An online community for successful financial advisors.  We will be your virtual coach with articles, discussion forums and web classes to provide you with a steady flow actionable ideas for your practice.
Home | Manage Your Account | What's New | Tell a Friend | Text Size | Robb's Blog | Search | Member Area
Home | Robb's Blog
 

Robb's Blog:
Tools, Tips and Techniques for Serious Financial Advisors

More on Retirement Income Security


Special note: This blog post was contributed by Roberta Eckert, a new member of the Encore Partners team.

Your children want an i Pod.  They need food, shelter and clothing.  Your clients also have "wants" and "needs" especially when it comes to how they envision their retirement.  Do they want to travel to Europe 3 months out of the year?  Is that desire at odds with paying for health insurance?

In the old days the retirement income calculation looked like this:  take your client's expenses (and you would take their word for it), multiply by 80%, add an inflation multiplier of, say, 3 % and you're all set!  Now, let's discuss those tech stocks……Well, times have changed.

An acquaintance of mine's financial advisor has asked him what his annual expenditures are.  My friend indicated that currently their expenses run about $8,000.00 per month.  Based on that number, his financial advisor has created a retirement savings and distribution plan.  How can that be?  The advisor has no idea if a significant part of that $ 8,000.00 is spent gambling at the track or paying the mortgage.  Only when you have scrutinized the budget can you make effective and suitable recommendations for retirement income.

In my last post, I suggested having a meeting with your clients in which they brought in their monthly budget.  If they do that, then you can categorize expenses as "wants" (acquiring antique cars) and "needs" (the mortgage).  Naturally, there will be some debate regarding some items.  My husband, for example, feels that his boat is most definitely a "need".  Nevertheless, only when you have developed the list of "needs" (I call these "dignity" expenses…food, clothing, shelter, taxes, transportation, health care, etc.) and "wants" can you begin to formulate an effective strategy for retirement income.

And what about inflation?  It's no surprise that different expenses inflate at different rates.  Consider my mortgage.  My 30 year fixed mortgage will remain the same, all 30 years.  It will never be more.  It will never be less.   Health insurance, however, is a wild card.  In addition to identifying all of the items in your client's budget, you will also need to allocate an inflation factor to each one.

Now you can begin to have a meaningful dialogue with your clients about positioning their assets to deliver the income they will need in retirement, and develop a portfolio that meets those needs expenses.

Attention members...You can click here for more ideas on the importance of a "Retirement Income Reality Check".  To help you get this discussion started with your clients and prospects, I've added a letter to Member Downloads - click here to download your own copy.

Not a member?  Join today and let us become your partner in success.  You'll gain immediate access to our entire databse of articles, coaching sessions and downloadable letters for use in your client and prospect campaigns.


Permalink

Part 2: 90-Days to Outrageous Success Coaching Club


A couple weeks ago, I asked for your feedback on a new program I'm thinking about offering.  I received more responses than I expected.

 

Thanks to all those who offered your suggestions!

 

You might recall that I'm considering offering a group coaching program.  It would be based on a training program I created for my corporate clients.  Most of the material is also in a book I've written (but not made available to the public); it's titled "A 90 Day Roadmap for Creating Outrageous Success".

 

If you have just a few more minutes, I would like to ask you to answer another handful of questions about the "format" of this program.

 

(Here's a link to a 7-question survey I created on Survey Monkey: http://www.EncoreAdvisor.com/snip/231.htm.)

 

Before you go to the new survey, let me set the stage...

 

At the end of my last post, I asked for your input on three questions.  Here's what you said:

 

1. Would you be willing to spend 2 extra hours each week working on your business if it would produce dramatic results within 90 days?

 

Believe it or not, 100 percent of respondent said YES.

 

At first, I didn't believe this result myself, but every time I check the survey this number doesn't change.  So I guess I may be onto a good idea.  I was willing to move forward if the response was only 50 or 60 percent favorable.

 

I did receive some comments of caution; here's an example:

 

"I have to take caution with any claim of instant success."?

 

So I want to be clear, I NEVER promise instant success.  This would be a 90-day program based on proven concepts I have taught for years.  But these ideas won't work if you don't personally commit to a couple hours of work each week.

 

2. Do you believe that a well structured "group coaching" program (like-minded advisors working with an industry expert) could help you achieve your goals for 2010?

 

The overwhelming response was positive; over 90 percent said YES.

 

Again, this leads me to believe that this program would be well-received if I can bring like-minded advisors together.  So,if I move forward, I'm going to screen participants for their seriousness.

 

I think these comments highlighted what you might expect:

- "Robb, you have my complete trust for your ability to deliver great content and sound ideas."

 

- "(I would expect) 2 Hours of well structured material and examples not just 2 hours of coach ramblings.  Especially with good "give and take" from all participants."

 

- "Taking the time to analyze and plan the practice is fun and productive. To add coaching perspective is usually helpful."

 

- "I would recommend recording the session(s) so those of us who might have conflicts on those particular days could dial/log-in to keep on track."

3. As we head into 2010, what is your top challenge?

 

As you can imagine, I received a ton of answers.  But most of the answers fell into a few key areas:

- Strengthening existing client relationships to build loyalty, capture more assets, cross-sell and increase referrals

 

- Refreshing prospecting and marketing activities to increase sales and capture new relationships

 

- Gaining control over time and reducing stress

Frankly, these are usually the most pressing issues facing advisors who are serious about growing their practices.  And they're definitely covered in my "A 90 Day Roadmap for Creating Outrageous Success" material.

 

So, at this point, I would like to ask you a few more questions about the "format" for the program.  I created another survey on Survey Monkey.  Please take a few minutes to answer.

 

Next week, I'll follow-up again.  And I will try to host a teleconference to cover some of the details and answer more questions.  If all goes well, I will open registration for the program in about two weeks.

 

Here's a link to the follow-up survey:

 

http://www.EncoreAdvisor.com/snip/231.htm

 

Thanks again for your help!


Permalink

Helping your Clients and Prospects Answer the Retirement Income Question


Special note: This blog post was contributed by Roberta Eckert, a new member of the Encore Partners team.

These days, retirement is on every boomer's mind.  And with good reason.  With the economic meltdown of the past year wreaking havoc on retirement savings, unemployment hovering near the 10% mark and Social Security and other government programs under pressure, your clients may be experiencing a trifecta of bad news.  Many pre-retirees are questioning whether they will ever retire.  

Fortunately for your clients, you have probably been discussing their retirement income needs.  You've helped them differentiate between their potential sources of income.  You've looked at their guaranteed income - annuities, pensions…  You've talked about non- guaranteed income - stock appreciation, dividends, interest…  But, have you discussed what a "comfortable retirement" really means?  Quite possibly that picture has changed dramatically from the picture they envisioned a year or more ago.  

If you haven't had that discussion, now may be the time for a "Retirement Income Reality Check".   Find out if their vision of a comfortable retirement has changed.  Are their retirement assets aligned with their goals?  When you have this conversation, you'll probably uncover one of three things:  

1.    They will be relieved because they are right on track.

2.    They will be pleasantly surprised because they are ahead of projections.

3.    They will discover bad news because they are behind and need to "tweak" some of the variables.

If your clients fit into category 1 or 2, you've provided a valuable client service.  It's a great opportunity to ask then for a referral!

If they fall into category 3, you (and your clients) have some important work to do...

Attention members...You can click here for more ideas on the importance of a "Retirement Income Reality Check".  To help you get this discussion started with your clients and prospects, I've added a letter to Member Downloads -- click here to download your own copy.

Not a member?  Join today and let us become your partner in success.  You'll gain immediate access to our entire databse of articles, coaching sessions and downloadable letters for use in your client and prospect campaigns.


Permalink

 Next

 TESTIMONIALS
"Benefits to working with Rob Brown and EncoreAdvisor.com: vacation in Hawaii, 2 family vacations this year and a new car. Great tools to grow your practice."

Ron - CPA, CFP
RIA
Omaha

"I can't tell you how much insight I am getting from your website.  Specifically, I like the fact that I can email questions and you respond so quickly."

AR
Wealth Advisor
Scotia McLeod

"Robb, I had to call. I just finished one of your Web Classes, it was AWESOME! You share practical ideas and then give step-by-step ideas on how to make it work. The ideas from this class alone are worth the price of membership. You need to raise your prices."

Greg - CPA/PFS, CFP
Wealth Manager
California

"Thanks to one simple idea, I have done more business in the last 8 days than I did over the 4 previous months."

Laura
Raymond James
Florida

"Over the past 12 months, my business is up more than 60%. Your ideas are now a regular part of my routine... Making the ideas actionable is key!”

Dennis
Morgan Stanley
Alabama

"I have found my one year membership to be one of the best business investments I have ever made. Your structure and content are marvelous."

John
Independent Rep
New York