Closing the Deal
For an adviser participating in a finals presentation with a new client, getting a visible reaction from the client’s decisionmakers can be a big step.“If you can’t get a smile, if you can’t get any kind of feedback, you’re probably not going to get closure in the end, says Donna Patch, a Principal and Manager of Business Development at Innovest in Denver, Colorado.
Advisers like Patch say that step—making the human connection with the finals presentation decisionmakers early on—often can mean the difference between winning the client and walking away empty-handed.
That is why pitching advisers say they open the meeting by trying to get the client chatting first—revisiting the company’s goals in fielding the RFP, its selection criteria, and anything else selection committee members are willing to share about what they’re looking for.
As a segue into the more traditional part of her presentation about her firm’s value proposition, Patch asks her opening questions about what the client is looking for in a new adviser relationship “and then the client committee members start talking. We’d rather have a conversation.”
“If I can get them engaged and it is more of a conversation than a sermon, I increase my chances of winning by a factor of four or five,” declares adviser Brad Arends, CEO of Alliance Benefit Group Financial Services Corp.
Getting to the Finals
During the RFP process, before getting to the finals, advisers generally learn about the client’s relationship with its current plan service providers, including the company’s existing plan adviser, if there is one, any third-party administrators, and the plan recordkeepers. “Often,” asserts Randy Long, Managing Partner of Sage View Advisory Group, “the sale is made in the data-gathering. You’re trying to find out everything you can about them.”
Issues to focus on during the preparation stage include information on the interviewing team, any current provider relationships, and why the search is being undertaken. Some advisers will be asked to replace a recordkeeper, others will be asked to come in and “fix” the current program, and sometimes sponsors are just looking to replace their current adviser, happy with the rest of the program. The data-gathering process after being named as a finalist typically runs anywhere from a few days to approximately a week, Patch says.
Generally, the data gathered about the current relationships will lead to an understanding of the specific issues that are driving the search, although not always. Issues to focus on during the preparation stage include information on the interviewing team, any current provider relationships, and why the search is being undertaken. For example, adviser Janelle Iannitto of Ross, Sinclaire & Associates of Cincinnati says a client may declare up front it is looking for an adviser who can help cut plan costs by 20%. Arends’ firm recently won a new client after being told to concentrate his final presentation on why the client should go with him and not a “huge national provider.”
“If we know [the client’s hot button issue] going in, we definitely will hit hard on that,” Arends says. “If price is the issue, I definitely want to know that.”
In addition to hitting hard on the problems identified by the client, Patch says she also acknowledges the successes of the plan. This can sometimes reassure a client that, in fixing what is wrong, the adviser will not harm what is going correctly.
Finally, it is important to understand the dynamics of the client’s interviewing team and to identify the primary decisionmaker. A client team headed by the CFO frequently focuses on cost issues, while an HR-led team often hits hard on service considerations, Arends says. If the CFO is involved, pay particular attention to that person. “A lot of times,” Arends points out, “his [the CFO] vote trumps HR.” Therefore, advisers should know who on the client team might be there merely as staff advisers, and who actually get a say in what company wins the business.
Making Your Case
When the presentation day arrives, pitching advisers have to deal with a whole host of other considerations.
There is the issue of how many people to bring. The advisers say they never do a presentation alone, but are wary of coming in with a small army for fear of potentially overwhelming the client committee; that is why it is useful to know going in how many committee members will be present, although the number of committee members varies widely from presentation to presentation.
In Patch’s opinion, a smaller committee can make it easier to achieve a conversational feel to the presentation. “We prefer smaller [groups, because it is] easier to build rapport during the meeting, since they have a tendency to talk more openly in a small group,” she explains.
The bottom line, according to Arends: “It’s not worth worrying about because you generally can’t do anything about it anyway.”
The advisers say they always bring enough hard copies of their presentation for each committee member but they do not always go through it slide by slide. In Long’s case, a large committee typically gets a more traditional PowerPoint-based presentation.
In whatever form the adviser makes his or her case—formal or informal—it needs to tightly track the client’s key issues as uncovered during the RFP and preparation phase or in opening client remarks made at the finals meeting.
One key presentation component: establishing the adviser’s value proposition by listing three to five carefully chosen attributes. Depending on the client’s hot button issues, the adviser also may need to address fees and potential revenue-sharing arrangements in some detail.
Advisers say they sometimes deliberately set aside one component from their formal presentation that they can raise informally when face to face. For example, Arends often draws a pyramid diagram while at the presentation table to demonstrate how his firm can tailor participant education efforts to different types of investors.
A client representative who has allowed himself or herself to be drawn into a conversation as the adviser tries to establish the desired informal meeting tone may supply new details about the company’s RFP motivations. So, pitching advisers have to be able to pivot quickly enough to address those concerns effectively on the fly.
Patch, for example, makes a call about when and how to use her presentation once she gets in the room. “You have to be nimble,” she advises. “Your presentation can’t get set in stone. We never go in completely canned.”
However, Patch advises, despite all the emphasis on drawing the client representatives out of their shells, do not be surprised if you meet a group where that just is not happening. “There are times,” Patch warns, “when it’s a very stoic group and you can’t get them to talk.” Even though the adviser agreed a more informal conversational final presentation is better, Patch contends a consultative style presentation that meets a more formal client’s needs is still possible.
Finally, while you are still in the presentation room, do not forget that you are not only stating a case for why the client needs your services, but also demonstrating your advisory firm is a good cultural match. “You want to make them feel comfortable that you’re a fit with them personalitywise,” Long advises.
Also, if a read of the client committee members looks like they all are thinking about lunch, don’t insist on plowing forward anyway—even if it means jettisoning an issue the adviser really wanted to talk about. “People make a mistake by not reading body language,” Iannitto advises. “If no one is interested in it, move on.”
Arends says presentations typically last for an hour and that the client will indicate whether that time limit includes a question and answer period.
Following Up
That hour presentation is not the end, however. Returning to the office after the finals presentation, advisers say their “pitch” is still not over.
For his part, Arends contacts the client to get a time frame for the expected decision and to, once again, encourage the committee members to contact his references (and to thank them for the opportunity). Arends also extends an invitation for them to visit his office in Albert Lea, Minnesota. “If I can get them here, that’s a very good sign,” Arends contends, because that implies the potential client is very interested in him and his firm.
Just like after a job interview, the advisers suggest sending the client committee members a note thanking them for the opportunity to present. Particularly if earlier communications were via e-mail, the follow-up notes also can be electronic.
Patch also waits two days and phones the main client contact to find out if there are any lingering questions or issues. Then, be prepared to wait—anywhere from a quick two days to, in the case of the presentation Patch’s team did in October, a matter of months. As of early February, Patch was still waiting.
*Illustration by Wesley Allsbrook