Last month, I discussed the four stages of a sale and two closing techniques: the implied consent/assumptive close and the "I recommend" close. These methods depend heavily on a client's income and net worth.
This month, I'll detail a third closing technique:
The "alternative of choice" close
This is the close to use for high-net-worth (HNW) clients. There is a high likelihood the HNW have done some sort of financial planning on their own. They may have a desire to make their own choices from the options you present. However, be sure you present only three choices and put the one you want them to pick in the middle.
Research shows that everything being equal, people nearly always pick the middle option.
Try this pitch:
"Mr. Prospect, based on what you said about your goals of retiring at 65, needing $18,000 a year per child for college and your desire for $100,000 a month in income at retirement, there are three ways to go.
The first option we can utilize is a 529 plan for college, diversifying your portfolio in a more aggressive growth position and using fixed investments for the cash you will need in three years.
The second alternative is to overfund a life insurance policy and take the cash value out or, better yet, borrow from it tax free.
The third approach we could take is borrowing $30,000 from a low-interest-rate program for college, putting 50 percent of the portfolio into a more stable value fund and contributing $5,000 a month into outside investments using a 'dollar cost averaging' strategy.
