One of my favorite parts about being a tax and financial advisor here at Step By Step is getting to know my clients. Relationships are the foundation of society and without a strong, trusting, confident one there is little I could do to effect positive change in the lives of my clients. One of the ways I can start building that relationship is by being as forthcoming as possible during an initial interview with potential clients.  To that end, I have taken the time to pick the 5 most common questions asked by potential clients in my practice, and to provide a summary of my answer to each.

1.  How much does your service cost? This will vary depending on the retainer agreement, but the minimum fee is $800.  Our goal is to provide each client with more value than the cost of the service.  If I don’t think I can do that, then I will tell you upfront (and I have!).  In that case, it’s not worth your money or our time.

2.  Why can’t I do this myself? This answer might surprise you, but you can! Why don’t you?  Another example would be that I could represent myself in a court of law, but I don’t.  There are professionals for a reason and a financial advisor, like a lawyer, has specialized training to practice their specialty with much greater efficiency than someone without it.  It’s the value of time.  You pay someone else to specialize in one area so you can concentrate on your area of expertise.

3.  I just need <fill in the blank>, why are we discussing all these other issues? Our practice focuses on holistic advice that will help your entire financial health.  If I were to help you mitigate the symptoms but didn’t try to cure the illness, what good would that do you in the long run?  Yes, we can help with the urgent issues but I am always going to ask broader questions to make sure there aren’t other influential factors that you might not realize are there.

4.  I don’t know what to ask; if you were in my shoes, what would you ask? The questions I would ask someone I was interviewing to be my own personal financial advisor are:  How many clients do your work with?  Will I get released if I don’t meet your minimum assets?  Will I get the same level of service as someone with a higher value of assets?  What are your credentials and why do they matter?  If you get hit by a bus tomorrow, what happens to my information and the work you’ve done for me?

5.  Why should I choose you over other advisors? You should work with Step By Step if you like me and if you value what we can do for you.  It’s that simple!