10 Engaging Questions to Ask Prospects as a Financial Advisor

Meeting with a prospective client is an opportunity to gain a better understanding of what they need, and then determine whether you’re the right advisor for them. Asking questions and actively listening to what they have to say is critical for establishing a relationship that you can nurture over time. Let’s look at some helpful financial advisor prospecting questions you can ask that will help keep the conversation flowing.

Ready to grow your client base? SmartAsset AMP simplifies advisor marketing.

10 Insightful Financial Advisor Prospecting Questions to Ask

There are many questions great financial advisors ask, but if you have limited time to meet with a prospect, you may need to do some condensing. Here are some of the most informative prospecting questions to ask.

1. Can You Tell Me a Little About Yourself?

Before diving into questions about a prospect’s finances, consider how you can break the ice. They may be nervous about meeting with an advisor or sharing information about their finances. This question can help put a prospect at ease and help you get to know them a little bit better.

Their answers can offer cues for follow-up questions, such as:

• What kind of money situation did you grow up with?
• How did your childhood experiences with money affect the way you manage your finances as an adult?
• What does an ideal life look like for you (and your family, if applicable)?

2. Have You Worked With an Advisor Before?

It’s not unusual to meet with a prospect who’s never worked with an advisor before. Asking this question can help you gauge the prospect’s level of experience in seeking out financial advice. If they’ve worked with an advisor in the past, then you can ask additional questions, such as:

• How was that experience for you?
• If there’s one thing you could have changed, what would it be?
• What kind of relationship would you like to have with your advisor?

3. How Would You Rate Your Financial Situation Right Now?

Financial advisors often ask prospects what they’re concerned about when it comes to their money. That question can be limiting, as it tends to steer the prospect’s thinking toward the negative.

Asking them to rate their financial situation on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, gets them thinking about where they’re weakest and strongest. You can get them to elaborate by asking:

• What do you feel is working the best in your financial plan?
• Where do you think you could improve, or what would you most like to change?

4. Can You Tell Me a Little About Your Short- and Long-Term Goals?

A prospect may have a lot of investment or savings goals, or none at all, but you won’t know if you don’t ask. This question encourages prospects to consider what they want to do with their money.

If they offer up a list of goals, ask them to name the top two or three that are most important. Then, ask them what steps they’ve taken so far to accomplish those goals and how they feel about the progress they’ve made.

If they aren’t able to name any specific goals, you can move on to the next question.

5. What Are You Hoping I Can Help You With?

As an advisor, providing value to your clients and helping them achieve their goals lies at the heart of what you do. So it’s not unreasonable to ask a prospect what they’re hoping you can help them with.

This question is actually one of the most important since it can help you determine if you and the prospect are a good fit for one another. Their answer can tell you what their expectations are, and how equipped you are to meet them.

6. Who Are You Responsible for Financially?

Planning for someone who’s single without children can look quite different from planning for a client who has financial responsibilities beyond themselves. It’s important to know whether a prospect has a partner, spouse, children or elderly parents they’re responsible for.

You can ask these questions next if time allows:

• Are any of the people you’re responsible for disabled?
• If so, how are you managing those costs and have you taken any steps to develop a plan for their long-term care?
• Do you and your spouse (if married) have life insurance and, if so, what kind of coverage do you have?
• If you have kids, have you done any planning for college yet?
• What kind of financial needs will you be expected to meet where your parents are concerned?

7. Do You Anticipate Any Major Life Changes?

Life changes, such as a divorce or the birth of a child, can change the course of a client’s financial plan. Asking prospects this question encourages them to think about the future if they haven’t done so and consider how their financial planning needs might change over time.

If they aren’t able to think of anything, you can ask this question: What would you do if [XYZ ] happened?

For example, if they’re married, you might ask what they would do if their spouse asked for a divorce or passed away unexpectedly. Or you may ask how they’d react if they lost their job tomorrow.

These are things a prospect may not have considered, and how they answer can give you a better idea of what areas of their financial plan may need some attention.

8. What Would Your Life Look Like If Money Weren’t an Issue?

Asking this kind of question prompts prospects to dream big and think beyond the limits of their current financial situation. They may have dreams or passions they’d like to pursue but don’t, either because they think they can’t afford it or it’s not realistic.

This question can also offer insight into their personality and what they’re like. For example, a prospect may tell you they’d love to travel to every continent or launch a new business. Their answers may be just as surprising to them as they are to you, but that’s a good thing.

You can then begin thinking about how you might be able to help them bring some of those dreams to fruition.

9. What Do You Value?

Values-led financial planning focuses on creating plans that allow the clients to pursue their goals while keeping their values firmly in sight.

For some prospects, their values may center on maintaining strong family relationships or achieving a good work/life balance. For others, the focus may lie on supporting social causes that are important to them.

The better you understand what matters most to a prospect, the easier it becomes to develop a financial plan that aligns with those values.

10. Where would You Like to Go From Here?

The questions leading up to this one are designed to help you develop a positive rapport with a prospect. They’ve told you about themselves, and ideally, you’ve done the same.

This last question allows the prospect to decide if they’d like to continue the conversation. You want to gain their trust before subjecting them to a full sales pitch and putting the ball in their court can help you do that.

Bottom Line

A good first impression matters when meeting with prospects. You want to guide the conversation, rather than dominate it. Asking these kinds of prospecting questions can help you both gain a better understanding of one another and set the tone for a positive working relationship.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

• Developing a comprehensive marketing plan can give you a competitive advantage. If you’ve struggled to gain exposure for your online or you want to spend less time on promotion, you might consider working with an advisor marketing platform. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
• When asking prospecting questions, it’s important to choose open-ended ones. This kind of question is designed to prompt an answer beyond a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and get prospects to really think about their financial needs and goals. Creating a discovery meeting checklist can help you stay organized and ensure that you’re posing the right questions at the right time.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/Ridofranz, ©iStock.com/seb_ra, ©iStock.com/Ridofranz