The $3-million prospect

Most financial advisors have, at some point, succeeded in scheduling a meeting with a large prospect – often after a lot of time and effort. The critical question then becomes: when you have only 30 minutes, how do you maximize the chances of a positive outcome?

That’s what I was asked last week by an advisor I’ve known for many years – let’s call him “Bill” – about an upcoming meeting with a $3-million prospect. In our 15-minute conversation, we identified six steps to take advantage of this meeting.

Here’s what Bill had to say: “I’ve just booked a meeting with a prospect who, if he signed on, would be my biggest client. He’s not that enthusiastic about the meeting, though, and has given me only 30 minutes. The meeting came through my best friend at business school, a guy named Jeff, who now is a partner at a mid-sized accounting firm and often refers clients to me.

“I have an appointment for a meeting at the prospect’s office in a couple of weeks. How can I best use the 30 minutes that I’ll have with this prospect?”

Bill and I talked about six steps to make maximum use of the 30-minute window with this prospect:

– Step 1: establish your goal

When I asked Bill the purpose of the meeting, he said his goal was to sign up the prospect. I suggested that while that was the ultimate outcome he is looking for, that was unlikely to happen in that first meeting. Upon reflection, Bill agreed that his real goal was to get a firm commitment for a second meeting, perhaps with Jeff, the prospect’s accountant, sitting in.

– Step 2: do your research

Every advisor understands that before meeting with a prospect, it’s necessary to know as much as possible about that prospect’s situation. But many advisors fail to do even the basics, such as checking the prospect’s LinkedIn page.

In this case, Bill has a chance to learn more from his buddy Jeff. Recognizing that Jeff’s first loyalty is to his client, Bill could schedule a coffee meeting and ask three questions:

– Without divulging any confidences, what can you tell me about your client and his business?

– What would you say his No. 1 concern is when it comes to his finances?

– If you were in my position, how would you get your client talking about his situation?

– Step 3: keep the introduction short

I asked Bill how he normally starts meetings with his prospects. Bill thanks the prospect for taking the time to meet and asks the prospect what is one thing that person would like to get out of their time together. That’s a terrific way to start.

Then, I asked Bill about the most common response he gets from prospects. Typically, Bill’s prospects say they want to learn more about Bill and his approach.

This is a cop-out. Prospects say that to be polite and to avoid having to open up. They are interested in Bill’s approach only insofar as it affects them. A common trap that advisors fall into at this point is spending way too much time talking about their background and philosophy.

If the prospect says he wants to learn more about Bill, the answer should be that of course Bill would be delighted to tell the prospect as much as he wants to know, but that Bill also wants to share some observations from the work that he’s done with successful business owners and that he’d like to learn more about the prospect’s situation.

To minimize the time Bill spends talking about himself, he should put together a one-page overview with three headings: background, approach and team. Each heading will have three or four bullet points in large type that highlight the most important information, with the goal of building quick credibility. This sheet can be attached to a note sent to the prospect prior to and confirming the initial meeting, but Bill shouldn’t assume the prospect will have read it. So, Bill should practice delivering this overview in a maximum of three minutes, then move on to what’s really important in the meeting.

Next: Step 4
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– Step 4: get engagement and demonstrate value

Once Bill has spent the three minutes on his introduction, he should segue into the important part of the meeting, in which he gets the prospect engaged and begins to demonstrate the value that Bill provides to his clients. The goal is to spend roughly five minutes getting the prospect talking about himself and another five minutes on beginning to discuss how Bill’s clients are better off as a result of working with him.

Before Bill gets into more detail about the value he provides, though, he needs to get the prospect talking, perhaps with a something like: “So, that’s a bit about my background. Unless you have any questions, perhaps you can fill me in on your situation. How did you get to where you are today?”

Once the prospect has had a chance to talk about his situation, Bill needs to spend five minutes talking about his value. There are various ways to tackle this:

– Bill could highlight what he has learned while working with business owners.

– Bill could show the prospect a sample financial plan for a client in a similar situation.

– Bill could use case studies to tell a story about the positive impact he has made on his clients’ lives.

– Step 5: get a commitment to follow up

Bill now has used 15 to 20 minutes of his appointment and needs to start moving toward asking for a commitment for a followup meeting. Bill could say, “You’ve given me lots of food for thought today and, if you’re interested, I’d like to suggest another meeting in two weeks time, so we can get into more details of your situation.”

Another advisor uses a different approach at this point in the meeting, saying: “Most successful businesses like yours have a written plan. Tell me, what kind of written plan do you have in place to ensure that your income exceeds your expenses in retirement?”

Before asking that question, though, sometimes there’s an “elephant in the room” issue hanging over the meeting – something everyone knows about but doesn’t get discussed. For example, perhaps the prospect has had a bad experience with a financial advisor in the past. In this case, for example, it sounds like the prospect wasn’t particularly keen about meeting Bill and perhaps did it to get Jeff off his back.

In this situation, before asking for the followup, Bill could be up front about this: “I’ve really enjoyed the chance to meet and do want to talk about next steps. Before I do, though, perhaps I’m wrong on this, but I had the sense from Jeff that you weren’t all that enthusiastic about meeting today.”

– Step 6: relax

The final step is for Bill to avoid the “sweaty palm” syndrome – to relax. When meeting with a high-value prospect, many advisors get tense and end up trying too hard and talking too much.

Bill needs to convey that he wants to work with this prospect, but Bill doesn’t need to work with the prospect.

By being prepared for the meeting, considering how to use the time with the prospect and projecting a sense of calm confidence, Bill will maximize the chance of converting this meeting into an opportunity to work with this prospect.

Dan Richards is CEO of Clientinsights (www.clientinsights.ca) in Toronto. For more of Dan’s columns and informative videos, visit www.investmentexecutive.com.