Many advisors find that even when a prospective client has been referred to them, there is often still hesitancy about that first face to face meeting.

The most common reason for this is that prospects are concerned about being pressured or being subjected to an unpleasant experience - a contributor to that is uncertainty about what will actually happen in that meeting.

One solution is to clearly lay out the process you follow when meeting with prospective clients.

Key to that is the tone you establish - you want to communicate that you'd like the prospective client's business, but that you don't need their business.

And in particular you want to stay away from anything that suggests that you're in a rush to sign them up.

A three-step conversation

Let's suppose that you've been referred to a prospective client named Jim Smith.

Here's how one possible conversation might go, outlining a three-step process.

You might say:

"Jim, let me just mention briefly the process that I normally go through when talking to possible clients. Typically, we meet three times before we decide if we want to do business.

The first time is typically fairly brief, maybe half an hour or forty five minutes over a coffee. And that's just for us to get to know each other, for you to get to know me and for me to get to know you, and for us both to decide if there's a potential fit.

Do you have any questions on this?

If we decide to go ahead, the second meeting normally takes place within a week or so after that and that's where I really start getting to know your situation in detail.

 At that point, we discuss your objectives, we talk about our investments and the insurance you currently hold, and we review your most recent tax return.

And at the end of that, if we're still both comfortable, we set up a third meeting in about a week's time.

And it's at that point that I come back with specific recommendations.

Are you comfortable with this?

Note that there's nothing magic about a three step process ... every advisor needs to set out their own process for meeting with prospective clients.

But by communicating your process clearly and conveying that you're not in a big hurry to get their business, you increase your chances of meeting with prospects and turning them into clients.