ADVICE FOR THE EMERGING ADVISOR- 100 Gifts

I have been approached by several new advisors recently asking me how to get started with Advice-based Financial Planning. 

I realize that many new advisors struggle with the same questions. Rather than answer them one by one, I will do a series of blogs specifically for emerging advisors based on the questions I hear directly from them.  

Let's start with this one… 

How do I get new Ideal Clients if I am starting from scratch? 

The first thing you need to do is make sure that you know what an Ideal Client actually looks like for your practice and that you are prepared to deliver on the promise of Advice-based Financial Planning once you are hired.    

For the purpose of this blog, I will assume you are confident in both of these areas. If you aren't clear on those things, I have an online course that could help you immensely. Email me if you would like to learn more: [email protected].   

Now that you have your High-Value Offer nailed down: 

1. Who you serve 
2. Your initial planning process 
3. Your annual planning process 
4. Your fee structure 

Let's talk about getting people in the door! 

When I started in the industry, everyone was required to come up with 100 names—sometimes called Project 100. The idea being that you would hit these 100 people up to see if you could sell them something. I have been told that the expectation these days is 200! Who actually knows 200 people? Not me! 

Side note: Captive companies love this strategy because you sell your 100 friends and family as much product as possible and if/when you fail as an advisor, those policies and investments stay on the books with the company. Very Sly! 

We are going to use a similar strategy but wrap it in a layer of service and purpose. 

Rather than hit up 100 people to sell them something, you are going to offer your expertise for free to everyone you know. Let's rename it 100 Gifts. You are going to offer 100 people the gift of a free Discovery EXPERIENCE in the next year.  

At this point, you are like, "OK, Lucila, how is this any different?" 

It is as different as GIVING vs. TAKING. 

The old Project 100 is based on seeing if you can sell something to your friends and family. The language they teach you to use is around "asking for support for your new business" or "let me practice my pitch." It is about guilting people into helping you. 

Our 100 Gifts strategy is precisely the opposite. You have the expertise, and you are offering it as a no-strings-attached gift of your clarity and advice. You may identify some needs that person/family has and be prepared to help in that process.  Whether or not there is anything to "sell," they will walk away with the next steps to improve their financial lives.  

I PROMISE YOU that if you offer 100 people a Discovery EXPERIENCE in a true spirit of service and you actually deliver even half of them, you will be off to a great start building an Advice-based Financial Planning practice.  

But it has to be the truth, and you have to believe it! 

There are many ways to be of service, but I will describe The Discovery EXPERIENCE that I teach. It is a turnkey process that allows you to help clients uncover their fears, explore their values, envision their goals, and document their financial resources.   

I teach you to summarize your observations at the end of the meeting to give them actionable advice on how to improve their financial lives. And IF IT IS APPROPRIATE, you will let them know how to hire you for advice and/or product and investment implementation based on their needs. 

The first gift you will give them is clarity. Clarity about their fears and values. Clarity about their goals and where they are right now.  

The second gift will be the Next Steps email with your observations and recommendations in writing. 

Let's assume that half of your 50 Discovery EXPERIENCES need/want nothing from you. Fantastic!  You still improved their financial lives and gave a gift to the world.   

Let's assume the other half either hired you for advice or had a specific product need that you could help them with.  Would that make a big difference in the growth of your practice? 

What makes The Discovery EXPERIENCE so different is that any "outcome" is a win.   

-If you just gave them clarity and a little advice, it was still worth their time.  

-If they just need a quick-term policy and you could solve that problem for them, awesome. 

-If they realize that your Advice-based Financial Planning process is exactly what they are looking for, then it is a win for everyone! 

How different would you feel about prospecting if you KNEW in your heart that you were offering a meaningful gift with every meeting? Can you imagine if prospecting became an act of service to the world? Would you be bolder, more audacious in whom you invite in for a meeting? 

If I were starting from scratch, I would learn The Discovery EXPERIENCE process and then offer it to as many people as possible.   

Once I got good at it, I would start offering it to Key Partners like CPAs and Attorneys to see how what I do is different and feel more comfortable referring clients to me.  

I would go back and offer every product-only client a Discovery EXPERIENCE to deepen the relationship and make sure that they know that this gift is available to people in their lives and are aware of the full breadth of my services.  

And that is it! Starting from scratch is always hard. But if you know in your heart that you aren't TAKING but GIVING a gift to the world, it's no longer painful or scary. 

Failure no longer exists! You don't fail if they don't hire you. You still served! And every person who experiences your process will become part of your Raving Fan community advocating for you in the marketplace! 

As I mentioned, there are many ways to be of service. You can create your own.  If you are looking for a proven, turnkey strategy that you can implement immediately, reach out to me. I will give you an Emerging Advisor discount on The Discovery EXPERIENCE online course to help you get started. [email protected] 

I hope this serves you, 

-Lucila 

If you are an Emerging Advisor, I want to invite you to join the TIA Mastermind Group on Facebook. It is absolutely free and will connect you with me and other like-minded advisors who are excited to support the next generation of advisors.