“Why do I need you?” When the stock market does well, it’s easy to assume “investing is simple” and “anyone can do it.” In a world where we focus on buying direct, eliminating the middleman, advisors are often put in the position of justifying their value. Here are a few practical ways to do it.

1. Saving and investing are too important to mess up. You can act as your own attorney, representing yourself in court. If audited, you can appear before the IRS yourself. You can visit medical websites and diagnose yourself when your body is trying to tell you something. Most people don’t. They hire a lawyer, accountant or doctor. They seek advice when it’s not their field of expertise.

2. The older you get, the fewer “do overs” you get. In golf, a “mulligan” is an extra shot you might take if you made a really, really bad swing. If you are a young investor, taking a 70% loss on an investment isn’t that bad if you have 50 years of additional investing ahead of you. A 60-year-old investor doesn’t have lots of time to recover from a 70% loss. People need to approach investing with an understanding of risk.

3. Many people invest backwards. They sell their winners, because “no one ever went broke taking a profit.” They hold their losers because they optimistically think they will recover. They lose sight of the math: A stock that declines 50% needs to rise 100% to get back to where you started. They don’t understand they should cut their losses early and let their winners ride.

4. Those guys on TV aren’t that helpful. Financial programs on TV are great at creating a sense of urgency. When the market goes down, they can make it sound like it will keep doing so forever. (Ditto on up days.) Investors often act impulsively, thinking “this time it’s different.” Advisors know better.

5. You will be paying, at least know how much. Companies don’t work for free. If you don’t see fees and charges upfront, they must be hidden. Logically, it’s better to know what you are paying upfront. Here’s another consideration: Although investing should be viewed as a long-term commitment, managed money is the ultimate in pay-as-you-go pricing. Generally speaking, you are only paying for the time you are in the program. How often do you dine in restaurants with no prices on the menu?

6. Investing is complicated. Many people consider investing as the placing of a trade. If you can get it done for “free” online, why pay an advisor. Investing starts with financial planning. It encompasses the asset and liability sides of the ledger. It involves risk tolerance, asset allocation and diversification. Trades are only a small part of the process. Buying a stock, hopeful it goes up in the short term and then selling it, has a different name. It’s called gambling.

7. Taxes are a major consideration. Using the above example, the short-term trader is loved by the government. You take all the risk. The government acts as your silent partner because short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income. Someone needs to remind the investor how the rules work.

8. Everyone’s situation is unique. The way your barber or uncle invests is not always the right way for you to invest. Risk tolerance is different. Wealth is an issue too. The person who considers money a precious resource to be carefully guarded should not be taking advice from their friend who bets on the horses. They should get advice suited to them and their situation.

9. The goal is financial independence. Saving for retirement sounds boring. Being wealthy enough to quit your job anytime you want sounds thrilling. Investors should consider saving and investing wisely as following the road to financial independence. They need someone along on the journey to guide them.

10. You lose interest. Advisors don’t. It’s been said New Year’s resolutions last until about the middle of February. Does that mean people don’t want to lose weight or get into shape? No. They just lose interest. They have short attention spans. Their friends move onto the next big thing. They do too. Investing is a full time job for advisors. They pay attention, even when the investor doesn’t. Periodic reviews get them refocused.

11. How involved do you want to be? Some people love classic cars. They are tuning the engine and polishing constantly. Others consider a car as simply transportation. Some people will change a flat tire. Others call AAA. Some investors spend more time following their stocks than they do on FaceBook. Others prefer a “set it and forget it” approach. The less involved you want to be, the more you need someone who wants to be involved.

12. Acting on emotion impacts your returns. As mentioned earlier, people think: “This time it’s different.” Advisors are good at hand holding, although it can’t be described in those words. Bringing in professional money managers takes lots of the emotion and impulse out of the equation. Need proof?  On a down day, look at the confirms from your money managers. They might well be buying.

The value advisors bring to the relationship is often intangible. You need to be able to explain it.

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry. His book, Captivating the Wealthy Investor can be found on Amazon.