OBTAINING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Depending on the situation, you may wish to ask to review a company's financial statements as part of the Initial Meeting, in the Fact-Finding Meeting, or, later, as a way to identify sources of premium dollars during the presentation Interview. (See Section 5: Understanding Financial Statements.) Until you've had some experience working with businessowners, however, you should let your General Agent/Trainer or a more experienced agent suggest when and if to request this sensitive financial information.

Conclude by thanking your prospect and setting a specific date and time for a one-to-two-hour Presentation Meeting within two weeks. Ask your prospect if the company's attorney, CPA or accountant should attend the meeting and will be available. Since many business planning solutions require formal legal agreements or touch on tax or accounting issues, these other professionals will usually become involved sooner or later.

However, some businessowners and professionals bring their advisers into the picture sooner than others. So, you should discuss this with your prospect to decide how to handle this.

Many producers establish the need/want and make the sale first, then visit the appropriate adviser along with the client to describe what was done and complete legal documents. If you do this, though, you run the risk that the other adviser will feel the need to find fault with your recommendations. So unless the client is firmly convinced that he or she has done the right thing — and will say so in no uncertain terms — you may have some additional selling to do.

That's why some producers like to get the client's other professional advisers involved sooner rather than later, if only to help build a collaborative, problem-solving relationship in which the client, the other advisers and the agent participate.

If your client does not have an attorney, CPA or accountant, be prepared to refer professional advisers who are supportive.