I had my first meeting with an estate planning attorney using the Strategic Alliance system created by Steve Moeller. The attorney’s name is Ron L. and he is based in Sun City. He has done some work for a few of my clients and knew my Dad pretty well. His office is literally across the street from the Merrill Lynch office that my Dad was the manager of for many years. I went into this meeting expecting it to be pretty easy since Ron already knew me on a personal level. I was right.
The purpose of the first meeting is to see if you would like to work with him as an alliance partner in the future. You also want to see if he works with clients that are similar to your ideal clients and that he is open to the idea of working with you.
Here is what I found out about Ron L.
Ron’s business breaks down to 75% estate planning and trusts and 25% general law practice helping business owners set up LLC’s, Corporations, and agreements. He has practiced law for over 20 years. He went to college at the University of Wyoming (which is my wife’s alma mater) and Law School at Arizona State.
In his Sun City office he has an office manager, receptionist, and a legal secretary. He also keeps office hours in Scottsdale. At that office he uses the staff at his office complex.
His practice for estate planning is pretty broad in that he will do simple wills for small clients to advanced estate planning strategies for multi millionaires. Most of his clients have net assets in the $1MM to $3MM range. The only business that he refers out to another attorney is anyone interested in a “Miller Trust” that is used to qualify for Long Term Care under the ALTCS program. He used to do a lot of Form 706 work (Estate Tax Returns) but that has slowed down last few years as there has been a steady decrease in the unified credit over the last few years.
He estimated that he has over 800 clients and is looking for more. His ideal client is about to retire and needs a will and a trust and possibly some life insurance. He likes them a little younger so he has a chance to work with them a few times over the years as their situation changes. He gave me an interesting answer when I asked him about his business goals. He said he has never set goals because he always works hard and he doesn’t need to write down a specific number. He believes that with hard work, he will do the best he can and whatever happens he will be happy with it.
The main challenges in his practice are paralegals who practice law when they are not allowed to do the work. He also sees some of the online sites like “Legal Zoom” as competition. He has a hard time with clients who are very busy. They tend to lack focus. He can get them through the basic estate plan or trust but when it comes to doing advanced planning, they seem to lose patience or focus and do not follow through. He has also found it hard to get through some of the complicated or technical issues in estate planning with clients. Ron would call this “getting them to the next level” where he feels he can really add value to their situation. Often he will advise them to use Life Insurance and sometimes the insurance agent or financial planner he refers them to, does not do a good enough job of convincing the client that it is the right thing to do. Ron does not have an insurance license and does not believe it is ethical for an attorney to recommend it and get paid for it.
Most of his marketing is done through informal networking. He gets alot of his probate work through Title officers at banks who are working with clients that are trying to sell Mom or Dad’s home and suddenly find out they need to put the home through probate before they can sell it. He is a member of the Central Arizona Estate Planning Council and he has done some seminars for the State Bar of Arizona. For the most part he feels as if he does not do a lot of marketing. He depends on doing a good job for his clients and utilizing their good word of mouth.
One of the ways he stands out from most Estate Planning Attorneys is that he always tries to go over the documents with the client face to face. Most attorneys will mail out the documents and encourage their client to read them and get back to them with questions. Ron feels this is a deterrent for many clients who are intimidated by the documents or the process.
Ron said he would like to work with me and he is willing to take the next step and set up a second meeting.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
1st Coaching Call
Steve and I had our first coaching call yesterday. I feel it went well and it gave me a lot to think about.
The first part of our call covered a lot of information about positive psychology. I have always known that I tend to gravitate towards numbers, facts, and logic when I make an argument or try to convince a client/prospect to make a change. Steve is trying to make me see that scientifically, this is the less effective approach.
What he believes in, is what I would call emotional selling. Try to get my prospect/client to think about positive experiences and their dreams. This will put them in a better state of mind to receive your advice and they will also tend to transfer these positive emotions to their thoughts about me. Showing a client some pretty graphs will often times confuse them and elicit a “flight” response where they will then tell you, “I have to think about it.”
We reviewed my meeting with Bob and Janet from my last post and he gave me some good scripting ideas to follow up on their “dreams”. Steve clarified for me that I do not have make their dreams come true, but rather help them to express their dreams and then offer them permission and encouragement to pursue these activities.
The master plan is to help many of my clients with these dreams so when they are at a future client appreciation event, they will tell the prospective clients all about how I helped them make their dreams come true.
I met with a couple of clients today that I inherited from my father. I mostly wanted to help them put a name with my face and increase their comfort level with me. It was also another opportunity to ask clients about their hopes and dreams.
The problem I ran into is that some older clients have a lot of inertia in their lives. They like everything the way it is and change really seems to scare them. I get really frustrated when I see easy opportunities to make their financial lives easier and cannot push the right buttons to get them motivated to take action.
Another question I have is does it make sense to try and stir up negative emotions about their current situation to then show them how you can make their lives easier?
My client, Erna, has a “B” trust with me for around 400k, but she has over $1MM at a local bank in her “A” trust. Almost none of the A trust money is invested and could easily be consolidated at my firm. Plus I could invest it in a safe bond portfolio and earn a lot more money for her that what she has now.
Since she had mentioned that she liked to travel and her kids were on opposite sides of the country, I asked her if there was any place in the world that she would like to go. She mentioned London and then immediately came up with excuses on why she can’t go due to her age. It just seems like so many people are comfortable living their normal lives and are afraid to try something new even though it could make their lives better. Ugh!
The first part of our call covered a lot of information about positive psychology. I have always known that I tend to gravitate towards numbers, facts, and logic when I make an argument or try to convince a client/prospect to make a change. Steve is trying to make me see that scientifically, this is the less effective approach.
What he believes in, is what I would call emotional selling. Try to get my prospect/client to think about positive experiences and their dreams. This will put them in a better state of mind to receive your advice and they will also tend to transfer these positive emotions to their thoughts about me. Showing a client some pretty graphs will often times confuse them and elicit a “flight” response where they will then tell you, “I have to think about it.”
We reviewed my meeting with Bob and Janet from my last post and he gave me some good scripting ideas to follow up on their “dreams”. Steve clarified for me that I do not have make their dreams come true, but rather help them to express their dreams and then offer them permission and encouragement to pursue these activities.
The master plan is to help many of my clients with these dreams so when they are at a future client appreciation event, they will tell the prospective clients all about how I helped them make their dreams come true.
I met with a couple of clients today that I inherited from my father. I mostly wanted to help them put a name with my face and increase their comfort level with me. It was also another opportunity to ask clients about their hopes and dreams.
The problem I ran into is that some older clients have a lot of inertia in their lives. They like everything the way it is and change really seems to scare them. I get really frustrated when I see easy opportunities to make their financial lives easier and cannot push the right buttons to get them motivated to take action.
Another question I have is does it make sense to try and stir up negative emotions about their current situation to then show them how you can make their lives easier?
My client, Erna, has a “B” trust with me for around 400k, but she has over $1MM at a local bank in her “A” trust. Almost none of the A trust money is invested and could easily be consolidated at my firm. Plus I could invest it in a safe bond portfolio and earn a lot more money for her that what she has now.
Since she had mentioned that she liked to travel and her kids were on opposite sides of the country, I asked her if there was any place in the world that she would like to go. She mentioned London and then immediately came up with excuses on why she can’t go due to her age. It just seems like so many people are comfortable living their normal lives and are afraid to try something new even though it could make their lives better. Ugh!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
First Key Client Interview
I am still trying to get through all my assignments before my first coaching call with Steve. In the mean time, I had a lunch scheduled with one of my favorite clients Bob and Janet. Much like going to school without doing all your homework, I figured I would give Assignment 11: Ask Your Key Clients For Advice and Support a try.
I crammed as best I could and we met for lunch at Fuddruckers. At first we exchanged pleasantries and answered a few quick questions about their accounts. Then I told them that I was evaluating my business and I had hired a marketing coach to help me. I am interviewing my top clients to find out what they want out of a financial advisor and how I can find more clients that are like them.
I did not bring them a gift since this was done at the last minute, but I did buy them lunch so I guess that counts for something. The first few questions are on their future vision and unfulfilled dreams. I asked them, “What do you want more of in your life?” and “What dreams did you have as a child that you wish you had acted on?”
Bob and Janet want more free time so they can spend more time with their grandkids and travel to Breckenridge and their mobile home in Rocky Point, Mexico. They can feel the clock ticking down on their life and they want to enjoy as much as they can while they are still healthy enough to do it. One unfulfilled dream was that Janet has always wanted to learn how to play the piano.
Then I asked them “What are your biggest financial concerns?”. Their biggest concern is that the cost of health insurance is continuing to escalate. They had initially assumed that $35k in income plus their pension and social security would be enough to live on. Now they are realizing that their income will have to grow over time to keep up with any of the increases. They are also worried that if any of their children get in financial trouble that they will need to have money to bail them out.
The next topic was why they decided to work with me when we started the relationship. There were 3 reasons: 1. Dupont had their 401k with Merrill Lynch so it seemed natural to roll it over to a Merrill Lynch account. 2. They have known me and my parents since I was a kid. 3. Their other advisor never called them.
It’s important to them that their financial advisor is available, honest, and has the ability to customize advice to their specific situation. If their friends asked about me they would say that I am creative, honest, and safe.
I gave them one of the questionnaires on Client Appreciation activities. Their top activities were Annual Cruise, Client Appreciation lunch or dinner, Economist or tax accountant update, Financial and investment workshop, taking out friends to lunch on your birthday, Theater events, small dinner parties, and workshops to create a positive vision of the future.
I was not prepared to ask for specific referrals, so I described my ideal client to them and let them know how I would treat them during the initial profiling process. In other words, I planted the seed to ask them for specifics later.
There was one small niche that was exposed in that Janet has a group of women who meet for lunch once a month. It started as a birthday group with most of the ladies from Arrowhead Country Club. It has gotten smaller over the years, however I think I could get Janet to invite them out on her birthday and maybe I could say something about my business.
In conclusion, I like the strategy of the interview. Next time I will be more organized and I will know the material better. Plus I will have finished some of my marketing material that I can ask for feedback on.
I crammed as best I could and we met for lunch at Fuddruckers. At first we exchanged pleasantries and answered a few quick questions about their accounts. Then I told them that I was evaluating my business and I had hired a marketing coach to help me. I am interviewing my top clients to find out what they want out of a financial advisor and how I can find more clients that are like them.
I did not bring them a gift since this was done at the last minute, but I did buy them lunch so I guess that counts for something. The first few questions are on their future vision and unfulfilled dreams. I asked them, “What do you want more of in your life?” and “What dreams did you have as a child that you wish you had acted on?”
Bob and Janet want more free time so they can spend more time with their grandkids and travel to Breckenridge and their mobile home in Rocky Point, Mexico. They can feel the clock ticking down on their life and they want to enjoy as much as they can while they are still healthy enough to do it. One unfulfilled dream was that Janet has always wanted to learn how to play the piano.
Then I asked them “What are your biggest financial concerns?”. Their biggest concern is that the cost of health insurance is continuing to escalate. They had initially assumed that $35k in income plus their pension and social security would be enough to live on. Now they are realizing that their income will have to grow over time to keep up with any of the increases. They are also worried that if any of their children get in financial trouble that they will need to have money to bail them out.
The next topic was why they decided to work with me when we started the relationship. There were 3 reasons: 1. Dupont had their 401k with Merrill Lynch so it seemed natural to roll it over to a Merrill Lynch account. 2. They have known me and my parents since I was a kid. 3. Their other advisor never called them.
It’s important to them that their financial advisor is available, honest, and has the ability to customize advice to their specific situation. If their friends asked about me they would say that I am creative, honest, and safe.
I gave them one of the questionnaires on Client Appreciation activities. Their top activities were Annual Cruise, Client Appreciation lunch or dinner, Economist or tax accountant update, Financial and investment workshop, taking out friends to lunch on your birthday, Theater events, small dinner parties, and workshops to create a positive vision of the future.
I was not prepared to ask for specific referrals, so I described my ideal client to them and let them know how I would treat them during the initial profiling process. In other words, I planted the seed to ask them for specifics later.
There was one small niche that was exposed in that Janet has a group of women who meet for lunch once a month. It started as a birthday group with most of the ladies from Arrowhead Country Club. It has gotten smaller over the years, however I think I could get Janet to invite them out on her birthday and maybe I could say something about my business.
In conclusion, I like the strategy of the interview. Next time I will be more organized and I will know the material better. Plus I will have finished some of my marketing material that I can ask for feedback on.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Business Analysis
Every coaching program for financial advisors starts with a business analysis. They are all based on the premise of the 80/20 rule. 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients. In fact my firm has been preaching this theory for years and has even gone as far as not paying it's financial advisors for any business transacted in households that have less than $100,000. The idea is that your time is better spent on your top 20% of your clients than "wasting it" on the other 80%.
The one drawback of this theory is that you need to bring in new assets to continue to grow your business. If you just concentrate on your top 20%, they are still only going to do 80% of the business. Therefore you need to squeeze more business from your top 20% or bring in more clients if you want to grow.
My goal is to grow my assets under management back to $100,000,000. I would like my new clients to average over $1,000,000. Therefore I need to bring in at least 30 new clients in the next two years.
Here are some numbers from my business analysis:
Top Ten clients generate $137,000 in commissions in 2009.
The top ten generate 43% of my income for the year.
I have 146 total households under management.
In theory, if I clone my top ten clients then I could increase my production by 43% next year.
The one drawback of this theory is that you need to bring in new assets to continue to grow your business. If you just concentrate on your top 20%, they are still only going to do 80% of the business. Therefore you need to squeeze more business from your top 20% or bring in more clients if you want to grow.
My goal is to grow my assets under management back to $100,000,000. I would like my new clients to average over $1,000,000. Therefore I need to bring in at least 30 new clients in the next two years.
Here are some numbers from my business analysis:
Top Ten clients generate $137,000 in commissions in 2009.
The top ten generate 43% of my income for the year.
I have 146 total households under management.
In theory, if I clone my top ten clients then I could increase my production by 43% next year.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Introductory Post
I am a Financial Advisor in a large wirehouse firm in Arizona. I have been with the same firm for 14 years. At one time my partnership with my Father was managing just over $100 million in client money and we were producing over $1,000,000 in gross commissions.
Over the last few years, a lot of my father's clients have passed away. Along with the huge correction in the market, our business has been in a steady decline. This year we will finish with approximately 320,000 in gross commissions and $67 million in assets under management.
My father is retiring at the end of the year after 35 years at the same firm. Now that I am alone in the practice and call my own shots, I am planning a rebound. Like the title of this blog, I plan to rise to prominence again.
Currently I am searching for a coach to help me with my marketing plan. I have interviewed three of them over the phone and I think I am going to go with Steve Moeller from American Business Visions. He wrote a book around 10 years ago called Effortless Marketing that discusses his method of niche marketing. I really enjoyed the book and have tried to implement some of his strategies into my practice. Recently he has developed a strategy to work with Trust and Estate Planning Attorneys as collaborative partners. I have seen a little of the material and I think it may work.
I am going to keep a running journal of my efforts over the next year so I can keep myself on plan and also so my coach can keep up with me in between phone calls.
Over the last few years, a lot of my father's clients have passed away. Along with the huge correction in the market, our business has been in a steady decline. This year we will finish with approximately 320,000 in gross commissions and $67 million in assets under management.
My father is retiring at the end of the year after 35 years at the same firm. Now that I am alone in the practice and call my own shots, I am planning a rebound. Like the title of this blog, I plan to rise to prominence again.
Currently I am searching for a coach to help me with my marketing plan. I have interviewed three of them over the phone and I think I am going to go with Steve Moeller from American Business Visions. He wrote a book around 10 years ago called Effortless Marketing that discusses his method of niche marketing. I really enjoyed the book and have tried to implement some of his strategies into my practice. Recently he has developed a strategy to work with Trust and Estate Planning Attorneys as collaborative partners. I have seen a little of the material and I think it may work.
I am going to keep a running journal of my efforts over the next year so I can keep myself on plan and also so my coach can keep up with me in between phone calls.
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