Can you imagine what it must have been like to be on the receiving end of early vaccinations for a deadly disease such as small pox? Back then, techniques for inoculating people were inconsistent to say the least. In many cases, people did what was called “buying the pox” where they would exchange money or small gifts for some scabs or pus that they could use to fight against it. 

Some individuals just rubbed the scabs on their own skin, others rubbed the virus on wool and wore it around their wrist or neck, and some even had their children wear smallpox-infected clothes. Later on, it became more common to puncture the skin with a needle, yet the procedure was still done "arm to arm" with the infected person close by. 

The whole idea of being immunized in one or more of these ways may appear downright frightening, but the reality is, the process of introducing something negative into the body in order to teach it to fight against it saved thousands, if not millions of lives.  

Today, with more and more people reaching retirement age than ever before, advisors need to start infecting clients with small doses of reality about what retirement is actually going to be like. We have to stop selling retirement as a utopian phase of life where everything is great as long as they save enough money and have the right asset allocation. 

Clients need to understand and be prepared to fight off things like boredom, isolation, depression, addiction, loss of purpose, divorce, overspending and more. They need to be encouraged and coached to develop a plan to replace their work identity, fill their time, stay relevant and connected, as well as keep mentally and physically sharp or risk wasting years trying to figure it out, repairing damage in their relationships, health and more. 

Of course, the trick is finding the right balance of information. As you might expect, the success of early vaccinations was dependent on the skill of the administrator. Often, for various reasons the vaccine either "did not take" and had to be repeated or the patient fell ill with a full-blown case of smallpox. Therefore, the tools and resources that advisors use to inoculate clients must be strong enough for them to take action, but not too strong so that they unnecessarily delay retirement.

Advisors can start this inoculation process by helping clients think more carefully, deeply and creatively about how they will manage their transition. One way to accomplish this is to introduce a new series of questions that help clients see retirement in a new light and ultimately cause them to say, “I never thought about that.”

• Do you know anyone who failed at retirement or who isn’t doing well with it? What was the root cause?

• What are you going to do if retirement turns out to be something different than you expect? 

• What if the volunteering you’ve always dreamt of doing isn’t fulfilling?

• What would you regret not seeing or doing if your retirement only lasted a few years?

• Have you thought about how retirement would be different if you lost your hearing or had to be a full-time caregiver at some point?

Like early forms of inoculation, these questions can feel a little rough at first. However, the point here is to pierce the skin—to dig a little deeper with clients. The more an advisor can help clients begin to think about how they will handle difficult situations or circumstances in retirement, the stronger a client’s ability to fend off attacks becomes. 

Using questions and having conversations like these is crucial for two reasons. First, it fosters an emotional connection with clients. You’ll not only be helping to improve their financial lives, but also helping them tune into themselves and what’s important to them during this next phase of life.

Second, in the new world of robo-advisors and commoditized investment products and services, this human touch puts an advisor on a pedestal that doesn’t just say they care about their clients, it shows it! 

In addition to new questions, advisors can also use newsletters, books, guides, videos, workshops and individual coaching to educate clients on the things that can infect their retirement. It’s one of the reasons I wrote my latest book Retirement Rx. It’s designed to be a tool for advisors to give to clients in order to start some of these new thoughts and conversations. 

However, just talking about it isn’t enough. For inoculation to be successful, clients need to take specific action to protect themselves from the downside of retirement. They need written plans as to what a perfect day and week will look like. They need to identify what their passion or life purpose will be in retirement. They need to enroll in that healthy cooking class, schedule that weekly yoga session, and set concrete plans to visit family, call friends and learn new things.

Many people assume these things will just fall into place but retirement doesn’t actually end work, it just reorganizes it. Clients still have to work on their health, relationships, feeling productive and having a reason to get out of bed every day.

This is another reason why advisors need to develop a consistent and targeted communication pattern that keeps clients aware of the things that can poison their retirement and what they can do to avoid it. Helping clients retire well isn’t a one-and-done type thing. Clients need regular information to remind and encourage them because we need them to take action, not just think and talk about it.

This highlights a major flaw I see in our industry. There are many people who refer to themselves as life planners or coaches but only offer that service when they are onboarding a new client. They have a questionnaire and dig a little deeper in the beginning, but they don’t write a blog, send a newsletter or offer workshops that support their message.   

Along the same lines, advisors need to segment their client base and develop targeted content for them. Let’s face it, very few people read your stock market update and no one really watches all those silly short videos on your site. They want content about them and for them—stuff that makes them brighter and better. They don’t want pre-packaged stuff that covers a broad base of people. It’s the very reason I developed the Retirement Wellness Report. It’s a completely non-financial newsletter that pushes people to think about life in retirement in a completely new way. 

Reality is, as people approach and go through retirement they need different kinds of advice. Targeted, consistent communication is a small thing that advisors can do to stay connected with clients and foster richer lives. Helping clients think and act in new ways is not only a big part of the inoculation process but also key to helping advisors differentiate themselves and stand out in the crowd. 

Overall, the idea of infecting clients with small doses of retirement reality serves several important functions for both our industry as well as clients. First, it opens the doors to new topics and conversations that allow us to develop stronger relationships with our clients. Second, it makes us more referrable as clients can not only talk up our financial services, but also the personalized service that we deliver…and others don’t. Finally, it gives us the chance to have a lasting impact on those who trust us with their money. By regularly communicating things with clients that appeal to them and can help them live a better life in retirement, we can find renewed value in our roles as financial professionals.  

Are you ready to inspire, educate and engage clients like never before? Join me and FA magazine on Wednesday, June 7^th at 2 p.m. for a complimentary webcast: The New Era Of Retirement Coaching. Click here to learn more and register now.

Robert Laura is the president of SYNERGOS Financial Group, the founder of RetirementProject.org and the creator of the Retirement Wellness Marketing Program for Advisors. He can be reached at [email protected].