5 Unique Questions to Help You Stand Out
This post was written by our friend and colleague Scott Pooch-a small plan 401k specialist, these questions are geared towards advisors talking with business owner clients and prospects. Just like Advisor Alpha, Scott’s services save RIA Owners time and resources.
If you work with business owners, you need to, but shouldn’t, help with their company retirement plan. It’s a conundrum!
You need to so that another Advisor can’t use it as a way to access your business owners.
You shouldn’t because it’s likely a terrible use of your time and resources.
I ONLY do retirement plans. And with a just-launched offer, here are 5 unique questions that your business owners likely haven’t heard or thought about before. If you want to keep the retirement plans in-house, you can use the first 4.
Do you have the most tax-efficient retirement-plan for your situation and goals?
All plan designs are not created equal. For some businesses, a basic plan design might make the most sense. But many owners are surprised when we show them what advanced plan design could look like for them - including a Cash Balance plan (paired with a 401k profit sharing plan) where we can sometimes get more than $250,000 in annual tax-deferred contributions to the owner while channeling 90% of the company’s contributions into the owner’s account.
2. What percentage of your assets are at risk if there’s a lawsuit against you / the business?
Moving some of your assets to a 401k not only diversifies your investments, a 401k is an ERISA account which has some of the highest levels of bankruptcy and lawsuit protection available.
3. What percentage of your net worth is tied up in the business?
When you are first building out your business, it often makes sense to plow as much as possible back into the business. But as the business grows and is profitable, it often makes sense to look to diversify some of your net worth. For many business owners, 80% of their net worth is tied up in the business.
4. Is the company paying 401k expenses (a write-off) or are they coming out of YOUR 401k account?
Who has the largest account balance in most SMB 401(k)s? It’s usually the owners and highly compensated employees who want to put more into the plan, but can’t. We are pretty limited by IRS contribution limits and testing results, but what if you could KEEP more of the money you invest in the 401k in your account and working for your future dreams? Company expenses to offer and operate a 401k are usually tax deductible (check with your CPA), so you can maximize the money in your tax-deferred 401k accounts while getting a tax write off for something that highly benefits you, your employees and the company.
5. Have you heard about the only 401k System built to generate ROI and that’s backed by a guarantee?
Most SMB owners don’t love the 401k because of cost (too expensive), complexity (takes too much time and resources to operate it) and complacency (employees won’t participate ore really appreciate it). The 401Grow System is created to make those three arguments irrelevant. Utilizing The Employee Roadmap and The Owners Portal, our goal is to make it the one check business owners look forward to writing each year.
Here are some more ideas and how I partner with Advisors to help their business owner prospects and clients:
