Decades after William Bridges wrote his seminal books on change and transition that I refer to frequently, the financial services industry is faced with what seems to be a new problem: When clients experience major life events, they often act like completely different people. They don’t respond the way they usually do. You can’t predict what they will say or do even if you’ve known them for years.
They suddenly find a new advisor.
Or maybe they don’t. But just because they don’t doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods. After all, you were blindsided by their behavior and though you might have moved ahead as planned, things were different. Your client was different. And that’s unsettling.
The more you study change and adaptation, the more you realize that all of this is perfectly natural. All your clients want, regardless of their age or stage, is someone who has their back and understands them. And you probably know that. But if you don’t understand how transitions work, you can’t begin to serve clients-in-transition properly. Your training isn’t in alignment with their needs. And, studies show, they often leave.
Every one of your clients will experience a major life transition, and the likelihood that they will experience several at the same time increases with age. Think about your own practice and try to identify someone who has not gone through retirement, divorce, the loss of a spouse, the loss of a parent or the sale of a business.
I have always said that when life changes money changes, and when money changes life changes. Bring to mind your last few clients who experienced significant life events. Did their behavior or their thinking surprise you at any point? Do any of these ring a bell?
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They did “a 180” regarding their plans, no matter how meticulously you created them together.
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They spoke of being “in a fog” or “overwhelmed.”
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They were focused on one thing to the exclusion of all else, resulting in a disturbance in your planning or in their ability to make decisions or implement their plan.
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They suddenly developed a dire need for something requiring resources already allocated somewhere else.