Tap a question to open it. Acknowledge briefly, give NO specifics, pivot to a discovery question. Never answer what they asked. Moral Authority frame is the fallback if they keep pushing.
"What are your fees?"
Fair question, and fees matter, they're exactly the kind of thing you should be able to see clearly. We're fee-based and fully transparent. But a fee only means something next to what your plan's actually getting for it, and that's what I'm here to understand. When did someone last benchmark what you're paying against similar plans?
"What do you do?"
We're a local firm that works with plan sponsors like you, mostly on plans that already have an advisor but aren't getting a lot of attention. We show up: on-site education, a real point of contact for your people, proactive reviews. Before I say more, how's your plan being served today?
"We already have an advisor."
Good, most of the sponsors I talk to do. I'm not here to talk you out of anyone. A lot of what I see is plans that got set up well and then went quiet. Just so I understand, when did your advisor last actually sit down with you for a real review?
"The plan's fine, everything's working."
That's usually how it looks from the outside, and it may well be fine. The tricky thing with retirement plans is that the gaps are invisible until they're expensive: fees, a stale lineup, employees with no one to call. Quick one: when someone on your team has a question about their account, who do they actually reach?
"Can you just tell me what's wrong with it?"
I want to, that's the best part of the job. But calling out problems before I understand your plan would just be a guess, and you deserve better than a guess. Give me the shape of it, participants, who's on it, when it was last reviewed, and I can actually be useful.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
Right thing to ask, and you shouldn't take my word for it. We're a local firm, you can pull up my BrokerCheck and our background before anything happens, and nothing about your plan changes unless you decide it should. Trust gets built over time. Today all I'm doing is trying to understand your plan, so tell me how it's being run now.
"Why are you asking me all these questions?"
Fair, and I should've said so up front. Anything I tell you about your plan before I understand it is just a guess, and you deserve better than a guess. The clearer the picture you give me, the more useful I can be. So walk me through how the plan's being handled, and I'll show you where it actually stands.
"I don't have time for this."
I hear you, and honestly that's one of the biggest reasons sponsors end up working with us, we take the plan off your plate. Right now I only need a few minutes to see if there's even a gap worth your time. If there isn't, I'll tell you and give you those minutes back. Quick version: who's minding the plan day to day?
If they keep pushing for specifics (Moral Authority)
"I'm excited to tell you exactly what I'd do, it's the best part of the job. But I'm held to a fiduciary standard, so I can't responsibly diagnose your plan before I actually understand it. Once I do, I'm an open book. So let's start with how the plan's being handled today."
After the Plan Health Review offer
Different job now. The Plan Health Review is on the table, so do NOT pivot back to discovery. Dylan 07/07: acknowledge the question and give a real, high-level answer FIRST, don't stonewall with "we'll cover it in the review." Then anchor the specifics to the review, reassure it's theirs either way, and pivot to the ask: permission to pull the 5500 and one recent fee statement. Confident and brief, no filler.
"What would you actually change?"
Great question, honestly the fun part. High level, it comes down to a few things: [getting a real person in front of your employees, making sure the fiduciary piece is documented, and putting a clean benchmark on what you're paying]. That's the what. The exact moves are what the review tells us, because doing it off memory would just be a guess, and you deserve better than a guess. That's the whole reason I need the 5500 and a recent fee statement. Can you get me the go-ahead by [Saturday]?
"What are your fees?" / "Is the review free?"
Straight answer: the review itself is free, no charge for it or this call. We're fee-based and fully transparent, so if you ever brought us on, you'd see the exact number before you commit to anything. But that only means something next to what the review shows we'd fix. Either way it's yours to keep. Can you get me the 5500 and a recent statement by [Saturday]?
"If it's free, what's the catch?"
No catch, and nothing flips into a charge. I do these knowing maybe [one in five] plans becomes a client, the rest just get a clear picture and we both move on. The review's yours either way. So the only thing I need is permission to pull your 5500 and one recent fee statement, can you send that by [Saturday]?
"If we did switch, what would it cost?"
Fair to nail down. Our advisory fee is a transparent, disclosed number, no commissions, no hidden tickets, and in a lot of cases the plan's total cost actually comes down once we benchmark the recordkeeper and the funds. I'll show you the real figure once the review tells us what we're working with, and there's no commitment before then. Let's get the 5500 over first, which day this week works?
"How long does the review take?"
Two to three business days from when I've got the 5500 and a statement, then we sit down and walk through it together. So the sooner those are in, the sooner you've got real answers instead of a guess. Does [Saturday] work to get them over?
"Why do you need the 5500?"
Two reasons: the 5500 is your plan's public filing, so it's the cleanest way for me to see participants, assets, and who's getting paid, and a recent fee statement fills in what the filing doesn't. It lets me build you an accurate benchmark, not a best-guess from memory. Nothing's committed by sharing them, and it's yours either way. Want to use the secure link and target [Saturday]?
"We're not committing to anything, right?"
Correct, nothing's committed on either side, and the review is yours to keep no matter what. If you ever brought us on, it'd be because it clearly fit your plan, not because you got cornered. All I need to build it is your 5500 and a recent statement, can you get those over by [Saturday]?
"I need to talk to my partner / the committee first."
100%, and I'd expect nothing less, a decision like this should include whoever else is on the plan. That's exactly why the review's built to be walked through together, and it just shows where you stand, nothing's decided. Let's hold a time that works for everyone, and get the 5500 in first.
"Let me think about it."
Of course. The one thing I'd say is that thinking it through works best with the actual numbers in front of you, not in a vacuum, and sending the 5500 doesn't commit you to anything. So let's get you those numbers to think about, can you get the 5500 and a recent statement over by [Saturday]?
Call data
idle
When prompted, share the Zoom tab with audio (that's the prospect); your mic is you. Recording a prospect needs their consent, confirm they're OK with it first. Fields auto-fill from the conversation; type to correct any of them.