According to The Wall Street Journal’s report that broke the news of Merrill Lynch’s change of policy, barely 2% of prospects cold-called answer the phone. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it makes it even harder to meet leads face-to-face to close a deal. Thus, Merrill calls for financial advisor prospecting to change tactics. The report noted that prospects have more confidence in their decision-making power, making it important to invest in softer, high-converting lead generation methods.