I recently conducted a Phone Consultation™ and it went well. However, when I asked "What do you think the value would be for you and your wife to have a complete Financial Road Map® that you build together? He replied "Well If I did not have an Advisor and have a plan, I could see value in it". I continued to offer to complete the Financial Road Map® for them (following the script) but he said "he would not want to waste my time since he already had an Advisor for 20 years that he was happy with" I let him know it would not be waste of my time if I could do something good for them; and it could only enhance the relationship with their current Advisor. He declined but thanked me. What could I have done differently?

Article ID: 76

Last updated: 20 Nov, 2019

Sometimes I think we work too hard trying to figure out how to get people to say yes to our offers. The bottom line is that in the process of getting clients, whether via Values-Based Financial Planning™ or some other method, people are going to say no. Accept it. The reason why they say no is irrelevant. No is no. In your journey to build your Ideal Client Community with Values-Based Financial Planning™ you might distribute 1,000 Values-Based Financial Planning™ books, thousands of Values-Based Quality of Life Newsletters™, and conduct hundreds and hundreds of Financial Road Map Interviews™. Trust the process and enjoy the fact that even for the many people who don’t ultimately become Ideal Clients there is the possibility, even the probability, that many of them got value even though they did not become clients.

If in a year or two or three you will have a complete Ideal Client Community of people you truly enjoy helping to achieve their goals and fulfill their values. This clientele generates a consistent cash flow to you so you can live the quality of life you want and finance your goals and fulfill your values. At that point you really aren’t going to care which person said yes and which person said no or why. Just let it go and move on.

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A number of my clients do not involve their spouse in the financial decision making to the point where the husband (typically) wants to be the only one present. While I recognize that this process is more about values than it is about finances, the husband refuses to let the wife attend because she isn't involved in that type of decision making. Should I insist that both spouses be there knowing that the husband won't 'open up' if the wife is there?

Would you send the email first, for example 2 days prior to the phone consultation and then also have the AM make the phone call to confirm the Phone Consultation?

When making the calls to schedule Financial Road Map® interviews with current clients, I've received the same reply numerous times. The client will often say something to the effect that he/she needs to check scheduling with their spouse and will get back to me with a time that works for the two of them. I reply that it is fine and confirm when I can check back in. I then send an email to the client I spoke with to serve as a reminder. Is there anything else I should be doing? I imagine that pressing to set an appointment on the phone, with language like, “Let's set a time that works for you, you'll check with your spouse and we can reschedule if necessary” is too “salesy”?

I'm not convinced I have the complete answer to the question, ‘What kind of clients do you serve best?’ Do you have any suggestions? We work with corporate executives, professionals, and business owners that want to spend more time with their families and doing things that are important to them. These people are delegators that have a strong desire to achieve their goals. The clients we serve best have financial assets of over $900,000.

I am new to the Ideal Life Evaluation Program. A large percentage of the clients who fit my Ideal Client Profile are out of state. What should I do?

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