Retirement planning is the #1 financial concern of most Americans.

Specific concerns are: Will I have enough to live the way I want?  Am I saving enough?  How can I tell?  Where can I look for help?

Most of you are in a position to help those who are willing to be helped.

Have you ever thought about first asking a prospect to complete a one-minute survey on saving?  Try adding the following query to your Client Fact Finder:

• Check which of the following profiles best describes you:


• ___ I have savings and investments.  I find it easy to add regularly to savings and investments over extended periods.


• ___ I have savings and investments that I can add to periodically.


• ___ I have some savings and investments.  I earn more than I need for necessities, but I'm not as diligent as I should be about saving any of the difference.


• ___ I don’t save much, but I do have disposable income after purchasing necessities, although it usually ends up being spent on non-necessities.


• ___ I don’t save very much because all my income is committed to necessities.  I have little or no unsecured debt resulting from overspending.


• ___ I’m not good at saving, and I have debt from spending more than I should.

Don’t you wish you knew which one applied to each new prospect before you spend a lot of time advising them?  If you ask, you’ll know.

And to those of you who are ?rescuers?, always remember that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to motivate someone at or near the bottom of the list to move consistently to a higher profile.

In any event, don’t waste time working with the bottom two.  Maybe deal only with the top two.