Are there any pre-written scripts or talking points for spouses or family members to use when engaging with potential clients? My wife attends many work functions with high-income people and she is often asked what I do. Should I arm her with similar scripts that I would use in that situation?
Yes to your last question; this should answer your first question regarding available scripts.
It has been just over 12 months since I bought a client base of neglected clients. Over the holidays I have had time to consider where I am at in the context of Values-Based Financial Planning™. The situation is that I am still struggling with the question of who do I offer a Financial Road Map® to.
I feel I must offer an appointment to these acquired clients to discuss their current accounts (whatever they may have), I can’t extract any value from them or increased revenue from them otherwise. I cannot ignore them and only offer an appointment to those who want a Financial Road Map® which is what I took from Bill’s response to a question last year. The initial contact with them is effectively a cold call given the neglect they had by the previous adviser, therefore impossible to offer a Financial Road Map® as no trust or relationship is in existence.
The apathy and attitude towards an adviser from the majority of these people made it such that my assistant’s success in getting people in to just review what they had was less than anticipated. I could count maybe 10 appointments over 3 months he arranged and at a guess I know of three that cancelled or didn’t show up.
In the context of the ‘Ideal Client,’ I am seriously questioning whether I presently have a client base of the wrong type of people to be able to afford the service and to be able to mentally connect to the philosophy required to be an Ideal Client. If this is the case, then where do I get an Ideal Client from??? In speaking with Shane Hatch he mentioned that in his experience the person would probably need to have at least $500K in investible funds to be able to afford the program. And I would tend to agree to an extent. This would rule out every one of the clients I purchased.
I am thinking that the process I use may have to change to something as follows:
1. Invite each client in to review what they have and discuss this. This allows them to meet and maybe gain some trust and I can get a feel for them and their position.
2. After reviewing what they have, offer two options, to provide advice on what they have or anything else I pick up during the meeting, or, if I think warranted, offer a further appointment to undertake a Financial Road Map®. In the discussion offering the Financial Road Map® I explain what my business is about and they get a feel for what I do and not the perception of just being an ‘investment’ or ‘insurance’ adviser. The end result is that I get a win either way and re-engage with them.
I have some competing interests at play here that is difficult to work around. Firstly I have lost a lot more clients than budgeted for in the first 12 months (in fact a lot had cancelled before sale) and expected income is well below what was purchased. So I am trying to maintain this income or increase it any way possible by any amount to make the loan I have a worthwhile exercise. This is competing with wanting to deal with more engaged clients that want a meaningful advice relationship that is comprehensive in nature; those that have some money and the ability to make changes and can pay for service.
Can you give some advice as to how I deal with these people and secondly how I source Ideal Client if this isn't the solution I thought it was?
Completing a very important exercise will help you develop a specific strategy for each category of your existing clients. Go to the Ideal Life Evaluation Program Action Sequence #4, “Complete the Annual Recurring Revenue Exercise” on the Committed Advisor website (www.commitedadvisor.com) to complete the exercise and then implement the strategy you create for each category of existing client.
I am very new to this process. Because of some recent (very positive) publicity, we are receiving a number of telephone inquiries. What pre-screening questions should I have my assistant ask interested callers before making appointments with them?
Describe your Ideal Client Profile to the prospective client and tell them your minimum fee. If they would like to have an appointment with you, make sure they bring all of their financial documents and their spouse to the meeting in your office.
At the last Academy (January 2012 Academy 2), you mentioned that when someone asked us ‘What do you do, aren’t you a Financial Advisor?’, we should say ‘No.’ What do you say if you are still transitioning out of a position as a Financial Advisor- a role you plan on exiting at some stage?
If you are in the Committed Advisor Program (which you are) you have already "transitioned" when dealing with new people. Therefore, from now on, you would never tell someone new that you meet that you are what they would perceive as an old-school Financial Advisor. I think there is some golden content on the recordings from the last Academy (January 2012 Academy 2) that gives you the exact verbiage you are looking for to articulate your value proposition. If after giving them a book, conducting a phone consultation, and doing their Financial Road Map; you find that that they don't meet your Ideal Client Profile and your monthly must-have revenue worksheet indicates that you have to have to do some transactions with non-Ideal Clients to survive, follow the process I taught you on Day 6 of the Academy (January 2012 Academy 2) for doing so. Talk to lots of people and hone your skills.
You have been speaking a lot lately on charging 1% fee for financial services instead of the typical wrap fee for just investment management. The only times I can think of that converting into a single fee for service would be the following:
- I don't have any clients that can afford a Predictable Minimum Annual Recurring Revenue of $10,000+ (perhaps this is my own thinking getting in the way).
- I work for another advisor who owns a franchise with our broker / dealer and I can't stray far from the compensation model he's set for his and my clients.
If there's any other reasons not to make the transition to a single fee for service please let me know. Also, do advisors make the transition from earning money via wrap fees to a single fee for service all at once or over time?
My favorite way to be a Financial Advisor is to deliver truly comprehensive financial services, as we define it with our complete deliverables checklist, and charge a flat fee between $20,000 and $50,000 / year. $36,000 is a good number because it easily divides as $3,000 / month or $9,000 / quarter. I believe you know where to find people in your community who can afford this fee. The challenge isn't finding financially successful people. The challenge is having a value proposition that would impress financially successful people and the communication skills to articulate that value proposition to financially successful people so they will meet you in the first place and subsequently terminate their relationships with other advisors and institutions and do all of their business with you. Our forte is providing you with such a value proposition and teaching you to be this good. Most advisors make this transition by simultaneously building their Ideal Client Community and...
I have been attending quite a few events implementing the Self-Referral Conversation. I have yet to get a client from this process, but people are accepting the offer of the book.
What do you say to someone when asked why are you attending this event or why are you there? I ask this question because a lot of events I am going to, or intend to go to, are purely for implementing the Referral Conversation. In most instances I have no connection to the organizations.
Respond to that question with, "To meet interesting people," then: Opening Statement. Questions / Conversation about things that matter to him. If relevant, make the offer. When the offer is accepted, gather contact information and schedule phone consultation. Then go talk to another person. If the offer is not accepted, go talk to another person. Repeat until your Ideal Client community is complete.
The topic of financial planning came up with a prospective client at a party. Essentially he said that he only works with a planner that makes as much, or more, than he does. So his planner is a woman making $8m a year. What should my next conversation be with him?
Follow the self-referral process. Use the Opening Statement. Follow up with Questions / Conversation about things that matter to him. If relevant, make the offer. If his response to the offer is that his planner makes $8M / year, respond as you would to any trigger that basically says, "I already have an advisor." When the offer is accepted, gather contact information and schedule phone consultation. Then go talk to another person. When the offer is not accepted, go talk to another person. Repeat until Ideal Client community is complete.
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.
Often, when I am engaged in Self-Referrals with high-net worth prospects, I will encounter a prospect who expresses some interest in Values-Based Financial Planning™, however, they will wander off into a conversation about another, non-related investment topic. What scripting suggestions do you have for this circumstance?
Where they wander to is superfluous / irrelevant to making an offer to give them a book and 20-minute Phone Consultation™ based on something relevant for them. As long as the offer and the relevant thing(s) are, well... relevant, make the offer. It could sound like this, "Based on our conversation I believe that you getting a copy of Values-Based Financial Planning and us spending 20 minutes on the phone to discuss how the concepts in the book could be valuable for you because would be a good use of your time. Where would you like me to send the book? Them: What about active management versus passive management? You: That really has no bearing on the fact that based on our conversation I believe that you getting a copy of Values-Based Financial Planning and us spending 20 minutes on the phone to discuss how the concepts in the book could be valuable for you because would be a good use of your time. Where would you like me to send the book? Them: What about me having worked with...
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 have put together a list of people I would like to meet; a Six Degrees of Separation list, but I'm not sure of the purpose of the list and where to go with it.
What script do I use to contact these people? I know some of them through Church, and others I have never talked to.
Am I approaching the people on this list to eventually complete their own Financial Road Map®, or am I wanting to meet them to tell them about the new direction of my business and asking where they feel I could meet potential Ideal Clients? Or am I trying to meet the people on this list for both reasons?
You do three primary things with your list: 1. During the Referral Conversations, you ask your Ideal Clients who they know on the list well enough to make an introduction. "Well enough" is defined as your client being able to give you enough MISC information so you can be properly introduced with a note on the book, etc. 2. You ask everyone you know who might know a person on your list if they can make a proper introduction. 3. You show up at places / events where you might meet one or more people on your list so you can implement your self-referral process with them and possibly others who might meet your Ideal Client PMARR at the same event.
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...
Recently I have completed due diligence and purchase of a direct property investment with one of my ideal clients. Following this transaction I have had a subsequent meeting with the investment administrator and he has given me a lead to another of his investors who, the investment administrator indicated, seemed to be a bit unsure and could possibly benefit from professional advice. To be clear this was not a referral, in sales school/language it was a lead, given as a way to encourage me to show more clients his investment options. I have completed some research on this lead and he is definitely someone that I want to talk to and have him and his wife in for a Financial Road Map® Interview.
How do I make the initial contact with this potential client without coming across as a salesperson following up on a lead? I am considering a letter introducing myself and my business, followed by a phone call, however I am concerned that this will be dismissed as just another sales pitch.
All you can do is make the contact and tell them the truth about how and why they would benefit from having their Financial Road Map® completed. They may say yes or they may say no, but that's really all you can ever do. You might also try to turn it from a lead into a referral by asking the investment administrator to make an introduction.
I am doing a client event soon and I am extremely new to the Values-Based Financial Planning™ process. I will have about 100 clients and guests there to discuss the first half of the year and what we are looking at in the second half. Is there anything I should mention to the clients as a whole about how I have initiated this Value-Based Financial Planning™ approach, or should I save that information for one-on-one meetings?
Nice job getting into using the system so quickly. A good call to action is to mention that you have a new process for helping them make the best possible choices about their money that are in alignment with their most important goals and their most deeply held values. And that you would like to schedule their appointment to complete their Financial Road Map® this evening before they leave. Then have your staff prepared to do that. Offer the Financial Road Map® to both prospects and clients as a value-added. This will get you off to a fast start. Have fun and good luck!
When I attend self-referral functions and events and I am able to go deep and put the offer on the table, some of these people believe that they have everything in order and seem to be very organized and know exactly what they want to do with their life, or they say that their accountant does all that . I believe they would gain benefit from the concepts of Values-Based Financial Planning if they had a chance to understand what Values-Based Financial Planning was and may reconsider their own arrangements. Do you have any coaching that would help move these people to the next step in the process, that is accepting the book and a 20 minute conversation over the phone?
Use the same responses as you would when you make the Follow-Up Phone Call to a referral who says they already have an advisor or have everything in order.
How should I handle a Financial Road Map Interview™ with potential clients who are living together but not married and who don’t co-mingle their finances?
Consider these two people as two separate prospects. You will conduct two separate Financial Road Map Interviews and they will be two separate clients if they both choose to hire you.
Presently, I offer a College Planning Workshop. This workshop has produced a steady stream of clients. Now I want to upgrade my practice and one way to do so is to offer the first meeting with potential clients as the Financial Road Map Interview™. I can see that a stark revision would be to offer a 20-minute phone conversation before we set the meetings.
Is this script OK for inviting groups?
"We offer a complimentary consultation which is a process designed for you to make the best possible choices about your money that are in alignment with your most important goals and most deeply held values.
After today’s workshop, you are invited to schedule your appointment."
Should I just jump to the 20-minute telephone interview before inviting them to my office for a meeting?
Yes, your script is fine. I would suggest that you schedule the Financial Road Map® Interview.
I am calling people I haven't spoken to in two years. I was involved with bringing these prospects to be new clients at a trust bank I was working for at the time.
How would you propose I best introduce them to the New World? I have tried the Old World New World™ introduction. I can get a meeting with many of these people but have not been able to get them to bring either their spouses or their documents. I feel I would do far better with an intermediary stage and what I understand of the self-referral process.
You are correct that there is a more comprehensive approach to contacting your previous prospects with our self-referral process which you will learn as a member of the Committed Advisor Program and have an opportunity to practice and build skill with that at the January Academy. The Old World New World™ conversation is something that primarily happens in the Commitment to Hire Conversation™. You don't lead with this when making a call to someone you have not spoken with in a long time. The Old World New World™ conversation is really for your existing clients. I suggest that when you contact your past prospects that you focus on the value to them for completing their Financial Road Map®. As you know from you experience conducting Financial Road Map® interviews, there are many benefits of having a complete Financial Road Map® for both spouses. Make the call, make the offer to complete their Financial Road Map®, answer their questions, and schedule as many appointments as you can....
I have a couple clients that I have known and worked with at Fisher Investments. They have been very close to hiring me prior to my involvement with BAI. The following is an email I plan on sending to one of them I was hoping you could review it and give me some feedback?
Don't send the letter / email. Besides the typos and grammatical mistakes, it does not clearly articulate your new value proposition. I'm not surprised about this because I don't believe it's possible to articulate the Values-Based Financial Planning® value proposition in a written communication which is why we have not done so or provided you with a template for such a written communication. It's also the reason we tell you to NOT attempt to do this on your website. It's an enormous waste of time, waste of money, causes brain damage, and does not produce prospects or clients. Instead, what we have created is a step-by-step process for both referrals from clients and to refer yourself to people you already know, like past clients or prospects. We call it the "self-referral" process. There is a flow-chart and script for the self-referral process at www.committedadvisor.com. The essence of the process, if you have enough meaningful, important, significant, and compelling information...
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