It’s easy to walk into a prospect meeting, look at the 401k plan replay information, and talk about investment underperformance, plan design fumbles and retirement replacement ratio spreads.
However, the strength of the plan sponsor’s relationship with its current advisor is one thing we don’t know. Is he or she a franchise player or a recent walk-on?
Interestingly, the 2018 Fidelity Plan Sponsor Attitudes found that over half (52 percent) of plan sponsors interviewed have worked with their advisor for over four years. That’s not rookie status. It means your competition has an existing relationship—so, pick up the ball and show the committee what you can do.
Passing
Start with a few short passes to learn more about the plan:
- How did they select your plan provider?
- How long have they been with it?
- What do they like/dislike about the current retirement plan?
Receiving
After gaining a few yards and learning basic information start pivoting to the plan sponsor’s goals. The Fidelity survey also found the three top plan sponsor questions and concerns are:
- Is the plan financially preparing my employees for retirement?
- Is the plan helping to retain top workers?
- Are plan-related business costs being reduced?
These very concerns may be on the top of your prospects’ minds—so ask them. What’s their workplace retirement plan goal? Let them coach you on what they want from their 401k advisor.
For example, the first question should be, “Do you feel the plan is effectively preparing your employees for retirement?” This concern could lead to a conversation about assessing the employees’ financial wellness. Many of the recordkeepers today have great partnerships that can help.
What about retaining top talent? It sounds like an opportunity to partner with a TPA to evaluate the plan design. Have there been corrective distributions? Testing failures? Is there an opportunity to add profit sharing, new comparability, or maybe a cash balance plan to carve out and retain key players?
Plan costs are next. Business owners obviously want to keep them reasonable. Thankfully, there are insider reports that can benchmark current costs and compare them to similar plans, companies, industries, headcount, and other head-to-head statistics (Fiduciary Benchmarks comes to mind).
Rushing
After you’ve learned the retirement plan’s direction and goals, it’s time to start advancing the ball.
To do this, think about your teammates, and who they are? How are you working together to ensure the win? They include:
- DCIO and recordkeeper wholesaler partners
- TPAs
- Internal retirement plan consulting team
What about your equipment? It’s about style, baby. How do you look when you’re rushing down the field? Are your tools and technology subscriptions demonstrating your specialized skills? Consider:
- Investment screening and analysis tools
- Fee benchmarking reports
- RFP provider reports
- Fiduciary vaults
- Financial wellness programs
You’ve gone pro and wear the jersey, but it doesn’t mean a guaranteed touchdown every game. You’ll need more to reach the end zone.
Touchdowns
And the crowd goes wild! Break out that well-rehearsed touchdown celebration–you’ve won the plan. Great work demonstrating why and how you can help the plan sponsor improve their company’s retirement plan.
By asking-short pass questions to uncover the plan sponsor’s major concerns, you’ll get them talking about goals. Then, by working with your trusted partners to help advance the ball, you show team spirit.
Also, the reports you’ve prepared and presented confirm you’re a trained professional in the retirement plan industry. Congratulations and good work.
Trading jerseys
One last thing; we sometimes trade jerseys. If you’re a retirement plan advisor, not feeling the spirit at your current firm, it could be time to consider free-agent status. At the end of the day, we all want to be on the winning team.
About 401(k) Marketing
Our clients are the best professional retirement plan advisors, TPAs, and industry partners in the business. They care deeply about saving America’s retirement future. We are proud to share their voices through industry writings, professionally-designed marketing materials (including websites), and expert content collateral. We lend support by promoting businesses through on-going awareness campaigns. 401(k) Marketing is based in San Diego, CA.
Check us out at www.401(k)-marketing.com.
Rebecca Hourihan is Chief Marketing Officer with San Diego-based 401(k) Marketing, a modern marketing agency for the retirement plan industry. The company supports clients through custom engagements, content marketing campaigns, sales material innovations, thought-leadership consulting, interactive workshops and speaking events. Its mission is to empower the retirement plan industry with high-quality marketing, ultimately inspiring Americans to become financially prepared for their future. Rebecca also hosts The 401(k) Marketing Podcast.
