The Best Sales

Approach for
Financial Advisors

Killer Questions That Will Bond Your

Clients to You for Life

I have a personal request. Read this short report from cover to cover. The elements
toward the end of the report will make a huge impact on your business and on the lives of
your clients. Theres a new frontier in financial services. I want to make sure youre
leading the way. Reading this may be the most important 20 minutes you invest in your
career this year.
Enjoy!
Roxanne Emmerich CSP,CMC

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

Roxanne Emmerich, CSP, CMC is listed in the May

2000 Sales and Marketing Management magazine as
one of the 12 most requested speakers in the nation
today. She is the author of 4 books including, Thank
God Its Monday: How to Build a Motivating
Workplace thats in its 8th printing, and Profit-Growth
Banking: 7 Strategies of the Top Performing Banks
released May 2002 by Banner Press.
Twice voted Entrepreneur of the Year, Roxanne built
a seven-figure company and led one of the fastest
growth, fastest-to-profit banks in the country in 1987.
Her Breakthrough Banking video education training
system is the most used sales and service training
system for banks all across the U.S and Canada. She is
the author of Thank God Its Monday: How to Build a Motivating Workplace.
Based on her experience of starting one of the fastest growing and fastest-to-profit banks in the
country in 1987, she has advised hundreds of banks on how to grow their top line and help their
people dramatically improve their production. She is one of the most in-demand speakers at bank
CEO meetings in the country today and Successful Meetings lists her as one of the top experts in
the country on managing organizational change.
She has been nominated for the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of
Fame.
Interviewed with CNN, CBS, and over one hundred radio and television stations.
Some of her articles and interviews include CEO Report, Womans Day, The Wall Street
Journal, Ticker, Info World, HR Executive magazine, ABA Banking Journal, AirTran
Arrivals, Continental magazine, and Business Week.
Past state president of the American Society for Training and Development and director
of the YWCA.
She is a co-owner of North American Banking Company, a bank holding company is
St. Paul, MN, and had been a key advisor to Tommy Thompson when he was Governor
of the State of Wisconsin.
Some of her licenses and certifications include: Certified Management Consultant,
Certified Speaking Professional, Financial Planning, Business Taxation, Series 7,
Accelerated Training, Myers-Briggs, Insurance, Counselor Selling
University of Wisconsin Distinguished Alumnus
The Emmerich Group
8500 Normandale Lake Blvd., Suite 180
Minneapolis, MN 55437
800-236-5885
952-820-0360
www.EmmerichGroup.com and www.EmmerichFinancial.com

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

In this report:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.

How to compete in the highly competitive financial services world

How to build a high-results profiling system
The 10 best questions to get new customers and keep them for life
Positioning: Getting them begging to do business with you
Questions that dont work made into power questions
The 100 best questions submitted by your colleagues
Creating your questioning template

A. How to compete in the highly competitive financial

services world
The world of financial advising has changedand changed significantly. The Internet
provides mechanisms and information that make clients question whether they really
need your services at all! In most cases, they dont. And yet, in March 2001 when the
market dipped dramatically, more than $20 billion left the American stock market in one
month, and there were similar results in Canada. Now, I dont know anyone who has
asked for the buy-high-sell-low investment plan. Yet, when client emotions are not
managed, thats exactly what they get.
Thats where you come in. In this new world of financial advising, your job now is to
manage the emotions and discover the deep-seated needs and desires of your clients. This
is something they cannot get from the Internet, but it is something they will always
needand demand.
More than 60 percent of clients who leave a financial advisor do so because they feel
their advisor was not a good communicator or didnt care about them. Thirty-five percent
of them feel their advisors are not good communicators. Clearly, theyre not talking about
your grammar or diction. Rather, they feel you just plain dont understand them.
Humans have the insatiable need to be understood at a core level. Clients divulge secrets
about their money that sometimes even their loved ones dont know. To disclose that type
of information, clients must sense that there is an implied reciprocitythey want to know
their information is held sacred and safe and that the person hearing this information
understands the why. They want you to know what makes them tick.
Most advisors operate by rote, repeating questions over and over again, never realizing
that their questions are not beneficial in helping their clients, or in strengthening their
business relations. Surface-level questions like Whats your risk level tolerance? or
What are your financial goals? are asked by thousands of advisors. The problem with
rote questions is that they inspire rote answers. Typical answers like I want my kids to
go to college or I want to retire with financial independence are heard by thousands of
advisors each day.

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

The problem is, investing is an emotional game. Logic only explains the emotions. But
unless you understand the root of those emotions, you have gained nothing.
To make this clear, think of Pete, the owner of my car service garage. Hes nearly 60 and
has smoked all his life. When I was at the garage recently, I asked him what was new. He
said, My triple bypass surgery. Wow! That was more answer than I expected. Then I
noticed that he didnt smell like smoke the way he usually did, so I asked him if he quit.
For 40 years Ive tried to quit, but somehow, when they gave me that 3-to-6-months-tolive prognosis and showed me the oxygen tank I could strap on, I suddenly quit.
The difference was that this time, Pete threw his heart over the bar. Once he decided
emotionally to quit, he was able to do all the logical things that were necessary to change
his behavior.
The new job for financial advisors is to find out where the bar is for each client and
what it will take to help them jump over it. The premise of this program is to first ask
really good questions in order to get the good answers youll need to make great
recommendations. This requires helping your clients feel completely understood, which
will help them make and keep commitments so they can meet their REAL priorities.
Thats it!

B. How to build a high-results profiling system

Sales skills are necessary for those who have not captured the trust of their clients and
prospects. If you have trust, there is no need for dealing with objections or asking corny
closing questions like, Would you like to sign papers on Tuesday, or would Wednesday
be better for you?
I realize this approach, based on gaining the clients trust, will require a tremendous
amount of unlearning for many. I attended the old school sales training programs where
we learned how to find objections, overcome objections, and then begin the wrestling
match called the close. It never made sense to me, and in this age of instant availability
of all information and a plethora of choices, it makes even less sense now.
The objective of the profiling system is to help people discover what they REALLY want
and need. Often they dont know this on a conscious level, but their unrest, caused by you
not reaching their expectations, is very real.
The financial services industry is one to which people can return over and over again to
purchase additional services as well as refer their friends. When an advisor uses the used
car salesman approach, clients are inclined to not want to come backand they sure
dont want to send their friends.
If you ask surface-level questions, you will receive surface-level answers. For example,
the question, What is your risk level tolerance? often receives this response:
Medium. Medium compared to what? The client hasnt told you anything. At what
point would she jump out? Why would she jump out?

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

Another favorite is What are your financial goals? And of course clients respond with
the same old things based on what they think they should say. The usuals are
Retirement and A college education for my children.
See Section G. for the step-by-step template to make the process simple and easy for you.

C. The 10 best questions

to get new customers and keep them for life
1.

If you won 10 million dollars today, how would your life change?
(By putting people in the mindset of a future possibility, their values and
priorities become apparent to them. In addition to encouraging practical
information to come through, this question allows people to dream bigger
dreamswhich could inspire an even more profound commitment to investing.)

2.

How important is it to work with a specialist to organize your financial

details?
(The one consistent overwhelming need in peoples lives is to have more
simplicity and time. This question plants the seed of what life could be like
having someone to simplify their financial details.)

3.

How important is it to you to have a customized and personal strategy to

lead you to financial independence?
(Of course! I might even add more to the question based on the persons current
situation. For example, How important is it to you to have a personal and
customized strategy to lead you to financial independence and other goals that
are important to you?If the person had already mentioned those goals, Id
specify them. For example, How important is it to you to have a personal and
customized strategy to maximize your tax and estate savings?)

4.

What in our business relationship would you feel so strongly about that it
would be the basis for recommending me to your friends? (Powerful! You
find out about the clients needs for your relationship while you strongly
suggest that you want him or her to be an advocate and marketer for your
business.)

5.

What suggestions could you make to help me become the best possible
advisor for you?
(This amazingly effective question shows them that you intend to keep growing
and getting better and that you welcome the clients input. It clearly
differentiates your professionalism from the competitors who are asking,
Wanna buy a stock?)

6.

When you look at people around you, what values do you most admire?
(This question allows you to find out two things: (1) what the client values and
why and (2) what the client expects from you.)

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

7.

In what ways and how often do you want me to keep you informed? (This
question will reveal a wide variation in the degree and approaches with which
your clients want to be contacted. Customizing your communication based on
their expectations will save you time and dramatically improve their perception
of you.)

8.

If I had a financial magic wand, what would you have me do for you? (This
well-rounded question will lead clients to share their thoughts from many
anglesfrom taxation to estate matters to needs for security. It magically puts
clients in a future place looking back, and the view is always more clear from
that vantage point.)

9.

If we were meeting three years from today, what would we have had to
accomplish for you to be happy about our accomplishments?
(This leads clients to think about tangible results. The answers will cover both
their personal goals and their expectations of you regarding how you should do
business with them.)

10. How important is it to you to work with someone who plans to be in this
profession, with this firm and in this community 20 years from now?
(Whatever your special niche, always put it in the form of a question to help
prospects tell you why it would be important for them to work with you. Perhaps
the person developing this question had no history, had nothing unusual about
his firm, and couldnt think of any special niche, but he had a commitment to
stay. Way to go! Sell that. The positioning question or questions should always
be last, following the information-gathering questions.)
D. Positioning: Getting them begging to do business with you
Think of the last time you bought a VCR. Did you have any idea of the quality of the
components in the VCR? Did you even know what components should be in it or what
functions they had? Chances are, when you chose your last VCR, physician, dentist,
lawyer, or microwave oven, you didnt have even a remote understanding of the elements
to evaluate or the evaluation criteria. You made a leap of faith based on the feel of the
brand or positioning you thought would make it a right fit.
Well, the reality is that financial advisors vary in quality, specialty, education, and style
as much as any other product. Unfortunately, financial advisors are clueless about what
makes them unique, and their clients are equally confused.
When I asked hundreds of financial advisors what made them unique, more than 90
percent shrugged their shoulders and mumbled either I dont know or good service.
Unfortunately, neither of those is a good answer. Good service is never a brand. It is an
expectation.
The world doesnt need more financial advisors. The marketplace is cluttered with those
who hang out a shingle, but those who distinguish themselves are few and far between.

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

How do you get seen and heard in an overcrowded marketplace? How would a consumer
know how to choose among the plethora of choices of financial advisors in a me too
selection process?
Weve all lost business to someone when it was clear to us that we were a better choice.
When we go back to analyze those instances of lost business, its usually a loss to
someone who APPEARED to be the specialist who would understand the client and give
that client more of what he or she needed. The power of brand perception always wins in
a world where details are impossible for a buyer to analyze.
All things being equal, people want to work with someone they assume will fully
understand their needs. They are drawn to brand. Your brand needs to be clear and so
distinctive that they feel like they finally found the right person.
Think of having a brand as being a pull marketer. Without a brand you are constantly
in push mode. Smile and dial is a way of life for those who have not established their
brand because theyve made it difficult for their clients to refer them. In their clients
minds, they are just a commodityyet another financial advisor. Yawn.
However, when you have a brand, you want clients to be so clear about it that they can
explain to you why its important that they work with you. No matter what makes you
different, use it to your advantage. Here are some examples:
A tax specialist: How important is it to you to work with a firm that specializes in
maximizing your tax savings through your investment program?
A small firm: How important is it to you to work with a small organization where,
if you call with a concern, you will always talk to a real person without ever
having to get stuck in the voice mail loop?
A specialty boutique: How important is it to you to work with a firm that will
provide an extremely detailed plan for you to realize your goals based on all your
special and unique circumstances?
A large firm: How important is it to you to do business with a large firm that has
all the cutting-edge technologies and products to help you accomplish your goals?
A unique financial planning approach: How important is it to you to do work with
a firm that will show you how to accomplish your goals via the path of least risk?
A bank financial planning department: How important is it to you to do business
in a place where you can handle ALL of your financial needs in one convenient
stop?
An estate planner with trust services: How important is it to you to work with an
organization that has all the tools to help you shelter your investments from
taxation?
A retirement plan specialist: How important is it to you to work with a firm that
specializes in working with company retirement plans so you can be assured
were up on all the new trends and have the administrative background to make
sure your plan is handled accurately?

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

Remember, your last question should always be the one that prompts clients to start
telling you why they want to do business with you.

E. Questions that dont work made into power questions

(Oops. Did I say that? What I meant was, Questions that will get you kicked and how
to make them into really great questions.)
If youve been selling for more than a day, youve had your own version of hoof-andmouth disease. Once in your mouth, your hoof will choke you faster than a backwoods
mosquito will suck your blood. On the fly, were all capable of those brain lapses that get
us into a tremendous amount of trouble. Immediately after those stupid words, inspired
by some demonic intervention, come out of our mouths, we know weve lost all
credibility in such a way that well never gain full respect again.
Scripted questions are the only way around those moments. But to make sure you dont
script bad questions, let me share some well-intentioned scripted questions that some
planners recommended and show you how they are sure to get you into trouble.
Following are submitted questions that sound good until you really see how much chaos
they could createand the rewrites that make them great questions.
Are you interested in hearing about how you can provide for your retirement? (What
if they say no? How about asking them what their ideal retirement week looks
like?)
What are the reasons you make deals with me? (Oh dear. What if they cant think of
one reason? You may solidify a bad feeling that may prompt them to leave. Instead,
why not ask, What is important to you in our business relationship?)
Why would you stop doing business with me? (Know that if that were to happen,
you are sure to lose them or make them a liar. You WILL make mistakes. Try
framing the question as a positive. For example, What are your expectations of me
if I were to be your sole advisor for the rest of your life?)
What rate of return do you expect? (Id be very careful about this one. Unless you
have supernatural powers, you cant guarantee this. So, by asking this question, it
stirs up unrealistic expectations. Instead you could ask, Besides returns, what is
important to you in our relationship so that you would feel comfortable
recommending me to all your friends?)
How much knowledge do you have about investments? (People dont buy when they
feel stupid. Many people dont know much about investments, and thats why they
came to you. Others assume they know more and are in the stage of unconscious
incompetence, so the answer wont be meaningful. Regardless, the answer could
spell trouble. Instead you could ask, What level of involvement would you want to
have with your investment approach?)

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

Have you fulfilled your childhood dreams? (Its always a bummer to see people sob,
and it usually isnt good for the direction of your business relationship. Seriously,
Id shift the question to, What childhood dreams have you accomplished and
which are still at large?)
If you could invest today in a tax-sheltered portfolio that would ultimately provide
you a substantial flow of tax-free retirement income, would that interest you? (This
one feels a little manipulative. Of course, this is exactly what the old school of sales
training focused on for years. Id make the question less imposing by changing it to
a how important is it to you question: How important is it to you to have a
substantial flow of tax-free income when you retire?)
How can I improve? (Id couch this one by saying, I want to make sure Im always
improving and that our business relationship is always improving. What
recommendations do you have about how I could better serve you?)
Would you be willing to seriously consider my advice? (Oh boy! This one scares me.
It sounds threatening. Perhaps the point was to find out if the client will commit to a
plan. Id change it to, How committed are you to following a plan, during good
times and bad, to improve your chances of having all the things you dream of?)
How important is it to you that I am available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? (There
will come a day in everyones lifeprobably after the eighth divorcewhen they no
longer want to be available every minute of every day. Realize that this assurance is
sure to make you lose productivity, as it doesnt allow time for you to restore your
creative energies. Perhaps a better question would be, How important is it for you
to have flexibility in reaching me far beyond the traditional business hours?)
If a woman tells me, I let my husband look after my money, I ask her to name
other things that he is better at than she is. (Im afraid she might want to cry due to
feelings of ineptness when she leaves the office. Since most women outlive their
husbands, you may want to tell her that investing isnt really that difficult and that
you want her learning along with her husband and are committed to helping her
learn the basics. Consider saying, If something would happen to your husband
that would require you to handle these matters, Id like to make sure you are
comfortable with the basics. What do you think of the idea of spending five
minutes right now to go over the essential basics in easy-to-understand language
so you can see how easily you could handle this too?)
How important is it to have a plan customized to your needs? (Id add a little more
here to give it more power: How important is it to you to have a plan customized
to your current situation and your specific goals and priorities?)
How much contact do you need to maintain a relationship? (This could be
misconstrued. How about, Different people have different expectations. How
often do you want to hear from me and by what means?)
Whats most important to you: saving or making money? (This is confusing, as both
are important. You could say, Many people are good at making money but have

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

nothing to show for their hard efforts. How important is it to you to save money
for things such as retirement to protect yourself in times when you cant make
money?)
Did you have help from an interior designer or did you do this on your own? (I
believe the point here is the assumption that they had help and therefore they should
have help from you. The risk is if they say, I like to do things myself. It solidifies
their sense of competence and perhaps energy they get from the creative part of
doing things themselves. Id be careful with this one.)
How important is it to you to have a financial plan that will allow you to make your
financial dreams come true? (Not bad. Id revamp it to, How important is it to you
to have a road map that will steer you and redirect you throughout your life to
make sure you can accomplish your financial dreams?)
What do you trust with your financial advisor? (This question assumes and
maintains the assumption that theyll never allow an advisor to go more in depth.
How about, Tell me about the parts of your financial life that are working well
and those that you have concerns about.)
How comfortable are you with a relationship with me? (Oh boy, this one could be
trouble. How about, What would you say you would want to have happen with
our business relationship to make sure its the best it could be?)
What was it about your past financial relationship that you did not like? (Id change
the wording to, What did you dislike about past financial services relationships?
Also, I would have this follow a positive question such as, What elements of past
financial services relationships did you like?)
As we build this relationship, I expect to receive from you one referral a year so that
I may continue to strengthen my business with quality clients like you. (My heart
jumped in fear just reading this one. It sounds too much like pressure. How about,
Its important to me that you sing my praises from the mountains. What would
have to happen in our relationship for you to feel so good about the value I
brought to you that you would send your friends and family year in and year
out?)
What do you do on Saturdays? (This could be good and serve a purpose, but it could
also sound invasive. How about cushioning it: There are reasons why we work
that usually show themselves in our off time. What do you like to do in your free
time that gives you energy and restores you?)
How important is leaving behind an inheritance versus letting children work for their
money like you have? (I cant believe this question would always get you the result
youre looking for. Many would say, Youre right. Im going to spend every dime
and leave the undertaker with an unpaid bill. Perhaps you could ask, What would
you like your investments to do for your children? If they are the type who
specifically feel that inheritance is a bad thing, youll find out. If they dont, you
wont be seeding that thought. )

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

10

What is your risk level tolerance? (This question assumes that people can and will
lose money. It conditions them to want to pull out when the market is down 20, 30, or
40 percent because they assume they will just LOSE more. A better question would
be, What is your tolerance for volatility? I would mention first that the markets
go up and down, but historically, during a three-year market cycle the market has
consistently been up, except during the Depression, when it took five years to make a
profit. Let them know that typically a more volatile portfolio has the possibility of
higher gains, but its not worth it if they want to pull out as soon as the market is
down. Ask them how much volatility (not risk) they are comfortable assuming in an
effort for better gains.)

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

11

F. The 100 best questions

Decision Making:
1. If you had six months to live, what are the first three things you would do?
2. What is the most important thing to you in your life right now?
3. Who impacts your decisions? Spouse? Children? Friends?
4. How do you make your final decisions?
5. What would you do with a financial windfall?
6. How much volatility are you willing to accept?
7. If after leaving this meeting you feel something concrete has been accomplished,
what would that be?
Direction:
8. What is your dream and how can I help?
9. If we were having this conversation three years from now, what will we have had
to accomplish to make you happy?
10. Where do you see your financial situation over the next 5, 10, 15 years?
11. Do you feel you are on track to achieving your financial independence?
12. What do you want to do with your life?
13. What are your top three financial priorities?
14. What would you say is your number one financial priority?
15. What do you see as obstacles to reaching your priorities?
Family:
16. How might I help you with your goals for your children?
17. What do you hope doesnt happen to you or your family?
18. Tell me about your family.
19. What kinds of plans and dreams do you have for your family?
20. How important is it to see your children receive a quality education?
21. Is it important for your family members to be involved?
22. How important is it to you to have saved enough money to pay for your
grandchildrens education?
23. What legacy do you want to leave your kids and friends?
Money:
24. How important is money to success toward your dreams?
25. Tell me what current investments you have and why you chose those.
26. What is your return over the last five years? Average?
27. What would you like your money to do for you?
28. Do you prefer stocks? Bonds?
29. How important to you is preservation of capital versus return of capital?
30. How would it feel to be debt free?
31. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your desire to be financially
independent? Why?
32. How would you define financial success?
33. What are your concerns about investing your money?
34. What would your reaction be if your portfolio lost 30 percent? 40 percent? 50
percent?

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

12

35. What money messages did you get growing up?

36. What would you be doing now if you didnt have to worry about money?
37. Whats your worst financial experience?
38. What is your worst fear regarding your money?
39. What is the most productive thing you would do with additional wealth?
40. On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is freedom from debt?
41. Whats your idea of financial independence?
Retirement:
42. Tell me your vision for your retirement.
43. When you retire, what do you dream of doing?
44. How are you planning on replacing the 40 hours/week you presently spend
working?
45. How important is it to you to maintain your standard of living when you retire?
46. How important is it to you to leave an estate?
47. What do you enjoy doing now that you would like to continue into retirement?
48. What does a successful retirement mean to you?
49. How important is it to you to be totally carefree about your future monthly
income?
50. How important is it to you to be financially independent at retirement? Why is it
important?
51. How important is a comfortable retirement to you?
52. How would you describe a perfect day in your retirement?
53. What does it mean to you to have integrity in retirement, especially in your last
years?
54. How would you feel if you couldnt retire until you were 75?
Business Relationship:
55. How can you help me in servicing you better?
56. What can I do that would be special enough for you to refer me to your friends?
57. As your financial advisor, how much involvement do you want me to take in your
financial affairs?
58. What do you like most about your financial plan?
59. Other than returns, whats important to you about our relationship?
60. What do you look for when recommending an advisor to others?
61. If you could pick the best attribute for a financial advisor, what would it be?
62. What brought you here?
63. What can I do that other advisors have not?
64. What expectations do you have from our visit today?
65. How do you feel about your first financial advisor and why?
66. If I were the only financial advisor that you would want to work with for the rest
of your life, how would you want me to manage your money?
67. How often do you want to hear from me and by what means?
68. What suggestions could you make to help me become the best advisor I can be?
69. How can I keep you best informed?
70. What have we not discussed that is important to you?
71. If you were a financial planner, what would you ask me?
72. What can I do for you to help you achieve your goals?
73. What forms of contact best meet your needs?

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

13

74.
75.
76.
77.

What are your expectations of me?

What is your biggest question today?
What qualities in a financial advisor are important to you?
What will it take, three years from now, to have judged our relationship as a
success?

Values:
78. How will you know when you are successful?
79. What is important to you besides wealth?
80. Why do you invest?
81. On a scale of 1 to 10, how serious about your financial situation are you?
82. How did you use your allowance as a child?
83. How important is it to you to achieve and maintain a financially dignified
existence?
84. What things would you do if money were no object?
85. What is your single biggest goal or challenge?
86. Is your current path supporting or sabotaging your vision?
87. What is troubling you most right now?
88. What is happening in your life right now?
89. How would you feel if the market dropped 50 percent?
90. How important is it to feel in control?
91. What do you do in your spare time?
92. When you were 10 years old, where did you want to travel?
93. How important is it to you to repossess some of your time?
94. What is the worst experience youve ever had?
95. What are the three most exciting things in your life?
96. What would you want your eulogy to say?
97. What makes you happy?
98. What is it you would like to accomplish in life?
99. Tell me about the last time you really enjoyed yourself.
100. What is the one thing you worry about most regularly?
Miscellaneous Bonus Questions:
Do you have any special things you wish to plan for?
What do you expect from your investments?
How happy are you with the assets youve built up so far?
What is the one step you could take that would change your life?
How important to you is it to have a customized and personal strategy to lead you to
financial independence?
How important to you is it to integrate your money decisions with estate and tax issues?
What does it mean to you when you hear that the stock market is down?
Is it significant for you to obtain tax deductions on your placements?
What are your fears in regards to money?
What is your personal definition of success?
How do you feel?
When you look at people around you, whose values do you most admire?
What do you have the most fun doing?

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

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What is your happiest memory?

What goals and dreams are important to you?
Do you have any special needs for your family?
What is it about money thats important to you?
If money were no object, what would you be doing right now?
Describe your security blanket.
If you won 10 million dollars today, what would change in your life?
How do you see yourself in retirement?
How can I help you free up your time?
What can I do to make our relationship successful?
What made you call a financial planner?
What can I do for you to better solidify our working relationship?
What do you want from me?
Please list the 2 most important benefits from dealing with me as your financial advisor.
How important is it to you that I make house calls?
What keeps you awake at night? How can I help you sleep better at night?
What is the most significant event in your life?
What do you want to be remembered for?
How is your family doing?
How important is it to you to work with a specialist to organize your financial details?
How do you feel knowing that you have someone available to call on at anytime who can
answer your financial concerns?

G. Creating your questioning template

The only way to be consistently powerful in getting to the root of your prospects and
clients needs, wants, and desires is to follow a well-thought-through process. Questions
asked on the fly are hardly ever powerful. The words of every great movie script are
chosen meticulously for emotional effect. Your questions should be thought through just
as thoroughly.
Construct a one-page form that lists your best questions and allows space for you to
record each clients responses. Pilot a template and notice which questions get the
response, Wow, thats a really great question. You will soon get a feel for which
questions your clients respond to best.
When drafting your form, consider these rules:
1. Keep it simple. Script up to 10 questions, but resist the temptation to script more.
The quality of those 10 questions will impact the meeting far more than adding
additional ideas. Each question should be as short as it can be without losing
meaning and should always include the word you.
2. Review the questions in this report from the top 10 list, the bad questions made
better, and the total list of submissions. Highlight those that resonate with YOU
and the way you do business. Your questions should be a reflection of who you

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are. The more your questions align with your value system, the more youll attract
clients who understand you and appreciate you and your style. Dont we all want
to have clients we are in sync with? After highlighting your favorite questions,
narrow your selection to no more than 10 and begin piloting your template.
3. Follow a logical order in the questioning:
a. Start with a surface-level question that will let clients and prospects start
slowly in divulging whats important to them. Questions like, So, howd
you hear about me? or Tell me what brought you here today are
examples that allow them to talk easily and build rapport with you before
they start sharing deeper information that often makes them feel
vulnerable.
b. Next, ask several values questions that get to the heart of what matters.
Lead those questions with an analogy that helps clients and prospects
understand why its important that you understand them well, such as, If
your doctor handed out the same prescription to every patient, youd
probably not feel you were getting the best care. I want to make sure I help
you as fully as possible, and to do that, I must understand what you
value.
c. Next, ask questions about the business relationship so that you know
exactly what their expectations of you are. There are many great questions
in this report to choose from.
d. Finally, ask some positioning questions that will prompt the client or
prospect to begin telling you why they want to do business with you. Start
this part by saying something like, I want to make sure that if we decide
to go forward with this relationship that well be doing business for many
years to come, and that youll be telling all your friends about the value
Ive brought you. To do that, I need to make sure were a good fit. Let me
ask you. Then ask the question or questions that specify your
uniqueness and the benefit to the client. An example could be, How
important is it to you to do business with someone who has over 20 years
of experience in helping people retire by maximizing their tax savings?
Notice in this case, the question spells out the uniqueness (20 years of
experience) and the benefit (maximizing tax savings). There are a million
different ways to construct this question and it should reflect your
uniqueness.
After you recite back to the client or prospect a synopsis of your understanding of their
values and expectations and ask if you are missing anything, you can then move on to
product questions.
You may want to practice scripting questions about certain products. These wont be on
your inquiry form, but they will be good to have stashed away.
Here are a few examples:
How important is it to you to achieve returns similar to those the market can
receive while reducing your risk?
How important is receiving tax-advantaged income with minimal risk to your

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capital?
How important is it to you to receive a fixed monthly income from your
investments thats guaranteed until your death?

Youll never have another client objection again! If a client tells you he or she doesnt
want that benefit, you know not to recommend the product it ties into. You save face. No
objection. No lost credibility. You simply move on to find out what it is the client does
want and make a recommendation based on that.

Conclusion
Your practice will thrive when your clients feel that you understand them at a whole
different level. Keep this e-report handy as a reference for years to come as your clients
come back for future appointments. It will supply you with a plethora of additional
questions to explore with them.
Probably the most profound benefit of applying this process goes far beyond the growth
level. The gratification you feel, as a result of their joy from better understanding
themselves, will be fulfilling beyond measure. Theres nothing wrong with money, but
when you look back at your life and the difference you made in this world, you can know
you did more than your part in making the world a better place. Enjoy the journey.

-------------------------------------------Transforming Visionary Thinking Into Positive Results

Roxanne Emmerich, CSP, CMC
President
The Emmerich Group, Inc.
8500 Normandale Blvd., Suite 180
Minneapolis, MN 55437
800-236-5885
The Emmerich Group, for business consulting, strategy, training and motivational speaking.

Copyright 2003, Roxanne Emmerich, 1-800-236-5885, Roxanne@EmmerichGroup.com

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