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The 15 Fundamental Elements Of An Extraordinary Initial Client Interview™ (Part 2 of 2)

Conducting The Meeting

Potential clients will be looking to you for clues about how they should participate, so being purposeful in the first minute will set the tone for the rest of the meeting.

Be calm, relaxed and friendly… but waste no time.

Take less than 60 seconds to: express your appreciation that this particular time worked well for everyone, wrap up all other housekeeping, then launch straight into the meeting,

  1. Get straight to business within one minute
  • Ask your first question within the first minute of the meeting’s start.
  • No “rapport building”, purposeful competence & trustworthiness are better.
  • Getting right down to business is the sign of a skilled professional.

And remember: the more you talk, the less time you have to focus on them.

  1. 80/20 conversation ratio:  You speak 20% of the time, your potential clients speak 80% of the time, usually responding to your questions.

Benefit 1: Clear Financial Objectives

Help them create a prioritized and specific list of everything they want to accomplish financially in their lifetime.

  1. First establish the “why” behind your potential client’s financial objectives (all the things which matter more to them than money).
  2. Establish all goals: obtain all 3 of the following data points for each and every financial objective your potential client(s) want to accomplish
    • The name of the goal (EX: Financial Independence)
    • The Target Date for the goal (month, day, and year… all 3.  EX: March 30, 2035)
    • The amount of money required on the Target Date (the amount this goal will cost.  EX: $20,000/month after taxes)

When all goals are shared, ask your potential client(s) to prioritize these goals on a “decremented” list (highest priority at the top):

  • If they could only complete one goal, which would it be? This is the top.
  • Of the remaining goals, if they could only complete one…. This is second.
  • Repeat step #B until all of their goals are into an order they can agree on.

Benefit 2: Current Financial Reality

Help them to gain a clearer picture of where they stand relative to the objectives they would love to accomplish financially.

  1. Review every financial document related to this potential client
  2. Add together the 3 key metrics: Totals for Cash Reserves, Growth Assets, Total Debt… by reviewing the financial documents
    • Cash Reserves: Cash equivalents currently set aside for contingencies
    • Growth Assets: Total value of all current assets which are earmarked to someday fund a goal
    • Total Debt: Total of all current liabilities (debt balances)

Benefit 3: New Financial Directions

Help them to establish how serious and committed they are to their future financial objectives. Ask them, “If it were required, how many sacrifices would you be willing to make to achieve your goals?” Are both spouses equally committed?

  1. Establish level of Commitment: allow your potential client to share the specific sacrifices they’re willing to make on behalf of the financial objectives they just listed (each spouse one-by-one)

Looking For “Fit” (As A Possible Client)

Knowing what they really want, where they are now and how willing they are to make changes should be very revealing to them… and to you.

  1. Assess for “FIT” only.  While you are providing this great value to them you’re also assessing them against the elements of your “Ideal Client Profile”.

An Ideal Client Profile is a document defining the kind of clients who benefit the most from working with you, and that you most want to work with.

Clients are only a “fit” if they (both spouses) meet every element of your Ideal Client Profile.

[Pro Tip: create an ideal client profile for each product or service you offer.]

If you’re still unsure at the end of the meeting, pull out your Ideal Client Profile (for the product or service you feel might be a good fit), and ask permission to go through it together to confirm all the elements.

If there IS a good fit: you may recommend that you and they work together so you can help them make steady forward progress and achieve their desired financial objectives.

If there’s NOT a good fit: then make no recommendations to work together going forward . They wouldn’t benefit from the relationship anyway… and neither would you.

  1. Never recommend working together further unless all aspects of your Ideal Client Profile are met.  Save your time and energy for serving those who need you the most.

If they ask about becoming a client, you can politely decline, explaining that only people matching your Ideal Client Profile would benefit from your services.

If they will not be working with you going forward, be ready and willing to point them in the right direction (if they wish). They still come first, so make sure they’re well taken care of.

Those are the 15 fundamental elements for the extraordinary ICI meeting experience… now here’s how you kick it up to the next level:

End With Referral-Friendly Promises

Regardless of the outcomes above, always promise to do an ICI for anyone they send your way, even if they know that person wouldn’t fit your Ideal Client Profile.

For anyone they send who is not a good fit for you, promise you’ll take good care of them, promise that they will be pointed in the right direction for their circumstances.

Many of these aren’t going to be Ideal Clients, per se, but they’ve had a great ‘client’ experience with you and walked away with something of substantial value to them… all of which builds your referability (even if it’s just for more ICIs).  Some percentage of the people they send to you will be your Potential ‘Ideal’ Clients.  It’s win-win-win for everyone.

So as always: be well prepared, keep all your promises and exceed all of their expectations.