I spend a lot of time with successful advisors. Not so coincidentally, I am a diligent and copious note taker. At the end of every month, I sort out and save the good stuff. I thought it might be fun to tell you some of the things I've heard in the last 30 days. These comments were all made in conversation, they are all snippets and they all resonate.
We are not in the financial planning business. Financial plans are simply our inventory, our product. We're in the business of getting people retired. We're in the "peace of mind" business.
The more successful a product or process becomes, the greater the sales skills diminish of the people offering that product or process.
I tell my clients they can look back, but they can't stare.
Make sure you stop talking before they stop listening.
Make sure your clients focus on the outcome rather than the experience.
People think you're so smart when they do all the talking.
Relationship problems with clients don't announce themselves in advance. They sneak up on little cat feet.
Buy three different kinds of apples, a Fuji, a Gala and a McIntosh. They are all different. Put them in a basket. What happens to the other two when one rots?
Mr. and Mrs. Client, the biggest risk is the insidious creep of inflation. I bought a brand new Ford Mustang in 1987 for $9,000. To not invest your money is to safely go broke.