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Prospects don't know what they
don't know
Let's face it, you have to
deliver more value than ever before to compete with ideal prospects. You
have to have a solid value promise, lower cost, and comprehensive advice
and planning as part of your deliverables. You know that ideal prospects
are not getting what you deliver, yet they stay with their advisor. Why? Is
it because of relationship? is it because they don't know how to fire their
advisor? or is it that they don't know what they don't know? They don't
know what they have paid and got and not got from their advisor. In other
words, they don't know what they don't know. They don't know how much it is
costing them annually to stay with their current advisor in fees. they
don't know the probability of success and how much more they could be
enjoying, at the cost of their current advisor relationship. They don't
know that with solid financial and tax planning they may be able to retire
earlier, enjoy life more, and accomplish more. They don't know what they
don't know. How do you let them know? How do you show them how to have a
higher probability of success? How many ways do you stress test their
planning or portfolio to show them, with the same money how much better
they could be? How much have they paid their advisor in total over the last
ten years? Do a fee audit that shows them how much they have paid over the
last 10 years in fees and more importantly, what they have for those fees
such as a comprehensive wealth management plan.
Do you offer fee audits?
Do your ideal clients know all the services that you offer? Imagine walking
into a restaurant, and after getting seated, the host rips the menu in half
and says” enjoy your meal”. Do you want the whole menu or just half of it?
Your ideal clients, which are your best clients want the whole menu. They
delegate everything to you and are “all in” when it comes to comprehensive
planning and advice. The clients who only want to use part of your services
are NEVER going to be your ideal clients, so stop hoping they become one
someday.
Ideal Clients Delegate
Imagine having two doctors you trust that compete with one another, one
doctor for the top half of my body and one doctor for the bottom half.
Sounds crazy to most, yet so many advisors accept the fact people have two
financial advisors. People want to find someone they ultimately trust, and
if they cannot ultimately trust you, they never will be ideal. When they
trust you, they want to know all your services. So, do you have a checklist
of comprehensive services in the seven key areas of planning? The seven
areas are tax, estate, risk management, insurance, investment, cash flow,
and debt. Are you doing comprehensive planning and comprehensive advice in
all seven areas, with an internal or external team or network? It is
difficult to know all seven areas and stay on top of it, that is why you
need to put a comprehensive team around your best clients to deliver. Once
you have the process, then plan on articulating it with a checklist of all
the services you deliver and what I get in each of the seven areas to
achieve my goals as an ideal client of yours. I have several great samples
of a comprehensive checklist of services. Check out what a family office
does for comprehensive planning and advice services and consider creating a
“mini- family office of services”.
Do a Fee Audit
Do investors understand the total cost of investing and advice? Consider
completing a fee audit on a wealthy prospect's portfolio and financial
plan. Over the last ten years, look at the total amount of fees they paid
and look at the tangible (dollar gains, tax planning gains, estate planning
gains, advice gains) benefits they received. Then list the intangible
benefits they received, such as peace of mind, comfort, simplicity, and trust.
This can be part of your detailed process to outline your measurable and
immeasurable client benefits to prospects
Use a Checklist of Benefits to Compare What They are Currently Getting and
Not Getting, to Help Your Wealthy prospects Understand What They Are Paying
For
Make sure they understand the total cost, in dollar terms, and percentages
by highlighting it at the bottom of the fee audit checklist page. One of
the services can be a beneficiary audit. When was the last time a client or
prospect walked into your office and asked for an estate plan? The reason
why people don’t ask for one is that they need deeper clarity around their
specific goals for their estate. Instead, ask this question. “Did you know
about our beneficiary audit service? “The typical answer is no, what is
that about? “Would it be valuable to do a beneficiary audit, to summarize
on one page all your beneficiaries and the benefits they will receive, and
make sure all beneficiaries are correct and coordinated with your will? If we
could summarize this information on one page, would that be valuable to
you? To get your 11-page report and create your fee audit checklist for
ideal prospects click here to download a copy https://feeaudit.getresponsepages.com/
Show Prospects What They Are NOT
Getting
When you sit down with wealthy prospects, consider this exercise and
discussion. Ask “Can I do a fee audit for you to help you understand how
fees impact your planning and the total cost in dollars and percentages?
Would it be valuable for you to understand the total cost of what you are
paying, what you get for those fees, and what you do not get? “Look at the
estimated total fees over the last five years that they have paid and
quantify them in a dollar-cost as well as a percentage. With a prospect,
look at the starting investment amount five years ago and the ending
investment amount today, including withdrawals. Then ask about the planning
processes they have completed, including tax planning, estate planning, and
financial planning, and ask to see the documents. This exercise will help
you with your value discussion, but more importantly, show prospects the
total cost, in dollars and percentages, and help them understand the total
that they are paying. It will also show complete transparency with benefits
and will show your prospect instant and tangible benefits of working with
you, especially if their current advisor has no process for showing their
planning processes, total fees, and total transparency if they show any
fees for advice. It will also allow you to discuss the value of your
planning processes and your progress update meetings to keep them on track.
Key Prospecting Discussion
Get in a habit of people you come across every day if they understand the
fees they are paying. Ask them to explain the fees as they understand it.
Then ask” would you be open for me to do a fee audit for the last five
years to help you understand the cost (or fees) and benefits? I ask because
we do this for our clients, so they understand the measurable benefits of our
advice along with the immeasurable benefits that our planning offers such
as peace of mind and simplicity of their financial life. Our clients
appreciate more comprehensive planning advice through our comprehensive
checklist of services. Would you like to see a copy of our checklist? Our
clients have comfort knowing we have a comprehensive process that ensures
you are taken care of, so they can go on and enjoy the things that are
important to them”. Now you have the start of a process to discuss your differences
with prospects.
Practice Makes Perfect
Do you have scripts that you use with prospects and practice them with
someone to give you feedback? Do you have a clear detailed process for
making your client’s fee ready? If not, who is helping you and who has a
proven process to help you get there? Find someone who has a proven process
and has the time to help you get there. It is not just about content, but
it is about practice. Who is helping you practice your scripts? Do you
record your practice sessions? Imagine if the “Rolling Stones” band never
practiced and only recorded once? Do you record your meetings with your
client’s permission? Find a coach, mentor, or manager who can help you
build your process and help you practice your communication skills to
articulate your value. Now go out and practice your fee audit conversation,
build your process for converting prospects, and provide measurable and
immeasurable value to your new clients.
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