Wouldn’t you love for prospects to come to your office with both spouses and all their documents for that very important first interview? Don’t believe the myth that you can’t expect people who have never met you to bring all their financial data or show up at your office.
If you indulge those who refuse, you’d better take a second look----at them and at yourself. When people don’t want to fully participate in the discovery process or are reluctant to meet you in a professional setting, you have to wonder whether one of two things is going on: - They are not serious about doing business with you, or
- They don’t view you as a professional.
In the first case, you know what to do. These people are less committed than you are to the achievement of their financial goals. They will drain you of advice, ideas, time and energy---and then do little or nothing. They are not the kind of clients you want anyway, so politely disengage and move on to someone you can really assist.
In the second case, you have failed to position yourself as a professional. People still see you as a salesperson, not a trusted advisor. And if, in fact, you are agreeing to meet prospects without their financial documents and outside your office, here’s a newsflash: You are a salesperson.
The salesperson pants, "I’ll meet you anyplace, anytime, anywhere! You don’t have to do anything but show up. Okay?" This is classic sales behavior: If I can just get in front of them, build a little rapport, show them how smart I am … I’ll do whatever it takes at any price.
Please. This is also a classic turnoff. There’s no question that aggressive salespeople often rack up an impressive number of sales and get the usual pats on the back from the sales manager. But that’s just it: They’re behaving like salespeople. They are not trusted advisors. You are either one or the other, and people know who you are by your behavior.
When prospects and clients regard you as a professional and not just a salesperson, they are more than willing to reveal their financial information and meet you in your office. They accord you the same respect and trust they give any professional. Can you imagine calling your dentist, requesting an appointment at your house, then refusing to open your mouth when he or she arrived? Ridiculous!
When you are setting appointments with prospects, ask that they bring all their financial documents. Most people will find this a reasonable request. If they resist, let them know you will not pressure them to show you the documents, but if they decide to move forward, you can save some time by having all the information available. If they still resist, you can suggest that perhaps they are not ready yet to work with a professional financial advisor.
Ask them to bring everything, including the following: - Income: both spouses
- Retirement plans: company, 401(k), Keogh, SEP, IRA, RRSP, TSA and other
- Savings accounts, bank accounts, money market funds
- CDs
- Brokerage accounts: stocks, bonds, mutual funds
- Insurance: life, disability, annuities
- Real estate: residence, vacation ownership, investment property
- Precious metals, art and collectibles
- Business owners’ balance sheets, profit-and-loss statements
- Expected inheritance
Once prospects are in your office, encouraging them to open both their mouths and their portfolios to you can be a sensitive conversation. For some people, it is a very personal experience to reveal where all their money is.
On the one hand it’s important to be sensitive to prospects’ feelings about their money. But it’s equally important to be direct and confident when asking where all the assets are, because you can’t do your job effectively without this information. Your mission is to be skilled enough to comfortably facilitate this conversation.
Here’s one way to move gracefully into the phase of discovering the current financial situation: Our next step is to have a thorough, honest, confidential discussion about your present financial situation. Let’s have a look at your financial documents, and then we can discuss where you are now.
The fact is, if you don’t think you need all their documents to do good work for your clients, then you’re a salesperson. You are willing to have transaction-oriented interactions with customers instead of high-trust, values-based relationships with clients.
Trusted advisors need all the documents and know what to do with them.
They would never sell a product without knowing where all the client’s money is. Don’t be a salesperson; be a trusted advisor.
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