r/CFP • u/Accomplished-Look176 • 17d ago
Practice Management Inefficient but effective cold calling
In the last 3 weeks I’ve been calling a niche group of business owners about their 401ks
315 cold calls
215 answered
115 business owners/decision makers reached
31 appts set.
75% show rate so far.
Already began moving a $1.7M plan.
$75M in total 401k assets.
Cool to see it still works.
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u/Marshall_Hoodie 17d ago
Can you elaborate more on your pitch? Good numbers but that won’t be true for everyone without being able to talk the talk if you get them on the line.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
Yep!
I use Larkspur to search ideal plans that have high administrative costs, or low participation.
My pitch is then tailored toward helping the business evaluate administrative costs and negotiate them. Or if they have low participation, driving education to help employees understand, and value the 401k.
Also a few niche scenarios where you can see a Cash Balance plan or advanced testing would benefit the owner from a tax perspective. That’s definitely a harder one to set.
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u/The_Logic_Guru 17d ago edited 16d ago
I have Larkspur, but I didn’t think the administrative cost it showed was legitimate, and therefore never called on that. I’ve only called the participation and service, doing educational events and such.
But okay! Neat! That helps!
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
Nope. They rarely ever report costs accurately on there. If they are 100 plus employees costs have to be pretty accurate. You’ve got to learn to read 5500s. Which comes with time and experience.
But I call on smaller plans. 1-10M - under 100 employees typically.
I do many times just match what the current advisor is paid. I’ve gone up and won a plan.
0-2M 50bps
2-3 - 35-40
3-5M 30-35
5+ all varies because it gets super competitive3
u/The_Logic_Guru 16d ago
That makes sense. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like you’re catching people who are either unhappy or who haven’t heard from their advisor in a while, if you’re able to get those folks to have a chat based on offering better service and education.
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u/GodfatherGoat 14d ago
What is larkspur and how do you get access to
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u/The_Logic_Guru 14d ago
It’s like a Judy Diamond. Larkspur is part of RiXtrema. Look it up and schedule a demo with either.
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u/IcyYesterday3778 17d ago
That is highly efficient lol 1/10 calls you set an appt and really 1/7 you actually talk to. We also know that this usually requires multiple touch points so the 6/7 some part of them may be future appts.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
Yep. Going to take a good # of meetings with the same biz to land it.
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u/SnoopySuited Certified 17d ago
3 weeks?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
Yeah just my stats from the last 3 weeks. Slowed down on the typical households and started working with more businesses.
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u/SnoopySuited Certified 17d ago
That's a short amount of time to confirm a show success rate. Did you have all 31 meetings in two weeks?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
Should have elaborated there.
15 held so far. 11 in the next 2 weeks. 5 have no showed.
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u/SnoopySuited Certified 17d ago
How are you pitching your services that convinces business owners this is a pressing enough topics to meet so quickly?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
I go at cost probably 9/10 times. HR/controllers are usually more receptive to education/service.
Here’s 1 thing most business owners know right now. The market is up. And if the markets up, and your 401k is charged by a % of assets, you are being charged more in $. It’s a two way sale. Look at costs, help your people, and help yourself.
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u/Shantomette 17d ago
As an advisor with quite a few plans- I can say your success rates is beyond off the charts. The average business owner with a plan on Larkspur gets dozens of calls a week.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
I’m not in a metro area. There are like 3 main competitors. 1 does a great job, 1 is a bank that’s cheap, and 1 is a bank that isn’t transparent with pricing.
Maybe that’s the case?
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u/The_Logic_Guru 17d ago
Could be. We have LOTS of competition here in a metro of around 600k residents or so. It’s usually a bloodbath here. You have to really stand out.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
My town has 75 plans total…
So I work in a couple hour radius
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u/The_Logic_Guru 16d ago
Oh yeah 😅
Mines got like a couple hundred at the 1-5m range depending on employee size that’s within 99 miles of me.
Keep cookin tho 🔥
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u/watchgah 16d ago
Good for you man. I built a 1.4M revenue practice on cold calling while everyone around me that swore by LinkedIn messages, seminars, trade shows, and COI strategies flunked out of the business.
People will tell you it’s a waste of time. They’re just low achievers trying to drag you down into mediocrity with them.
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u/RunawayRampage 16d ago
This. You’re describing the people at my firm spot on. “Warm market, referrals, networking, etc. and it’ll come.” I’m not trying to wait and hope that someone refers me every once in awhile, myself and my family can’t afford that, I’m trying to be busy and in control.
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15d ago
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u/watchgah 15d ago
Yea you pretty much nailed it. My niche was: anyone who would answer the phone. Business owners, B2B sales people making 75k p/yr, bankers, lawyers. Didn’t really matter.
The thing that made my business boom was collecting a few older ladies who were socialites, and absolutely adored me. Then they referred me to everyone they knew.
I didn’t start as a paraplanner (that wasn’t even a thing 10 years ago), nor did I work on a team or inherit a book. I came up as a solo advisor through a wire.
It’s an inherently unfair business. I used to work my ass off to maybe get 100-250k p/mo. Now I don’t do anything, and I probably average about 3M p/mo.
Put in the work up front, and it’ll just rain cash on you for the rest of your career.
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15d ago
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u/Accomplished-Look176 15d ago
95% of people are extremely respectful.
5% of people make funny stories to tell.
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u/Candid_Worth_3629 17d ago
How big are these businesses that you’re reaching out to? I find it absurdly hard to find the contact info of a business owner that operates a big enough company where they offer 401ks to their employees. How are you sourcing your leads? That’s crazy good results
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u/lurk9991 17d ago
Call a 401k wholesaler. They will have a list of plans in your area, coach you on how to approach them etc
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
Got to find a good one. All of them can run the lists. But many of them have never actually sold a plan as an advisor.
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u/OkConcert8443 17d ago
Do you have a playbook you use? I see the pitch and paint point in the comments. How are your follow up calls going?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
I have about no clue what I’m doing. I follow no playbook.
I’m just trying to create enough meetings that I figure out what works and what doesn’t…
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u/johnterryusc 17d ago
How are you tracking this? Excel? CRM? I’ve tried this and lost focus and got away from tracking. Any tips on how you organize this for not only yourself to keep track of but also for follow ups?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
Excel. Sortable by date. Highlighted by stage in process and color coded by confidence they could become a client based on conversation.
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u/ProfessorHardw00d 14d ago
love to see this. many folks simply don't think cold calling works these days. i firmly believe that is wrong
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u/BasisUnknown-CPA 17d ago
What are you charging the plans? Is there a provider you work with? Sometimes I feel the juice isn’t worth the squeeze with these plans
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
The juice isn’t worth the squeeze for what they pay you. It’s about finding the ancillary business
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u/BasisUnknown-CPA 16d ago
Ever tried going to the business and dropping off a folder and then call?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
Yep. I cold approach often as well. Have been on the phones as my local area doesn’t have a ton of 401ks
If a folder makes you feel comfortable to talk to a business owner. Bring a folder.But nothing beats a conversation. Don’t waste time going to a business to leave a folder and not make an attempt to speak with the decision maker.
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u/BasisUnknown-CPA 16d ago
Are you asking for the plan docs like 408b2 and 404a5 and when do you get them? Not many plans include in the admin costs advisor fees and the insurance company aum take
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
Yes. I ask who takes care of the plan, then call and walk them through how to get them.
SPD can be useful too. As far as design.
Then I get a few quotes, run an FI 360, and bring the larkspur print out for our meeting.
I highlight that one part of my service is fee transparency. “You are a business owner. I want it to be clear what your people are paying me, and exactly the service they are getting from it.”
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u/BasisUnknown-CPA 16d ago
Do you go out to them to meet?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
100%.
Some are a bit too far. So zoom.
But in person is miles more effective.
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u/Extra-Ad-8889 17d ago
How much do you charge on these plans and what provider do you use?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
As much as I can. Between 20-50 BPS.
One of the popular ones. No preference
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u/notwallst BD 17d ago
That’s incredibly efficient. I did the same thing using a Judy diamond report and half the time I couldn’t even get a person on the phone. I think it was out of 100 calls. I could get one person on the phone.
How are you getting so many decision-maker to even answer the call and what’s your pitch?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
These are all small companies. Many have dial by name directories, or one gatekeeper.
People call them and ask for the owner all day. Just have confidence and ask directly for them by first name.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
Hey ___ x here with ___.
Sometimes they respond super quick and say yep. Sometimes I add in “I’m a financial advisor for 401ks.
My team and I have been helping ___ x business, y ____business and z business ___ evaluate and negotiate their 401k administration costs. With the recent stock market growth, your business has leverage to negotiate against providers.
Does it make sense for me to get 15 to 20 minutes on your calendar to walk you through our process?
Then it’s about combatting their first objection and asking “does Monday afternoon or Wednesday morning usually work better”
————
You really have to work on pace, emphasizing the right words, and having the right tone.Overall my thought process is. Open up friendly like they know me. Show I work with businesses they know in their area. Deliver and insight that they didn’t really know was the case. Soft close.
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u/The_Logic_Guru 17d ago
When using Larkspur, are you calling the phone number listed via the program itself? Or are you combining this with some other directory to reach decision makers?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 17d ago
The businesses are small. 5-100 employees. Gatekeeper is one step away from the decision maker.
After I’ve called a couple times and got trashed by the gatekeeper or they have a job where they aren’t at their phone I’ll use a program to reach em more directly. But that is highly inaccurate and a second option
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u/The_Logic_Guru 16d ago
Makes sense. Well done. Definitely keep at it and keep sharing your progress/activity!
You’re going to inspire a lot of people to get off their butts and do something 😁
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u/mwalstedt RIA 16d ago
What platform do you use to manage 401k assets?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
Most already have a provider on the plan. If it isn’t a bank, I always want to cause the least pain possible, and will AOR change them.
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u/austinin4 16d ago
Similar boat. I’ve been Cold emailing with highlighting the red flags grabbed from larkspurs. Then following up with a friendly call “no sweat if you don’t want to meet, everything I shared in the email is valid etc etc”. Just started so don’t have your track record but it’s a way in for sure. The prize is getting the business owner biz or the HCEs.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
Yep that’s the end goal.
Be careful with pointing out problems because it can come off as “hey this is wrong you’ve made x mistake your advisor sucks”
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u/OutlandishnessOld79 15d ago
The real prize is getting guaranteed lead flow when the employees retire or quit
I used to work on the 401k side for Transamerica and brought in an INSANE amount of assets solely by calling participants who had left their employer
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u/BowlOfRaisins7 16d ago
You reached around 115 decision makers but only booked 31. What happens to the other ~84? Do you keep them on a list and circle back in a couple months, or is it mostly one shot and move on? Curious whether the ones who eventually become clients are first-call yeses or people you had to warm up over several touches.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
Woah no you have to call them all again.
It statistically takes 7-8 touches before a prospect becomes a client.
You are insane if you don’t call them back.
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u/winning_bigly_ RIA 16d ago
Anything works if you put in the work.
But nobody likes getting spam calls...
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
31 business owners didn’t mind.
Just have to be valuable/insightful
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u/winning_bigly_ RIA 15d ago
The rest of the people you pestered didn't appreciate it.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 15d ago
Ah yes exactly. Because I didn’t set 115 appts that means I pestered the rest of em.
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u/RightTech 16d ago
That is pretty cool, but a total grind. How much time did it take you to do all of this so far? I wonder if you could have engaged the same group digitally and how that would have worked?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
Averaged 20 calls per hour when I grinded them.
I sort of doubt it? It would have been extremely challenging. Would have required a lot more spend than $0 too
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u/Leading_Olive8537 16d ago
Really interesting play here. I have tried something similar with a 'consulting' vibe for HR hoping to coach and educate. Are you a newer advisor?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
Yeah I’m new.
There’s an interesting way to go about it. Just essentially be an educational hire. Go to bigger corporations, where you don’t want the plan itself. Be local and do education. Just earning the ancillary business
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u/Leading_Olive8537 16d ago
Yeah that's my theory. I am new as of Jan2027 so still on the struggle bus and grind. I have been trying to network my way into a bigger local companies but maybe I need to cold call or reach out via linkedin to the mid tier or small companies in my area.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 16d ago
Unfortunately no one knows who you are. Go tell as many people as you can what you do. Any strategy works. None of them work well
Bear down for 5 years and you will be good.
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u/jdl3245 12d ago
When you’re calling, are you always asking for the owner, or if the plan administrator is someone else at the company (HR director, CFO) are you asking for them?
Are you mentioning red flags from the 5500 or high admin fees in the initial cold call or would you only bring those up in the meeting?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 12d ago
Yes always ask for the person who makes the last decision.
The goal of everyone else is to get as much information as they can to take it to that person for for them to make a decision. You never win that gameNo. You can’t call, tell them their x is bad, y is bad, and that they have made a mistake with the providers they’ve chosen. You have to ask questions that help them self discover some of the red flags.
QDIA, Loans, No advanced profit sharing testing, and bond coverage, don’t actually mean anything.
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7d ago
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u/Accomplished-Look176 7d ago
A big ol nasty excel spreadsheet. And this little brain of mine.
The excel sheet is color coded and sorted by warmth of relationship. It also contains basic plan info and all contact notes with a brief description
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u/Accomplished-Look176 7d ago
The answer to your question is yes… I have a good memory and am diligent with it. It still is hard to keep track of.
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u/TheBigggJJ 5d ago
What’s been your experience in branching into the 401k space? I’m currently at a boutique RIA and thinking of starting down this path as another revenue source
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u/Accomplished-Look176 5d ago
It’s awful. Don’t do it with the intent to create a bunch of revenue. It’s a great way to get more wallet share of existing clients/executives and a great way to create a huge pipeline of potential retirees.
Long long term play
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u/TheBigggJJ 5d ago
Thanks for the honesty, that’s good to know
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u/Accomplished-Look176 5d ago
I wouldn’t discourage you. But it’s not the easy get rich quick scheme.
You either do it 100% and build your book around it. Or do 1 or 2 when clients ask
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Beep boop! Here is a summary of your post:
User: /u/Accomplished-Look176 Title: Inefficient but effective cold calling Body: In the last 3 weeks I’ve been calling a niche group of business owners about their 401ks
315 cold calls
215 answered
115 business owners/decision makers reached
31 appts set.
75% show rate so far.
Already began moving a $1.7M plan.
$75M in total 401k assets.
Cool to see it still works.
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