Sales process for financial advisors: the seven steps from a name to a signed plan, and where prospects drop out

When a month goes badly, most financial advisors look at the last step. They didn't close enough. So they work on closing lines, and the next month looks the same.

Usually the problem sits earlier. Too few Sets, Openings that don't turn into a fact-find, or a recommendation that arrives two weeks after the client stopped thinking about it.

The fix starts with seeing your process as steps, each with a number. Then you can find the step that leaks and work on that one.

This post walks through the seven steps, in the terms this site uses, with links to the glossary for each. It doesn't re-teach MAS's rules on advice; the fact-find and needs analysis pages cover what the rules ask you to record.

In practice, steps 3 to 6 may happen over two or three meetings, and a small plan might be covered in one sitting. The steps still happen in that order.

Step 1: book the first meeting

A Set is a booked first meeting. Appointment setting covers what counts, and why sets and held meetings differ.

Where it leaks: calls that end with "I'll think about it" and no date. Or a Set booked three weeks out that quietly falls through.

This week: end every booking call with a specific day and time, and send a confirmation message the same day. Book within seven days where you can.

Step 2: the first meeting

The Opening is the first meeting after the Set. Its job isn't to sell. It's to find out whether there's something worth planning for, and to earn the fact-find.

Where it leaks: advisors who pitch a product in the Opening. The prospect hears a sales meeting and says they'll think about it.

This week: in each Opening, ask about their situation and what's changed recently, then ask directly: "Would it help if we went through the full picture together?"

Step 3: collect the facts

The fact-find collects a client's finances, family and goals before you advise. It covers hard facts, like what they earn and the cover they already hold, and soft facts, like what worries them.

Where it leaks: fact-finds done in a rush, so the recommendation misses what the client cares about.

This week: add one question at the end of every fact-find: "What would make you feel this was worth your time?" Write down the answer in their words.

Step 4: work out what they need

The needs analysis turns the fact-find into a recommendation you can explain. It's the step clients don't see, and the one that decides whether your recommendation makes sense to them.

Where it leaks: time. The analysis sits on your desk for two weeks while other meetings take priority, and the client's interest cools.

This week: book the recommendation meeting before you leave the fact-find, and do the analysis within three working days.

Step 5: present the plan

You present what you'd suggest and why, tied back to what they told you. A good recommendation reads like their own words played back, with a plan attached.

Where it leaks: too many options, or a recommendation that doesn't mention the thing they said mattered most.

This week: open every recommendation by repeating the client's own answer to the fact-find question from step 3.

Step 6: ask for the decision

Closing is asking for the client's decision. In advisor sales, the Closing is the meeting, and the signed plan comes after it.

Where it leaks: advisors who don't ask. They present, then wait for the client to raise it. Or they ask and hear "let me discuss it with my spouse", with no date agreed.

This week: ask plainly at the end of every recommendation meeting whether they'd like to go ahead. If they need to talk to someone, agree when you'll speak next, and whether that person can join.

Step 7: ask who else they know

A referral is a prospect a client introduces to you. It's the cheapest Set you'll ever get, and the step most often skipped.

Where it leaks: asking too late, or too vaguely. "If you know anyone..." gets a nod and nothing more.

This week: ask every client who's just signed, while they're pleased. Be specific: "Who else in your family is at the same stage as you?" The glossary page also covers MAS's rules on paying for introductions.

Each step converts some of the people at the step before. The ratio between two steps tells you where your process leaks.

The only ratios that matter are your own. Averages from elsewhere depend on how the advisor finds prospects, who they serve and how they count a Set. So count yours for a month or two first.

The pattern in her numbers is common. The biggest leak is rarely the Closing. It's usually the Opening, where a prospect decides whether this is worth their time, or the gap between steps, where interest cools.

People sometimes call these ratios the sales funnel, or the insurance sales funnel. Whatever you call it, the point is the same: count every step, and the weakest ratio is the one to work on.

The process doesn't stop at the signature. A new client's first year decides whether they stay, refer and come back when their life changes.

A simple rhythm: a thank-you message the day they sign, a check-in a month later, a review once a year, and a note on the moments that matter, like a birthday, a new child or a new job. Short WhatsApp messages work well for each of these.

Clients who hear from you when nothing's wrong are the ones who pick up when you ask for a referral.

1. Count last month's steps: Sets, Openings, fact-finds, recommendations, Closings, signed plans and referral asks.
2. Work out the ratio between each pair of steps.
3. Pick the weakest one, and use the "this week" line from that step above.
4. Log every step as it happens for the next four weeks.
5. Count again, and only then move to the next weakest step.