I find this last question quite intriguing. I'd never heard the question before interviewing Joanne, but was immediately struck by the emotional archeology that could be accomplished by asking this unique question. When Jarvi asks this question, she hears stories about parents fighting about money, about being the only one in their class at school having to work, about feeling guilty after hearing parents say that only one of the siblings was going to college and it was going to be them. These rarely told stories are quite telling about a client's motivations and principles around money matters.
Jarvi told me that the first story clients tell after hearing this question is not usually a great story with a happy ending, but one that has more to do with the hard lessons they have learned. "For some reason, it's easier to tell a sad story than it is to tell a happy one," Jarvi says. Maybe that is because people are shaped by hard lessons and difficult trials, and money is often at the center of those lessons and trials. Smart advisors, especially those seeking to play the role of financial life planner, don't avoid those stories. They seek them.
She reminded me that something we need to always remember is that these stories are not finished yet. "As an agent, I was responsible for managing an author's career and editing their creations. As a wealth manager, I'm responsible for guiding their financial career. As advisors we get to help them write the end of the story-it's not finished yet."
What Joanne Jarvi is looking for are stories she wants to be a part of-people with philanthropic hearts, people motivated to help others and people trying to do the best they can in this world. One of things she likes best is that she gets to pick the people she gets to work with. She feels like she can do that in this business.
The best we can do in this business is to play a fiduciary role in the completing of the story. To perform that role well, we do need a better understanding of the story, the characters and the key plots playing out within the story. We are not all former literary agents with keen eyes for stories that will sell, but we all have the opportunity to help our clients' stories end better than they would ... without us.
Mitch Anthony is widely regarded in the financial services industry as an expert on building client relationships and has been recognized for his pioneering work in Financial Life Planning. His innovative tools for strengthening client relationships are available through his Advisor Insights at mitchanthony.com.