The Practice Doctor is IN

Al Depman, CLU, ChFC, CMFC, BH

Practice Management Consultant

Delivery: The Often Overlooked Final Step

Where has the delivery gone? Most practices I’ve worked with over the past decade can point to specific steps in the sales process. “Sales process” is the phrase I use to describe the method an advisor uses to turn a prospect into a client:

• Initial meeting: first impressions and agreeing to work together
• Discovery period: gathering facts, feelings and documents
• Case development: putting it all together
• Bridge communication: keeping in contact with the potential client
• Presentation and close: educating, providing solutions, getting a potential client’s commitment
• Implementation: underwriting, issuing, paperwork
• Delivery: transitioning from sales client service

Over the years, as insurance and investment practices have merged, this last delivery step has all but vanished. The reasons are persuasive enough: transactional sales like moving accounts from one firm to another or simple term insurance policies really don’t require much in terms of relationship-building. Mailing the term policy or sending a statement when money has relocated is sufficient if there is no long-term relationship on the line. Anything more complex, however, deserves the flourish of a delivery meeting.

There are five best practices in the delivery meeting that take place when someone moves from prospect to client. Consisting of five steps, the purpose of a delivery meeting is to provide a formal transition into your Client Management System:

The meeting needs to be in-person and have a specific agenda. Unless impossible, the meeting should be in person. There are times when it is impractical due to long distances or scheduling conflicts––in those instances, ear-to-ear is a next-best option.  If you have little interest in creating a relationship with the customer because you are simply handling a transaction, simply mailing the policy or document is acceptable, as long as it meets the compliance requirements for a “complete delivery and acceptance.”

You need to reinforce the issue(s) the product/program/sale addresses. This step has two aspects to consider. First, recap what was accomplished and why. This can be done visually by using the iconic image and showing where the work was done within that structure (as in a pyramid). Second, ask the client to describe what they bought and why, in their own words. This is a defensive measure that ensures a client understands the investment they’ve just made. If the client is able to articulate what they bought and why they bought it, you can assume that if the client is approached by a competitor or another party who brings the purchase into question, the client can respond intelligently to the challenge. 

The language for this is straightforward. Once you have recapped the sale, you can say: “If someone you know were to ask what we accomplished in working together, how would you describe it?” or “Now that we have this product/plan/purchase in place, would you mind describing what––in your own words––we’ve accomplished?”

Don’t be surprised if a client pushes back and asks why this is necessary. In these cases, you can respond with something like: “There’s a lot of financial information in the media that can be confusing and misleading. I want to be sure my best clients can participate in any discussion from a position of strength.”

The seeds of your next opportunity need to be planted. Using the iconic image, as in step two, ask your client what the next financial concept, product, or service to pursue might be down the road. This sets the stage for future opportunities to be explored during annual reviews. This also has the side benefit of reminding your client that you have a wide array of products and services so they can’t say “I didn’t know you did that…”

Service expectations are addressed. You can discuss the various methods of communications a client can expect. Examples include:

• Annual reviews
• Newsletters
• Quarterly  updates
• Statements of account (provide a sample to show your client highlights)
• Access to accounts online
• Delivery preferences (electronic or postal)
• Who to call with questions or service requests
• Other expectations clients have during the course of the next year

The meeting includes a referral conversation. This is a good time to talk about referrals since you’ve just successfully helped a client with a financial issue and that client is feeling positive towards you. The language around this step has been covered in other best practice columns.

A strong delivery process is a powerful relationship-building tool. Treat it lightly at your own risk!

Al Depman, CLU, ChFC, CMFC, BH, a.k.a. “The Practice Doctor”, is MitchAnthony.com’s Business Practice Consultant. He is the creator of “The Practice Management Assessment” tool and materials and has authored numerous articles in professional publications on practice management, and author of the book, How to Build Your Financial Advisory Business and Sell It at a Profit, now available from McGraw Hill. Al combined his Liberal Arts studies with 10 years of management experience with McDonald’s Corporation to enter the financial services world 25 years ago. Since then, Al has evolved from an MDRT-level sales rep into a full-time consultant specializing in helping others engineer their business practices to the next level. Contact him at al@mitchanthony.com.

© 2009 Al Depman