Read My Book
“Read my book” are three words every advisor needs to be able to recommend to clients, prospects and centers of influence. Not only because it boosts one’s level of professional credibility but also because it extends an advisor’s reach, philosophy and expertise beyond four walls and a desk to more places and larger groups.
Authoring a book can also make you more referable and increase invitations to speak at functions or targeted groups. Think of it as a marketing tool clients and others can use to introduce you philosophy, style or insight to others. It can also give clients an added layer of security, knowing their advisor is a published authority on a topic or topics that are important to them can make one sleep much better at night. It doesn’t matter if it’s self-published or even in pdf format. Advisor books are powerful business-building tools, effective in differentiating yourself, and can serve as a trust-building factor for clients, prospects, and centers of influence.
Call A Therapist
This topic can be a little more sensitive but one that, when handled appropriately, can be extremely helpful, particularly for couples. Of course, you can’t just blurt out “Call a therapist!” to a couple arguing in your office, or an individual client singing the blues. Instead, consider it an “as needed” type of conversation.
Retirement can be an amazing time of life, but can also come with complications. Issues that are hard for many retired clients to sort out on their own including changing roles, interacting with fewer people, an unexpected medical diagnosis, changes in mood, addiction and others. For example, a woman recently asked what she could do about the resentments she has with her older husband retiring before her. She went on to explain that she is frustrated with the fact that she is only 58 and has to go to work every day, while her husband, who is 63 goes to the beach every day. I encouraged her to seek out a therapist for both herself and the two of them as a couple. Fact is, no matter how or when people enter retirement, couples and individuals may face any number of situations that aren’t going to just go away or resolve themselves. A trained third party can provide relief by suggesting steps that minimize or reduce such feelings and foster a much more positive retirement.
Check Yourself Into The Hospital
I don’t recommend dialing 9-1-1 for a client in your office, but instead take the time and effort to position health as part of a retiree’s ultimate wealth. We all know about the costs of health care in retirement and the impact it can have on hard-earned savings, but expense charts, dollar signs and percentages don’t always lead to action. It seems as though many health issues are left to run their course and are only addressed once the problem hits an alarming level.
Advisors can begin to alter this trend by simply asking clients to write down the three most likely health factors that could result in a hospital stay in their future. Whether the factors are related to diet, weight, exercise, genetics or a bad habit, it’s expensive, time-consuming and often painful to have a doctor tell them what they already know. A family member recently went to the hospital with chest pain and narrowly escaped a major heart attack. The ramifications were a change in diet, more exercise and adjusting other habits. These were all things he had regularly been encouraged to curb or eliminate but it didn’t take until he heard it from a doctor after his cardiac episode.
Therefore, encourage clients to mentally check themselves into a hospital, to picture themselves tethered to an IV drip and medical staff constantly invading their personal space and comfort level. It’s a simple recommendation that can position yourself as a retirement wellness advocate.
Overall, each of these recommendations takes your client relationships to a new and different level; one where there’s an open door to all factors impacting retirement and where clients will eventually expose their entire hand to you -- simply because you understand where they’re coming from, and they see you as a person they trust to get them where they want to go.
Robert Laura is the creator of the Retirement Wellness Report, co-founder of RetirementProject.org, and author of Naked Retirement. He can be reached at [email protected]. Please connect with him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @robertlaura.