Closing prospects can be a long and expensive process. While 60% of new clients close within a month, the other 40% can take up to a year or more. Any tools your firm can use to streamline that journey from prospect to client helps to save both money and time. 

One of the biggest challenges advisors face when working with prospects is effectively communicating all the services that encompass “financial planning.” Detailed financial plans, investment portfolios, or other complex data – winning a new client can take a lot. However, most prospects don’t have the time or the attention span to digest all of this information. 

That’s where concise prospect deliverables come in to play – and we’ve rounded up everything you need to know to harness deliverables and win more prospects more quickly.

What are Concise Prospect Deliverables for Financial Advisors?

Concise prospect deliverables for financial advisors are an essential tool when you want to close more prospects faster. After all, the typical prospect close rate for advisors sits somewhere around 33%.

These deliverables, which can be anything from a one-page summary of a financial plan to a brief presentation on a specific investment opportunity, are designed to provide prospects with a quick, clear overview of what you have to offer.

A deliverable could include:

• Any one-page financial plan template in the market today. For example, several advisors have created great templates and are selling them to fellow advisors.  
• Holistiplan’s Tax Report and Tax Prep Letter, along with the new Explainer Reports for specific topics like QCDs, DAFs, and Roth Conversions.
• Asset Map’s visual portfolio representation
• fpPathfinder’s one-page checklists and flowcharts that you could review with a prospect that shares a specific financial question for you to answer.

By providing prospects with a clear, concise overview of what you have to offer, you can help them to quickly understand the value of your services.

How Concise Prospect Deliverables Facilitate Better Conversations for Financial Advisors

Financial Planning can be a rather arcane and ambiguous subject to prospects. What really is “financial planning” or “financial advice” or “tax planning” – and why do they need it? When you only have a brief moment to communicate your value proposition, there’s no room for uncertainty.

Even without having any information about the prospect, a sample deliverable can visually show them what services you offer, taking the mystery out of the advisor-client relationship. 

The prospect can then take those documents home to review on their own time, which helps to solidify the types of products and services available. Plus, they may even share those deliverables with friends and family, spreading the word about your firm to even more prospects. 

It’s important to remember that your approach to deliverables matters – a document can’t become a crutch for ill-preparedness or take the place of consultations. Rather, they should be used to enhance the prospect experience. 

It’s best to gather some initial, general information about the prospect before the consultation meeting and then tailor your deliverables to their unique financial situation. 

In summary, concise prospect deliverables for financial advisors can:

• Demystify “financial planning”
• Allow the prospect to visualize what you do versus trying to understand from verbal explanations
• Provide an anonymous example of the type of work you do that they can then share with other potential prospects
• Facilitate a more personalized consultation session, resulting in a greater value to the prospect

How to Find the Right Deliverables for Your Firm

While deliverables are a great addition to your sales pitch, it’s important to employ the right content in front of your prospects. To decide which deliverables will help you close more deals, it’s best to consider what your current clients most value from your planning services. 

If your tax planning solutions add significant value to your clients’ lives, then you should focus on a tax planning deliverable. If your firm focuses on holistic financial planning solutions, perhaps a visual aid such as Asset Map would be more beneficial. Don’t just add deliverables to add deliverables – make sure the tools you’re using are reflective of your firm’s values and services. 

You can also take advantage of opportunities to “test drive” these tools, as many offer free trials or demos of their products. Narrow down your list to a few deliverables that look promising, and reach out to representatives at those companies to learn more. 

By providing prospects with a clear, concise overview of what you have to offer, you can help to streamline your sales pitch, build trust and save time, growing your client base along the way.

Embrace Deliverables with Holistiplan

Holistiplan can help you share your value prop to prospects from the very beginning. Click here to explore our deliverables or start your free trial today.