Qualify Your Prospects Before the First Meeting

You shouldn’t meet with everyone willing to meet with you.

We have a form on our site that people fill out to schedule a meeting. One of those questions asks about their investible assets. We have a drop down with the following answers:

< $100k

$100k to $250k

$250k to $500k

$500k to $1m

$1m to $3M

$3m to $5m

$5m+

Which advisor we schedule them for depends sepending on how they answer this question. People are rarely honest with this question. They often have more money than what they indicate, however, the first answer of <$100k is almost always accurate. We have an advisor who still takes these meetings and they usually go nowhere. It’s a waste of his time, yet he still does it.

Your time is valuable. If your investment minimum is a specific number, don’t meet with anyone less that that. Take the time to qualify people before your meeting.

Qualifying a prospect before meeting with them is important for a financial advisor because it helps to determine if the prospect is a good fit for their services, and if the prospect has the financial resources and investment goals that the advisor can help with. This can save both the advisor and the prospect time and ensure that the meeting is productive and results in a mutually beneficial relationship. By qualifying a prospect, the advisor can tailor their approach and ensure that they are offering solutions that are relevant to the prospect’s needs and goals, leading to a higher likelihood of a successful engagement.

A financial advisor can qualify a prospect before their first meeting in several ways:

Screening questions: The advisor can ask questions over the phone or through email to gather information about the prospect’s financial situation, investment goals, and risk tolerance.

Research: The advisor can research the prospect’s background, employment, and any public financial information that may be available.

Referral source: If the prospect was referred by a trusted source, such as a client or business associate, the advisor can ask for more information about the referral to determine if the prospect is a good fit for their services.

Ask for documentation: The advisor can ask the prospect to provide documentation such as tax returns, bank statements, or other financial records to determine their financial status and investment goals.

Level of Service: Is the prospect looking for investment ideas? Are they looking for full service management or something in between?

By doing this preliminary work, the financial advisor can determine if the prospect is a good fit for their services and if they have the financial resources and investment goals that the advisor can help with. This helps to ensure that the first meeting is productive and leads to a mutually beneficial relationship.