To Catch ‘Do Nothing’ 401(k) Investors, Focus on Greed

Company retirement plan participants lose investment performance even in good stock market environments. That gap is a great prospecting strategy.  

I made many mistakes in building my individual company retirement plan participant advice practice.  One thing that I did right was to keep good prospecting activity records. I tracked the outcome of each telephone prospecting call I made.  I tracked what I said and how the prospect responded. I kept a record of the end result of every prospect appointment that I made.

I soon figured out my most glaring prospecting weakness. I had to completely change the way that I prospected for individual company retirement plan advice clients.

I never lost prospects to other advisors. Fourteen years ago, there were no other advisors providing investment advice to individual company retirement plan advice participants. Instead, I lost the majority of my prospects to the “do nothing” decision. After my first meeting with them, the prospect continued to manage their individual company retirement plan account on their own.

Current company retirement plan account values are at all-time highs. I fear that another “do nothing” company retirement plan participant mindset is upon us all. Today’s rising stock market makes it difficult—but not impossible—to get a prospect to look your way for consideration. What’s the right prospecting strategy to move prospecting momentum back in your favor?

Remember all the articles that you have read and seminars that you have attended on the topic of investor emotions? If it is not fear that motivates them, it’s greed. If it’s not greed, it’s fear. One emotion or the other gets prospects to talk to you. As 2013 comes to an end, it is time to prospect with greed.