"It's a perfect time to take credit for your accomplishments over the year – like anyone, do not assume that the bosses or your clients just magically notice what you do, and do not find yourself asking 'how come nobody appreciates what I do?'" Kaplan said.

"It's a great time, especially in this era of fee disclosures and fiduciary concerns, to ask a sponsor, 'Do you have any concerns?' And it's better to have that discussion up front, rather than having a client say 'I wish you would have told me about that' at a later date." 

Most importantly, it's an opportunity to manage expectations, so that plan sponsors don't expect too much, or too little, over the course of a year of advisory work.

Here, then, are six suggestions on how to use that meeting to open a dialog – and possible find more business traffic.

Next: Know Your Audience

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1. Know Your Audience

In making the pitch (or laying out the facts) for your 2012 accomplishments, Kaplan notes that it's important to understand who you're talking to, and to cater the presentation to that person. And, more importantly, make it personal, if possible.

"You need to recognize the role of who it is you're speaking with, and what they view as plan success," he said. To that end, CIOs and CFOs will want concrete numbers, all the facts and figures and some statistical information to demonstrate what's happened in the plan in the last year.

HR directors, on the other hand, want to keep their employees happy, so they'd rather hear about things that will do that – loans, allocations and other options geared for participants. And company owners, especially at small firms, will simply want to know what's in it for them on the bottom line.

"As you look at anyone's relationship to the plan, it's also a good idea to actually look at their own specific retirement account and see how they did this year. Their perception starts with themselves."

Next: Feedback on Plan Design

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2. Feedback on Plan Design

Now's the opportunity to ask how the plan is doing, from the sponsor's perspective. Show them that you have the numbers to back up what's actually happened, but ask about their perceptions, their concerns, their worries, he notes.

That includes a good discussion on issues including loans, contribution rules and investment options that are part of the plan. It's also a good time to note if other factors might be contributing to the success (or lack thereof) of the plan: have there been hirings or layoffs, or have the participant demographics changed -will older employees stick around too long and end up costing a lot to the plan?

"If you see that more money is going out of the plan in loans than is coming in, it might be a case that they're not letting participants know about the risks in defaulting on those loans," he said. "They need to remember that those loans are not a protected benefit."

Next: Report on Participant Success

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3. Report on Participant Success

Here's the biggest measure of your value as an advisor, Kaplan said. If you can quantitatively measure participation rates and contribution rates and demonstrate that your educational efforts are paying off, you're doing your job.

"Sponsors want people to retire, and retire successfully, because they can and they want to," he notes. "When participants are happy, HR and the CFO are happy, too.

Next: Help Sponsors Figure Out if Fees Are Reasonable

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4. Help Sponsors Figure Out if Fees Are Reasonable

While ERISA mandates that plan sponsors demonstrate that their retirement plan fees are reasonable, Kaplan also notes that reasonable doesn't necessarily mean that the absolute cheapest is the best.

But "reasonable" also includes substantial documenting practices and procedures and an advisor can help with benchmarking those fees – and advisors have to make sure that both they and the sponsor document every required fiduciary step taken along the way.

"You can document everything – start by saying what you intended to do for the year, such as increasing participation rates. Then, at year end, you can say 'here are my results' through your statement of services. You should also document the actual amount of time you spend on each part of your dealing with a plan. That way, when the competition comes in, it will put you in a good light. All of it helps create a sense of reasonableness in the fees sponsors pay to you."

Next: Managing Participant Feedback

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5. Managing Participant Feedback

While many may see this year's fee disclosure regulations as a non-event the same scale as the build-up to Y2K, Kaplan said it's important to let sponsors know that this is a work in progress – and that the generally subdued reaction from the larger participant universe may be because they simply haven't actually seen – or even been charged – fees so far.

"There hasn't been a lot of push-back, but it's still a case of balancing what might be charged versus what's actually charged in the end, at which point it won't matter," he said. "In many plans, the fees get charged at the beginning of the year or at another time and won't appear on the participant statements. Again, please consider managing those expectations, as they may change in January."

Next: Document Any Changes

Image credit: Michal Marcol

6. Document Any Changes

Finally, be sure to check with the plan sponsor to make sure there aren't any hidden surprises that have taken place in the plan over the course of the year. It's a good time to discuss and review plan design and any operational changes, and point out any amendments or updates. And make sure they're documented, if required.

"Even if this is not your legal responsibility, it's good to do – and that's an effort that continues to put yourself in the best light," Kaplan says.

Kaplan also reminded advisors that while they are not necessarily responsible for providing fee disclosure documentation to plan sponsors, they can provide a good intermediary role as sponsors have likely been inundated with paper from their plan providers and can help walk them through the process, as well as benchmarking the fees and helping with the full pile of required documentation.