If you’re a financial advisor who’s ever had trouble dealing with wealthy prospects, then what you need is a process or formula to follow that will enhance your success. The only thing more frustrating than not having enough dates is ruining them when given the chance. That’s where a formula comes in.

With formulas, all the typical human error is eliminated. It is replicable. It’s like 2+2. When I do it, I get 4. You do it, you get 4. You see, if you know a formula works, pretty much anyone with a pulse can ‘plug in’ to the formula and get the same results. If he hasn’t reduced everything he does in his business to some kind of formula… then he’s working too hard and will never get predictable results.

And with the right “formula”, your results can become much more predictable. You’ll know exactly how many new customers and new money under management you’ll have in two months; or 6 months; or 6 years for that matter. It’s easy and I’ll show you how and why it works for anyone, anywhere, all the time.

So let’s get to what I call the Million Dollar Sales Formula…

The Million Dollar Sales Formula Step #1:

We’ve all had potential clients who, as much as we know they should work with us, for one reason or another choose not to. Financial advisors often punish themselves by going after the prospect, trying to figure out what went wrong, and almost always thinking it’s because: A) The client is an idiot (which is sometimes true) or B) We said something wrong in our meetings. /sales process

I, on the other hand, would say that most of our sales failures in financial services are due to something we did long before we applied for the business (you are applying for the business, right?). Through extensive trial and error, what I have found is that we fail to make the right ‘first impression’ before the meeting process has started. And that’s why we lose customers that should never be lost.

How do you fix this?

Making sure to send a package to all prospects before they meet with you. When done correctly, this ‘bundle’ can literally close 32.4% of prospects before they even meet with you. I know, I’ve measured with and without and can verify that exact number. Let me share with you the pre-meeting components that need to be in place to significantly increase your close rate:

An appointment reminder letter with a map to your office along with instructions on what your prospect needs to do to be properly prepared for the meeting. Think of this as a welcome letter and a short homework assignment to make sure both your time and yours are well spent. The cover letter must be printed on a professionally designed letterhead with a professionally designed logo and must have your website address. Which, by the way, you absolutely should have a website, and it should look good and serve a purpose. To see what I mean, feel welcome to visit my company website – there is a link to my bio.

A confidential personal profile. This is where they put their name, date of birth, names of their children, and the like. It should be no more than one page long and you should also ask for the names of your current broker, adviser (these are different and will have your client decide exactly who their current “advisors” are in their eyes), lawyer, accountant and insurance agent. . In the same section, you should also give your prospect a satisfaction scale of 1-5 to rate your current financial professionals.

A confidential financial profile. Now this is basically what it says it is: a place for you to answer some thought provoking financial questions, create an income statement and balance sheet. You should also always ask what they would change about their financial situation if they could change just one thing, as well as what is really important to them about money. The answers you give to this question will prove vitally important in your meetings (note that I said ‘meetings’, not your one-time, one-time-only-date).

Your PROFESSIONAL business card. Don’t try to be cute, please don’t put your photo and don’t print your own. Your card should be on par with the best law firm in your city, town, village, tribe… you name it. If all of this sounds like a lot of work, it is! But it’s worth it once you close your first BIG client.

The Million Dollar Sales Formula Step #2:

The kick-off meeting and the most important 45 minutes of your sales process!

Why 45 minutes? Well, for those of you who haven’t studied direct response marketing… let me enlighten you. There’s an adage in copyright that the purpose of your headline (and everything you submit should have a headline) is to get people to read your first sentence. The purpose of the first prize is to get your prospect to read your second prize and so on.

The same goes for a well-executed sales process.

The only goal of a first date should be to have a second date. To do this, limit the first appointment to allowing the prospect to ask you any questions they have about you, then asking questions for about thirty minutes, and then ending. If you have sent a package like the one described above, at each initial appointment your prospects will come to your office with their completed questionnaires and all their financial statements. When you have about 15 minutes left, simply say the following:

“Now that I know a little about you, here’s what we need to do next: I’ll take the information you’ve filled out, my notes, and copies of your bank statements, and I’ll put together an analysis I call the Personal Retirement MAP. This will show you in detail the specific areas of your finances that can be improved and to what extent We will schedule a meeting in the next two weeks to review your report, so whatever you decide to do after that, you will be able to make informed decisions that will improve your finances, fair enough?”

Did you see what I just did? Did you notice the last two words? These will become the two most important words of your career, guaranteed.

If executed correctly, no one will be able to resist that second date. Now, some people will ask how much it costs and tell them it’s free, but you will let them know, based on what you find, how much they would have to pay you if they made an informed decision to hire your services.

Seriously, this makes me dizzy just writing it. You should be too! In just these first two steps, I’ve already shown you how to at least double your closing percentage with wealthy financial planning clients.

The Million Dollar Sales Formula Step #3

The second date – Separating the men from the boys!

As a precursor to this meeting, here’s a little tip: Be sure to send a thank you letter to the prospect for the first appointment and have it as a reminder for the second meeting. Follow the same rules regarding paper quality and the like and include another business card.

At the actual appointment, be sure to thank your prospect again for coming, let them know it’s good to see you again, and always ask if they have any questions before you start showing them your analysis.

The analysis must include the following (nothing more and nothing less please):

* Morningstar reports on your variable funds/annuities

* An asset allocation analysis

* A bullet point analysis of your taxes, long-term health care needs, estate planning needs, and a quote on what you would charge to fix your problems.

And let’s be honest here: everyone will have problems. Especially million dollar clients. If you can’t look at their investments and show them how to save money on taxes, eliminate estate taxes, and improve their investments, then you need a lot more than sales education.

This step is really super easy. The key is this:

“So, as you can see, Mr. and Mrs. Prospect, I’ve identified approximately $4,000 of immediate benefit for you from this analysis, with another $1,700 each year thereafter. So there should be about $20,000 of benefit in the next ten years and my fee for making it happen is $595.00 for a detailed step by step action plan.

Some people will agree on the spot, others will not. Remember never, never, never, never, never press to close. All this has to happen very naturally. Understand that the reason people work with you is not because of what you can do for them, but because they do or don’t trust and like you. Not many people like pushy salespeople. So do your best to be very nonchalant about all of this.

And about the fee: hey, this can be whatever you want, but you have to charge fees. If you’re not charging fees, these people will instantly know the other shoe has to drop, and usually you sell them something for a commission. If you pay only one fee, this is never a problem; but if it’s fee or commission based, you must charge a setup or setup fee to take on a new customer, PERIOD.

If she doesn’t want to make her next appointment at that time, just tell her to think about this for the next few days and that you’ll follow up to see if she has any questions.

The Million Dollar Sales Formula Step #4

The Ultimate New Customer Acquisition Process!

I have said before that I love systems and processes. They work so well and are so easy to replicate that you have to use them if you ever want to break into the big leagues of financial planning. All Million Dollar Producers do it, so do what they do and you’ll get there too.

So here is the process I use to take on a new client:

Meeting Three: I have the clients sign my Advisory Services Agreement (for the fee) and we create an Investment Policy Statement (for those who don’t know what this is, it’s basically a summary of what the client’s goals are and what we will be trying to achieve for them as their advisor)

Meeting Four – We complete the transfer paperwork and new account forms. I always use brokerage accounts to pool the assets and consolidate them first. Recommendations and financial plan follow.

Meeting Five: We review the clients’ written financial plan and investment recommendations

Meeting Six – A three month review meeting

Meeting Seven – Another three month review meeting

Meet with all clients every six months thereafter.

Holy Cow! That’s a lot of meetings!

That’s right, and they love it. This, my friends and colleagues, is what the rich want. They want a system, a little attention, a WOW experience. An experience so different and so superior to that of any other adviser in your area.

And let’s clear this up:

This process is easy. It can be learned by anyone. If you have at least one staff member (and please get one as soon as you can afford it if you don’t) all you’ll have to do is the meetings.

Lastly, please know that this system may not work for everyone. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a system. Always identify what you know works and remember to never stop doing those things. If you can string together 4-6 steps that work well, then you’ve just created your own “formula”; And that’s exactly what financial advisors need to achieve great sales heights.