When I started in this profession more than 30 years ago, I was trained to make 150 cold calls per day and set 20 appointments per week. I didn’t know of any other way. When eMoney Advisor was new, I hired a licensed assistant to run the program and developed a business model of planning first and presenting products second. I soon started charging modest fees for a comprehensive financial plan. I was wowed that clients were paying me for advice. 

Selecting the right clients

Along the way, I realized that fee-based financial planning is not for every client, and it was a lot of work making those cold calls every day. When I took a closer look at my client base, I discovered I could write a lot more business with a business owner than an individual. It was the same amount of work to secure the appointment, but business owners presented a much larger opportunity. I also noticed that people with similar businesses had similar needs and concerns. I developed my own target market and ideal client profile:

• Business owner, preferably in manufacturing
• 5 or more employees
• Profitable business with $1 million or more in gross revenue
• Has a family and likes them
• Likes their employees and their business
• Enjoys traveling, skiing, enjoying food and wine, traveling by train

Not every client checks every single box, but the more they fit the profile, the better our relationship will be.

Who makes the best client for you? Think about your current book of business. If you could only keep 25% of them, who would they be? Which clients provide you with the most enjoyment, satisfaction and excitement? Matching your interests to those of your ideal client can create more meaningful and profitable relationships. 

A team approach

Your clients do not expect you to be an expert in everything, but if you can position yourself as someone who can find the right answer, you become their go-to person. Our team is made up of a group benefits specialist, an estate planning attorney, a corporate attorney, a litigation attorney, a banker, a CPA, a business valuation expert, an incentive-based compensation expert, investment managers, a retirement plan third-party administrator and insurance experts.

Each member of the team must possess these minimum qualities: You like them, you trust them and you respect them. And they should each feel the same about you. You have free access to them, and they respond quickly. You understand their process and they understand yours. Most importantly, while they like to collaborate, they must understand you are the team leader.

You design and manage the process. First, you develop the value of your planning process and what it delivers. Ask open-ended questions that move the process along and build on your value proposition. Remember, people buy differences, not similarities. These are the differences my process offers that I present to clients:

• Would it be of value to you to have your financial life organized and automatically updated every day?
• Would it make sense to have a contingency plan for your business if you die or become sick or hurt on the way to work? (We never use the term disabled — clients don’t really relate to it.)
• Would you like a process that gives you confidence in the path you are choosing?
• Would it make sense to motivate your key employees by compensating them for the value they create?

Repeatable process

We have a PowerPoint presentation for each step of our process. This has made it much easier to prepare for a meeting. Over the years, we’ve adjusted the presentation, adding what works and removing what doesn’t. It is now very easy to tell when the client is tracking with us or when they’re not. We continually ask them during the presentation if this makes sense to them; if not, we back up and find out where we lost them.

Communicating and following your process will help build value in the most important aspect of your planning. Clients learn that what you say, you will do. Our process takes about 90 to 120 days. Communicating your value proposition from the moment of the engagement and repeating it is essential to your program’s overall success.

Successful implementation involves processes that are repeatable and ensure consistent follow-through. This is also what your broker-dealer wants to see. Having a standardized process — addressing the why and the how — helps meet compliance requirements. At the end of each meeting, we always ask our clients whether it makes sense to them. If something doesn’t, we want to know. We also ask if we’re meeting their expectations and what they like so far.

Ongoing value

Our process is 75% questions and listening. The remaining 25% is spent on our process and its value. They learn more about what we do by the questions we ask. This is where we set the stage and the client expectations. We let them know we’re their financial coach and quarterback.

Our program is focused on eight new master planning clients per year. For these clients, we capture nearly all the assets, insurance and group benefits. To ensure the value of our service remains front and center, we try to provide at least one deliverable each month. We continue to review where they have started and the progress they have made.

We are now planning a yearly graduation for all clients who have completed a year of the program with us. We’ll have a guest speaker, and we’ll invite our clients to bring other business owners they know to the event.

We hear two main comments from our clients: One, they finally understand where they stand financially and what is needed to get to where they want to be. Two, they can’t believe the amount of work we do on their behalf for such a low fee.

We did not build this program all at once — it has evolved over time. We started with basic financial planning, then added components we thought would add value for our clients.

Build a program that is scalable and repeatable. Make adjustments that are client driven. Build a professional team of advisors around you to help deliver value for your clients.

Hawley MacLean is a 27-year MDRT member from Reno, Nevada, USA. Contact him at hawley@macleanfinancialgroup.com.

Top of the Table members can view MacLean’s presentation from the 2021 Top of the Table Annual Meeting at mdrt.org.