I have heard several people say they do not give the actual financial plan to the prospect. What do they give the client? And, after paying $1500.00 to $5,000.00 for a financial plan how do they communicate to the client that they are not going to be given a copy of the plan?

Article ID: 140

Last updated: 20 Nov, 2019

It’s not about the plan. The plan is simply the documentation of the combined advice from your Deliverables Team about what action your clients need to take in order to achieve their goals and fulfill their values. The clients never see the plan. You work from a prioritized action list, give your clients the appropriate advice, and complete the appropriate paperwork for them to implement your advice. This is why it’s called the Implementation Meeting!

« Implementation Meeting

When clients don't bring in any financial documents how do you... »

Others in this category

I have several existing clients and prospects that have zero debt and range typically from $3-$10 million in liquid net worth. Many of them have believed in “Term and invest the rest” mentality and therefore don't like to discuss insurance needs and their term policies have expired. By this, I'm referring to clients who are past the accumulation phase and confident in their mind that they have been adequately insured and no longer need much insurance (I realize this may not be true), and have the notion typically to only buy term and put the rest of their money into savings. When we get to the Commitment to Hire Conversation™. Many of my existing clients have zero debt, more cash then they need to have sitting around (I realize this needs to be addressed), and don't feel they need much help with insurance. Therefore the step-by-step plan addressing these four areas only has one area where they typically want, or feel, they need help in creating a plan. I'm curious if it would it make sense to change the "What you get” discussion to something that could provide a little more value than the 4 bullets currently in the script? Can you please tell me perhaps a different word track then the Financial Road Map® script since two of the four areas are not of much interest to these types of clients?

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.

I am struggling not discussing an ongoing fee in Financial Road Map® Meeting. During this conversation the clients ask me how much? The Financial Road Map® Meeting has been around 45 minutes so far and going well. I say $5,000 for the initial plan. They say what do you get? I then run through my 2 page letter of engagement which outlines upfront and ongoing service offering and takes another 45 minutes. After 1.5 hours I feel like the clients are tired and the "would you like to proceed” has lost its presence because of the meeting time. How do I avoid this? I would love to skip the letter of engagement all together, should I just briefly talk about deliverables team (which I have) best-in-class Subject Matters Experts. I am also struggling to understand in the Implementation Meeting how to address the ongoing fee is $1k-$3k per month and not go over the plan in any detail.

I completed a Financial Road Map® with this gentleman and his wife. He loved the experience and was very excited to go ahead and have us create an action plan. We requested additional information needed to complete the plan. I then received this email (see below). How would you respond? Thanks. Morning, Michele and I had the opportunity to sit down with an investment adviser yesterday and discovered that Optimal Performance is not only an investment company but also a financial planning firm. Embarrassing for me, as we have worked with Diane for over five years and she has helped us manage a myriad of financial challenges over that time. To realize that I have not fully taken advantage of her years of experience her expertise was "uncomfortable" to say the least. That said, Michele and I have decided not to continue moving forward with Ideal Life and re-engage Diane since we are already paying for that service. Additional, I am sure you can appreciate that we do not want to put our relationship with Diane in jeopardy especially after she has been a cornerstone for us. I have reviewed our chequing account and as of Friday, our cheque has not been processed and we would ask that it does not happen. We are prepared to pay a small fee for the work to date (including the Value-Based book) and will issue another cheque to cover that amount. I can have that available when I come to pick up our binder. As you witnessed, we were ready to make the move to see the plan and realize this a disappointing news however this is the right thing for us and aligns with the values we hold true.

I had a client who referred three friends to me at an Implementation Meeting. After my client contacted her friends, one did not want to receive the Values-Based Financial Planning™ book. I am not sure here whether I should enquire at our next meeting to see why they did not want to receive the Values-Based Financial Planning™ book.

» More articles