But here’s the deal. Not every advisor is a natural gardener. They don’t have the skills, tools and resources to dig down and identify the major deficiencies that may be taking root. That means they either need to get the training and access to proven tools and resources or partner with other professionals like a certified professional retirement coach (CPRC) who has the training.
In both cases, we have to go into this with the idea that helping clients make better transitions won’t happen overnight. Clients need time to understand and digest all of this in order to grow. Furthermore, don’t be surprised if some clients claim they don’t need to do this extra work—that things will be just fine in retirement without addressing these non-financial aspects.
For too long, people have been trained that retirement is primarily a financial event and that the other more personal pieces will fall into place over time. But it doesn’t take them long to realize that there is much more to it. Therefore, advisors should be prepared for when clients come back wilted and thirsty for some help.
The parallels between fertilizer and retirement go beyond soil. While there is naturally occurring and organic fertilizer, there are some synthetic or manufactured fertilizers that some argue are harmful to the environment, humans and animals. There are also dangers such as overfertilization, which can cause nutrients to spill into waterways and cause soil erosion, reduce oxygen levels for aquatic animals, and contaminate drinking water for humans. This happens despite government regulation, fines and other measures.
Likewise, some of the things manufactured in the financial services industry can be harmful and contaminate client relationships. While I think different industry professionals could argue about what those harmful factors or approaches may be, the reality is, as long as the focus of our industry remains solely on making and managing money, the longer people will question the value of financial advice and the impact it has.
So we need to begin to look outside of what we are currently doing and be more organic in our approach to both developing new crops of clients as well as managing existing fields of them. Now is the time to consolidate around a fiduciary or best interest approach, develop a more personal and wellness-oriented design to life after work, and then address the things that this work produces, i.e., the financial aspects.
If we do this the right way, we can help more than just our clients flourish. We can help our industry and professionals bloom in more impactful ways as well.
Robert Laura is a best-selling author, nationally syndicated columnist, and president of Wealth & Wellness Group. He is a seasoned conference speaker, corporate trainer and pioneer in “The New Era Of Retirement,” which focuses on the non-financial aspects of life after work. He can be reached at [email protected]