First of all, great job being in the game! You never know how people will respond, but you have to do the work, make the offers, and deal with whatever you get.
Essentially, you can take one of 3 roads with an email response:
Dear _________:
I am glad you found value from your experience working with us and hope that it helps you make better choices about your money so you achieve your goals for the reasons that are important to you. There will be no charge for the work we've done together.
Let me know how else I can be of service.
******
I'm not sure how accurate the following communication would be because I'm making up a few things to fill in gaps that I can't fill without more information, but you'll get the idea.
Dear:
Please forgive me. The fact you believe you can get the same services from an investment management firm who also does financial planning means I did a poor job of articulating the value to you of joining our Ideal Client Community. I apologize.
As far as being embarrassed, I do not believe you have anything to be embarrassed about. It is Diane who should be embarrassed that only after you came to me, had your Financial Road Map® completed, and then talked to her about leaving that she finally did what she should have been doing all along, which is to proactively offer you the full value that you have been paying for the entire time you've been a client.
Unfortunately, this behavior is all too common among financial "professionals" who charge a % of your assets as their compensation. They are very happy to collect that % of your assets every quarter, while doing very little, until you ask for more. They are happier still for their fees to increase as the market goes up, even though they had nothing to do with the market going up. (Diane would probably argue that the dollar amount of that % is lower when the market goes down. Have you noticed that the market goes up much more often than it goes down? Do you really think the industry would use a % of assets compensation system if it was the other way around?) Not to mention the fact that it's unlikely that all of the fees you are actually paying have been disclosed. Do you really know how much you're paying? Should you even have to ask in order to get to the whole truth about what someone is charging you for a service? Which is why our government feels a need to intervene in the financial services industry with new laws about disclosure of fees. One of the benefits of being an Ideal Client of ours is a thorough examination by our team of exactly what you are paying for investment management, and all of your financial services, and what you get for that. We call it "the truth in fees" exercise. The companies who create and sell the products are very good at burying much higher fees inside them than most consumers would be savvy enough to discover on their own. I'm sure you can see the inherent conflict of interest of your financial planning being done by the same people who manage your money.
Surprising enough this conflict of interest is not currently illegal in Canada, but I believe it's unprofessional. It's one of the main reasons we do not do business this way and have elevated our client value promise to the maximum level that exists in the world, literally... in the entire world.
Whether you work with me or not, I think Diane has revealed herself as someone who does not proactively initiate delivering the maximum value she can on your behalf. Or maybe she doesn't want to hold you accountable to getting your entire financial house in order because it might make you uncomfortable and cause you to pull your investment accounts? How long have you been paying for services that you haven't been getting? When would she have told you if it weren't for the fear of losing you as a client? Are you getting a refund for all the years you have been over-paying? Whether it's my firm or someone else, you have received the "sign from above" that it's time to move on.
Of course, we will... (either stop the check or refund your money) and there will be no charge for the book or the services that have been rendered. It is our hope that having your Financial Road Map® will help you both make smart choices about your money so you achieve your most important goals and fulfill your most deeply held values.
If you are so inclined, you will likely find it to be in your best interest to invest the time to have another conversation with me to take a deeper dive into how our client value promise of financial leadership, organization, and advice would benefit you, as it's unlikely that you are not comparing "apples to apples" with our service and any investment firm who also does financial planning.
It is my hope that this communication is received in the spirit it's being written, with your best interests and your Financial Road Map® in mind.
Whatever you decide, I wish you both the best of luck.
Let me know how you would like to proceed.
******
Your third option:
It could be very important to you for us to talk before you make a final, final decision about who you work with and why. When can we do that?
*******
The purpose of this appointment, which should be with both spouses and preferably face-to-face (if not use Skype or Go-to-Meeting) is to make a very compelling case that their future is much better protected and likely to happen by working with you instead of the other firm. That firm may continue to be the investment firm, but not the Trusted Advisor. You can use that as your opening statement about the purpose of the call.
"This is your Financial Road Map®. Just to recap...." (Recap where they are now, their goals, and each of their values staircases.)
Questions to start the conversation:
Tell me more about what makes you think that Diane will do a better job for you than we will in helping you actualize your Financial Road Map®.?
(Clarify, Expand, and impact their responses. Get both of them responding. Control your eagerness to present the features and benefits of becoming an Ideal Client.)
You mentioned that you feel embarrassed that you weren't aware that your investment managers also do financial planning. Tell me about that.
(Clarify, Expand, and impact their responses. Get both of them responding. Control your eagerness to present the features and benefits of becoming an Ideal Client.)
I don't think you have anything to be embarrassed about. In fact, I think it's Diane who should be embarrassed that until she felt threatened that you were going to leave that there all of these services she could have been proactively providing, but she never mentioned them. How do you feel about that?
(Clarify, Expand, and impact their responses. Get both of them responding. Control your eagerness to present the features and benefits of becoming an Ideal Client.)
Once the fear of losing you as a client has passed, how long do you think it will be until Diane reverts back to being reactive when it comes to taking care of you instead of proactive?
(Clarify, Expand, and impact their responses. Get both of them responding. Control your eagerness to present the features and benefits of becoming an Ideal Client.)
"How does Diane get paid?"
(Clarify, Expand, and impact their responses. Get both of them responding. Control your eagerness to present the features and benefits of becoming an Ideal Client.)
"How do you feel about the conflict of interest of having the same person giving you advice and managing your money?"
(Clarify, Expand, and impact their responses. Get both of them responding. Control your eagerness to present the features and benefits of becoming an Ideal Client.)
"I appreciate you being so candid with me. And I feel bad that I did such a poor job communicating how it would be in your best interest to join our Ideal Client Community. The next logical thing for us to do is for me articulate exactly what you'll get and answer your questions. Can we do that next?"
(Do Commitment to Hire)
Be prepared to use all of the Commitment to Hire visuals and make the points in a compelling way how each of these things is very valuable to them. Be prepared to explain why a flat fee is better than a % of AUM. Be prepared to respond to their potential perception that what "they" offer is the same thing you offer, only cheaper, and they don't to change advisors / firms. Be prepared to use the Critical Report visuals to demonstrate how much simpler life with you will be. Be prepared to make the point that you work with a finite number of Ideal Clients. How many clients does Diane work with?
Throughout the process have been holding off and holding off and holding off explaining what it's like to worth you. NOW, at Commitment to Hire, is when you make the overwhelming case that they will be infinitely better off joining your Ideal Client Community and being blown away because they never knew that this service existed. Do not over-explain, but also do not be bashful about pulling out all the stops to articulate the value. If that's ever to be done, Commitment to Hire is the time and place.
