Building strong, strategic partnerships with plan sponsors is one of the most effective ways to elevate your practice and build your book. By evolving from a transactional approach to a more collaborative relationship, you can enhance trust and deliver better outcomes for the plan, its participants, and the organization. Benchmarking tools, such as Prism Total Fees Benchmarking, Prism365, and RFP Express can play a pivotal role in driving this transformation.
Move Beyond the Transactional
Too often, relationships with plan sponsors can feel transactional, focused on solving immediate issues or fulfilling basic compliance requirements. But there’s a real opportunity to create a deeper, more impactful, and valuable connection by aligning on shared goals and taking a more proactive approach.
Start by engaging sponsors in conversations about their overarching objectives and challenges. These discussions create the foundation for a shared playbook, allowing you to collaborate on strategy and opportunities for improvement.
Build Your Client Relationships With Benchmarking
Benchmarking offers a clearer picture of the larger retirement plan landscape. Fee clarity is more than just a best practice, it’s a relationship builder. By benchmarking investment, administrative, recordkeeping, and advisory fees more frequently, sponsors can make more informed decisions. With tools like Prism Total Fees Benchmarking, you can provide a fast and accurate snapshot of how their fees compare to industry standards, building trust and confidence in your recommendations.
Customization Through Data-driven Insights
Every retirement plan is unique, and your offering should reflect that. Prism365 enables you to benchmark your entire suite of advisory services, from participant education to investment reviews, along with the frequency of their delivery. The lowest fees aren’t always the best fees for a particular plan when higher touch services are what’s needed to meet participant needs and plan sponsor goals. Prism365 helps give your clients confidence that they’re spending their dollars wisely and in the plan’s best interest.
Additionally, you can use benchmarking to identify areas where a plan might benefit from enhanced — or more frequent — service. Regular touchpoints, such as quarterly updates or interim check-ins between committee meetings, allow you to share these insights and provide valuable and actionable recommendations.
Streamlining Processes for Competitive Fees
Maintaining reasonable fees is an ongoing concern for sponsors. With RFP Express, you can simplify the process of obtaining competitive quotes from top providers for recordkeeping and other services.
By integrating benchmarking data and streamlined processes, you position yourself as a valuable partner, one who helps reduce fiduciary risk while enhancing employee satisfaction and plan performance.
Partnering for Long-term Success
A trusted partnership goes beyond addressing immediate needs; it focuses on preparing for the future. Leverage benchmarking insights to guide sponsors toward building a sustainable, high-performing plan. A forward-thinking approach can reduce fiduciary risk, improve participant outcomes, and help deliver long-term results for the organization.
By consistently demonstrating your value through fee transparency, customization, and proactive strategy, you can strengthen your role as an indispensable partner, one who delivers tangible results for both sponsors and participants. With Prism Total Fees Benchmarking, Prism365, and RFP Express, you have the tools to turn benchmarking into a powerful driver of client relationships, and plan success.