EWM Resources
& Bonuses
EWM & Resources
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1. Bonus: Replicate Your Ideal Candidates
2. Best Year Ever Consultation Program
3. Mind Mapping Programs
4. White Board Tools
5. Outsourcing Resources
6. Elite Wealth Planning
7. Nail Your Client Meetings
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1. Bonus: Replicate Your Ideal Candidates
A lot of your success is simply working with the right clients. You have already done the work to create your ideal client profile, define your market niche and convert your ideal clients to your wealth management process. You are now in a perfect position to leverage all that work to draw in additional ideal clients.
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Replicating your top clients—using their insights to draw in more ideal clients—is not only one of the easiest ways to build an ongoing stream of prequalified prospective clients, it is also one of the most enjoyable.
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The Case for Replication
The Pareto Principle tells us that 20 percent of effort generally yields 80 percent of results. This holds true for some financial advisors, whose top 20 percent of clients account for 80 percent of revenue. However, frequently revenue is concentrated with an even smaller percentage of clients—we have seen many examples where the top 5 percent of clients generate more than 70 percent of the revenue.
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The top clients in your practice not only provide the lion’s share of revenue, they also offer the greatest potential for helping you to grow your business. Think about each of your top 10 clients. Then imagine that each of these clients introduces you to 10 new ideal prospective clients. What would the impact be? It would be huge—but that would be only the beginning. You would have an enormous multiplier effect as you continued the replication process with those new clients—and on and on.
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Client replication works for one simple reason: Your top clients want to help you. Because they have experienced your wealth management process and are satisfied with their relationships with you, they are happy to help you build your business. The replication process gives them the opportunity to do so.
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By reaching out to your ideal clients in a systematic way, you also stand to gain insights you would never otherwise obtain. Specifically:
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You will get new ideas for marketing to ideal prospective clients.
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You will further refine and clarify your market niche.
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You will better understand how well you have differentiated yourself from your competitors so that you can adjust how you articulate your value promise as needed.
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Seven Steps to Replication
There are seven steps to replicating your ideal clients effectively. These steps will make the best use of your prospect-seeking time and will enable your favorite, most profitable clients to tell you how to work with other clients just like them.
As you proceed, don’t worry about getting the process perfect the first time—it can yield tremendous benefit, even done imperfectly. And always remember: Your best clients want to help you.
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Step 1. Identify your top 10 ideal clients.
Start with the list of your ideal clients that you created in Strategy 3: Work with the Right Affluent Clients. List those clients in descending order of the revenue they provide. Then identify the top 10 with whom you enjoy working most. If you do not have 10 ideal clients, identify those you do have, even if it’s only two or three. The replication process will still be well worth your time.
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In addition, the clients you replicate should have experienced your full wealth management experience, including the advanced planning process. You want them to be in a position to provide input on your entire client experience. Again, if you do not yet have ideal clients who have been through your full wealth management process, come back to this approach when you do.
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Step 2. Call for an appointment.
Tell each client that the reason you are calling is to request a special meeting. Your call should go something like this:
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“Christine, I need your help. You are one of my favorite clients and I really respect your opinion. I’m developing a more focused approach to my marketing. I have created a profile of my favorite clients, and you are exactly the kind of person I most enjoy working with. Would you let me take you out to lunch (breakfast)? I would like to get your ideas and opinions about my plans with regard to marketing to people just like you.”
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You may feel uncomfortable making these calls at first simply because you have never done it before, but do not let that stop you. These are easy, no-risk calls—you are talking to your favorite clients. And it is extremely unlikely that a client will turn down this invitation. In fact, in all our experience in coaching financial advisors to implement this strategy, we have not heard of one every being turned down.
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Step 3. Choose a good restaurant.
Select a place, preferably a business restaurant or private club that is conducive to holding a private conversation. Do not be cheap. Buying a first-class meal at an excellent restaurant lets the client know how much you value them.
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Step 4. Conduct the replication interview.
Remember that people judge you by the quality of the questions you ask. Walking through a series of thoughtful questions will allow the client to identify and share with you the most important aspects of working with you: why the client chose you, what the client most values about your relationship and how you should position yourself to work with similar people.
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Use the client replication interview guide and a voice recorder or phone with voice recorder (if use of a voice recorder has been approved by your compliance department). Show the client both the interview guide and the recorder or phone to emphasize how important and valuable his or her information is to you. As you move through the interview guide, let the client speak without interruption. When you need additional detail, do not hesitate to ask for specifics.
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If you do not use a recorder, take notes during the conversation. If you are not sure you captured a response accurately, read back what you wrote down and ask if you understood correctly. If you were paying a consultant to get these market research answers, you would be paying thousands of dollars, not just the price of lunch, so be sure to capture everything.
Above all, do not make the mistake of trying to mix in selling any additional services at this time. You are there to get
input, period. Begin the interview in this way:
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“Christine, I’m in the process of improving the way I do business by focusing on clients just like you. To gain a better understanding of how I can serve you and other individuals just like you to help them achieve their financial goals, I would like to ask you a series of questions."
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If you will be recording the interview, go on to say this:
"To give you my full attention, I will be recording your responses so I don’t miss anything. Let’s begin.”
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Then turn on the voice recorder and say this:
“I am meeting with one of my favorite clients, Christine, on ________ (insert date). Let’s start with our first question.”
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Now move on to questions in the interview guide, available for download from the bottom of this page. Be sure to pause and listen carefully to all responses.
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Step 5. Arrange a future meeting.
Assuming that the interview was worthwhile, set the stage to come back to the client with additional questions as you move forward with your marketing efforts. Ask the client to be a permanent advisor to you in this way:
“Would it be okay to call you occasionally to get your opinions and ideas on my marketing plans as part of my informal marketing advisory council?”
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If the client asks for more detail, say this:
“I would get in touch with you two or three times a year to use you as a sounding board so that I can be responsive to the thoughts you and other clients have shared. I will want to get your feedback on how I’m doing and what else you think I should be doing.”
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Members of The Council
There are two types of client advisory councils. The first is an informal council, consisting of clients who have given you permission to occasionally contact them to ask for input on your marketing ideas and plans. We have found that this type of informal council generally works well, as it is very flexible and requires almost nothing from you in the terms of upkeep.
However, if you are fully established within your market niche, it can be a worthwhile business-building technique to make your client advisory council more formal. This typically involves inviting all members of the council to an annual get-together at a favorite restaurant or club of the niche community. A portion of the evening is devoted to a discussion (facilitated by you or a qualified member of your staff) of your marketing plans. The balance of the event is then open for social and networking time for you and the members of the council.
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Step 6. Act on all introductions and marketing ideas immediately.
Our experience is that many financial advisors do the work to identify prospective clients and other opportunities but then never take advantage of them. You have invested time and effort in the replication process and your clients have given you their time and thoughtful insights freely—do not let all that go to waste by not following up immediately.
Be sure to involve your team. Have team members listen to the interviews or read your notes. They should know your top clients’ insights so that they can help you act on them. The interviews can also be a real morale booster for team members when they hear how their work has a positive impact on clients’ lives.
Step 7. Keep the client informed.
If you do not let the client know what happens with the introductions and marketing ideas provided during the meeting, he or she will not want to continue to help you in this area. By reporting back all successes and giving the client credit, your client will feel like a part of your marketing process and become a continuous source of opportunities.
To start, send a thank-you note on the same day as the interview (see the sample below; a template is also available for download below). Then periodically provide the client with updates on your progress.
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Dear Christine,
I would like to let you know how much I appreciate your taking the time today to help me with my marketing efforts. I really enjoyed talking with you and gaining insights that will be valuable to me in reaching out to other people like you whom I can serve well.
I plan on implementing your marketing suggestions, and I will also follow up with the introduction you gave me to see whether we should get together to have a conversation. I’ll be sure to let you know the outcome.
Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing you at our next Regular Progress Meeting on (date).
Sincerely,
Financial Advisor to the Affluent
Tools
Client Replication Interview Guide — The questions to ask clients you wish to replicate.
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Replication Thank You Letter Template — A template for a thank you letter or email to clients who have participated in your replication interview.
2. Best Year Ever Consultation Program
How CEG Worldwide’s Best Year Ever Consultation program can benefit you and financial advisors you care about
In our rapidly-changing industry, we speak to many financial advisors who believe their practices could be more successful. Others feel they have hit a plateau in their growth, some for the second or third time.
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Most of our coaching clients come to us through referrals from people who cared about them. If you look at where you were when you first joined us and where you are now and can really smile, it’s time to pay it forward.
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The Best Year Ever Consultation
We want to offer the people you care about a complimentary Best Year Ever Consultation with CEG Worldwide. Through this systematic process, we help these financial advisors to clarify where their practices are and where they would like them to be. We identify the gaps between the two and provide specific recommendations to bridge those gaps and propel their businesses to significantly higher levels of success.
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Our process consists of two calls. The first is a comprehensive discovery meeting with one of our Elite Advisor Consultants. We capture each advisor’s goals, challenges and key characteristics and then create a Total Advisor Profile—a comprehensive view of the advisor’s business and life in a single-page, high-level synopsis. This discovery meeting very much models the client experience we teach our coaching clients.
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One of our Elite Advisor Strategists studies the profile and researches the advisor’s social medial presence before the second meeting. During that second phone appointment, we provide three specific recommendations to the advisor to improve his or her practice. We follow this up with a personalized and comprehensive written report detailing how to execute the recommendations we offer.
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CEG Worldwide invests more than $2,000 in time and energy on each Best Year Ever Consultation. Participants in the consultation report receiving significant value in return.
And you will be rewarded by seeing those you care about having a bigger impact in their clients’ lives, watching their incomes soar and enjoying a higher quality of life.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How do I provide an introduction?
There are two easy ways:
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Fill out an introduction form. These will be distributed at each session of The Elite Wealth Manager.
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Fill out our online introduction form.
All information you provide will remain confidential and will be used only to contact the financial advisors and to provide the Best Year Ever Consultation.
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What types of financial advisors are most likely to qualify for and then enroll in The Elite Wealth Manager?
The minimum annual net income required to participate in the Best Year Ever Consultation is $200,000. In addition, we look for financial advisors who are committed to taking their practices to a substantially higher level of success while serving their clients extremely well. They should be self-motivated, open to trying new approaches and willing to participate fully in the coaching relationship.
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How do I get people I introduce to enroll in The Elite Wealth Manager?
We have found that personal conversations have the greatest impact on someone’s decision to enroll. Share your experience of how The Elite Wealth Manager has changed your practice and your life and how it might change theirs.
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3. Mind Mapping Programs
Mind mapping has proven to be a powerful tool for supporting the consultative process in two key ways. First, it enables you to systematically capture vital information about your clients, prospective clients and potential professional network members. Second, it effectively documents and prioritizes myriad advanced planning activities. Its flexibility also lends itself to many other uses, including strategic planning and project management.
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Listed below are several of the major mind mapping programs available today, with a brief overview of features and links to purchase information.
MindView
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Easy to format, with customizable colors, shapes and lines
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Fully integrated with Microsoft Office; allows imports from and exports to all MS Office products
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Works with both Mac and PC
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Includes professional templates and styles
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Enables online collaboration with multiple users through a shared workspace
NovaMind
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Familiar MS Office-like user interface
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Flexible formatting, with customizable colors, gradients and visual effects
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Export to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and to PDFs or images
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Advanced layout engine to keep mind maps neat and compact
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Works with both Mac and PC
MindMeister
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Cloud-based to easily facilitate real-time collaboration with multiple users from within standard web browsers
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Mobile access from iPad, iPhone and Andriod devices
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Simple, intuitive interface, but limited customization features
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Works with both Mac and PC
MindManager
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Expansive library of templates
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Collaboration tools
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Includes mobile app
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Works with both Mac and PC
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Flexible formatting, with customizable colors and visual effects
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Online and Windows desktop options
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Integrates with MS Office and Google apps
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Library of more than 70 templates to get started quickly
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Automatic spacing, alignment, color and sizing schemes give a professional finish
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Flexible formatting, with customizable colors and visual effects
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4. White Board Tools
At times physical whiteboards can have some restrictions, going digital is a great way to show and share content visually both live and remotely.
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Cloud APPS can allow easy collaboration and some provide comments, the ability to attach files and share your digital whiteboards.
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In this screencast, we walk you through several digital whiteboard options and we've also listed the links below for you convenience.
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Tools
5. Outsourcing Resources
Copy Editing
ProofreadNow: www.proofreadnow.com
Business-to-business copyediting service that offers both basic proofreading and substantive editing. Available 24/7. Contact Conni Eversull (conni@ProofreadNOW.com) to set up an account.
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Crowdsource Service (Name and Marketing)
Squadhelp: www.squadhelp.com
Squadhelp is an innovative platform which connects creative individuals from across the globe with savvy clients who need branding and marketing assistance for their businesses.
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Email Marketing
Constant Contact: www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp
Email service provider focused on serving small businesses. Platforms include customizable email templates, list management, social media integration and metrics tracking.
Infusionsoft: www.infusionsoft.com
Provides an automated marketing system to small businesses that includes customer relationship management, email marketing, social media marketing and an e-commerce solution.
Eloqua: www.eloqua.com
Provides marketing automation software that includes campaign management, contact and lead management, in-depth reporting and integration with many CRM programs.
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General Graphic Design Services
99designs: www.99designs.com
This crowd sourcing site provides the entire range of graphic design services.
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These online marketplaces all offer the services of graphic designers:
Guru: www.guru.com
Elance: www.elance.com
Upwork: www.upwork.com
Freelancer: www.freelancer.com
Transcription
Rev: www.rev.com
Provides accurate and affordable audio transcription services.
Trint: www.trint.com
Automated service produces searchable, editable, interactive transcripts.
Ebook Conversion and Distribution
Smashwords: www.smashwords.com
For a percentage of royalties, Smashwords distributes ebooks to major online stores.
Convertabook: www.convertabook.com
Converts any file into any ebook format. Also offers distribution to the major ebook sellers.
Bookbaby: www.bookbaby.com
For a flat fee, BookBaby converts manuscripts to the appropriate formats and distributes them to online stores.
Amazon: www.kdp.amazon.com
With a user-friendly interface, Kindle Direct Publishing enables ebook publishing direct to Kindle.
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Ebook Cover Design
99designs: www.99designs.com
This crowd sourcing site has a book cover design contest with fees starting at $299.
BookBaby: www.bookbaby.com
This ebook publisher also offers cover design services starting at $199.
iStockPhoto: www.istockphoto.com and Dreamstime: www.dreamstime.com
These sites both offer large selections of high-quality stock photography to use on the cover of your ebook or to inspire cover ideas for you or your graphic designer.
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Webinars
Zoom Webinar: www.zoom.us
Zoom is the best solution we’ve found for online meetings. Its high-quality video and audio, screen sharing features and mobile apps make it easy and affordable to connect with clients and team members remotely.
iMeet: www.imeetcentral.com
Affordable webinar solution with most basic features. For small webinars of up to 15 participants.
GoToMeeting: www.gotomeeting.com
Another affordable solution with basic features and capacity of up to 1,000 participants.
Adobe Connect: www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html
Full-featured webinar platform with a capacity of up to 100 participants. Burst packs may be purchased for larger events.
ON24: www.on24.com
Very robust webinar platform that can serve up to 1,000 participants.
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Presentations and Miscellaneous Video Resources
Prezi: www.prezi.com
A cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides.
The Draw Shop: www.thedrawshop.com
Help communicate your story with expertise in whiteboard animation marketing.
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Professional Organizations
The Editorial Freelancers Association: www.the-efa.org
The largest national association of editorial freelancers. Offers a free search tool to locate qualified writers and editors.
American Society of Journalists: www.asja.org/index.php
The nation’s professional organization of independent nonfiction writers. Provides a search tool to find freelance writers.
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Online Freelance Marketplaces
All of the following online marketplaces enable you to post a project or job description and to receive in return proposals from freelancers interested in assisting you. These sites also provide basic project tracking functions and manage the payments to freelancers you hire.
Guru: www.guru.com
Upwork: www.upwork.com
Freelancer: www.freelancer.com
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Video Production
Camtasia: www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html
Screen recording and video editing software that enables non-experts to easily create and share professional-quality videos.
Wirecast: www.telestream.net/wirecast
Live steaming production software that enables users to record and stream videos.
Logitech: www.logitech.com/en-us/home
Supplier of quality webcams and headsets for use in video production. Recording software is also available with this camera.
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Video Post-Production Specialists
Set up your Upwork account as described below:
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Choose “Sign up” from the top-right navigation.
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Select “I need a freelancer.”
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Complete the registration process.
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Once logged in, choose “recruit.”
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Choose “Post a job” from top right.
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Complete the job description.
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Choose “Post a Job” at the bottom.
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Once complete, search for one of the following post-production specialists we have identified for you: L.T. Clayton, Catalin Leescu or Tom Stevens
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Once the specialist is located, choose “contact” from the right side.
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Send an invitation to discuss the job or choose “Hire now” from the bottom. Provide your audio/videos file(s) either by uploading it to oDesk, Dropbox or Google drive or by working with your freelancer to identify how to deliver the files back and forth.
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Lastly, work with your oDesk post-production specialist until you are satisfied with the video. Once complete, work with your IT or web staff to place your audio/video on Vimeo, YouTube and/or embed your file in your web site.
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Video Distribution
Wistia: www.wistia.com
Popular video sharing service; great for syndication and hosting for Business.
Vimeo: www.vimeo.com
Video sharing and distribution service that offers an affordable, high-quality business hosting solutions.
You Tube: www.youtube.com
Popular, free video sharing service.
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Web Site Services
Webgrity: www.webgrity.com
Offers web site design and maintenance, search engine optimization, graphic design and other services to optimize web presence.
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Resources
In this talk from a Roundtable session, advisor Barry Garapedian shares his secrets for hosting elegant dinners for clients and prospective clients—events that net him $480,000 a year.
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In the audio below, Barry Garapedian describes how to solve the magic square puzzle presented in the video above.
6. Elite Wealth Planning
Elite Wealth Planning: Lessons from the Super Rich is designed for your affluent clients and prospective clients as well as centers of influence who serve the wealthy. We invite you to share it with these individuals and in group presentations to help start conversations that can lead to new business.
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It introduces readers to basic wealth planning strategies and products, the key differences between mere wealth planning and elite wealth planning, the core principles of wealth planning, and the process elite wealth planners employ to help their affluent clients reach their goals. It also shows how the Super Rich use elite wealth planning to help manage some of the life situations many people—wealthy and not-so-wealthy—must confront, including marriage and related issues, family businesses, educating and empowering heirs, and health issues.
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The book was reviewed by FINRA, which determined that its material appears to be consistent with applicable standards. You may download the FINRA review letter below.
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Reminder: Your use of CEG Worldwide’s client- and prospect-facing materials is governed by the Roundtable Terms and Conditions. You may read the Terms and Conditions here.
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In the audio below, John Bowen demonstrates how to make your presentation of Elite Wealth Planning extremely effective. You may also download a PowerPoint presentation for your use.
Resources
Downloads
7. Nail Your Client Meetings
Nail Your Client Meetings
Discover how to leverage technology to deliver world-class virtual meetings
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Find specific tools and know-how you need to conduct killer virtual meetings in your office or on the go. Set up your office to deliver high-quality video and audio, use virtual backgrounds to add that professional look, present visuals effectively, record meetings and more.
Click here to access the tools