I have had a number of Financial Road Map® appointments recently where the person has indicated they have gone through significant planning recently and their perception is they have everything in place or at least have had their financial house looked at. I offered to complete the full Financial Road Map® and explained that the information he was giving me about recent planning was a little premature. I also explained that I was only offering the full Financial Road Map® at this stage and that something may or may not come of this and followed up by mentioning that, either way, the result was ok. I get the feeling they are not differentiating me from other financial planners, though. The Financial Road Map® Phone appointments are conducted with a calm way of being and with no expectation that the person will become a client. What could I say in this situation to show the prospective client we are different in our approach even though the Financial Road Map® is also very different?

Article ID: 508

Last updated: 20 Nov, 2019

It sounds like you are referring to the phone consultation and the offer is to complete the Financial Road Map®, correct?

The key is to focus on the benefits of having a complete Financial Road Map® and not whether or not they will hire you to be their Financial Advisor and / or compare you to their current, or any other, Financial Advisor. It sounds to me like you are doing this just fine.

The bottom line is that some people may not be moved by the Values Conversation™ and defining a goal. They may not be inspired to want to complete their Financial Road Map®. When this occurs, they may offer any number of reasons for not want to accept your offer. Answer a couple of their questions and then move on. Those people who are truly Ideal Clients will love the Values Conversation™ and the whole experience of speaking with you on the phone. Which will inspire them to want to meet with you in-person to complete their Financial Road Map®. The process is as much about filtering out the wrong people as it is about attracting the right people.

Also listed in

Before Financial Road Map™ -> Phone Consultation™

« I have conducted Financial Road Maps with a few clients...

I recently completed the Planning Process and Implementation for... »

Others in this category

I have conducted Financial Road Maps with a few clients approximately 1 year ago. I did NOT ask them to join my Ideal Client Community at the time as I did not feel they could afford my Predictable Minimum Annual Recurring Revenue and / or they did not have enough assets. They are currently survival clients. I would like to ask them to come in again to update their Financial Road Maps and at the same time ask them to join our ideal client community as I have more clarity around their income and feel they could now pay my Predictable Minimum Annual Recurring Revenue. How would you suggest I conduct this second meeting? For example, should I ask them to bring in all their documents again, update their Financial Road Maps, and go through commitment to hire outlining exactly what they get and what it costs to join the ideal client community and see where it goes?

Can I, after looking through a client documents on the spot decide what to charge? Meaning, if they have one million in assets that I could manage, do I not charge them a planning fee? I could recoup the cost for the plan from the management fees?

I love the notion of, "Showing up ready to be no place else," and thought it was tremendously effective during the Academy. Would you ever consider asking clients and prospects to do the same? E.g., asking them to leave their cell phones with the receptionist? Or maybe a softer approach like, "We find clients get the most benefit from these meetings when they are able to completely focus on the discussion. If you'd like, our receptionist would be happy to keep your cell phones for you and can let you know if you get a call or text from a specific person (e.g. your kids)."

Going into my first Financial Road Map® interview, do clients ever ask or express skepticism/sarcasm at the, ‘What’s Important About…To You’ questions because it's just a fill in the blank formula. I ask because someone I practiced with asked this and I must admit that I felt a similar feeling. I know that the process works and gets to important values, but it feels almost too simple. Please offer your thoughts and perspective.

In a Financial Road Map® with a potential client we got to Commitment to Hire™. The husband said that he had a pretty good handle on everything and most of their finances were in his head. In going through what we do, I saw many flaws in their financial plans. In the end I asked the question regarding, “on a scale of 1 - 10…” The husband was an 8 and the wife was a 6-7. What would you say when you can see many flaws in a prospective client’s current planning and when there is a difference in the partners’ opinion on their financial house position? The husband is a lawyer and after hearing your latest webinar can understand why they may not be good fit. The husband said they needed some planning but not at the fee I had set. The potential clients could see the value for “certain people” for this service however cost seemed to be a major issue for them. These people fit my Ideal Client Profile.

» More articles