Five Secrets to Marketing to CPAs and Lawyers

In reality, many CPAs are not used to proactive planning; they work retroactively, examining what the client has done already and attempting to minimize income taxes in this environment. However, by including the CPA in the strategy development process–before the financial advisor recommends the strategy to the client–the advisor can neutralize this fear and incorporate the CPA’s valuable tax planning knowledge.

Some advisors refuse to engage the CPA or lawyer beforehand because they fear the other professional will “kill” the recommendation upfront. In my experience, with many CPAs it is easier to get their buy-in on the front end, rather than deal with them on the back end. This is because many CPAs (and some lawyers) have the perception that other advisors are merely a “product pusher,” so it is important to address this perception head-on and as early in the planning process as possible.

Addressing the “Product Peddler” Misperception

To address this misperception, ask the client upfront if she has a trusted CPA whom she’ll ask to review the planning recommendation. If the client says yes, ask the client for the name of the CPA and permission to include the CPA in the planning process–and seek her input often!

Lawyers

Like CPAs, many lawyers may not be aware of the more sophisticated techniques a financial professional brings to bear. And as with CPAs, the lawyer may have a bias against certain financial products or insurance. If the lawyer is not brought into the process until after the financial advisor has made a recommendation to the client, the lawyer may act as a “deal killer.”

Perhaps it is a result of their conservatism, or perhaps it is a fear of being named a defendant in a lawsuit, but a small percentage of lawyers who don’t understand a strategy will simply reject it as “inappropriate.” A larger percentage, when faced with an unfamiliar strategy, will take time to learn about the technique before creating the documents, for example, that must be in place before insurance can be purchased through a new irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT).

Oftentimes, clients abort good planning because the lawyer has taken too long to get everything accomplished. The lawyer may do this for an ostensibly good motive: He or she wants to understand planning techniques in order to feel comfortable giving the client the best counseling.

But if the lawyer drags out the process and fails to give the technique or the product fair or timely consideration, he or she can be doing the client a huge disservice because the window of opportunity, maybe even of insurability, may close. In that case, the lawyer will have made a decision that is potentially damaging to the client’s interests. How can the financial professional avoid the express “no” or indecision?

Avoid Making the Lawyer a Scrivener

As with CPAs, one way to avoid the deal killer or indecisive lawyer is to involve the lawyer in the process as early as possible–and not relegate him or her to the role of scrivener. This happens when another advisor makes specific planning recommendations to the client, who then decides to move forward. The client or advisor will then seek to engage a lawyer to carry out the planning recommendation.

At that point, the financial advisor has relegated the lawyer to the role of scrivener, asking him to simply draft documents without in the process. This is analogous to a lawyer (who is not licensed to sell financial products) convincing the client that she should “buy term and invest the difference.

Conclusion

Consider the above as a starting point for a conversation with any CPA or lawyer; but it’s just that, a starting point. Successful relationships revolve around trust; and a better understanding of the other’s perspective is just the first step in establishing trust.

Jonathan A. Mintz, J.D., is executive director of The Advisors Forum, Manassas, Va. You may e-mail him at .