Keep in mind, that this is NOT a sales process. Values Based Financial Planning™ is a filtering process to help you identify clients who will be good fit in your community of clients. Obviously, people with unattainable goals cannot possibly be the right fit for your community.
There are several things you can do after the All the Money Conversation™ when you discover that a goal is not attainable. And, keep in mind; you don’t really know if a goal is attainable until you see their whole financial picture.
1. Ask, “Is this everything?” Perhaps they forgot a document that represents enough money to make the goals attainable.
2. Ask, “Are you expecting an inheritance or some other financial windfall?
a. I once listened to a Financial Road Map Interview™ of an advisor we coach and the husband said, “I am due to win the lottery.” And he wasn’t kidding. He took a solid 2 minutes to explain his system for playing the lottery, how long he had been applying this system, and why we was “due” to win within the next 2 years. He was absolutely convinced he would win the lottery and fully expected his Financial Advisor to consider that in their planning. Ideal Client?
b. I personally had this same experience with a prospect who then told me she was the daughter (different last name) of a famous, wealthy man. I had no idea. Beginning that year she would be receiving an additional half million dollars to her annual income every year for the next several years. By the way, her salary was $22,000 / year. And 5 years from now she would be receiving an additional $2m lump sum. Not to mention how much she would get when her father ultimately passed away. Ideal Client?
i. I was just doing her Financial Road Map™ as a favor. I never expected her to become a client.
3. If they have shown you everything and there is no legitimate future windfall then you tell them the truth. You ask the same question that you ask before the Commitment to Hire Conversation™:
This gives you an opportunity to pause and consider whether or not you want to be hired. Part of that consideration is whether or not you think you can deliver. If the goals are not achievable, you can’t deliver, therefore you should not offer to be hired.
It could sound like this, “I’m pleased that you have received value from your Financial Road Map™ experience. Based on our conversation, I would not be able to proceed to be hired by you to create a plan. The reason is that I do not think your goals are attainable at the level you have set; in the time you have set, with the means that you have to fund them. Would you like to revisit your goals and explore this further?
If they say, yes, then you re-open the discussion about their goals. There are only 4 options: - Eliminate the goal completely. - Extend the time frame / target date - Lower the amount of money required - Increase the funding for the goal by lowering expenses somewhere else
My advice is that you work with clients who can afford to achieve their goals and afford to pay you for help.
One of the biggest time-waster I have seen Financial Advisors make for over 25 years is trying to make clients fit who don’t really fit. Just because a person would be better off with a plan and a planner, doesn’t mean they will ever get that or that this planner should be you.
Learn to accept that not everyone you meet is truly a candidate to join your client community. Become skilled enough at meeting people so you always have plenty of prospective clients, and skilled enough at interviewing prospective clients so it’s easy for the right-fits to decide to hire you.
We can teach you how, but you have to meet us in the middle and do the work.
