PROSPECTING
Goal
Identify and meet ideal clients on a regular basis and create
a desire for them to learn more.
Identify Your
Ideal Client
Identify your ideal client profile that will lead to long-term client relationships.
1
1
Objective
Segment Your Prospects
Segment your prospects to get the most time with your ideal clients.
2
2
Objective
Define Your Value Proposition
3
3
Objective
Define your unique value proposition to maximize your impact.
Communicate How You Will Get Paid
Communicate to prospects how you will get paid.
4
4
Objective
Build a Referral Management System
Create a system for acquiring and managing referrals.
5
5
Objective
Key Tools
Materials
Identify Your Ideal Client
Prospecting is positioning yourself in front of people on a regular basis who have the characteristics that you look for in an ideal client.
By ideal, we mean people who, by a set of criteria, you most enjoy working with and who are most likely to benefit from you taking them through the Leap Process.
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Your ideal client should be made up of both external and internal characteristics:
Your Ideal Client:
Internal & External Characteristics
Love of
Family
Open-
Mindedness
Motivation
Social Style
Likability
Desire to
Implement
Demographics (Age, Marital Status, Children, Location)
Profession (Occupation, Education, Business Market)
Financial Attributes (Income, Net Worth, Home Ownership)
Financial Needs (Insurance, Investments, Legacy)
Affiliations
Hobbies
& Interests
Keep track of these characteristics as you meet new candidates. Who becomes a client? Who doesn't? Can you spot a pattern over time? When you work with people who come closest to your ideal client profile, your practice will begin to grow exponentially.
Segment Your Clients
Segmenting prospects is not a character assessment or judgement of the prospect, but rather a professional assessment that gives the financial professional the greatest probability to transact business.
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For example, you may choose to segment and rank your candidates using the following criteria and based on past experience:
Client Segmentation Template
If you are new to Leap, you may not be able
to obtain prestige introductions until you are able to get someone to go through the Leap process.
You don't have to work with everyone all the time. It's okay to see different types of clients, over time you should be able to identify the type(s) you work
best with.
Maximize your time with those highest ranking
“A” clients because
your closing ratio with
A-ranked clients who you take through the Leap process is over 90%.
Define Your Value Proposition
How do you answer the question, “What do you do?”
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The first step is to determine your unique value proposition. Your value proposition is a brief and clear explanation that describes the benefit to clients of working with you, the benefits of the Leap Model and Process, and what distinguishes you from the competition. More importantly, your value proposition should be delivered in such a genuine way that it peaks the prospects interest enough for them to take action, exchange contact information or agree to meet with you so you can continue the conversation.
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An effective value proposition has the following three dialogue components:
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Lead-ins: Compelling lead-in or hook that shares 1-2 features and benefits
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Engagement Questions​: Relevant engagement question or point
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Call to Actions: Specific call to action
Pulling It All Together – A Value Proposition
for Most Prospects
By combining a compelling lead-in, a relevant engagement question or point along with a call to action, an effective value proposition may sound like:
I use a very unique and specialized process that helps people increase their wealth building potential on top of what they are presently doing.
The best part is, we are able to accomplish this without additional out of pocket outlay on your part and with less risk than you are presently exposed to.
Would that be of interest to you?
All we need is about 30-minutes and I’ll show you our process. How about one day next week during your lunch… would Tuesday or Wednesday work for you?
Tips and Considerations Before Approaching Prospects
Establish a tactical plan for whom you will reach out to and what your approach is going to be.
Customize your value proposition for different types of social situations and prospects.
Resolve, in advance:
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Why should this prospect work with me?
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What do you believe that you do for clients that you are most proud of?
Memorize your value proposition and practice saying it with colleagues so it doesn’t sound like a script. Speak from the heart.
Write out your value proposition using short impactful sentences, not long paragraphs.
Consistently rework your value proposition to ensure it sounds sincere, genuine and authentic coming from you. What works for someone else’s personality may not work for yours.
All financial professionals will wrestle with credibility at different levels and for different reasons, therefore focus on prospects that will be great candidates for the Leap Process.
Experiment with different value propositions in your day-to-day life.
Understand that each financial professional has unique challenges for each type of prospect they will encounter.
Consider using Self-Powerment coaching. This program creates new level of awareness where you can make deliberate choices, focus, and have clarity and ease in how you experience all areas of your lives. To learn more, please visit our Being Present section.
Build a Referral Management System
If you are new to the Leap Process, you must employ a tactical and well thought out approach to whom they intend to target and why (i.e., your ideal client). Each type of financial professional, experienced, career changer, or new, has their own distinctions, advantages and disadvantages. Consequently, it is imperative that you establish a high level of activity with the right type of candidates in order to obtain referrals by “A” profile clients (i.e., your ideal client) as quickly as possible.
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Tracking Activity
You should document your front-end activity every month. You are expected to contact as many prospects as needed to complete 7-10 well-rehearsed “open talks” at Intro Meetings per month. You should continue this level of activity until you are collecting clients’ financial data, obtaining documents, and opening at least 6 cases per month.
Activity Tracking Template
Prospecting Success Factors​​​
Identified your ideal client profile
Segmented your prospects
Defined and can communicate your unique value proposition to prospects
Created a system for acquiring prospects and managing referrals