GUEST BLOGGER - Why He Missed His Best Opportunity
I know an advisor who specializes in establishing 401k and pension plans for businesses. We’ll call him Al. He was talking to a friend of mine who owned a small business. We’ll call him Bill. Bill’s business had one full-time employee and one part-time employee, both of whom were secretarial with low to average compensation. Al knew that Bill was just shopping around to see what his options were. It would be a brand new plan with small contributions. In other words, no rollover to earn a commission on and very small monthly contributions. Al calculated the estimated commissions in his head and the amount of time required to set up the plan. He quickly determined it was not worth his time and began the process of retreating. Bill relayed this story to me for a reason. His wife was the personal assistant to the founder and president of one of the most successful local businesses. In the past two years the company had grown from less than 200 employees to over 500. Because of this growth they had outgrown their old pension plan. The president asked his personal assistant, Bill’s wife, to find a new pension advisor who could provide them with an updated plan. Al missed out. He thought he had read Bill and his situation properly, then he made a judgment call. However, you do not know who they know. Al did not know who Bill knew. Al missed out on what would have likely been the largest case of his life because he did not take the time to find out who else the business owner knew. He committed the cardinal sin of poor networking. He tried to make a sale when he should have tried to make a relationship.
Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson Consulting
317-708-3770
http://www.SteveLawsonConsulting.com
http://www.STARteamNetwork.com
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