From Finalist to First Choice: How Retirement Advisors Win More Business

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08 Sep

In today's competitive retirement plan marketplace, there are often small, overlooked factors that influence a sponsor's final decision. In this webinar, Manulife John Hancock Investments’ Brandon Radach and Retirement Plan Advisor Search’s Veronica

In today's competitive retirement plan marketplace, there are often small, overlooked factors that influence a sponsor's final decision. In this webinar, Manulife John Hancock Investments’ Brandon Radach and Retirement Plan Advisor Search’s Veronica

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 (12:00 AM) to Thursday, September 30, 2027 (11:59 PM)
1 PDCs
Provider: John Hancock Investment Management
Course Name: From Finalist to First Choice: How Retirement Advisors Win More Business

Speaker: Jim Sisterson
Program Type: Instructor E-Learning
Registration URL: http://johnhancockinvestmentmanagement.com
In today's competitive retirement plan marketplace, there are often small, overlooked factors that influence a sponsor's final decision. In this webinar, Manulife John Hancock Investments’ Brandon Radach and Retirement Plan Advisor Search’s Veronica , Boston, Massachusetts
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The discussion will cover how retirement advisors can: • Differentiate themselves from other finalists • Prepare more effectively for finalist meetings • Avoid common mistakes that could cost them business • Improve positioning, questioning and follow-up • Turn more finalist appearances into wins

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Timed outline: 0-3 (3 mins) During the webinar opening, Brian will “set the stage” with an intro providing a brief overview of the issue, what we’ll be covering, and introducing Brandon and Veronica. Then we’ll launch into the discussion. 3-8 (5 mins) I. OPENING QUESTIONS 1. Brandon, you work with advisor teams across the country. Just how competitive is the market for retirement plan business right now? 2. Veronica, you've sat through literally hundreds of finalist presentations, and there probably isn’t much you haven’t seen. When it’s down to three, what is the plan sponsor really trying to figure out—what are they basing their decision on? 3. Both: Are advisors sometimes mistaken about why they won—or lost—a piece of business? In your experience, what do plan sponsors care about more than advisors think they do? 8-18 (10 mins) II. PRE-MEETING – THE ROLE OF THE RFP 4. Before an advisor team ever gets to a finalist presentation, they’ve got to “ace” the RFP… that is, if they determine the RFP is worth the effort for that company… If they don’t already have a relationship with the plan sponsor, how should an advisor decide whether an RFP is genuinely worth pursuing versus one where the winner may already be predetermined? 5. Brandon, we all know AI is changing the game dramatically, even since the time advisors developed many of their current RFP processes. Where can advisors appropriately use AI to save time and make their RFP responses not only faster but better—and where could relying on it actually hurt them? 6. Brandon, I want to get your thoughts on what makes an RFP response stand out from the pack. I’d like you to talk about some ways you can do that, particularly if you don’t have that pre-existing relationship. In the Q&A article we did about this a while back, you used the phrase "paragraphs are dead" in terms of making it something that demands the attention of who’s reading it. Remind us what you meant by that, and what does a modern, effective RFP response look like now compared to years ago? 7. What are some of the clichés advisors should eliminate from RFP responses and finalist presentations? Are words like "world-class," "trusted" and "best-in-class" essentially meaningless at this point? And if so, how can advisors demonstrate their value rather than simply tell a sponsor they're different? 18-28 (10 mins) III. THE PREP CALL 8. Let’s move on to the prep call… Veronica, you've said advisors should ask for a prep call before the finalist meeting. How long should it be, and what information should the advisor team be looking to uncover during a prep call that can really inform their finalist presentation? 9. How much should advisors customize their presentation based on what they learn on that call—and is there such a thing as over-customizing? 10. Couple of quick hitters here… In your experience, what's the single best question an advisor can ask on that call? 11. Conversely, what should advisors absolutely not ask during the prep call? 28-33 (5 mins) IV. DOING YOUR HOMEWORK 12. Let's say I have a finalist meeting two weeks from today. Walk me through the homework my team should be doing between now and then. 13. How effective is competitive benchmarking? Does showing a sponsor how its plan compares with companies competing for the same employees still resonate? 14. Are there any examples of personalization you can share from a finalist presentation that made a committee sit up and take notice? 33-43 (10 mins) V. DURING THE FINALIST MEETING 15. You've made it to the finals. All your prep work is done. How do you decide who should actually be in the room from the advisor team—and who shouldn't be? (Does bringing every specialist you've got risk overwhelming the committee?) 16. How much of the finalist meeting should be presentation versus conversation? 17. In your experience, what's a good question an advisor can ask during the presentation that gets committee members talking and helps reveal what really matters to them? 18. What role should the senior-most person on the advisor team play? Should they lead the presentation, or should the people who will actually service the client take center stage? 19. Now let’s have a little fun by talking about “How to Lose a Finalist Presentation.” Let’s do a little lightning round: • Veronica, you've seen hundreds of these. What's the fastest you've ever known that an advisor team wasn't going to win? • Without getting too specific, what's the worst finalist presentation mistake you've ever witnessed? • What's a seemingly minor mistake that advisors might not realize plan sponsors notice? • Brandon, what do advisors do that makes a presentation feel like a lecture rather than a conversation? • How damaging is it to criticize the incumbent advisor or recordkeeper—and is it ever a good idea or really necessary to point out shortcomings the plan sponsor might not be aware of? 43-48 (5 mins) VI. POST MEETING 20. Let’s move on to what happens after the finalist presentation. How common is it for there to be a debrief call after the decision’s been made—win or lose? And what kind of questions should advisors ask during it that can generate some useful feedback to improve future opportunities? 21. Have you ever seen an advisor lose a finalist presentation and then ultimately win that client down the road because of how they handled the loss? 48-51 (3 mins) VII. FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE AUDIENCE Q&A 22. Veronica, if you could correct one thing retirement plan advisors consistently seem to get wrong in finalist presentations, what would it be? 23. Brandon, if an advisor told you, "We're great at what we do, but we're just not winning enough finals," is there anything you could share with them about what separates the firms that consistently win from everybody else? 24. Both: You're walking into a finalist presentation tomorrow against two excellent competitors. What's the one thing you're doing tonight to improve your odds of winning?

In today's competitive retirement plan marketplace, there are often small, overlooked factors that influence a sponsor's final decision. In this webinar, Manulife John Hancock Investments’ Brandon Radach and Retirement Plan Advisor Search’s Veronica
In today's competitive retirement plan marketplace, there are often small, overlooked factors that influence a sponsor's final decision. In this webinar, Manulife John Hancock Investments’ Brandon Radach and Retirement Plan Advisor Search’s Veronica
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