How Financial Advisors Can Drive Referrals with Comprehensive Planning with Tim Seifert

[00:00:22] Doug Heikkinen: Super. Lincoln has some new research around satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals among clients who own protection products like annuities, life insurance, and long term care funding solutions. Let's talk about the findings.

[00:00:37] Tim Seifert: Perfect. And Doug, like we've started out in the podcast in the past, is not only just a big thank you for, for the listening audience for taking time to be with us today, but also at Lincoln, our new tagline

"Your Tomorrow is Our Priority" is really important for today's topic. And that is every morning, Doug, we wake up here at Lincoln and we say, what are we doing to put our financial advisors in the absolute best position to win? And we always focus that around client retention and client acquisition and building efficiencies into your practice.

So Doug, this research, you are absolutely right on correct, is we have new research and it's part of a new report as part of Lincoln's consumer sentiment tracker, which includes quarterly surveys throughout the year. And so the big takeaway, Doug, is this is that clients who own protection products, who own protected growth products are more satisfied with their financial professional.

They're more loyal to their financial professional and Doug, get this. They're more likely to refer new business to them and or capture assets out of way. So the, the big takeaway is protection is a growth business. It is growing substantially, but also by adding protection products, you too can grow your practice.

So we are really excited about that. So Doug, should I dig a little bit more into the data?

[00:02:19] Doug Heikkinen: Yeah, that's the trifecta for financial advisors to do those three things. So, you know, let's, let's dig into it. Tell me more. You

[00:02:25] Tim Seifert: got it. It's got it. So here's, here's what the survey said is among clients who don't own any protection or protection growth products, less than half Doug, 41% say it would take a lot

for them to leave the financial professional. So let's reverse that. What that's saying, Doug, is that 59 percent if asked would leave their financial professional when they don't have protection in the portfolio and protect the products in the portfolio. So when they own two protective products, then the number rises.

And when they own three, so you could own protected growth, protected income, you could own long term care products, you could do some advanced planning with life insurance products, they're the protection products we're talking about. But when they own three or more through comprehensive wealth management, 75% Are highly loyal, and Doug, that's a 34 point jump.

And then also when you own three or more products, 31% jump in that they're satisfied clients, or satisfied with their financial professional and willing to give a referral. So the bottom line is that when we do comprehensive wealth management, when we listen to the wants, needs, and desires of the end consumer, And most importantly, when we add protection products to the portfolio, client satisfaction goes up.

And the more products you put into the portfolio, the higher the client satisfaction scores. So protection is a growth business. Adding protection to the client portfolio increases client satisfaction.

[00:04:22] Doug Heikkinen: That's really interesting. Let's talk a little bit more about the products and why they are an important part of the client's overall financial plan.

[00:04:31] Tim Seifert: Yeah, so, so Doug, you and I have talked about this in previous podcasts, and that is, you know, we do a lot of work with the Alliance for Lifetime Income, and we've talked about in the past this idea of the age wave and being Peak 65. So what that means is we're at a point in the history of this great nation that more people are reaching retirement than ever before.

And what we're discovering is they're just not prepared. And more than anything is they are very much concerned about what their financial future may hold. And what the Alliance and their research has found is that one in four Peak 65ers cite uncertainty as their top emotional concern when they think about retirement.

And another third of the Peak 65 ers say that, Doug they're really really worried. And I don't blame them. I mean, they're living this every day, and they live with these major concerns. So think about like live it, those two words. So what is it they're concerned about? It's an acronym is they're concerned. They're uncertain.

There's fear out there because they're living it. And so the acronym of L I V E and then I T, they're living it. So what are they concerned about? They're concerned about longevity. They're concerned about inflation, particularly their age cohort and healthcare costs. Right, Doug? They're concerned about market volatility.

They're concerned about emotions, and we call this like the moments that matter through the NextChapter, we've done a lot of work with them. They're concerned about interest rates, and they're concerned about taxes. So there's a lot to be concerned about. And so it's clear in the research that we've seen that when we talk about their wants, needs and desires, and we talk about adding protection to the portfolio, Doug, this is a fact that the Alliance brought forth in their Peak 65 work is they found that 62% of financial professionals say they raise this topic of adding protection to the portfolios.

But only 27 percent of investors say the financial professional actually brought it up. And what we mean by that is products like you and I've talked about in the past, like annuities, like long term care, like life insurance, but specifically with those products, like annuities, they add more flexibility.

They add levels of downside protection. They add options for protected lifetime income. They add options for estate planning. And they take care of potential inflation needs while at the same time, adding tax advantages. So all of those things that clients are concerned about, they're the answers and some of the products that we position.

So it's all around building investor confidence and helping make their portfolios more resilient to the challenges and the uncertainty that they're meeting in today's volatile world.

[00:07:54] Doug Heikkinen: You've made it clear from the research that protecting products can play a big role in helping financial professionals create deeper relationships with their clients.

How can financial professionals build upon these relationships to grow their businesses, which they all want to do?

[00:08:10] Tim Seifert: Yeah, that's what we talked about, right? Protection is a growth business, and when you add protection to the portfolio, you can grow your business. So Doug, two things to really focus in on here, right?

And this is the work that we do, along with our Centers for Financial Professional Development. So here's what I would say, is that when you add protection, satisfaction goes up. And when you have highly satisfied clients, they never run out of two things, Doug.

They never run out of money or assets held away, and they never run out of the opportunity, when they're highly satisfied, to refer you, their trusted financial professional, to associates, family members, and friends. So they never run out of money and they never run out of referrals. So what are the actions that the greatest asset gatherers are taking? one is when you have highly satisfied clients ask for assets held away.

As a matter of fact, 96% of financial professionals who provide this guidance to their clients on when and how they should take withdrawals from certain accounts. However, what the Alliance and their research says is, 66% of the clients say they actually remember the case that they do so. So we know what the fed has recently done.

So this is a tremendous opportunity as the fed starts to cut and continues to cut, but it take those assets that have been accumulating in cash, and share with them ways to put that into the protected products that we talk about. The other area, since it's Peak 65, is we know people are getting closer to that retirement age.

And it's a tremendous opportunity to talk about rollovers in today's marketplace. So when you add protection, they're highly satisfied. Let's address the assets held away, and ask for cash and rollovers. And that is a big trend that's happening today. And then lastly, Doug, can I spend some time on referrals?

[00:10:19] Doug Heikkinen: Oh yeah.

[00:10:21] Tim Seifert: Okay. So the facts is that we talked about when you add protection to the portfolio, they're highly satisfied. Here's what we know. Satisfied clients are more likely to give referrals. And they want to give referrals to their trusted financial professional, but only four to 5 percent are ever asked.

So we say, why is that? When we go to our financial professional, why are we not asking? And Doug, there's three answers. Number one is I just flat out forget. I just had an outstanding client review and I just forgot to ask. Number two is they feel that they may offend that client in some way. But what we know Is that the clients want their advisors to ask them. They're highly satisfied.

They're their trusted advisor They want you to ask so just go ahead and ask And then the third thing Doug is what we hear from our financial professionals is I don't really know how to ask or I don't know when the ideal time to ask is. Like when can I have the highest probability of getting referrals? And so we call that time a green light moment The time when your client has the highest probability that when you ask, you shall receive. That is a green light.

And Doug, when that time is, is when at the end of that review, when they say the magic words of "thank you so much. This has been a tremendous client review. I really appreciate everything you and the team are doing for us. I thank you." That's called a green light moment. It's a time when if you ask, you shall receive.

So let's go through the process, Doug, if I could, of what those people, those financial professionals that get the greatest client referrals, how are they doing it? Here's the basic tips. Number one is when you get the green light moment, and they say, thank you, Doug, for an outstanding service that you've been giving to us.

We're on track to reach our goals. You've added protection to the portfolio. We appreciate you and the team. So four steps. Number one, thank you for the thank you. Thank you for the green light. Thank you in return for being such wonderful clients to us. Number two, can I ask you for help? So they just thank you.

You thank him in return. You asked for help. What are they going to say, Doug? Sure. Absolutely. What do you need? And that's where you come into the magical words. And that's other than yourself, who else do you know? Associates, friends, or family members that you believe will benefit from our services. At that point, they will give you a name or two.

And then you say, you know, it sounds like they're a great mix, Doug. There sounds like it's a great somebody that would benefit from our services. Be my advisor. If you were us, how would you go about contacting that person that you just gave the name to? So Doug, again, 90% of satisfied clients want you to ask, only 4 to 5% of us actually ask. Why? We don't know how or we don't know when.

When is when they thank you for something. The how is four steps. Thank you for the thank you. Can I ask for your help? Three, the magical words. And then lastly, be my advisor. If you are us, how would you go about contacting that client? Satisfied clients never run out of two things, assets out of way and the opportunity to refer their trusted advisor to their family and to their friends.

So Doug, that's the way you do it.

[00:14:28] Doug Heikkinen: It's what I always tell my son, you never get what you don't ask for.

[00:14:31] Tim Seifert: There is great fatherly advice, Doug.

[00:14:34] Doug Heikkinen: So this is such a great podcast. Let's sum it up with three takeaways that you'd give financial professionals today. What would those be?

[00:14:44] Tim Seifert: Okay. Three takeaways. Let's go back and review what we talked about.

Okay. I would say first, Doug, continue to educate yourself and your clients. On the value and the features of protection products. And the reason I say continue Doug to educate is, you know, in the insurance industry, we're innovative. We continue to evolve. So it's just so important to stay up to date on the latest innovations that will be available to your clients and your future clients or prospects.

So, so first, is just continue to educate and we can help you with that. Second is let's prioritize and simplify conversations around developing a long term income plan, in developing and protecting and preparing for longevity and retirement, and looking at the overall financial plan to find effective ways

to integrate protection into the overall comprehensive plan and add protection products, because we know again, the more protection you add, the better likelihood for developing highly satisfied clients, right? So we talked about that. And then I guess the third is overall, we believe in the value of advice.

And we believe on continuing to have outstanding client experience and we believe in building trust and that idea of trust is built not only on providing that outstanding client experience, but it's providing choice. It's providing flexibility and I always go back to the trusted advisor formula.

We call it the ROCC formula. It's R O C C. The numerator is continue to be reliable, do exactly what we said we're going to do. To be open, honest and transparent and that simplicity around communication, continue to build our skill sets or competency. So our OC reliable, open, honest and transparent and competent.

That's the numerator. The denominator is to demonstrate on how much we care, to care more about the people we serve than oneself. And then we can help you, like I said earlier, through the Lincoln Center for Financial Planning Excellence Platform. It's a great resource to everything you need around practice management, right?

And that will help you with the trust formula. So that's what I would say, Doug. First, continue to educate, and demonstrate value. Second, prioritize and simplify conversations, adding protection to the portfolio. And then third is continue to do what we do. And that is the trust formula.

[00:17:59] Doug Heikkinen: Tim, that is great advice for any financial professional.

Thank you so much for joining us again.

[00:18:06] Tim Seifert: Doug, my dear friend, you're the best and your team's the best. And so once again, thank you for having us at Lincoln. And like I said, we wake up every day, and we say, what are we doing to put our financial professionals in the best position to win client acquisition strategies, client retention strategies, and building efficiency and protection into the portfolio because your tomorrow is our priority.

Thanks for having me, my friend.

[00:18:35] Doug Heikkinen: Great. To learn more about Lincoln Financial, please visit lincolnfinancial. com. Please follow us for timely updates on X, LinkedIn, and Facebook, all @Advisorpedia for everyone at Advisorpedia, our producer Julia Smollen, our engineer Tory Miller, and the Power Your Advice podcast team, this is Doug Heikkinen.