agreed to supply the address and phone numbers the following week. This client experienced my first Financial Road Map® before any training. I called for the address and during the conversation I could sense tension. After I received the addresses I asked for M.I.S.C. information and she was very uncomfortable and didn't understand why I needed personal information to solicit business from her friends. She explained that she told the people about my services and the book. They all informed her that they were happy with the advice they were currently receiving. I tried to explain that the information was a gift with no obligation and that the personal information was helpful to connect concepts in the book with something that was meaningful in their lives. I said that I didn't want to introduce this information into their world if it wasn't relevant. I said that the Financial Road Map® would help them be more effective with their current advisor. I feel like I did a poor job of communicating and probably reacted in a defensive manner. Should I send the books without the M.I.S.C. information, should I wait until the next Progress Meeting, (to better explain the process), or should I do a new Financial Road Map® with them to get an emotional connection. My clients believe that I will be sending the books but I am not comfortable that they will not be perceived as gifts.
I would say, "let's hold off on sending the books until we have a chance to speak about this at our next Progress Meeting." Or: "For some reason you are viewing this as me soliciting your friends for business. I don't think I explained what we're doing very well, so let's hold off on sending the books to your friends until after we have to chance to clear up this misunderstanding at out next meeting." Your experience is all part of the learning curve when implementing in the real world. At the next Progress Meeting with this client, take your time, follow the process and the script, remember to go deep, and make the connection between their deep emotion and how great it will be to share that emotional gift with all of their friends, family, and colleagues.
At last Progress Meeting I asked for introductions and this was the response.
"We have approached our friends and everybody is in the frame of mind they have their things in order, they have their ducks in a row and don't want to talk about it?"
I responded - this is about sharing the positive experience that you have had with Values-Based Financial Planning™( security, peace of mind) and allowing others to have a Financial Road Map® to guide their decisions.
Bill how would you have responded?
My first question is, "Did you go deep?" And then while they were at a peak emotional state related to the value they have received from working with you and Values-Based Financial Planning™ did you ask, "Who would you like to give THAT gift to?" The reason I ask is because it's hard to imagine you getting the response you described after going deep. But I'll play along and assume that you went deep and that's the response you got. I might create a dialogue using the following possible openers: You: "So let me get this straight, you just took it upon yourself to have conversations with ALL of your friends, family, and colleagues about how the impact of Values-Based Financial Planning™ for you has been (fill in blank with their DEEP emotional response) and how the impact for them could be (something equally DEEP that they know about them) and they basically blew you off and said they weren't interested... even though you clearly explained to them that this could have a...
I would like clarification on the use of the Financial Road Map® in Progress Meetings. My understanding is that you are to prepare a new Financial Road Map® with the updated Goals and Current Value of Funds in the All the Money section. We are looking at whether there is a more efficient way of doing this, such as using soft copy that is updated at every progress meeting, given that the Goals and All the Money section are the only areas that are changed. Can you please set the record straight on how this is to be prepared for the meeting? We are trying to reduce any unnecessary work.
Someone on your team hand-writes the updated Financial Road Map®. It's more personal; high-touch in a high-tech world.
I had a very compelling couple of meetings this week and it was great. As before, I still am anxious about what my next step with them is. Things like their Homeowners Insurance scare me a bit since I have no background in that. My understanding was that there were some sophisticated Deliverable Process that we would be privy to be able to work through the various venues. Now that I have the clients committed I feel deeply that I too need to deliver on our promise. Please allay our fears about the next step.
Take a deep breath and relax. It all unfolds one step at a time. And it takes a couple of years to learn and implement the entire Values-Based Financial Planning™ Turn-key Business Model. The best thing I can tell you, at this stage of your learning, is that it is not your job to know everything the experts know, but to make sure everything gets done. You may do nothing more than tell a client, "One of your homework assignments between now and our next Progress Meeting is for you to meet with your homeowners insurance agent to review your policy and be sure that you have the right coverage to meet your needs." You are on a journey to becoming a top 1% Financial Professional in terms of value delivered to your clients, business success, and quality of life. Enjoy the journey!
I see in the Progress Meeting agenda for the Goal Progress Outlook meeting that the client can be given the Quality of Life™ Enhancer exercise as homework. I am MORE under the impression that this exercise should be done in person and administered by me. Why does it refer to the Quality of Life™ enhancer exercise as homework? Am I missing something?
I agree. I would do the Quality of Life™ enhancer exercise as an interactive exercise facilitated by you. Mark Little creates the agendas for the Progress Meetings. You might ask him what his process and thinking is for this. Until you are consistently.... like for 20 weeks in a row... having 15 - 20 hours a week of Client Acquisition time on your calendar AND HONORING IT I recommend that you don't even think about the Quality of Life™ enhancer exercise.
Is there a letter you use when sending out the Quality of Life™ Enhancer Exercise?
I recommend doing the Quality of Life™ Enhancer Exercise in-person.
Is there a script for scheduling a Phone Appointment for the Trusted Advisor to take the client through the Quality of Life™ Enhancer Exercise?
I recommend doing the Quality of Life™ Enhancer Exercise during a Progress Meeting in one of two scenarios: 1) As a response to a trigger where the client is not letting go of keeping tabs on the market, reading financial periodicals, watching financial TV, listening to Financial radio shows, and / or wanting to have conversations with you about politics, markets, the economy, world events, etc. The Quality of Life™ Enhancer Exercise will help them realize that there is a finite amount of time that can be better spent on something more important. 2) When you are so far down the path with some of your Ideal Clients that your Progress Meetings are running like a Swiss Watch so efficiently that you have time to do something extra and fun. Until you are consistently.... like for 20 weeks in a row... having 15 - 20 hours a week of Client Acquisition time on your calendar AND HONORING IT I recommend that you don't even think about the Quality of Life Enhancer exercise.
I recently asked an Ideal Client to commit to the 3 meeting process by putting our next 3 meetings on the calendar. She replied, "Honestly that's hilarious! I don't even know what next week looks like". She left our meeting with only the next meeting on the calendar but I would like to get the other 2 meetings on the calendar. My reaction is to explain that to deliver comprehensive advice; that it helps to be totally organized with all my deliverables team well in advance. Is there any way to approach the comment or think about her response?
If she doesn't know what the next week look likes, buy her a 2012 calendar and put the 3 meetings for the next year on it. Advise her that when she begins to plan to the following the week during the week prior to that week's arrival, to schedule around the meeting with you. The bottom line is that you don't really explain much. You have a process and if she wants you to be her advisor she follows the process. If she has an emergency or a big conflict with a future meeting it can be rescheduled. Be strong (professional) and follow your process.
What is the script for reviewing and / or redoing their Financial Road Maps®? Do I re-read their values and then slip into asking if they have more to add before proceeding onto their archived goals that need revised target dates and goals that need to be added? I feel uncomfortable just starting with a new blank Financial Road Maps®.
You review their current Financial Road Map®, after the review of their values and the goals on their Financial Road Map, ask if they have new goals to add and / or existing goals to eliminate or modify.
We do not do tax preparation in our office so when preparing end-of-year tax planning are we meeting with the client and their Certified Public Accountant or just the Certified Public Accountant?
This seems to be a fourth meeting. As we begin time-blocking the Three Meeting Process we are realizing that having these meetings with all 124 Ideal Clients (or their Certified Public Accountants) in September, October, and November will require a substantial amount of time. How do we keep on track with the Three Meeting Process with this fourth meeting?
Your job is to make sure it gets done, not to do it for them or to necessarily meet with their accountant. This is also something that your Director of Client Services would coordinate to be sure it happens. (At this point you may not yet have a Director of Client Services.) It's definitely not a 4th meeting. That being said, for some of your clients in certain situations you may get involved with them and their accountants, lawyers, and / or other outside experts to help them deal with or resolve issues related to them getting their entire financial house in perfect order and keep it that way forever. For example your client might be a business owner who working through the sale of their business or a wealthier person navigating more complex estate planning issues. As you transition into the Committed Advisor Program you will go deeper into the Trusted Advisor Toolkit™ and participate in the Values-Based Financial Planning™ Office at every Academy where you will learn the entire...
I have an Ideal Client who has given me referrals but has not contacted the referrals for permission to send the books, newsletters, and follow-up call. What’s the conversation to have with the Ideal Client so that they will follow through and contact the referrals so that I can finish the process?
See page 5 & 6 of the Implementation Meeting Referral Conversation™ script and pages 5-7 of the Progress Meeting Referral Conversation. To locate the most current version of the scripts above, please login to www.committedadvisor.com and follow the path below: Home > Resources > The Referral Process Documents & PowerPoints > The Primary Referral Process You will see two (2) scripts under ‘The Primary Referral Process’ 1. End of Implementation Meeting Referral Conversation™ (Please review, specifically pages 5-6) 2. End of Progress Meeting Referral Conversation (Please review, specifically pages 5-7) Two questions I would ask about the referral conversation 1. Did they clearly agree to contact their referrals (soon) and get back to you about sending the book(s)? 2. Did you email them a summary with clear instructions (as outlined in the script) of what to say to each referral using the M.I.S.C. information you gathered from them about the friends,...
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