Living in world with a 24/7 news industry whose mantra is "If it bleeds, it leads" poses challenges for us as financial professionals and as human beings.
How do you help your clients have confidence about their futures when they are watching, reading and listening to a steady stream of bad news peddled by smart, sophisticated communicators who are very savvy about getting people addicted to this bad news cocktail?
First of all, you must be totally committed to staying out of this morass yourself because you can't help them if you are just as vulnerable to the quagmire of negativity as they are. You must immunize yourself against the news media and some of the product promoters who would like you to believe that their gurus are smarter than their competitor's gurus.
Second, you have to be willing to tell your clients the truth. This truth comes in two forms:
1. The truth is that you don't know what's going to happen, that you don't believe that anybody knows what's going to happen, and that you don't spend any time worrying about things you can't control. Can they get on board with this truth? Can you get on board with this truth?
2. The truth is that the better game is to focus on what you can control and be prepared for the future. Peter Drucker famously said, "The best way to predict your future is to create it."
It's a bit like any kind of emergency preparedness. Have a plan. The plan won't stop unpredictable events from happening, but it does alter how you feel about them between now and when they do or could happen.
I live in Southern California. We have fires and earthquakes. We don't know exactly where or when they will occur, but we know that they will. Some Southern Californians are prepared. Some are not. Who do you think is more confident about the future? Confidence and preparation go hand in hand.
There's no point burning brain cells trying to predict what's going to happen or when. What if Greece or Spain or Italy goes bankrupt? What if Iran gets the bomb? What if the president gets re-elected or not re-elected? Instead, get prepared. And because the mind can only process a finite amount of information at one time, when it's busy preparing there isn't room for worry. In the mental space that used to be occupied by worry about the future is confidence.
What we are talking about here is leadership-leading your clients to a better way of thinking, believing and acting. It's better for them and better for you. The alternative is that you both are led by events out of your control and living reactive and stressful lives.
Preparing for the future is always right, while attempting to predict the future is, at best, a 50-50 proposition. This is an area where trusted advisors have a significant advantage over a typical wealth manager or investment advisor because they get people to focus on what they can control.
The power of this process lies in the universal law that successful people tend to focus on what they can control while unsuccessful people tend to dwell on what they can't control. The most successful companies focus on taking care of their clients, while the less successful tend to be preoccupied by the competition or the economy.
The keys to success have little to do with what happens "out there" and everything to do with what happens between your ears. Perhaps this is why there are so many enduring quotes on this subject:
"To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him."
-Buddha"I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside."
-Wayne Dyer"The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you."
-Tony Robbins"When we direct our thoughts properly, we can control our emotions."
-W. Clement Stone"Circumstances are beyond human control, but our conduct is in our own power."
-Benjamin Disraeli"Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now."
-Denis Waitley
Helping your clients be prepared for the future that's not predictable is your most important job. Confidence does not come from being able to predict the future, but rather from being prepared and adaptable for whatever future comes.
To give your clients confidence about the future is a great gift. Consider some of the following scripting as a template for how you might manage a conversation with a prospect or client who is overly fearful or preoccupied with potential future events outside of their control.
One option: "We find that a lack of confidence about the future has more to do with the legitimate nagging feeling that many people have that their financial house is not in order enough to weather a potential future storm. As you make progress in getting your own financial house in order, which is something you can control, you become more confident about being able to weather external events over which you have no control. Therefore, once you have done everything that you can control regarding your finances, you experience a mental shift. Once you've done everything you can do there's really no point stressing about those things over which you have no control. Do you like the idea that these external events no longer have a negative impact on your quality of life?"
Another option: "Another thing to consider is having a Plan B. The truth is that there are many things that could happen that probably won't happen. However, having an emergency plan or "Plan B" may make you feel better. An example of this is when a family decides to have three days of water and food at home in the event of a prolonged power outage or emergency. If your concern is about money and what might happen to the money you have saved and invested, you might want to have a go-back-to-work or work-longer-than-you-planned plan. Would you like to explore creating a plan like this?"
My personal opinion is that, barring a physical or mental disability that would prevent it, nobody should ever so unplug from the world that they couldn't do something to earn money in the event they either need to or want to in the future. The world is changing at such a fast pace that even a year out of the "groove" could dramatically cut a person's ability to make money without some significant effort to get back up to speed. You can be retired and still stay mentally sharp enough to make money.
It's much like physical fitness. It's much easier to stay in shape than it is to get in shape. Your best advice to your clients, working or retired, is to tell them to stay sharp mentally and maintain a very high level of physical fitness. These are two vital things that will help them weather any potential future storm and, therefore, give them more confidence about the future.
Fun option: "Instead of stressing out about Iran or Greece I have some advice for you: 1. Turn off the TV news! Stop reading the paper! 2. Go to the gym or Yoga or Pilates, take a class, keep up with technology, raise money for a charity you care about, etc. Perhaps sitting in the clubhouse having another cocktail with your buddies over yet another re-hashed conversation about how screwed up the world is or how badly President X or Candidate Y is failing isn't doing you much good. Break free from the Groundhog Day of your existence and create a better life for yourself! Focus on what you can control. Until YOUR entire financial house is in perfect order, until YOUR personal relationships are all functional and healthy and until YOUR physical fitness meets the metrics of a very healthy person of your age ... SHUT UP!"
"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
-Ben Franklin"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."
-Reinhold Niebuhr
What's the value of a trusted advisor who helps their clients live the serenity prayer? Immeasurable.
Bill Bachrach is considered to be our industry's leading authority on the subject of building high-trust client relationships. To learn more about how his company can help you create your Ideal Life by building an Ideal Business exclusively with Ideal Clients go to www.billbachrach.com.