One of the first things to keep in mind (as they say in the legal profession) is that often the best kinds of questions to ask are ones that you already know the answer to. Nine times out of ten, if you ask a plan sponsor if they’ve recently done a diversification or cost analysis on their plan, the answer will be “no”. This gives you an opportunity to highlight the importance of these tasks and offer a solution.
It’s also important to ask open-ended questions. You want to get them talking, because if you do (and you listen) you’ll discover what’s important to them AND you’ll probably uncover any potential obstacles to closing the sale.
Recent studies (The one thing you must do as a plan advisor) have shown that one of the most important things to plan sponsors is employee education. Ask about how prepared they feel the plan participants are to make important investment decisions.
Your questions should also highlight the importance of their fiduciary obligations (without using scare tactics) and allow you to offer solutions.
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