Most attorneys readily admit a very low percentage of estate plans are actually implemented. I have been told the implementation rate by some of the very best attorneys is only 10-15 percent. Why? If a family goes to the trouble of giving all their information to their attorney required to draft documents, only then to refuse to sign them, something went terribly wrong. What was it?
Consider this – if a client spends hours gathering data so the advisor can formulate a plan to reduce their estate taxes, distribute their family heirlooms and maintain their family’s lifestyle, why then would they not pull the trigger and execute? Most often the reason is uncertainty and fear. The client has no confidence in the proposed plan and has concluded doing nothing is preferable.
This point was confirmed for me when I had the opportunity to discuss planning with a prominent client, a noted business psychologist. He asked me why I thought my team could deliver a plan, when five other teams had failed. I pointed out with the traditional method, a plan is given to him to approve. This plan is designed based on the information he provided. My client agreed this was exactly how the other teams had worked.
So, what went wrong? He told me the other teams asked him to evaluate and decide if they were right. Yet, he had no ability or basis for making a determination of that magnitude. “Bingo,” I said. “That is why it failed.” Then I showed him our method. We gather all the facts and then collaborate with his most trusted team of advisors to come up with the best solution. What we present is the best thinking of the entire team, based on his circumstances.
When the final design is presented, it is not based on the question, “will it work?” but rather, “why it works”. There is a big difference here. My prominent client hired us immediately and we completed the plan.
Fact-finders fail because we ask the wrong questions and the client often gives the wrong answers. Focus on collaboration. Provide a finished product that fits the client’s objectives and you will increase your results dramatically.
Are you using collaboration as a planning tool with your clients?
