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The 10-Minute Knock: Financial Advisor Mastery
Mark describes the “10-minute knock” method used in client meetings to ensure efficient time management. This technique involves a verbal countdown and a non-intrusive reminder by an administrative manager, ensuring that meetings end on time while allowing clients to focus on important issues and minimize unnecessary small talk.
Video Transcription
0:00
my trusted adviser came back from the
0:02
last Academy wanting to use some use
0:05
something called the 10-minute knock but
0:07
we’re having a little trouble figuring
0:09
out how this is going to work so at the
0:11
20 minutes Point prior to the end of the
0:13
client progress meeting and that would
0:15
be to your point 10 minutes into the
0:16
referral
0:18
conversation then we we we suggest as a
0:21
part of this process the trusted advisor
0:23
begins a verbal countdown and says to
0:26
the client things like with the 20
0:28
minutes we have remaining let’s um you
0:31
know let’s let’s write some notes to
0:33
these uh on the on the books to these
0:35
people that you’ve that you’re proposing
0:37
introducing me to or whatever so they
0:40
they they just do a verbal countdown and
0:41
every five minutes or so whenever it’s
0:43
natural kind of as as everybody takes a
0:46
breath in between thoughts the trusted
0:49
advisor starting at that 20 minute Point
0:51
starts doing this verbal countdown
0:53
that’s very important because it gets
0:55
the client’s
0:57
mind prepared for for what for the end
1:01
of the meeting uh while there’s still
1:03
time to get things done and that’s what
1:07
makes it not disruptive is the client
1:09
knows this is happening so then by
1:12
pre-arrangement as you say precisely 10
1:15
minutes before the end of the meeting
1:16
the actual 10 minutes of the actual end
1:18
of the actual meeting so 80 minutes into
1:21
the meeting administrative manager
1:24
softly knocks on the door quietly opens
1:26
the door like this is all very quiet
1:29
almost is totally not disruptive so
1:31
there is some social skill involved here
1:35
by the administrative manager not to be
1:37
a bull in a china shop or interrupt a
1:39
client or say things that are going to
1:42
be disruptive so we’ve done this for
1:45
over 10 years in my firm and it is the
1:48
skill of the administrative manager that
1:50
pulls this off properly so quietly opens
1:53
the door quietly makes contact with the
1:55
trusted advisor and kind of Whispers and
1:59
mouths I’m sorry I just want to remind
2:01
you that your next client appointment
2:02
about your next client appointment and
2:05
you know just being sure not to
2:07
interrupt a client if they’re talking
2:09
and so the trusted advisor silently nods
2:13
kind of acknowledges but doesn’t pause
2:16
the the momentum of the meeting so this
2:18
is not a big disruptive moment it’s just
2:20
kind of a quiet just wanted to remind
2:23
you of the next client okay so then the
2:25
administrative manager comes in and sits
2:27
down and it’s at this point the
2:30
administrative manager’s role is to
2:32
document what’s happened in the meeting
2:33
up to this point so after quietly
2:36
sitting down the administrative manager
2:38
is poised with pen in hand with paper
2:41
and at the first opportunity the trusted
2:43
advisor cues this next little SE segment
2:46
up trust adviser looks the client in the
2:48
eye and says look we’ve covered a lot
2:50
today but I want to provide you with a
2:52
bullet pointed list of the important
2:53
items we’ve discussed as well as the
2:56
action items that we agreed to and so at
2:58
that point the trust the advisor just
3:00
kind of lists here’s looks on their
3:02
notes and refers to their own notes and
3:03
says here’s what we discussed today here
3:05
with the important key high level items
3:07
and here are the action items and turns
3:09
to the client saidh is there anything on
3:11
your list that I’ve overlooked and then
3:15
this gives an opportunity uh and this is
3:17
beyond the scope of the toolkit clearly
3:19
this is something that we do this is
3:20
something that I’ve been asked about
3:22
I’ve documented it and I’m just sharing
3:24
it with you so when you say to me yeah
3:27
but you don’t have anything in your
3:29
process to send out the client this
3:31
bullet pointed list of things we
3:33
discussed in action items I go that’s
3:34
right it’s not it’s beyond the scope of
3:36
the toolkit so this is just an email
3:40
that I think is a great follow-up to the
3:41
client just kind of acknowledging the
3:43
minutes of the meeting now what some
3:45
advisers do I’ve noticed is they just
3:47
update the GPS after the meeting so that
3:50
the client now has a current copy of the
3:52
GPS which is emailed to them with all of
3:54
this included but the point of the
3:57
10-minute knock is if it’s done proper
4:00
it’s not intrusive it’s never intrusive
4:03
that said when you get to the 10-minute
4:05
point if the if if if the adviser isn’t
4:08
walking out of the conference room with
4:11
the client kind of chuckling and shaking
4:13
hands and parting ways then something’s
4:17
got to happen because you know it’s
4:19
possible that meetings will go over you
4:22
know with this discipline in place
4:24
you’ve created the greatest probability
4:25
that meetings end on time so this shows
4:28
clients that you’re serious about
4:30
honoring your commitment to end on time
4:33
uh it also by doing this count verbal
4:35
countdown if there are any important
4:37
issues which have not been discussed
4:39
then the client’s prompted to speak up
4:41
because as the adviser saying with the
4:43
20 minutes we have remaining then the
4:45
client knows if there’s other issues
4:46
they better get to it and that and I’ve
4:49
seen it with my own eyes this is what
4:51
happens oh I do have a couple things I
4:53
need to talk about they start to kind of
4:55
get in their head the idea that we’re
4:57
coming to a close here and also if there
5:00
are extraneous con conversations which
5:03
clients have this uh some clients have
5:06
this tendency to go off track and talk
5:09
about all kinds of things like just
5:11
chitchat about life and their
5:13
grandchildren and their fishing trips
5:14
and whatever all that starts to stop all
5:19
that stops IT ceases and and and clients
5:22
who love to chit jaap chat when they
5:24
start hearing these count countdown they
5:26
politely eliminate the unnecessary small
5:28
talk off often and and that the
5:31
conversation’s going to be highly
5:32
focused from that point on as the
5:34
countdown happens every five minutes or
5:37
so and when there’s that knock on the
5:38
door it’s not unexpected it’s not
5:40
disruptive it’s been forewarned and it
5:44
works just
5:51
great
my trusted adviser came back from the
0:02
last Academy wanting to use some use
0:05
something called the 10-minute knock but
0:07
we’re having a little trouble figuring
0:09
out how this is going to work so at the
0:11
20 minutes Point prior to the end of the
0:13
client progress meeting and that would
0:15
be to your point 10 minutes into the
0:16
referral
0:18
conversation then we we we suggest as a
0:21
part of this process the trusted advisor
0:23
begins a verbal countdown and says to
0:26
the client things like with the 20
0:28
minutes we have remaining let’s um you
0:31
know let’s let’s write some notes to
0:33
these uh on the on the books to these
0:35
people that you’ve that you’re proposing
0:37
introducing me to or whatever so they
0:40
they they just do a verbal countdown and
0:41
every five minutes or so whenever it’s
0:43
natural kind of as as everybody takes a
0:46
breath in between thoughts the trusted
0:49
advisor starting at that 20 minute Point
0:51
starts doing this verbal countdown
0:53
that’s very important because it gets
0:55
the client’s
0:57
mind prepared for for what for the end
1:01
of the meeting uh while there’s still
1:03
time to get things done and that’s what
1:07
makes it not disruptive is the client
1:09
knows this is happening so then by
1:12
pre-arrangement as you say precisely 10
1:15
minutes before the end of the meeting
1:16
the actual 10 minutes of the actual end
1:18
of the actual meeting so 80 minutes into
1:21
the meeting administrative manager
1:24
softly knocks on the door quietly opens
1:26
the door like this is all very quiet
1:29
almost is totally not disruptive so
1:31
there is some social skill involved here
1:35
by the administrative manager not to be
1:37
a bull in a china shop or interrupt a
1:39
client or say things that are going to
1:42
be disruptive so we’ve done this for
1:45
over 10 years in my firm and it is the
1:48
skill of the administrative manager that
1:50
pulls this off properly so quietly opens
1:53
the door quietly makes contact with the
1:55
trusted advisor and kind of Whispers and
1:59
mouths I’m sorry I just want to remind
2:01
you that your next client appointment
2:02
about your next client appointment and
2:05
you know just being sure not to
2:07
interrupt a client if they’re talking
2:09
and so the trusted advisor silently nods
2:13
kind of acknowledges but doesn’t pause
2:16
the the momentum of the meeting so this
2:18
is not a big disruptive moment it’s just
2:20
kind of a quiet just wanted to remind
2:23
you of the next client okay so then the
2:25
administrative manager comes in and sits
2:27
down and it’s at this point the
2:30
administrative manager’s role is to
2:32
document what’s happened in the meeting
2:33
up to this point so after quietly
2:36
sitting down the administrative manager
2:38
is poised with pen in hand with paper
2:41
and at the first opportunity the trusted
2:43
advisor cues this next little SE segment
2:46
up trust adviser looks the client in the
2:48
eye and says look we’ve covered a lot
2:50
today but I want to provide you with a
2:52
bullet pointed list of the important
2:53
items we’ve discussed as well as the
2:56
action items that we agreed to and so at
2:58
that point the trust the advisor just
3:00
kind of lists here’s looks on their
3:02
notes and refers to their own notes and
3:03
says here’s what we discussed today here
3:05
with the important key high level items
3:07
and here are the action items and turns
3:09
to the client saidh is there anything on
3:11
your list that I’ve overlooked and then
3:15
this gives an opportunity uh and this is
3:17
beyond the scope of the toolkit clearly
3:19
this is something that we do this is
3:20
something that I’ve been asked about
3:22
I’ve documented it and I’m just sharing
3:24
it with you so when you say to me yeah
3:27
but you don’t have anything in your
3:29
process to send out the client this
3:31
bullet pointed list of things we
3:33
discussed in action items I go that’s
3:34
right it’s not it’s beyond the scope of
3:36
the toolkit so this is just an email
3:40
that I think is a great follow-up to the
3:41
client just kind of acknowledging the
3:43
minutes of the meeting now what some
3:45
advisers do I’ve noticed is they just
3:47
update the GPS after the meeting so that
3:50
the client now has a current copy of the
3:52
GPS which is emailed to them with all of
3:54
this included but the point of the
3:57
10-minute knock is if it’s done proper
4:00
it’s not intrusive it’s never intrusive
4:03
that said when you get to the 10-minute
4:05
point if the if if if the adviser isn’t
4:08
walking out of the conference room with
4:11
the client kind of chuckling and shaking
4:13
hands and parting ways then something’s
4:17
got to happen because you know it’s
4:19
possible that meetings will go over you
4:22
know with this discipline in place
4:24
you’ve created the greatest probability
4:25
that meetings end on time so this shows
4:28
clients that you’re serious about
4:30
honoring your commitment to end on time
4:33
uh it also by doing this count verbal
4:35
countdown if there are any important
4:37
issues which have not been discussed
4:39
then the client’s prompted to speak up
4:41
because as the adviser saying with the
4:43
20 minutes we have remaining then the
4:45
client knows if there’s other issues
4:46
they better get to it and that and I’ve
4:49
seen it with my own eyes this is what
4:51
happens oh I do have a couple things I
4:53
need to talk about they start to kind of
4:55
get in their head the idea that we’re
4:57
coming to a close here and also if there
5:00
are extraneous con conversations which
5:03
clients have this uh some clients have
5:06
this tendency to go off track and talk
5:09
about all kinds of things like just
5:11
chitchat about life and their
5:13
grandchildren and their fishing trips
5:14
and whatever all that starts to stop all
5:19
that stops IT ceases and and and clients
5:22
who love to chit jaap chat when they
5:24
start hearing these count countdown they
5:26
politely eliminate the unnecessary small
5:28
talk off often and and that the
5:31
conversation’s going to be highly
5:32
focused from that point on as the
5:34
countdown happens every five minutes or
5:37
so and when there’s that knock on the
5:38
door it’s not unexpected it’s not
5:40
disruptive it’s been forewarned and it
5:44
works just
5:51
great
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