Can Closing on the First Interview Ever Be Considered a Best Practice?

Back in the 80s, there were so called financial professionals, who were revered as one interview closers. The skill sets or sales pressure to convince a new client to act on the first interview was sales nirvana. But pressing people to sign documents and draft a check also created a lot of NTOs (not taken offers) in life insurance sales and conservation complaints from competing registered reps and broker/dealers. As insurance and security products merged onto planning models, it became clear that the single appointment couldn’t support a “one and done” sales practice.

There are also too many “side effects” to single appointment sales that are generally not reviewed at the close of the product purchase. Will this sale cause a taxable event or illiquidity? Did you establish (and how could you) the risk tolerance and product suitability in one interview? To accommodate a first interview close, the appointment would need several hours to cover the due diligence issues of the client alone, not to mention the product offering. Closing a case on the first appointment is so 80s and not in keeping with the strategic and tactical planning of the twenty-first century advisor.