first meeting Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

A Guide to Securing Second Meetings with Prospects: Turning First Impressions into Lasting Partnerships

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

It’s no exaggeration to say that the initial meeting with a prospective client is a make-or-break moment that sets the tone for the relationship and determines whether it will continue in a second meeting. The initial meeting is a crucial dance between the advisor and a naturally skeptical prospect who wants to know why they should work with you.

In a crowded field of financial advisors, the initial meeting presents a critical opportunity to differentiate yourself. Prospects are likely to meet with multiple advisors. You must make the prospect feel they’re making the right choice in working with you and that they should expect an advisory experience with you that they can’t get from anyone else. That’s a tall order.

But if you’re organized, practiced, and have the end in mind—a second meeting with the prospect—you can make each initial meeting a success.

Three Decisions People Make When Choosing an Advisor

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

When mom and dad sit down with you for the first time, they want to get to know you. They want to do business with someone they like and trust and someone who is making the right suggestions. They don’t want to do business with the Mr. or Ms. Financial Advisor you. They want to do business with the real you.

Watch this video episode or read the transcript below to learn what people want to know when making the decision to work with you or move on.

How to Get the Most out of the Client Data-Gathering Process

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Next to the initial meeting with a prospect, data gathering is the most critical step in the relationship-building process. Of course, it’s also the most vital step in the financial planning process, without which advisors can’t analyze a client’s situation, make proper recommendations, and implement them. That’s well understood by most advisors. Less understood is the critical role the data-gathering step plays in increasing client engagement, building trust, and solidifying the advisor-client relationship.

Stop Justifying Your Fees and Start Explaining Them in the Context of What Your Prospects Value

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

The financial services world has undergone significant change in the last few years, mainly for the benefit of those seeking financial advice. They have more options, investment costs are decreasing, and they have more protections thanks to the regulators. However, for financial advisors, the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same—at least as it relates to fees. Advisors still find themselves in the unenviable position of having to withstand fee compression while, at the same time, justifying them to their clients.

Presenting the Strategy Paper to Turn Prospects into Clients

/ by Russell Collins / Connelly Corner, Prospecting / 0 comments

In my previous guest blog post, I explained how I dissected the confirmed file note by dividing it into four separate quadrants in order to create a strategy to take to my next meeting – the Strategy Paper Meeting (SPM), It should lead to a “yes”, the prospect agreeing to do business with me.

In summary, the primary purpose of the SPM is to highlight a problem; get their agreement to the problem; that they want to solve it; and then involve them in the decision-making process. That way the decision becomes theirs and all I had to do was the numbers based on their ability to pay. In relation to the latter, I found the best time to do that was after I had proceeded through the strategy paper up to the point of discussing the shortfall with them. More on that later. Now let’s focus on the strategy paper itself.

5 Things Prospects Need to Know About You from the First Meeting

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Every initial meeting with a prospect is crucial. It took a lot to get them to finally agree to meet with you, and, in most cases, you only have one shot at making the right impression. If a prospect leaves the meeting still wanting critical information, you will not likely see them again. So, you carefully craft your initial meeting to ensure you check all the boxes, including:

– Your background and experience
– Understand your prospect’s needs and concerns
– Your process
– Your firm’s strengths and why you’re different
– Customer service expectations
– How you get paid
– Next Steps

As far as key information your prospect needs, that covers all the bases. It should also give you plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your competence and capacity to address your prospect’s needs and concerns.

Agenda for the Strategy Paper Meeting (SPM): What Is It and How to Prepare It

/ by Russell Collins / Connelly Corner, Prospecting / 0 comments

By now you should be familiar with the concept of the File Note and how it helped me increase my closing rate to 9 out of 10 in life insurance sales. I found that the reaction to my file notes was one of people looking forward to our next meeting and how I was planning to deal with their particular situation. I called that meeting my Strategy Paper Meeting (SPM.)

Within the file note that they had previously confirmed, were a number of answers to my questions that highlighted problems to which they were not even aware existed at that time. My dissection process was to draw attention to those questions and their answers in such a simple format that would allow for frank discussion.

So, generally, the format for the SPM would look like this:

How to Respond to the Comment ‘I Don’t Want to Lose Any Money’

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices, Connelly Corner / 0 comments

A while ago I received an email from John in Texas and his email was very simple. He said, ‘Every time I go on an appointment, the first thing out of somebody’s mouth is, “I don’t want to lose any money.” And I’ve been saying, “I don’t know anyone that ever does.” as an ice breaker, but I don’t feel comfortable. Can you give me an idea on how to respond to that comment?”

Watch this video episode or read the transcript below to learn Don’s answer to this question.

Nail the First Meeting with a Prospective Client: Address What Your Prospects Want to Know

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship, Prospecting / 0 comments

It takes a lot of time, patience, and effort to move a prospect through the funnel to the point when they finally agree to meet with you. For every prospect that makes it that far probably six to nine fall by the wayside. That makes that first meeting ever so crucial. There’s a lot that must be accomplished. It has to go perfectly. There’s a minimal margin for error.

Every advisor has their own formula for constructing a perfect prospect meeting. It invariably includes a polished presentation and ample opportunities to present oneself as a likable, competent professional.

However, ensuring that first meeting is a success comes down to how you structure it to address all the prospect’s questions and concerns. They’re meeting with you to find out who you are and why they should work with you. They need the answers to very specific questions on their mind even though they may not ask them. So, why not structure the meeting around what your prospects really want to know?

Here are a few such questions they are asking themselves.

The Importance of a Post-meeting Checklist

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Nailing that initial prospect meeting is crucial if you are to have any chance at starting a relationship. If you follow your first meeting preparation checklist to a T, you’ve established good rapport, shown your authentic self, listened more than talked, and pinpointed the person’s pain points. You mapped out the initial steps to address their biggest concerns and got agreement to forge ahead. What comes next?

In many respects, your follow-up to that first meeting is just as crucial as it will either reinforce your prospect’s positive feelings about you and the experience, or it could raise red flags triggering remorse. The initial meeting follow-up is your opportunity to showcase your commitment to excellent client service and set the tone for the new relationship.

Too often, advisors allow critical things to fall through the cracks, creating a perception of incompetence or not caring. That’s why a post-meeting checklist is just as essential as a meeting prep checklist culminating with a well-crafted follow-up email or letter setting the stage for the next step. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy checklist but completing the items on a timely basis is critical.

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