In Palm Springs for a Mastermind session for elite fee-for-service professionals along with Kevin Bishopp, a practice management specialist with First Trust and Elaine Christakos, accountability partner with Pareto Systems. A great time of year to slow things down, tune out the noise and invest the past into the future to make 2020 the best year ever.
Using the immortal words of Walter Gretzky, as passed on to the world through his son Wayne: “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”
If you think about the relationship cycle, the first step when it comes to client acquisition is awareness. A prospective client needs to be aware you exist and you need a process to sift out the real prospects from the mass of suspects, but they need to know you are there.
I was speaking with an advisory team last week, and they told me a process story.
This team has bought in completely, and it was a major shift in mindset and process for the team. They had committed to keeping on Pareto’s process as closely as possible.
They recently had a new referral. They went through the pre-appointment process as outlined and had the first appointment, pretty much exactly as scripted. They made the follow-up phone call 48 hours later, and agreed they were a good fit. The next appointment was set to follow in two weeks.
The CSA was tasked with getting in touch with the prospective client and letting him know what info was needed for the second appointment. The prospective client said he needed more time, and rescheduled an additional week out.
When the CSA contacted to confirm the appointment, he moved it again. Then emailed and moved it yet again. The appointment was now set two months out from its initial date.
The Advisor decided that they couldn’t go that far off process, so he called the prospective client and, in effect, told him that their process involved moving forward, and they couldn’t know what their capacity would be in two months. So if prospective client wanted to revisit the fit process in two months, he asked that they get in touch and that the Advisor’s team would look at possible fit again.
The reaction? The prospective client hung up the phone, and said “they fired me!”
A couple of hours later, the prospective client called the advisor and apologized for being negligent, and for disrespecting the advisor’s process. He asked if they would please allow him to get together all the needed financial information and meet in two weeks.
Following this interaction, the Advisor said his strategy in dealing with client challenges going forward, is to “throw the process under the bus when necessary” – effectively highlighting that it’s not a whim on the Advisor’s part that things are done on schedule. It’s not personal; it’s the process that the Advisor follows in order to best serve his clients.
Contributed by Elaine Christakos
When goal setting, we tend to focus on what we aspire to, and look forward. In this episode, Duncan explains how looking back and mentoring others is an important foundation for moving forward.
We all look for balance. Think of balance in terms of work/life: The business is supposed to serve your life, not the other way around. Either you are running a business or it is running you.
Say up front that you understand the prospective client is vetting you, and be clear that you are also vetting them to make sure that you are a good fit and there is an alignment of interest. It is about engagement, and the client empowering the team.
Professionalize and standardize your approach to shift from an organic to a scalable model.
In this episode of the Blue Square Method, An Attitude of Gratitude, Duncan discusses the importance of being grateful for the many things that you’ve accomplished, while still aspiring to achieve your ambitions.
On behalf of the entire team here at Pareto Systems, we wish you and yours a very warm and special Thanksgiving Holiday Season!
Remember, you are not marketing to yourself. What matters is how you are perceived and described by your clients. You don't sell insurance. You're not an insurance broker. Risk management is part of your process. You're not selling something, you're building something. You're building financial independence for your clients. You're building advocacy within those clients. You're building enterprise value, not trading your time for money. Don't be your own best-kept secret, relying solely on skills and intentions that a client can get somewhere else. Skills are important, but everything you do is part of your process. Imprint the panoramic process. Make sure your clients can internalize it, that so they can socialize it to others.
