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The intro meeting is the lifeblood of any advisory business.
Here are six crucial steps to build the ultimate intro meeting:
1. Define the purpose
You first must get clear on why you're even having this meeting.
Answer these two questions:
- What is the ideal outcome of this meeting?
- We're having this meeting because ____?
Here’s an example: “Guide the prospect through a conversation that builds trust equity while providing the clarity and confidence to determine whether we are the right fit.”
2. Define the feeling
Next, get clear on the feeling that you're trying to elicit from this meeting.
Answer these two questions:
- What feeling do I want the prospect to have when they leave?
- What do I want them to say to the first person they talk to?
Here’s an example: “This is the best I’ve felt about our situation in a long time. Not only do I like them, but I feel more confident and hopeful about our situation than I’ve ever felt before.”
3. Build your question framework
If the intro meeting is the lifeblood of the business, then the question framework is the lifeblood of the meeting itself.
All questions are good questions. But not all questions are created equal.
Some questions are great for a discovery meeting but not the intro meeting (and vice versa).
You need a question framework to channel the conversation to the desired outcome.
Here's how:
- Create a question bank with no more than 10 questions.
- Ask yourself: “If I could only ask one question in this conversation, what would it be?”
- Repeat three to six times to create a list of the best possible questions.
- Read each question to ensure it aligns with the purpose and feeling you've just defined.
4. Create a pre-meeting email
The quality of the meeting hinges on how well you prep the prospect.
They need a roadmap of what to expect to alleviate uncertainty and anxiety.
Which is exactly what a pre-meeting email does when sent three to seven days prior to the meeting.
It needs two things at the very least:
- Outline what to expect.
- Link or video to your experience and process.
5. Create a post-meeting email
Follow up is key.
The best follow-up emails do two things:
- Recap what you heard (in the prospect's words).
- Outline next steps.
When done right, it makes them feel heard and understood.
And, often, it will even get responses back like “You get me.”
6. Create a pre-meeting agenda
Again, prospects need a roadmap of what to expect.
You can include it in the pre-meeting email or simply have it as a framework for the conversation during the meeting.
Either way, it's a research-backed tool to lower their anxiety by communicating what to expect.
Nail these six steps and you’ll be on your way to converting prospects into life-long clients.
Brendan Frazier is the founder of Wired Planning, the host of The Human Side of Money podcast, a keynote speaker, and was named one of Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors.
He’s also the creator of The Ultimate Intro Meeting, where he teaches advisors a framework to effortlessly qualify and convert prospects without being salesy. Follow Brendan on LinkedIn or Twitter.
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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
