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“Days Can Be Sunny for Bunnies and Money” Now Available for Purchase

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 AdvisorPRŸ
(702) 685-7450

 “Days Can Be Sunny for Bunnies and Money” Now Available for Purchase

 The children’s book is inspired by Clarity 2 Prosperity’s signature financial planning process and the bestselling book, “The Bucket Plan: Protecting and Growing Your Assets for a Worry-Free Retirement”

Cleveland – October 21, 2021 – Clarity 2 Prosperity (C2P), a financial training, coaching and IP development organization, announces the release of the new children’s book, “Days Can Be Sunny for Bunnies and Money,” inspired by its signature financial planning process, The Bucket Plan¼, and Jason L Smith’s bestselling book “The Bucket Plan: Protecting and Growing Your Assets for a Worry-Free Retirement.” “Days Can Be Sunny for Bunnies and Money” was written by best-selling children’s author, Tish Rabe, and illustrated by U.K. artist Steven Brown, and aims to educate children 5 and older on how to responsibly earn, save and spend their money. Click here to purchase individual books and for bulk orders, visit: kidsbucketplan.com.

“Financial literacy, or in many cases the lack thereof, has become a major obstacle for Americans of all ages on their journey toward obtaining financial security. The foundation for our financial habits as adults is established in childhood, however guidance on what ‘good financial habits’ consist of isn’t taught until well into adulthood, if ever. As soon as children begin receiving money, whether for birthdays or chores, they can start learning important life lessons about how money is earned, saved, spent, and shared,” said Jason L Smith, creator of The Bucket Plan, founder and CEO of C2P Enterprises, the holding company of C2P. “For years, our mission has been to simplify financial planning for families worldwide, and with this book, families can be better equipped to teach children about money with a fun, exciting and engaging educational tool. The earlier a person adapts good financial habits, the more sensible, stress-free, and successful his or her approach to financial security will be.”

“Days Can Be Sunny for Bunnies and Money” stars three high-energy bunnies who are learning how to manage money in their own different ways—Honey Fern likes to earn, Sunny Dave likes to save, and Funny Ben likes to spend, and they all like to give. Each bunny is given a basket to save for their own financial goal and all learn valuable lessons along the way. Rabe has a long history of bringing important messages to children in fun and entertaining ways. She is a bestselling author of more than 170 children’s books, including titles for Sesame Street, Disney, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Curious George, and adaptions of more than 40 titles of Dr. Suess books since his death in 1991.

Smith and Rabe united over a shared interest in education. Smith has a passion for teaching financial literacy and was compelled to bring the important life lessons of how to save and spend money responsibly to the youngest of ages. This, combined with Rabe’s talents and aspirations to bring educational subject matter to children in an entertaining way, solidified their partnership to create a book that accomplishes both.

“Days Can Be Sunny for Bunnies and Money” retails at $6.99. For more information, visit kidsbucketplan.com.

ABOUT CLARITY 2 PROSPERITY: Clarity 2 Prosperity is a financial training and coaching organization led by financial advisors, coaches, mentors and business leaders. Its mission is to shift advisor focus from selling products to becoming holistic service providers, effectively serving the comprehensive needs of American families. Members are trained on the philosophy and financial planning process detailed in the bestselling book, “The Bucket PlanÂź – Protecting and Growing Your Assets for a Worry-Free Retirement,” to provide comprehensive and easy-to-understand financial plans to the families they serve. Learn more at www.Clarity2Prosperity.com.

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How to Turn Happy Clients into Your Best Referral Sources

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Are you nervous about asking your clients for referrals? Does it make you feel uncomfortable or pushy to approach the subject?

What if we told you there was a process to get your clients telling you if they’d like to make a referral? No more nerves; no more uneasiness.

In our latest episode of the Rainmaker Multiplier On-Demand Series, Jason L Smith and Executive VP of Marketing, Matt Seitz, discuss the Net Promoter Score (NPS) Survey Referral Process.

They cover what the process is, how it works, and how advisors can utilize it to enhance (or sometimes start) their referral pipeline.

So where do you start? Let’s dive in to find out.

What is a NPS Survey?

NPS is a widely used market research metric that asks respondents to rate the likelihood that they would recommend a company, product, or service to family, friends, or colleagues.

What is the importance of surveying your clients?

You may be wondering why you should survey your clients if you meet with them throughout the year, and feel that they’re all satisfied. Well, surveys can offer your clients an open and decisive way to provide your practice with personalized feedback that will help you improve your business practices, share things they may be uncomfortable saying face-to-face, and identify opportunities for growth by finding clients who would give referrals.

How does it work?

While their can be a handful of questions on a NPS survey, the main one you’ll be interested in is, “How likely are you to recommend <your firm name> to your friends, family, or colleagues?” The answer choices are a simple rating scale of 0-10.

As you’re collecting responses, you’ll find that they fall into one of three categories:

NPS Referral Process Rankings

  1. Detractors (rating of 0-6)
  2. Passives (rating of 7-8)
  3. Promoters (rating of 9-10)

Detractors are people who have had a bad experience with you or your practice, and would potentially share that negative feedback with others. This is a great opportunity to identify what went wrong and appropriately address or correct the situation. During the survey process, these are the people you would want to get back to the quickest to try and resolve their issue before they share it publicly.

Passives are people who are in the middle. They are not likely to share any negative feedback publicly, but also are not likely to be passing along referrals.
Promoters are people who had a great experience or love your business and are ready to shout so from the mountain tops. Promoters have self-identified that they would refer business to you, so they’re already warmed up for when you approach them on that topic.

Although I’m sure you would love all promoters, that’s not necessarily realistic, so it’s important to remember that even the constructive feedback is good. It can help you identify areas of improvement so that you can create an experience to get more Promoters next time (sidenote: shoot to do this survey once a year!).

Mastering the Feedback Loop

Surveys tend to be more efficient when the results are being received by the same individual, who serves as an internal triage person. We would recommend your head of operations or marketing. However, the Lead Advisor on a particular account should be the person following up on a response, but in some cases (like when the issue is the Lead Advisor) it should be your head of operations, and possibly the head of the organization.

As we mentioned earlier, Detractors are the first group you’ll want to get back to so that you can mitigate the damage. See if there is any corrective action you can take to help prevent more Detractors in the future. Detractors could have issues as simple as a miscommunication, like receiving your emails to their spam folder.

Have the Referral Conversation

Once you’ve closed the survey and organized all your Promoters, provide that information to your applicable Lead Advisors. They then have the information they need to follow up with their clients, thank them for participation in the survey and their feedback, and segue into a referral conversation.
We recommend utilizing the VIPS Method for holding these conversations, which was developed by referral expert (and friend of C2P), Bill Cates. If you have your own process and/or scripts for referral conversations you can certainly plug them in here, but we have found the conversational tone of the VIPS Method works well for advisors. Plus, it comes with scripts, tips, and training from Bill on how to execute.

You can now have the confidence in approaching your clients for a referral conversation knowing that they have already stated that they would be willing to send friends, family, or colleagues your way. You’ve now come full circle and have your clients filling the top of your funnel – congratulations!

Get Started

C2P Enterprises offers outlines, templates and scripts to help you get started with implementing the NPS Survey Referral Process at your organization. Ready to get started? Schedule your complimentary consultation call today to start seeing a difference in your referral pipeline.


For a deeper dive into the NPS Survey Referral Process, and real examples of its implementation, check out the Rainmaker Multiplier On-Demand episode here!

Build Client Relationships with the Family Estate Organizer

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We all know how time-consuming and difficult it can be to collect and organize all of your client documents. We’ve all been there and have all tried different strategies to help with this process. That’s why in this episode of The Bucket Plan On-Demand Series, Dave Alison sits down with business partner and fellow financial advisor, Carl Smith, to talk about solutions to overcome it.

Holistic Planning and the Family Estate Organizer

The Family Estate Organizer (FEO) is a holistic and comprehensive tool for all family financial planning needs to convert more clients. Introducing the FEO during your first meetings can help show them the value of the tool when it comes to planning ahead and getting clients on the same page.

Let’s Talk Benefits

The FEO is much more than a simple financial or legal tool. It stores all important client information from investments and pensions to medical information and life insurance, as well as a family succession plan that allows the survived to better handle the estate upon a client’s passing.

The FEO helps advisors to:

  • Build client relationships when building trust.
  • Uncover hidden or forgotten client assets.
  • Prepare for long-term care planning.
  • Create something tangible for yearly reviews.

This is an all-in-one tool that sets clients up for success and helps you develop rapport with your clients. This is why Carl loves the tool and is big reason why his clients describe his practice as a true “holistic planning firm.” One of his clients even said that they felt like Carl knew more about them already than their previous advisor of 16 years because of the FEO and The Bucket Plan.

Learn more by setting up a complimentary consultation.

Using the Family Estate Organizer

It starts with a question, “How involved are you in keeping your documents organized and up to date?”

Carl shared a story about his widowed client who was never involved with the family finances coming to him for help upon her husband’s passing. Once sorting through and organizing their documents, they discovered almost a million dollars in annuities and life insurance that her husband had that she was entirely unaware of. This set their children up for success upon her passing to have detailed documentation of everything they then needed. Download the Survivor’s Checklist here!

This is just one example of how the FEO is a powerful way to drive meaningful conversations and actions to drive real growth and change when it comes to family financial planning organization.

Do you want to learn more use cases for the FEO and how to incorporate it into your practice? Listen to the full podcast episode here and schedule a 20-minute consultation to gain access to the FEO tool.

3 Steps for Finding Future Rainmakers for Your Company

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On this month’s Rainmaker Multiplier OnDemand episode, Jason sits down with business partner, Don Chamberlin, to discuss different approaches to finding and adding the right advisors who are a good fit to become rainmakers for your firm.

For the last two years, Don’s office has been the top office with C2P, doing the most amount of business. Don’s advisors consistently show up on the top 25 leaderboard and his business continues to grow.

What is Don’s secret and how can you tap into it in your own company?

The Right Fit Advisor Process

Finding and securing the “right fit advisor” for your firm requires three important and well-planned phases:

  1. Hire
  2. Onboard
  3. Train

Advisors, who are part of C2P’s Rainmaker Multiplier Division, are given access to the proven Right Fit Advisor process, which includes training in each of these three phases and all the supporting templates, checklists, scripts, and other resources to help them execute the process in full.

Hire

Having a good hiring process in place is important because you aren’t only looking for an advisor who’s a good fit for you, you’re looking for an advisor for whom you are a good fit as well.

For Don, hiring was the most critical part of the process. He was able to use C2P’s proven processes to articulate exactly what his company does and how they do it. Being able to explain and illustrate this to candidates provides them with the knowledge to decide if the company is right for them as well. This is a major element within the first step of a good hiring process – preparing for the hire – which includes things like determining the role and the qualifications needed, , developing a compensation package, and deciding what the interview process will look like.

Step 2 of the hiring process is evaluating candidates. Don worked with a partner to prepare and employ checklists, assessments, resume reviews, and more to ensure his candidates fit for the roles he was looking to fill.

The third phase of the hiring process is making the offer, which includes being prepared for negotiations that may occur once the offer is made.

Onboarding

Many advisors hire without an onboarding plan in place. The onboarding phase of C2P’s Right Fit Advisor process focuses on a clearly defined path to success. Without a clear understanding of what’s expected, new advisors can become frustrated – setting them up for failure or causing them to leave before they have a chance to succeed.

C2P’s Right Fit Advisor process has four steps within the onboarding phase:

  1. Document gathering/preparation
  2. Pre-operational logistics
  3. New hire onboarding schedule
  4. Post-operational logistics

Step one covers things like making sure you have a good employee handbook, benefits package, training manuals, and training schedules. Pre-operational logistics includes everything you need to do to prepare for your new hire before they actually begin working – background checks, fingerprinting, setting up their workspace, etc .

Steps three and four focus on everything that needs to be done once the new advisor begins, such as a first-day agenda, first week and first month strategies, 30-day review, ordering business cards, sending out a press release, and related activities.

Training

Typically, training can take up to a year even when you do find a right fit advisor.

Training is about more than just products. New advisors need to be trained in technology, office systems and operations, salesmanship, sales process, financial knowledge, and products. Having a well-established infrastructure consisting of proven, duplicable processes in which everyone in the company is trained can help make this phase a lot more streamlined.

C2P’s Right Fit Advisor process provides training checklists and agendas you can use to make sure you are covering all the key training requirements and help schedule things like accountability checkpoints and other quality control measures.

Depending on the level at which the advisor is hired, quality control measures can be approached a few different ways. Don explains how he will join many of the first client calls his advisors have. He may even hold the calls himself, while an associate advisor observes and performs tasks such as completing fact finder templates.

He employs a similar process for seminars, in which he and his new advisor will start holding seminars together:

  1. At first, Don will present the whole seminar himself (beginning, middle, and end)
  2. Eventually, Don will handle the beginning and end, allowing the advisor to present the middle portion
  3. Don will present only at the end
  4. Finally, the advisor will present the complete seminar

Conclusion

There are a number of ways to approach finding right fit advisors for your firm. Don’s personal philosophy is to get them in front of people as soon as possible, get them as much activity as you can, and let them learn primarily through experience.

This kind of approach can be especially effective when you follow the Right Fit Advisor process to hire advisors who are rock stars already.

For more on Jason and Dave’s personal experiences with this process, listen to the podcast here.

If you’d like access to C2Ps Right Fit Advisor process and accompanying tools, contact a business development representative today, to discuss how to join our Rainmaker Multiplier Division.

3 Signs It’s Time to Hire Your Next Rainmaker

Published in Blog |

You have probably heard the term “rainmaker” thrown around before when discussing sales or growth with other advisory firms, but what is a “rainmaker?”

Often, a rainmaker is an advisor who is brought into a firm to secure more clients and/or increase the company’s overall revenue. Looking around at your current team, you probably already have a rainmaker or two in your office, so how do you know when it is time to hire another?

Below, we outlined three signs it’s time to hire your next rainmaker.

1) Your Workload is at Capacity

Every advisor will eventually hit the point where they no longer have the capacity to take on more clients. When this happens, you will need to make a decision about what goals you want to achieve and what type of financial service business you ultimately want to run.

Most advisors who want to scale their business can be categorized into three pillars: solo practitioners, boutique firms, and enterprise businesses. Depending on which business you are looking to run, your next steps for scaling could look like the following:

Solo Practice Advisory Firm

For advisors who run solo practices, you will act as the lead advisor for your clients and focus on scaling both your personal productivity and client experience. This business model does have a cap based on your individual capacity. Many advisors start here and decide they want to continue to scale their business leading them to hire additional staff or another rainmaker.

Boutique Advisory Firm

Advisors who run a boutique firm will still act as the lead advisor for some clients but will also spend more time focused on running the business, too. Scaling these types of boutique firms takes a little more forethought. Questions like “When to hire staff” or “When is it time to hire an employee” are important to ask yourself early on.

Enterprise Advisory Firm

If you are an advisor who has created an enterprise firm, you may benefit the most from a rainmaker business development model. Since you are now completely focused on running the business and making it successful, you will need stellar agents who can deliver on the value you are selling to potential clients.

2) You Need to Generate More Leads

The biggest challenge that is facing advisors today is finding new ways to continually attract new clients. Most successful advisors often have multiple lead-generating streams that they rely on to obtain clients. Typically, this includes some combination of marketing, referrals, cold calling, networking, and conducting events. In addition to this, there is one other tactic that many advisors don’t consider: hiring a rainmaker.

By bringing in a new advisor who has an established book of business, you instantly open your firm up to a new source of leads. With more people on the team, you can begin to explore new niches or offer additional services to existing and potential clients.

3) You are Starting to Think About the Future

Business self-sustainability is a goal for many business owners. As you start to think about the future, this goal becomes more imperative. Even if you love working, eventually there comes a time when you’ll need to slow down, enjoy the life you’ve built, and enter retirement.

One thing that successful financial advisors have in common is that they have found a way to create a self-sustaining business model. If, for example, your goal is to turn your firm into an annuity for when you retire, you’ll need to think about hiring a rainmaker you can begin to train to take over your business and continue to generate revenue for the firm after you’re gone.

Along the same lines, if your goal is to one day sell your firm at top dollar, you’ll want to consider hiring a rainmaker for many of the same reasons. Consider the fact that a potential buyer will be buying your company, not because they want you, but because they want cash flow.

A rainmaker can not only help you increase your firm’s revenue and thus increase your asking price but can also make the transition at the point of sale more seamless for the buyer. If your business survives only with you being in it, buying your company would require more effort on their part to find somebody to replace you and take over operations from day one. That’s where hiring a rainmaker can alleviate this obstacle and help make your firm more “move-in ready” when the time comes.

Join The Rainmaker Multiplier Division

Clarity 2 Prosperity has taken the guesswork out of knowing when to hire staff with the help of our Rainmaker Multiplier Division. This exclusive organization is built from the collective wisdom of high-performing advisors who share the same goals of learning and growing their businesses.

Most advisors who join the Rainmaker Multiplier Division do so because they are trying to either scale their business upward, create self-sustaining businesses, or establish multiple lead-generation streams. Regardless of which one you fall into, the truth is, you are going to need the help of a rainmaker to achieve your goal.

Learn how top advisors are using The Rainmaker Multiplier Division and its proven processes to improve their work-life balance and grow their financial practice. For pricing on this division or to find out how you can get access for no cost, schedule a free consultation with our Business Development team.

EIDL Loans vs. PPP Loans: What You Need to Know

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There is an incredible amount of uncertainty surrounding the Federal disaster relief efforts available to small businesses today. At the onset of the pandemic, the government was forced to move quickly to provide capital through different loan options such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

Now, almost one-year since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the U.S., the Small Business Administration (SBA) is still accepting EIDL applications and has reopened the Paycheck Protection Program loan program. This “Second Draw” will allow more companies to receive forgivable loans for the first time and some hard-hit businesses to apply for a second loan.

The most frequent question we have received from our advisors is, “Which loan is right for us or should we do both?”

While there is not a one-size fits all solution, here are a few questions you should ask.

The first question to consider is business qualification:

WHO QUALIFIES?

EIDL: To qualify, you must be:

  • A small business, cooperative, ESOP or tribal business with 500 or fewer employees;
  • An individual who operates as a sole proprietorship, with or without employees, or as an independent contractor; or
  • A private non-profit or small agricultural cooperative
  • Your business must be directly affected by COVID-19

Second round of PPP: First-time qualified borrowers and also borrowers that previously received a PPP loan may be eligible. PPP loans are limited to businesses that:

  • Employ no more than 300 employees or meet an alternative size standard;
  • Have used the entire amount of their first PPP loans or will use such amounts; and
  • Had gross receipts during Q1, Q2, or Q3 2020 that were at least 25% less than the gross receipts from the same quarter in 2019 (applicants may use Q4 2020 if they apply after January 1, 2021). If a business was not in operation for a portion of 2019, then the comparable quarters may be different.

Must Be in Business By:

  • EIDL: January 31, 2020
  • PPP: February 15, 2020

Businesses should also be aware that the second round of PPP loans did not remove or change the necessity requirement. This means that you must be able to certify that the “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant” as of the date on which you submit a PPP loan application.

 


Would you like more information? Discuss other ways we can help your financial advisory business grow.

Schedule a complimentary call with our business team.


 

Assuming you meet those broad requirements, the next step is to determine which program is best suited for your needs.

HERE IS A COMPARATIVE CHECKLIST OF BOTH THE EIDL AND PPP LOANS:

EIDLPPP Loans
Maximum loan amount: $2,00,000Maximum loan amount: $10,000,000 for first-time borrowers; $2,000,000 for second-time borrowers
Grant (You don’t need to repay): Up to $10,000Forgivable amount: minimum of 8 weeks of eligible expenses; maximum of 24 weeks (see below)
Interest rate: 3.75%Interest rate: 1% on remaining balance after forgiveness
Repayment period: 10 years (No prepayment penalty)Repayment period: 2 years (No prepayment penalty)
First payment deferral period: 1 yearFirst payment deferral period: 6 months
Personal guarantee required: Loans over $200,000Personal guarantee required: No
Collateral requirement: Loans over $25,000Collateral required: No

 

The key to coordination between these two relief efforts are that you cannot “double dip” in benefits. This does not mean you cannot apply and receive both benefits, but it does mean that you cannot apply the same benefit dollar to the same expense.

For example, you could not use the $10,000 grant from the EIDL to pay the same payroll expense being considered in the forgivable amount of the PPP loan.

In terms of the emergency grant of up to $10,000 under EIDL, these grants do not have to be repaid as long as funds are used for:

  • Providing paid sick leave to employees unable to work due to the direct effect of the COVID–19;
  • Maintaining payroll to retain employees during business disruptions or substantial slowdowns;
  • Meeting increased costs to obtain materials unavailable from the applicant’s original source due to interrupted supply chains;
  • Making rent or mortgage payments; and
  • Repaying obligations that cannot be met due to revenue losses.

If you get a PPP loan, you can request forgiveness of the principal portion of the loan for the 8-to-24-week period after you get the loan that covers:

  • Payroll costs
  • Interest on a mortgage
  • Rent
  • Utilities
  • Operations
  • Property damage costs
  • Supplier costs
  • Worker protection

No more than 25% of the forgiven amounts may be for non-payroll costs. Your loan forgiveness will be reduced if you decrease your full-time employee headcount. It will also be reduced if you decrease salaries and wages by more than 25% for any employee that made less than $100,000 annually in 2019.

 


Not a financial advisor?

Click here to find a Bucket Plan certified advisor to help your business navigate the loan process.


 

NOW THAT YOU HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOANS, HERE ARE SOME FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS:

1. HOW QUICKLY DO YOU NEED THE LOAN?

The EIDL loan can provide up to $10,000 within three days of application. PPP Lenders will begin to accept applications from January 13, 2021 until March 31, 2021 for small businesses, sole proprietors, independent contractors and self-employed individuals, and it is expected the loans may be available within two weeks after the application process.

2. HOW WILL YOU USE THE MONEY?

EIDLs are working capital loans that may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits or for expansion. Funds cannot be used to pay down long-term debt.

PPP Loan proceeds may be used for:

  • Payroll costs;
  • Costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during periods of paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums;
  • Employee salaries, commissions, or similar compensations;
  • Payments of interest on any mortgage obligation (but not to pay principal or to prepay a mortgage) rent (including rent under a lease agreement);
  • Utilities;
  • Costs related to business software or cloud computing services for business operations, product or service delivery, the processing, payment, or tracking of payroll expenses, HR and billing functions, tracking of suppliers, inventory, records, and expenses, etc.;
  • Property damage costs (e.g., vandalism, looting, etc.) due to public disturbances that occurred in 2020;
  • Supplier costs of goods that are essential to operations;
  • Personal protection equipment or property improvements that allow businesses to comply with requirements or guidance issued by the CDC, HHS, OSHA, or any state or local government.

3. HOW MUCH COULD BE FORGIVEN?

Under the EIDL, the grant portion up to $10,000 does not need to be repaid. Even if your application for EIDL is turned down, you can still keep the grant.

Under the PPP, any amount used to pay for qualified expenses in the proceeding 8–24-week period after accepting the money will be forgiven.

Since your PPP loan amount is calculated as 2.5x your 2019 monthly average payroll expense (wages capped at $100,000 per person, no 1099 contractor payments included, healthcare and retirement benefits paid by employer count), you could potentially receive a larger benefit under PPP and EIDL if your average 2019 payroll expense is greater than $4,000.

If you have enough eligible expenses to consume the entire $10,000 grant as well as your full PPP loan amount, it may make sense to apply for both programs.

If you own more than one business, you may be eligible to apply for each business. You are not able to individually apply for multiple loans under the same program though.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE:

Bob is an owner of Wealth Management, Inc., an S-Corp which has eligible average monthly payroll expense (including his own W-2 wages) of $18,000 in 2019. Based on this information, he was eligible for a $45,000 first-round PPP loan. Assuming that over the next 8-weeks he incurs $45,000 of eligible expenses, all $45k will be forgiven. If in fact he had $55,000 of eligible expenses, he could also have used the EIDL grant of up to $10,000.

In addition to Wealth Management, Inc. S-Corp, Bob receives 1099 income from his corporate RIA for his advisory fees which he doesn’t process through his S-Corp. Bob has no other staff and reports this income on the Schedule C of his tax return. Under this scenario, Bob was also eligible to apply for the first-round PPP based on his self-employment income. If he also contributes to a SEP IRA or has employer healthcare costs, those would also be included in his benefit. In this example, let’s say Bob has $150,000 in net self-employment income and contributes $27,950 to a SEP IRA. In this case Bob’s payroll expense would be $150,000 of self-employment income and $27,950 of retirement contributions for a total of $177,950. We then exclude compensation over $100,000 ($50,000) to arrive at a total eligible payroll expense of $127,950. The monthly average would be $10,662.50 ($127,950 / 12 months). At a 2.5 multiplier, Bob would be eligible for a PPP loan amount of $26,656.25.

In order to qualify for a Second Draw of PPP loans, if Bob took the full $26,656.25 loan amount that he was eligible for and had gross sales of $500,000 in Q2 2019 and experienced a 30% loss in gross sales in Q2 of 2020 ($300,000), then he could apply for a second round of PPP funding.

Alternatively, if Bob was eligible for a PPP loan amount of $26,656.25, but only took $20,000, he could apply to receive the $6,656.25 he previously opted not to take if he also had at least a 25% loss in gross revenue from 2019 to 2020.If Bob never took the PPP loan, he would still be under the same requirements to show that he experienced a 30% loss in gross receipts in Q1, Q2, or Q3 of 2020 compared to the year prior.


Of course, the rules are constantly being updated and the Treasury and SBA is continuing to provide guidance to the lending institutions, but at this time the final decision is going to come down to your lending institution.

We highly recommend you use this information as a guide but work with your lender to identify the best loan solution for you and your business.

For more valuable resources, click here to listen to the related podcast or access the step-by-step guide top advisors are following to help their clients succeed amid the current disruption. It’s a win-win.

Contact us for more resources that you can implement today to help grow your business during these uncertain times.

*This blog post was originally published on April 6, 2020 and was updated on January 22, 2021 to reflect the second round of PPP loans.

The Virtual Advisor

Holistic Financial Planning: A Success Story

Published in Blog |

In our January episode of the Bucket Plan On-Demand podcast series, Dave Alison sat down with longtime friend and business partner, Greg Hammer, to discuss Greg’s experience and success running The Bucket Plan¼ Process in his office. Greg is a top advisor in the country, gathering $40,000,000+ in new client assets each year. He runs Hammer Financial Group out of Schererville, Indiana and has been with C2P for 10 years, just shy of its inception.

In this episode, Greg recounts the evolution from having a sales-driven business approach to having a systematized process with tools and resources that he’s obtained from The Bucket Plan Process and training. Greg and Dave discuss some of these tools that are part of The Bucket Plan 2.0 Holistic Planning Process training for Bucket Plan Certified advisors.

The Evolution

In Greg’s words, 10 years ago, the easiest way to put it is that he was a salesman. He was great at what he did but his process and the value he brought to his appointments was all in his head. Everything he knew and his whole communication style for sharing his wisdom with clients was neither duplicable nor documented in order to be passed on to others in his office, if needed.

Prior to The Bucket Plan, his own process was not holistic in scope. His main focus in client meetings was to show value through mitigating their concerns and risks, and simply making the sale based on those solutions…

At the time, Greg had one other advisor working with him who was helping facilitate things. However, at the end of the day, Greg was at capacity with just two of them handling the workload…They were running at about $8-10 million of new assets per year, but if Greg wasn’t in the office things weren’t getting done.

Today, Hammer Financial has six planning advisors: Three full-time planners, a paraplanner, an advisor that focuses on high-level work with wealth management clients, and Greg himself, who dedicates his own time to the design part of their financial planning process. For the last four years, Hammer Financial has been operating at $40 million of new assets per year and is looking to project at higher rates to do even more.

Concepts & Tools

Financial Advisor Concepts & Tools

 

Like most advisors, Greg was able to implement The Bucket Plan concepts  into his practice first. Concepts are easy to implement right away because they take otherwise complex ideas and simplify them into something advisors can easily explain to clients. The philosophy of bucketing and how to use the three-bucket system, for example, are good starting points for offices transitioning to The Bucket Plan Process.

The Bucket Plan tools come into play after the concepts, as they help reinforce and execute the overall plan. Today, Greg sits on the Clarity 2 Prosperity Planning Innovation Committee. He and his office have been instrumental in defining and innovating some of the tools in the process, like the advisor checklists and client agendas that Greg and Dave discuss on the podcast.

Advisor checklists account for all the things the advisor needs to do in their meetings with prospects and clients. They act as a behind-the-scenes playbook for ensuring you dot every i and cross every T. Hours and hours have gone into creating the tools in The Bucket Plan Process because skipping steps or trying to run a meeting from memory can cause one to miss something or to compromise quality control or the relationship with the client.

Client agendas are forward-facing tools. They help set expectations, control the pace and goals of the meeting, and also give you and the client the opportunity to agree on the exact outcome of the meeting.

The Important of a 4-Step Process

We can’t talk about the importance of having documented tools without mentioning the power of the process, in which these tools are contained. The Bucket Plan Holistic Planning Process follows a simple, four-step structure:

  1. Discover
  2. Design
  3. Deliver
  4. Dedicate

There are several benefits to having a simplified, named, and documented process. For Greg, however, a lot of it comes down to what he calls his “fit calls.”

Without the process, it can be very difficult to have the right kind of upfront understanding with the prospect. In today’s environment, with the information that is easily accessible and how people research advisors, transparency is critical. It’s not enough to list the things you can do for clients. Prospects need to know what the process and relationship is going to be like as well.

Having a clear, concise, and understandable process allows a prospect to know exactly how their time together will evolve, what steps you will walk through together, what their role is, and what your commitment is to them. The fit-call and Step 1 Discovery Meeting can help determine right away if the client is a planning only client or a wealth-management client. It can also help establish from the start whether that client is the right fit for you, and often more importantly whether you are the right fit for that client.

To hear more from Greg about his company’s evolution, his implementation of The Bucket Plan Process, and the tools available to advisors in The Bucket Plan 2.0 Training, listen to the podcast here. To see if you qualify to attend The Bucket Plan 2.0 Training, click here.


Are you ready to discover how the Bucket Plan Concepts & Tools can help your sales process? Schedule a 20-minute consultation with our Business Development team below.


Client Retention Strategies for Financial Advisors

Published in Blog |

How often have we heard the expression, “Clients are the lifeblood of the business, treat them well and they will take care of you.” Odds are, every one of us has heard it at some point in our financial advising career, either from a manager or on our favorite podcast.

As cliché as this saying may be, there is a great deal of truth behind it. For a financial advisor to be successful, they need to be able to increase their client retention rate.

The Importance of Client Retention

The retention of existing clients should be one of the most important items on a financial advisor’s to-do list. By nurturing current relationships, not only do you increase the chance of retaining the client (and their business) for many years, but you also open the door to using that account as a referral source.

In fact, research shows that more than 70 percent of millionaires are likely to refer other wealthy investors to their primary advisor. On the other side of the equation, if you aren’t providing value to these wealthy clients, one of their friends may have an advisor that will. Retaining these types of clients that consistently pass you referrals can be the difference between achieving your quarterly goals or missing them all together.

Why Clients Leave Financial Advisors

Many advisors are still in the mindset that focusing on bringing new clients in, instead of growing their current book organically, is the best approach to success. However, a study from The Spectrem Group may point advisors down another path.

According to the results, investors with more than $1 million in investments said they’ve left advisors because of the following reasons:

  • 61 percent left because their advisor didn’t promptly return phone calls
  • 53 percent left because the advisor wasn’t proactive enough about reaching out to the client
  • 46 percent left because the advisor didn’t return emails in a timely manner

Client Retention Strategies

As a financial advisor, client retention may seem like a daunting task at first but there are simple tactics you can implement that will go a long way toward keeping your clients happy. For example, communication, transparency, understanding your client, and managing expectations are all great ways to ensure you will have a client for life.

Healthy Relationships Are Built on Communication

The foundation for all healthy relationships begins with frequent and valuable communication. One of the biggest reasons why clients are unhappy with their current advisor is that they never hear from them. Or when they do talk with their financial advisor, they feel that they aren’t being properly heard. You can see how this type of communication can quickly turn a relationship sour and lose you multiple clients in the process.

So, what type of tactics can you work on that will help improve the level of communication between you and your clients? Often it doesn’t take much to keep clients happy. Many just want to be able to have their questions answered in a timely manner. If you have someone who emails you at 5 p.m. on Friday, instead of pretending like you didn’t see it, spend the extra 15 minutes to type out a response.

Other great ways to ensure your clients keep you top of mind could include sending out a monthly email newsletter, a postcard, or a simple phone call. All of these can go a long way in improving your client retention rate.

Keep Conversations and Information Transparent

Transparency and trust are two of the most scrutinized factors in the financial services industry. There have been horror stories of people losing their entire life savings because an advisor made decisions that weren’t in the best interest of their client.

On the flip side, there have also been new advisors who thought they were behaving in the interest of the client but made a mistake. Instead of owning up to the mistake, they try to keep it hidden until the problem escalates to the point that it can’t be kept a secret anymore.

Regardless of the reason, inexperience or selfishness, the actions of some advisors have left a large portion of the community with uneasy feelings toward financial service professionals. It is your job to establish a level of trust with any new and current client, so they feel at ease with your decisions. After all, you are the one person that could make their retirement funds vanish in a split second.

Establishing trust can simply be accomplished by being transparent with everything you do for the client. Walk them through your plan for their finances. If you have gone through the Bucket Plan Process with them, go back through the documentation and confirm everything. Talk to them about their product and investment selections.

Give them the opportunity to ask as many questions as they need in order for them to feel comfortable with you handling their money. Most of all, if something bad happens be upfront and honest with them about it and let them know how you plan on solving the problem.

Understanding Your Client’s Risk Tolerance

One of the first things you should do when bringing in a new client is discuss how comfortable they are with risk. Some people like to play things a little safer and would prefer a plan that has a low amount of risk, while others may want to maximize their return with little regard to the risk involved. Either way, understanding your client’s risk tolerance is important to ensuring you start the relationship on solid ground.

It is also important to set expectations early on so that there are clear deliverables on both sides of the relationship. The client gets the results they are looking for, and you understand what products you can put them in, while staying within their comfort zone.

Investors who tend to be more risk-averse will also need more communication, should there be sudden market fluctuations. It’s a good idea to have notes on every one of your clients, so you can quickly reach out and walk them through your plan to keep their funds secure.

Your Clients Are More Than a Number

A struggle that many new advisors and even experienced planners can often fall into is focusing too much on the investment and not the investor. While it is important to get the highest possible ROI for your clients, it shouldn’t be done at the expense of making them feel like they are only a number. For many people, the money they invest with you represents much more than just an investment. It represents a lifetime of hard work and the funds they hope to live off of later in life.

Showing that you care about the investor’s overall financial situation can lead to an increased client retention rate. People ultimately want to do business with those they trust and who they feel have their best interest at heart. By asking deeper questions about goals, family, and the future, an advisor can quickly move past the investment and get to know their client on a more personal level.

Managing Expectations and Your Role in the Relationship

One of the best client retention strategies to work on as a financial advisor is to manage and exceed expectations. As an industry, professionals in the financial services sector have a poor reputation for not following through on commitments. This might be as simple as telling a client you will call them on Monday and then failing to do so. Regardless if you are busy or not, if you can’t follow through on a prior commitment, it is important that you still communicate with your investor that you need to reschedule.

If possible, delivering on an expectation faster than originally communicated is a great way to show you care about your client and their time. For example, if you tell them you are going to finish the documents tomorrow and email them to them. Go one step further and spend a little extra time the night before and send it over so that it is waiting for them first thing in the morning. Little gestures like that can go a long way in improving a financial advisor’s client retention rate.

For additional client retention strategies and tips, contact our business development team today. Discover how other elite advisors are transforming their financial practice and reaching new heights of business success with our proven processes, training, coaching, and mentoring.

5 Things Clients Look for in a Financial Advisor

Published in Blog |

Choosing the right financial advisor is a big decision for investors looking for someone they can trust with their money. They want someone who will look out for their best interest and guide them to solutions that will yield high dividends.

As a financial advisor, you know you’re the best person for the job. But, in a competitive marketplace, it can be challenging to stand out. To win over more prospective clients, you’ll need to get to the root of what, exactly, they want in a financial advisor. Below, we laid out five things clients look for when hiring a financial advisor.

1. A Good Listener

Being a financial advisor is a lot like being a therapist. You’re helping clients plan their life and control their emotions from a financial point of view—whether it’s how to save for retirement in a volatile market or protect the financial future of their loved ones upon their passing. It may even take a few sessions to gain their trust and reach a breakthrough.

Listening to, empathizing with and learning more about your prospects and clients will help you get there faster in your relationship. Your clients want to feel heard. Take the time to understand what their needs are, and tailor your offerings accordingly.

2. An Educator

Educating prospects can be a bit of a balancing act. On one hand, you have a wealth of information that you can share, and you want to sound smart and knowledgeable. On the other hand, you don’t want prospects to leave your office confused or even intimidated.

The degree of financial savvy a person has will vary from client to client, but there’s a good chance they aren’t financial planning or investment pros like you are. As a general rule of thumb, keep it simple—very simple—with clients. Take the extra time to explain your concepts and processes to them and avoid using any jargon or complex language in your explanations. The greater your understanding of the subject matter, the simpler your explanation should be.

3. A Problem Solver

Prospects are interested in your services because they want a problem solved. They want to know how to save for retirement, whether something is a good investment, or how to organize their estate. What they don’t want is a sales pitch or a product push.

Remember, you’re an advisor, not a salesperson. While you do want to “sell” prospects on your philosophies and processes, you don’t want to over-promise or pressure them into a solution that might not be right for them.

This goes hand-in-hand with being a good listener. By listening to what your prospects are saying, you can better understand their needs, wants, and fears and address them with honesty and integrity.

4. A Good Communicator

How often do you keep in touch with your clients? Do you reach out to them quarterly or annually? Or, do you wait for them to reach out to you? Frequent communication is important, especially with clients who are near or at retirement, yet many advisors struggle to maintain close contact.

Granted, your younger clients may not care as much about stock market swings or interest rate fluctuations. However, those who are closing in on retirement will likely be paying close attention to risks that could affect their savings. They’ll want a financial advisor who is up to date on the latest trends and is proactive about relaying their insights to them.

Look for opportunities to engage with your clients throughout the year, and don’t be afraid to try a few different communication methods. Sending monthly email newsletters, birthday cards in the mail, setting quarterly in-person review meetings, and even calling every once in a while to get life updates are all great ways to keep in contact with your clients.

5. A Holistic View

Prospective clients may be searching for a financial advisor for retirement planning, but their needs likely go beyond just that. Regardless of what your prospects and clients need help with, the more problems you can solve for them, the more trusted and valuable you become.

Take a comprehensive approach when working with prospects and clients. Look at the big picture and provide advice that takes all areas—from investments and insurance to tax planning and estate planning—into consideration.

By creating a holistic plan for your clients, you can optimize all of their assets to work collectively toward their goals, while reducing any gaps in coverage, overlap in investments, missed savings opportunities, and more. You’ll be providing them a better service, and they will want to continue working with you in the long term.

These are just a few ways financial advisors can better meet the needs of prospective clients. For additional help converting more clients, book a no-obligation call with our Business Development team, and discover how other elite advisors are transforming their financial practice and reaching new heights of business success with our proven processes, training, coaching, and mentoring.