Five Tips for Better Retirement Plan Prospecting
Winning new clients can take a lot of time, energy and even money—so, finding ways to minimize your costs while maximizing growth in your practice is key. The most successful retirement plan advisors are utilizing tools and resources up front that allow them to zero in on high probability wins and take low probability opportunities out of the equation. How can you identify those “best” prospects? We’ve identified five smart tips that will help you step up your retirement plan prospecting game.
1. Identify your ideal target customers
Chart out your ideal type of client based on qualities that can set you apart from others. Is there a certain location or plan size where your solutions work best? Are their certain current service providers you would like to target? Map this out for each solution or product line that you offer, as they could be very different.
2. Get the full picture
Know as much as you can about the plan before the meeting.
What have the last 10 years looked like for the sponsor?
What areas of opportunity stand out that you could provide solutions to? Have they been paying too much to other service providers?
What de-risking opportunities might be available?
Is their fund menu design state of the art?
Put yourself in the sponsor’s shoes to deliver value and connect with their needs.
3. Create your talking points
Stand out from other advisors by clearly communicating the value you bring. Create a clear, concise list of the issues or challenges being faced and the high-level solutions available to the sponsor in order to address them. By highlighting new opportunities for sponsors to reduce cost, risk or volatility, you become the “go-to” advisor for valuable solutions.
4. Leverage the support of your network and experts to grow your practice
Retirement plan experts have the ability to analyze plan designs and performance to identify where additional opportunities could be in a way that others don’t. By leveraging your connections to industry experts, you can bring that knowledge to your plan sponsor meetings.
5. Determine additional channels for growth
Are there different plan types that you aren’t taking advantage of that fit well with your current solutions? Are there additional de-risking strategies that will enhance your current offerings? By combining existing solutions with additional design focused consulting, advisors are able to further show the value they bring to the sponsor and further differentiate themselves from others.
The key to identifying the “right” prospects is to have a clear understanding and a full picture of exactly what is going on with their plan. By knowing what they have experienced in the past, what they are experiencing today and what their experience could be for the future, advisors are able to present solutions that resonate with the client. Wondering how to get that data easily, all in one place? Learn more about O3 Edge, an intuitive prospecting solution designed for retirement plan advisors.