Honestly, I don’t understand how a client of any kind, even a product-based transaction client, turns down a meeting with their Financial Advisor. It’s really a bad sign.
It makes me wonder if you are making the reason for setting the appointment all about them. Do you know something Meaningful, Important, Significant, and/ or Compelling about them? If so, are you using it as the basis for coming to see you? If not, ask some of the questions from the self-referral process and then make your invitation. You may also want to follow the self-referral process where you send them the book and schedule a phone consultation. Perhaps the better way to introduce the Financial Road Map® is during the phone consultation.
If you want to pursue the direct scheduling of the Financial Road Map Interview on the phone, you might try something like, “We are scheduling appointments with all of our clients to determine whether or not we should continue to work together. We have made some substantial changes to how we do business, who we can best serve, and how we can be the most value to help you achieve your goals that require money and planning to achieve.”
The bottom line is that the meeting is not optional. “I hear you loud and clear that you would prefer not to come in. However, this meeting is not optional. If there is any chance at all that you would like for me to continue to help you make smart choices about your money, then we need to get together in the next several weeks. How would you like to proceed?”
Regarding their point of view that you are an insurance agent or an investment person, you could say, “Have you ever looked at a picture of someone from the past and sort of not recognized them as that person anymore?” They will almost certainly say “yes.” And then you say, “Well that’s what’s happening when you look in your mind at the snapshot of me. You have an image in your mind of someone I no longer am. When we started doing business together I was an insurance agent or an investment advisor. While you have been going about your business and living your life I have been dedicated to becoming a much better Financial Advisor and I am serving my clients at a much higher level than you are experiencing. So, while you are still stuck in that old snapshot I am doing some very impressive work for my other clients. It’s now at the point where I don’t want to have any clients who think of me as an insurance agent or investment advisor. You will be very pleased with how much more value you can get from our relationship. And if you decide that you really don’t want to have an advisor as good as I have become in your life to help you achieve your goals and fulfill your values, I’d be happy to refer you to an insurance agent or investment advisor. There is certainly no shortage of them. How does next Tuesday look for you?”
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