Before your first call
Bring questions. Leave knowing more.
You do not need a plan, a folder or a single exact number. You need about an hour and the question that keeps coming back to you.
What to think about beforehand
Rough answers are fine. Nobody is marking this.
When you plan to stop working
Or what has changed since you did.
Where the money will come from
Social Security, a pension, savings, a business, rent. A rough list is fine.
What you already hold
Accounts, policies, annuities. You do not need the statements, just the names.
Who you want the money to help
A spouse, children, grandchildren, a church, a cause.
The question that keeps coming back
There is usually one. Bring it.
What to ask, in any meeting with anybody
Including this one. A good answer is short and does not need a second meeting to explain it.
Can you explain what this is for in one sentence?
If the answer takes five minutes and three new words, that is your answer.
What does it cost, and where does the cost show up?
Ask for the fees in writing. Ask what comes out of the money and what comes out of the growth.
What is guaranteed, and what is a projection?
A guarantee is written in the contract. A projection is an illustration of what might happen. They are not the same thing and they never have been.
What happens if I need the money sooner than planned?
Ask about surrender charges, how long they last, and what you can take out without one.
Who would this be wrong for?
Anyone who cannot answer this is selling, not advising.
How are you paid?
A fair question, and a fair answer is not hard to give.
Then decide, or do not
There is no next step you have to take at the end of a first call.
If it is not a fit, Richelle will say so. If you want to go away and think, that is the normal answer and nobody will chase you about it.