Advisor Bashing
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Feb 24, 2010 12:18 am
Where do you draw the line when talking about another advisor’s recommendations?
Met with a friend/prospective client today whose advisor had made a horrible recommendation for the client. I can't prove it was for the commission because he's RIA and it involves insurance products, but the consequences of following his recommendations would cost the clients a lot. The client has a long relationship with the guy, so I tried not to bash him, but I definitely made it known the recommendation was horrible. How do you guys walk that thin line?
Sometimes you can’t…you can tactically say “I am not even sure where to start” if it is really bad…
I try to position it so they come to that conclusion by themselves. Start with a general concept that they are looking for and lead them down the right(always in the eye of the beholder) path and have them say "WTF was our guy doing then"What was the recommendation? In your eyes, why was it such a horrible recommendation?
deekay:
Let me get the paperwork signed and I'll let you know. It rhymes with shmannuities. I'm a big fan of the product that was recommended, just not in this situation.What was the recommendation? In your eyes, why was it such a horrible recommendation?
[quote=snaggletooth]
How do you guys walk that thin line?[/quote] I'll only make it seem like the other advisor is an idiot if I'm able to explain why the recommendations are bad in a way they can understand. If I know the recs are horrible but the explanation of why they are bad would fly right over the clients head then I won't bother. Telling's not selling. No need to have the client/prospect think my sales funnel includes "Step 1: Make current advisor look as bad as possible. Step 2: Sign paperwork".Tasteful bash: “While you haven’t done bad, there’s certainly room for improvement.”
Builds trust: "Only make the changes I recommend if you see a clear benefit. Don't change just for the sake of change."[quote=gethardgetraw]Tasteful bash: “While you haven’t done bad, there’s certainly room for improvement.”
Builds trust: "Only make the changes I recommend if you see a clear benefit. Don't change just for the sake of change." [/quote] That's the line I took. What was done years ago turned out to be a great thing. Now, the change that is being recommended would result in huge surrender penalties and loss of an income benefit that is being used! Bottom line, I won't make any money, for now, with my recommendation, but I will pound the table for referrals.