Do you have a script for appointment setting that works with a non referred client you are in the beginning stages with, that makes them feel comfortable bringing their large pile of documents to a first meeting?
Comfort really isn’t the goal. What if a person needs to do something to achieve a goal that is not comfortable? I suggest you tell people the truth about what needs to happen, and forget about comfort. The reason a person brings their documents to a meeting with a Financial Advisor is to have a better experience and so the advisor can do his / her work effectively. Just because weak, ineffective, Financial Advisors have not asked clients to bring their documents to the meeting in the past does not mean that was a good idea. It just means there a lot of sloppy advisors in the world who do a lousy job and waste people’s time. Bringing documents to a meeting with a Financial Advisor is like bringing your teeth to an appointment with your dentist. It’s that important. After you schedule the appointment for a week or so, ask: “In order for this experience to be successful for you, you will need to bring all of your financial documents to our meeting. I will send you a list of...
How do I get people to come to my office for the first meeting when they frankly sometimes don’t even know if they want to meet me AND to bring their documents? I know referrals are best and I am working towards referrals only, but this other prospecting method does happen sometimes and may be happening for others as they get started building their practices.
First of all, you hit the nail on the head about referrals. Traditional forms of prospecting are very difficult to get people to come to your office or to meet with you at all for that matter. Which is why most people who enter this business fail and why most who stay in the business are not especially successful. I’m guessing that you are still in the early stages of implementation with Values Based Financial Planning™ and the Financial Road Map Interview™ and have not yet put our referral process to work for you. That’s okay, all things in due time. However, when you are consistently implementing a proven referral system and your calendar is nice and full, you don’t worry too much about other prospecting or marketing systems or how to convince people you might bump into socially to come to your office. Your first step is to work with your Accountability Coach to establish a target list of people you can do Financial Road Map Interviews™ (FRMI) with. From there you will have...
I am not sure if I should explain what the Financial Road Map® is about or if this is too much detail. Sometimes when we email the client a list of the documents needed for the meeting they seem surprised. What should I tell them when asked what is this all about?
Remember the formula when someone has a question? Tell the truth succinctly and directly in a way that’s all about them. So, how is it better for them to bring their financial documents to the meeting with you? Work on that answer for yourself for at least 30 minutes. Write down every reason it’s better for them. Then prioritize the reasons. Craft the most important ways it’s better for them into a succinct, direct response and use it whenever someone wants to understand why they need to bring their financial documents to a meeting with a financial advisor.
What language do you use to set up a Financial Road Map® with prospects?
That could vary depending on how you are finding your prospects. When you and your Accountability Coach decide that you are ready for Mastery Series 2, which teaches our referral process, you will learn a complete system for filling your appointment calendar by referral. In the meantime, when you are scheduling appointments with your prospects it is important for them to come to your office with their spouse and bring their financial documents. This is so they can have the best experience possible. Communicate that they will get something, their Financial Road Map®, which will be valuable to them whether or not the two of you choose to do business together. They will experience a meeting where they will both have total clarity about what’s important to them, define all of their financial goals, and benchmark their current financial reality. This will help them to be in a position to align all of their financial decisions with their most important goals and their most deeply held...
I have identified a script gap for when I am reconnecting with past clients and prospects and introducing them to Values-Based Financial Planning™. Do you have any wording that I could use to talk to people with whom I have no current relationship? I was thinking of something along the lines of, “Our office has been in contact with you in the past and we have undergone some major changes in how we serve our client community. On our way to completing our Ideal Client community, we know that we will positively impact all those along the way. Rather than just send you a copy of the Values-Based Financial Planning™ book, the purpose of this call is to see if Values-Based Financial Planning™ would be relevant in your world. Do you have a couple of minutes?” I would appreciate your input.
Hi, , I was thinking about you today because I remember that you (fill in the blank with something you know about this person that might, at least, be generally relevant to the benefit they might get from Values-Based Financial Planning™) Based on that, I think you might get benefit from some very interesting work that we're doing. I'm not calling to solicit your business, but rather to see if it would make sense to send you a copy of a great book called Values-Based Financial Planning. Rather than just send you a copy of the Values-Based Financial Planning™ book, the purpose of this call is to see if the content would truly add value. Do you have a couple of minutes?”
I conducted a Self-Referral and I have made many Follow-Up Calls without a return call to date. I believe I gathered good Meaningful, Important, Significant, and Compelling information and inputted it appropriately. When leaving a Follow-Up Call message after many attempts is there anything you would add to the Follow-Up Call script to try and get closure – to find out if they interested in a Phone Consultation™ or not?
No. Just make the call and leave a message following the same script / process / template. Some people will call you back after one call, some after several, some after many, some after dozens of messages over days, weeks, months, quarters or even years... and some will never call you back. In other words you will finish building your Ideal Client Community without making contact with everyone to whom you were referred. The only thing you might consider, which we have discussed in previous Academies, Committed Advisor Study Group webinars, and on this Q&A site is getting your client involved to reach out to their referral to encourage them to return your call. This could be done on the phone before your next Progress Meeting and most definitely at the next Progress Meeting. The less successful business-builder tends to over think why people aren't calling them back. The more successful business-builder makes the next call. Here is an example from one of our Committed...
What would you do in this situation? I sent Values-Based Financial Planning to a Cardiologist from a self-referral I conducted a few months back. He would make a great client both financially and with his Way of Being™. He is, however, very busy. After leaving several follow up messages, he told me he was too busy and asked me to stop calling. I said ‘OK’ and we're still on good terms. I'll see him again this weekend. I was considering showing him my Deliverables Team Organization chart and also showing (not giving) him the 143 Deliverables checkpoints in an attempt to re-engage him with a better understanding of what we do. I believe he's looking at me like I'm a salesman.
First of all, as soon as you pull out charts and graphs to show the features and benefits of what you do, you will confirm that you are a salesperson. Instead, focus on the personal why reasons why he would get benefit from having the phone consultation to discuss how the concepts in the book will help him . Secondly, consider that the true Ideal Client "way of being" is someone who accepts the books, schedules the phone consultation at the same time, shows up for the scheduled phone consultation appointment, loves it, schedules their Financial Road Map® interview, shows up at the Financial Road Map® interview at your office on-time with their spouse and all their financial documents, and joins your Ideal Client Community at the conclusion of the Financial Road Map® interview.
Can you let me know if what I said in the following situation was the best possible answer or if I should have given them more detail?
I completed a Phone Consultation™ with a couple and it went well but they both indicated that they are not sure how the Financial Road Map Interview™ will apply to them. They just recently retired and they seem to keep going back to the statement that this Values-Based Financial Planning™ process applies to younger folks and not them. They are in their early 60's. She has skimmed the book I sent, and he has not. I did explain how ongoing monitoring of their financial house would be beneficial from a pro-active standpoint but I'm reluctant to go into too many details until they actually come into my office for their complete their Financial Road Map Interview™.
You:"The Financial Road Map® is a great tool to help you plan your future and works for everyone who has a future, regardless of age. Do you have a future?" Referral: "Yes, of course." You: "Then you will love having a Financial Road Map®. Perhaps it will be much more clear when you experience it then I can explain on the phone. It only takes an hour to get it done. Is there a day next week that works for you?"
I am new to the Ideal Life Evaluation Program. A large percentage of the clients who fit my Ideal Client Profile are out of state. What should I do?
Ideal Clients are not out of state. You are probably focusing on the money part of your Ideal Client Profile and that's only half of the criteria to be an Ideal Client. The other half is personality based, which includes being willing and able to meet in your office, with their spouse, and all of their financial documents. 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 can't participate in the Financial Road Map® and focus on those who can. Your true Ideal Client Community will likely be within a few miles of driving distance of your office.
Twice I have encountered a successful phone appointment with the husband only to be declined by the spouse for completing the Financial Road Map®. Any recommendations on what different I should do to have them complete the Financial Road Map® in my office? Both are not Existing Clients.
I would schedule a Phone Consultation™ with the wife so she can experience for herself the value of having a complete Financial Road Map®. This usually has a positive affect and she’ll be eager (or at least willing) to come to the meetings. She will likely appreciate the opportunity to talk about what’s important to her and have someone actually listen. 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 they are not Ideal Clients.
I get referrals from TD Ameritrade and many times the referring representative at TD wants me to "reach out to" these people over the phone. Can you give me some help with a script to use on the phone? Typically, they really don't have any questions and the phone conversation can be a pitfall of awkwardness. I typically tell them about my discovery process. I would simply like to know how you would approach such calls. Some of these TD referrals have turned into Ideal Clients in the past. I simply want to be more effective with weeding out the Non-Ideal Clients and get more proficient about enticing the Ideal Clients to want to schedule a meeting.
Before you make the call, get as much information as you can from the TD person who wants to refer you about why they think you should talk to these people. Use that information to be more specific about why you are calling. The following script will be much more compelling when you replace the generic language with something specific and relevant to the person you are calling. " from TD asked me to call and I promised that I would. He / she seemed to feel that there is something on your mind about your finances that I might be able to help you with. Is now a good time for you?" Find out what's on their mind. If you think it would be valuable for them to come see you to complete the Financial Road Map®, make the offer to do so.
I completed a self-referral with a prospect. My Admin Manager has mailed out the required 8 Values Based Financial Planning™ newsletters and I scheduled the Phone Consultation. When I called the prospect for our scheduled Phone Consultation they had to reschedule. My Admin. Manager stopped sending the Values Based Financial Planning™ newsletters after we mailed 8 out. I have now been calling the prospect again to reschedule the Phone Consultation.
My question is should we continue to mail the Values Based Financial Planning™ newsletters beyond the 8 issues and include your new letter (which outlines I will contact them to schedule 20 minute Phone Consultation) that accompanies it until the Phone Consultation is rescheduled?
Yes! I recommend that everyone in your prospect pool receive the newsletters monthly until they either become clients, move out of the pool, or you complete your Ideal Client Community.
What do you say to a busy CEO who spends all his time working and free time with family and does not want / cannot find time to do a Phone Consultation or Financial Road Map®. How do we create urgency without using fear to help them realize the benefits of working with us?
"Too busy" is the typical response that usually means, "I don't see the value because you didn't move me by articulating how talking to you connects with something that is highly important to me." Go back and check your conversation with the person who referred and every step in the process: 1. Did you get truly meaningful, important, significant, and / or compelling information about the person to whom you are being referred and introduced from your client? 2. Was the note on the book compelling? 3. How well put together were the talking points that you provided your client to prepare them for making an effective introduction? 4. How soon after your client meeting and referral conversation was this nicely "packaged" email forwarded to your client with these talking points? 5. What was the conversation like with your client when they called to tell you to send the book to their referrals? In other words, did you get something confirming that their referrals are...
When making the calls to schedule Financial Road Map® interviews with current clients, I've received the same reply numerous times. The client will often say something to the effect that he/she needs to check scheduling with their spouse and will get back to me with a time that works for the two of them. I reply that it is fine and confirm when I can check back in. I then send an email to the client I spoke with to serve as a reminder. Is there anything else I should be doing? I imagine that pressing to set an appointment on the phone, with language like, “Let's set a time that works for you, you'll check with your spouse and we can reschedule if necessary” is too “salesy”?
Nope, not too "salesy" at all. That's a great way to handle setting the appointment... I would not refer to implementing an effective way to schedule an appointment that will benefit them as "pressing."
If I’m calling a friend/acquaintance that I haven’t spoken to in a while what are your thoughts regarding catching up a bit before asking them for an appointment for the Financial Road Map® Interview? I haven’t been doing so, but it feels a little awkward because even though we don’t call each other socially and we are both OK with that arrangement, we now are on the phone so why am I treating this person as if he only a business prospect and not a friend/acquaintance that I haven’t spoken to in months? Would you answer change if the individual is an old prospect for life insurance?
Before you call, think about how this person or couple would benefit from having their Financial Road Map® completed so that when you offer to do it you can personalize the benefits for them. A great way to start the call is by saying, “The purpose of my call today is to catch up with you and see if the work we’re doing now, which is different than what we have done in the past, might be relevant and valuable for you. Tell me something good that’s happening in your life.” Yes, you want to catch up, but you want to keep the conversation on a higher level so when / if you offer to complete their Financial Road Map® you can connect the offer to something that’s meaningful to them
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