Building a Strong Process | Red Flag Quadrant 1 Creating Awareness

We delve into the essential aspects of client engagement. In this session Ellie Armstrong explores strategies to build a robust game plan, leverage helpful content for positive responses, and identify pain points during initial meetings. Let's embark on a journey towards successful client interactions and enhanced advisor effectiveness.

• Ellie Armstrong, Investment Analyst
  
• Meghan Garrity, Retirement Group VP

To initiate the process, Ellie emphasizes the significance of utilizing Larkspur, a comprehensive retirement plan database, to identify ideal prospects and refine your search criteria. By focusing on location, plan size, and participant size, you can narrow down the list to target plans that align with your practice. Ellie shares valuable insights on creating lists in Larkspur and offers suggestions for email templates and tools like SalesLoft or Larkspur's integrated features to streamline your communication process.

Education plays a crucial role in helping prospects recognize their pain points. Ellie advises providing specific information that aids prospects in performing their job more effectively, thus increasing the likelihood of a positive response. Addressing topics such as executive benefits, financial wellness, fees and fee benchmarking, and target date funds (TDFs), you can showcase your expertise and demonstrate value even before being hired.

Target date funds have emerged as an area of opportunity for advisors. Ellie delves deeper into this subject, highlighting plan sponsor-facing materials and common TDF risks. To offer a comprehensive perspective, she is joined by Meghan from BlackRock, who reviews the impact of these risks on participants and provides guidance on positioning them to prospects.

Throughout the discovery phase, Ellie stresses the importance of asking relevant questions to gain a better understanding of prospects' situations. Softening statements such as "Let's look at TDFs through a different lens" and "Let's review recent trends and litigation" can prompt prospects to consider alternative approaches and spark meaningful discussions.

Key Takeaways:

Building a strong process, delivering helpful content, and engaging in productive first meetings are the foundational steps towards identifying pain points and establishing lasting client relationships. By following these principles, advisors can navigate the awareness phase with confidence and set the stage for successful client outcomes.

Are you looking for more insights? Download the presentation here.

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