Screening calls are a standard a part of the prospecting course of for monetary advisory companies, significantly those who obtain numerous inquiries, and can assist decide whether or not a potential consumer could be match. On the similar time, these calls could be awkward for each the prospect and the advisor, because the prospect could be requested to debate private details about their funds with somebody they’ve by no means met earlier than, and the advisor has to ask doubtlessly thorny questions, corresponding to whether or not the prospect meets the agency’s minimal asset necessities. And so, given the excessive stakes of screening calls (as not solely do they function a primary step for a prospect to change into a consumer, however additionally they assist the advisor save time by screening out unqualified prospects), making ready a prospect and asking considerate screening name questions in the course of the interplay could make the method extra productive and fewer awkward.
A technique to assist alleviate the potential nervousness related to a screening name is to organize prospects upfront. For instance, advisors utilizing on-line software program instruments to schedule screening calls may present prospects upfront with a extra detailed description of the assembly (together with an inventory of questions that will likely be requested) and will explicitly be aware the agency’s asset and/or charge minimums (which may permit prospects to display themselves out earlier than scheduling a gathering moderately than discovering out they’re unqualified in the course of the name itself). On this method, the prospect will likely be much less prone to be shocked by any questions in the course of the assembly, and the advisor can affirm that the prospect meets their minimums moderately than deliver up the difficulty with out warning. As well as, offering questions upfront (giving the prospect time to consider their solutions) can assist preserve the screening name on monitor, which is especially essential as a result of they’re designed to be brief, usually scheduled for under 15-20 minutes.
Some questions an advisor may ask the prospect throughout a screening name is how they suppose the agency could possibly be useful for his or her wants (to assist the advisor be sure that the prospect actually needs monetary planning providers and suits the agency’s very best goal consumer profile if it has one); whether or not they have ever labored with a monetary skilled earlier than (to gauge whether or not they’ve labored with an advisor previously and to assist get a way of the prospect’s expectations for the connection); if they’ve any questions concerning the advisor’s onboarding and planning processes and confirming that the agency’s asset and/or charge minimums work for the prospect (to get a way of the prospect’s readiness and desired timeline to get began with a planning relationship).
In the end, the important thing level is that screening questions could be helpful instruments not just for monetary advisors but in addition for prospects – as a result of figuring out whether or not the connection will likely be match with out having to spend an hour or extra is useful for each events concerned. And whereas screening calls could also be uncomfortable and awkward, letting prospects know what to anticipate can assist ease these emotions by promising respect, directness, and data. Which may assist get what may change into a long-term relationship off on the appropriate foot!
