1. Tell me the meeting is about how we’re going to make sure we take more vacations this year.  We have all this money and we don’t enjoy it.
  2. Suggest that it’s time to look at the bigger picture -- both sets of parents are getting infirm -- so we understand how to talk to family members about care and finances.
  3. We’re pre-retirees and we haven’t talked much about the life ahead. Ask us to come with three options about how and where we might want to live so we can start to get real about this.
  4. Just tell me it’s about really getting to know each other better. Be nice, no need to fake.
  5. Tell us there are a few things that worry you, on our behalf. Then give it to us straight.

The problem for us advisors is that the “annual review” has become so canned, so uninteresting, that we are pushing our clients to attend and then taking them through a ceremony that just doesn’t work anymore. Time to change it up.

If you put your marketing hat on, it’s easy to reframe the annual meeting to make it a high point in your client relationships. Think about my friends, the power babes, and realize that as much as you want to meet with them, the trick is making them really want to meet with you.   

Gail Graham is chief marketing officer at United Capital, an innovative and fast-growing national wealth counseling firm with a unique approach to the market. Having earned awards in retail investor and advisor marketing, Gail is driving United Capital’s brand development, marketing and lead generation across all channels. Follow her on Twitter: @GailGrahamUC.

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