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.
Is the insurance listed on the Financial Road Map® in that order for a particular reason? If yes, should the insurance grid mirror this order? As I was putting together the grid, I realized it made it easier to quickly refer to them if they were in the same order - and not risk leaving something important out. What drove the choice of order for insurance on the Financial Road Map®?
Feel free to use your own process instead of the back of the Financial Road Map® to do the math and capture information during the All the Money Conversation™ portion of the Financial Road Map® interview. What's on the back of the Financial Road Map® is simply one option.
I will be meeting with clients I have known for 25 years and who have been clients for six. They retired two years ago and we have been working from a Retirement Plan I prepared for them when they became clients. How do I use the Financial Road Map® with these clients?
The Old World New World™ script is for existing clients. Based on the question you are asking, I don’t have anything to offer beyond telling you to use that script to conduct their Financial Road Map®.
I have long-time clients who, for the most part, have been completing Financial Road Maps® with me. When I get to Commitment to Implement Conversation™ section, I haven't been asking for that firstly because I cannot charge a hard dollar fee and secondly, if I had a form for them to sign, the form would basically not have meaning as I work for Merrill Lynch and they would not approve of a form that the client to sign for implementing a plan. How do I handle this?
The Commitment to Implement Conversation™ has nothing to do with fees or forms. It's a conversation about their commitment to implement your future advice. I suggest you review the script again and apply it in your future Financial Road Map® interviews to discover the benefit for your clients and for you by having a candid conversation about their commitment to implement.
How do I better describe my value? One potential client thought he was already living out many of his values and thus enjoying his ideal life. How do I describe that what I do provides incredible value even for the person who enjoys managing his own investments and has enough money and time to take plenty of vacations?
This particular person sounds like a do-it-yourselfer to me, therefore I suggest you pass on having him as a client and move on to the next person. Do not assume that if you described your value better that this person would have hired you. Keep in mind that you are not trying to convince, persuade, or sell. Most of the time you will know there is a fit, or not, during the Values Conversation™. Then it's a fairly simple matter of completing their Financial Road Map® and determining if they can afford you. If they can afford you and you would like to have them as a client you offer to be hired (Commitment to Hire Conversation™) and answer any questions they have about how much you charge and exactly what you do for them to help them actualize their Financial Road Map®. This is a professional conversation between you, a business person, and them, a prospective client. It is NOT, or should not be, a salesperson trying to "close." If they "get it" they hire you and if they don't get it...
Before the Financial Road Map® meeting, I find myself talking about all the ways I'm different from the average advisor. I discuss the 5 Critical Reports, visualizing your Ideal Life, not being on commission, etc. I do this with people who have and have not worked with an "advisor" in the past. Sometimes it must sound like I'm too busy defending myself rather than being confident in the process. Should I even discuss how I'm different or should I just take them through the process and trust that they will come up with these discoveries on their own?
You are correct. Take them through the Financial Road Map® experience. The level of detail you get into about what you do, how you do it, and how much you charge will be in response to their questions after Commitment to Hire™.
How do you respond to a client who, during the Values Conversation™ of the Financial Road Map® Interview, keeps saying, "I'm not sure where we are going with this"? Is this a sign that I should disengage? If so, how?
It could be a signal to disengage, but it's more likely they are feeling some pressure to provide the "right" answers. You probably just need to be more relaxed when you ask the questions during the Values Conversation™. How does it sound to you when you listen to your recordings of your Financial Road Map® interviews? Sometimes a person just needs a little reassurance. In that case say something like, "you're doing fine by answering whatever comes to mind naturally when you think about what's important about to you. Where 'we are going' is wherever you take me in our discussion about what's important to you." Then ask the next question in a relaxed and curious manner. The bridging comment, " means different things to different people... what's important about to you?" can also be helpful on occasion, just don't over use it.
At the point where I asked if the Financial Road Map® was something that he would like to complete with his partner, he said that they look at their goals every year. I asked the above question twice and still got no real response. How would you respond to this and people who seem to understand their values really well? I had the feeling that he may not be an ideal client given this interaction but wanted to give them the experience nevertheless.
You put the offer on the table and you get the response you get. When I get a non-answer I tend to say, "I appreciate what you are saying, but I'm still not clear what you want to do. The question on the table is, 'do you want to come to my office to have me complete your entire Financial Road Map®?'" If the next response still doesn't answer the question, I would take that as a "no" and transition out of the conversation.
A client asked, “How does this (having a Trusted Advisor) work in practice?” I started to explain that we work with a team of Subject Matter Experts in their narrow fields of expertise to create a plan to get your financial house in perfect order and keep it that way forever. I briefly explained the Three Meeting Process™ as well. Is this the right approach to take if asked this question or what else should I have / have not said?
Ask a clarifying question, "What do you mean by 'in practice?'" If his response is about what happens after the Financial Road Map®, I would suggest that you not go down that path. Instead say something like, "I really think you are getting ahead of what we're talking about here, which is simply the value to you and of having your Financial Road Map®..." My advice is that you continue to become very good at articulating the benefit of having a Financial Road Map® with people who have completed the phone consultation and with whom the Financial Road Map® is the next step.
I had a great Financial Road Map® this week however the length of the meeting was way too long. I went through four goals and on one goal the clients had a disagreement on what that goal would be; a retirement date or the option to work or not. We took some time to come up with an agreement on what that goal would be. Effectively, we created one date/goal for each partner. How many goals are ideal and what do you do when they disagree on a goal?
(a) as many goals as they have (usually 2 or 3 is how many they have) and (b) Let them work it out and / or ask expanding and clarifying questions to help. One sign that a couple is an Ideal Client is their ability to work through disagreements in a constructive manner and come to a conclusion.
In a Financial Road Map® with a potential client we got to Commitment to Hire™. The husband said that he had a pretty good handle on everything and most of their finances were in his head. In going through what we do, I saw many flaws in their financial plans.
In the end I asked the question regarding, “on a scale of 1 - 10…” The husband was an 8 and the wife was a 6-7. What would you say when you can see many flaws in a prospective client’s current planning and when there is a difference in the partners’ opinion on their financial house position? The husband is a lawyer and after hearing your latest webinar can understand why they may not be good fit.
The husband said they needed some planning but not at the fee I had set. The potential clients could see the value for “certain people” for this service however cost seemed to be a major issue for them. These people fit my Ideal Client Profile.
There is no need to point out "flaws." All that matters is that they are not a ‘10’ and want to be. If they do not desire to be a ‘10’ and / or are unwilling to pay your fee they are not Ideal Clients. The sure sign that someone is actually an Ideal Client is that they hire you. That's what Ideal Clients do. If they did not hire you... they are not an Ideal Client... period. I believe you are in a degree of Ideal Client denial in that you want people who are not Ideal Clients to be Ideal Clients. This is understandable, but not acceptable. You must see people for who they really are, not who you want them to be. If you wanted to have some fun, you could ask the question, "If it's all in your head, what happens to your wife if something happens to you?" Or, ask her, "How do you feel about your financial future being in your husband’s head?" Or, say to him, "You're kidding, right? Are you really sitting here, with a straight face, justifying that you don't need to hire me because 'you...
I have had a number of Financial Road Map® Appointments recently where the time of the appointment has gone to two hours. By the time I have thoroughly gone through the values of each partner and then cover their goals (in both instances this has been around 5 goals) and completed the All the Money Conversation™ and the Commitment to Hire Conversation™, it is going on close to 90-120 mins. I cannot see where there is time that we are wasting. There is little chit chat, however, at times, clients discuss some of their goals and that may take a little longer. I am not sure whether I am going too far with this. Can you please provide some comments around this or strategies I can use to reduce the time I spend on each Financial Road Map® Interview?
The occasional long Financial Road Map® interview happens. Unless your experience is that all of your Financial Road Map® Interviews are taking this long, I wouldn't worry about it. Hopefully, after a 2 hour Financial Road Map®, you either added a new Ideal Client or generated substantial survival revenue.
A former client referred a guy (call him Bill) to me a couple weeks ago. Bill and I spoke on the phone and scheduled an appointment at my office, at which I intended to complete a Financial Road Map® for him. Bill arrived without the documents I asked him to bring. He had actually completed a Financial Road Map® many years ago but was not working with that advisor.
As I started through the script, he was reluctant to proceed. I told him that I wasn`t interested in wasting his time and that we could end the appointment.
He said he wanted to ask questions of me first and then we could later complete his Financial Road Map® - presumably if I answered his questions well enough.
If I was at the point in my Values-Based Financial Planning™ journey that I was only accepting Ideal Clients, I probably would have not even started the meeting because he failed to bring his documents.
However, prior to that time I need Survival Clients. So how do I handle the `I have questions for you before we get to the Roadmap stuff`?
I appreciate your dilemma, however we only teach you to follow the process that we teach. During your Evaluation period we advise you to complete as many Financial Road Maps as you can. Try not to get too hung up on those people who don't want to participate in the Financial Road Map® and focus on those who do. As far as dealing with someone like Bill, consider the following: "We have a process that has proven to be effective to help us both make a good decision about whether or not we should do business together. I think you will find that the process answers most of your questions. If you still have questions after we build your Financial Road Map® I'll be happy to answer them. Will that work for you?"
I have had a number of Financial Road Map® appointments recently where the person has indicated they have gone through significant planning recently and their perception is they have everything in place or at least have had their financial house looked at. I offered to complete the full Financial Road Map® and explained that the information he was giving me about recent planning was a little premature. I also explained that I was only offering the full Financial Road Map® at this stage and that something may or may not come of this and followed up by mentioning that, either way, the result was ok.
I get the feeling they are not differentiating me from other financial planners, though. The Financial Road Map® Phone appointments are conducted with a calm way of being and with no expectation that the person will become a client.
What could I say in this situation to show the prospective client we are different in our approach even though the Financial Road Map® is also very different?
It sounds like you are referring to the phone consultation and the offer is to complete the Financial Road Map®, correct? The key is to focus on the benefits of having a complete Financial Road Map® and not whether or not they will hire you to be their Financial Advisor and / or compare you to their current, or any other, Financial Advisor. It sounds to me like you are doing this just fine. The bottom line is that some people may not be moved by the Values Conversation™ and defining a goal. They may not be inspired to want to complete their Financial Road Map®. When this occurs, they may offer any number of reasons for not want to accept your offer. Answer a couple of their questions and then move on. Those people who are truly Ideal Clients will love the Values Conversation™ and the whole experience of speaking with you on the phone. Which will inspire them to want to meet with you in-person to complete their Financial Road Map®. The process is as much about filtering out the...
I recently completed the Planning Process and Implementation for a new client. This process was a 7-step process that culminated in a comprehensive plan and the client implementing all of our recommendations (life, disability, P/C, Investment Management, etc.). The planning process and implementation have taken 6 months to complete. While I want to respect the client's time, he is also advocating for our services under our old model. What is the best time to move forward with conducting the Financial Road Map® Interview. Should I schedule it as soon as possible or try and conduct it at the first Renewal Meeting in about 4 months?
First of all, even if refers people based on the old process you can still begin with the Financial Road Map® interview. Most people will just assume that's what you've always done. That being said, you might want to get the existing client in to experience the Financial Road Map® because of the value of having the Financial Road Map®. The side benefit being that they would have even more on which to base an enthusiastic recommendation. Keep up the great work!
I have an existing client worth a million dollars (Richard Clarke) who has not been introduced to Old World/ New World™ yet. He could potential be an ideal client and I plan on doing a Financial Road Map®. I was previously trained by CEG Worldwide John Bowen and company. He would like me to manage his mothers’ million dollars and before doing so his sister would like to meet me prior to them hiring us. This opportunity occurred before I starting training in the Values-Based Financial Planning™ program. Can you please provide some insight and perhaps an agenda of things that you might discuss in this initial meeting with the sister?
My goal would be to do Financial Road Map® meetings with the whole family. I’m interested in hearing your thought process regarding this scenario. The meeting is in the client’s home. I understand the meetings should be at my office and in the past Richard comes to see me at my office. He asked me to do him a favor and have a cup of coffee with him at his home since his sister was in town and staying with him. The mother and sister both live in Arizona. The mother has 1 million liquid and the sister has around 16 million liquid.
The initial meeting is always the Financial Road Map® interview. I suggest that you conduct the Financial Road Map® with the mother. Unless she is somehow incapable and the brother and / or sister have Power of Attorney. It's also okay for the brother and sister to be at the Financial Road Map® interview with the mother. They just can't interrupt or answer questions for their mother, but they can ask questions during the Commitment to Hire portion of the interview. Another approach could be to complete the sister's Financial Road Map® also so she can experience, first-hand, how you approach doing business. Also, you can't really do Financial Road Map® interviews with "whole families." Each member of the family has separate money, goals, and values therefore you do separate Financial Road Map® interviews with each of them. As far as stopping by Richard's home for a cup of coffee to meet his sister, that's fine, just don't do the Financial Road Map® interviews there. Keep the...
I'm new to Values-Based Financial Planning™ and am looking forward to the Academy 1 in October. In the meantime, I wanted your guidance on the following: I've been referred to a young family man who is dying. I'm wondering about how he'll react to a question like, “What’s Important About… To You?” and probably more so to the question about his tangible goals... especially as he doesn't have much of a road to look down. How do you handle conversations with people who are dying, especially young people with families?
Obviously, this is a sensitive situation. Keep in mind that one of the reasons people work with you is to be rational when everyone else is emotional. My experience in situations like this is that they will appreciate you asking the right questions so the best decisions can be made without being distracted or derailed by the enormity of the tragedy of someone so young dying. Have empathy, but don't get so sucked into the sadness that you can't do your job. Meet with him and his wife and do their Financial Road Map®. If appropriate, offer to help them with their finances. They need someone to be strong.
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