The three stages of selling a retirement plan into a company, prospecting, proposing and closing all require preparation and creativity, according to Marilyn Pearson, Vice President at Merrill Lynch.

Prospecting is the lifeblood of financial advisors, but it can be difficult to come up with effective recruiting techniques, especially when creativity is key in a highly competitive environment.

I was on a conference call recently and someone asked the question, “Does anyone have any creative ideas for getting in to see someone who is consistently ignoring my voice mails?” [Insert sound of ...