When prospecting to friends, frequently a friend will say that they don't want to work with me because I am a friend, that they would rather work with someone who isn't a friend. I have tried to get past this by suggesting that an adviser is all about trust, and it is easier to develop trust with a friend. However, this doesn't seem to work. The concern seems to be not wanting to disclose personal finances to a friend.

Yes. Do their Financial Road Map® with no strings attached instead of “selling yourself” to try to be their Financial Advisor. Even if they don’t bring their documents and you do the Values Conversation™ and Goals Conversation™ they will, if they should be clients, enjoy the Financial Road Map® experience and recognize that the combination of you and Values Based Financial Planning™ is something they will not be able to replicate with another advisor.

You might even encourage them to interview other advisors to see whether or not those advisors have a process for helping them discover their goals and values so they can align their financial choices with them through comprehensive planning.

Bottom line: don’t sell yourself so hard and the trust the process. Not everyone is meant to be your client, even some of your friends.