1. Let’s Chat
(Meeting 1: Usually 30-60 minutes)
In our first meeting – whether it’s done over the phone, in person or virtually – we’ll get to know each other. We’ll provide you with the details about our business, and how we can help closely-held business owners like you. We’ll answer all of your questions, and we’ll also ask a lot of questions so we can better understand your unique situation and goals.
After this meeting, if we both feel like we’re a good fit, we’ll create a custom engagement proposal for you that details how we can help, and the strategies we feel would benefit you most. This proposal will have both the scope of work, as well as the fees and compensation you can expect.
Be More Prepared:
- We’ll ask you some high-level questions about your financial situation.
- We’ll review what planning, if any, you’ve done to date.
- We’ll look at how much or how little help you’re seeking from our engagement.
- We’ll talk about strategies you’ve employed thus far, including tax-reduction strategies, employee benefit strategies, retention strategies, risk management, and succession planning.
2. Let’s Agree
(Meeting 2: Usually 20-30 minutes)
Our second meeting, which is usually done via phone, is just a quick review of the proposal we sent. We’ll discuss your questions and provide feedback on the value of the strategies we suggested. During this meeting, we’ll agree to proceed, stay in touch, or respectfully part ways.
If we agree to move forward, any financial planning agreements are signed and initial fees are collected as applicable. We’ll send over a follow-up email summarizing our agreement and goals, as well as next steps, and a data gathering worksheet.
Be More Prepared:
- Be sure to read through our engagement proposal prior to this call.
- Know and be ready to speak to how your budget and our engagement fit or don’t fit together.
- Be prepared to send follow-up assets needed and the filled-out data worksheet soon after this meeting if we agree to proceed.
3. Let’s Get to Work
(Meeting 3: Usually 20-30 minutes)
In our third meeting, usually done in-person or by phone, we’ll go over everything you’ve sent us to ensure that it’s all filled out correctly, and to fill in holes as needed. Accuracy is critical to your plan, so we’ll dig into the details during this meeting.
From here, we’ll get started on our analysis and strategy. We’ll look at tax strategies, employee benefits, risk management, and succession planning options, and we’ll make sure they all align with your desired goals and outcomes.
Be More Prepared:
- We’re going to look at key details of your business, such as your business income, expenses, profits and overhead.
- We may also ask questions about your employees.
4. Let’s Talk Solutions
(Meeting 4: Usually 45 minutes)
In our fourth meeting, we’re going to go over all of our recommendations for you. If any additional analysis or alternate solutions are needed after we chat, we may do a follow-up meeting to review those.
You’ll walk away from this meeting with a prioritized list of action items, and we’ll talk about next steps. For our financial planning clients, we’ll also provide you with a copy of the financial plan as a separate document.
5. Let’s Implement
The big meetings are over, and now it’s time to employ the tailored strategies we’ve outlined for you. We’ll be with you every step of the way, providing assistance and one-on-one advice whenever necessary. If you need us on-site at your business while you implement employee benefits plans, we can do that in-person or virtually. During this time, we’ll also assist as needed with third-party professionals such as retirement plan providers, payroll processing companies, administrators, CPAs, or attorneys, to coordinate implementation.
6. Let’s Monitor
After initial implementation, you don’t lose access to us. We’ll continue to review, monitor and update your solutions with you as necessary, and we’re always available for one-on-one advice with new hires to discuss their benefit options. We extend our services to you so that you can have a financial advisor on deck as part of your resources, and so that you can leverage our alliances and network as necessary.
On a regular basis, we’ll continue to evaluate your tailored solutions to ensure they are still optimal for your needs. If we’ve employed tax strategies, employee benefits, or retirement plans, we’ll benchmark their success to help ensure cost efficiency and performance.