Here are 10 inspiring ways for becoming a true planner or advisor:
- Make them action takers - Make your clients realize that personal finance is not about knowing things, but it is about getting into action. Teach your clients that the only thing that will make a difference in their financial life is by taking action. Design one or more action checklists for your clients and help them in completing them. Remember – the only reason why they have contacted you is to get into action. Most planners spend more time on creating plans and less time with their clients. Start doing the reverse and see the magic.
- Make personal finance FUN for them - There is a lot of hype around the word “money” and “personal finance” out in the world. With information overload on google etc. investors get confused and develop a mental block in managing their finance. Your true job is to help them add the FUN element to the process of wealth creation. I tell our clients -”Don’t show-up on call if you are not going to have FUN”. None of our coaching clients miss their weekly calls, they don’t want to put the phone down at times (We are into online model). I always have a lot of fun being on call with our clients and also encourage clients in having fun.
- Help them create New Relationship with money - Initially Manish and I used to think that creating a good financial plan is the most important thing in financial planning profession. Now we see financial plan as just one part of the entire process. The most important part of the planning process is to help someone discover their true relationship with money. Help them discover how they are with and around money.
- Ask searching questions - Searching questions are those questions which make clients think deep. Most Investors are looking for answers or solutions in their financial life, but your true job is to ask searching questions to your clients. In my experience searching questions serves clients most. Searching questions sometimes creates a sense of discomfort but after the conversation you will surely get a thank you note from your client. Spend some time and design your searching questions, which will help you serve your clients better. Searching questions cause transformation in people’s financial life. Your task is to shift the demand for the right answers to the search for right questions.
- Help them get in touch with reality - Most investors are not in touch with reality (Unfortunately even most planners are also not). Help your clients get real. This will be the biggest contribution you can make in someone’s financial life. When you are having conversation with your client, tell them you are not a magician who cannot get them all that they want. Get bold and shatter their myths. For all that investors are doing or not doing in their financial life, there is always some cost that they are paying. Help them recognise the cost they are paying (e.g. too many insurance policies). Help them to get in touch with their resources, connect them with their true strengths as this will help them produce wealth.
- Help them to make and keep their promises - Personal finance is all about making and keeping promises. Help your clients realize the power of making and keeping promises. Refuse to buy stories like “I am busy” or “Some meeting came up”. Help them keep their promises as their broken promises are taking them away from wealth that they want to experience in life.
- Help them build their reading program - Help your clients build their reading program. Share with them what are you presently reading and what kind of books will help them as an investor and person. I share my personal bibliography with clients who ask for it.
- Help them get in touch with their money habits - Very few financial planners helps their clients in identifying their money habits. Investors’ financial life does not change after having a financial plan, because their money habits are still the same. Help your clients go deeper and help them get in touch with their supportive and non-supportive money habits. This will add more value to the work that you do with your clients.
- Share your good and bad experiences with them - When I work with people, I share what I do in my financial life. I share my blunders, mistakes and breakthroughs. I also share about other clients experiences with people I work with. Your true job as a planner is to help people realize that what they are dealing with is not just limited to them but others are also sailing in the same boat. This makes them comfortable with you and open up.
- Tell stories and examples - Be a good collector of stories and examples. It is an art to share the right story at the right time. People always learn better with the help of stories and examples, they learn faster and they experience “Aha now I see” moments while you work with them. I share a lot of stories with people I work with. While Manish was writing his first book, we did a lot of research in putting the right stories in different chapters of his book to inspire investors.. Last year we happened to meet Harsh Roongta, CEO of Apnapaisa who shared with us how much he loved the book, particularly the stories and that he would use these stories in his interactions.
This article is written by Nandish Desai, Financial Coach - www.jagoinvestor.com. This article was first published on their advisor blog www.jagoadvisor.com, which helps other financial planners and advisors to build their advisory practice
