I think the biggest wake-up call I can give advisors is there is a difference between what some clients want to talk about and what they want to know. Clients want to talk about their kids, grandkids, dog or cat, latest health aliment, or new favorite restaurant, show, or hobby. Furthermore, they want to engage with you on not only what is going on in their life, but also yours. This is one way that clients can feel more connected to you.
At a recent breakfast meeting, a husband and wife talked about their dog and new backyard landscape for over 25 minutes. I didn’t rush them. In fact, I drew it out. I asked how their dog got along with other dogs in the neighborhood which led to a discussion about the obnoxious dog next store and nosey neighbors. Additionally, they shared that they designed part of the landscape with a sand box for “Mr. Bojangles” to dig but often keep it covered at night, so neighborhood cats don’t use it as a litter box. I countered by sharing a couple stories about our rescue dog and how I gave him the nickname Pinocchio because he things he’s a real boy.
Later as I began to go over their portfolio they stopped me after I covered just two of their four accounts by saying, “We trust you and think you’re doing a great job.” Primarily because they had other things they wanted to talk about like their RV and planned trip to Florida.
Now don’t get me wrong, I realize some clients may want to spend more time on the financials, but don’t confuse what they want to know and what they want to talk about because even engineers have hobbies and interests outside of spreadsheets.
This simple idea of being able to differentiate between what clients want to talk about and what to know goes a couple steps further. First, it means you have to break some old and outdated molds. Client meetings can no longer be limited to 45 minutes or an hour. They need to be scheduled for 1.5 hours with 20-30-minute buffers before the next meeting.
That may sound and feel outright insane for some advisors, especially those with large client counts. But here’s the thing. Clients, especially those more in tuned with the non-financial side know when you are rushing them or just want to hurry up and get through the numbers.
For people to feel relaxed and like you are listening to them and taking an interest in them takes time. In other words, advisors have to invest in their client’s non-financial life and the easiest way to do this and get the greatest return is to be curious about them. We have all heard the famous sales line to ABC or Always Be Closing, but in the new era of retirement, it’s Always Be Curious because both the hard side and soft side need equal time and effort in client meetings.
Overall, advisors can no longer operate under the old and outdated idea that the hard side, dollars and cents is the dominant side of the retirement planning process. Going forward, they need to operate under a new mandate that not only focuses on planning for both the personal and financial side of life after work, but also invest more time and energy in what clients want to talk about rather than just know.
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 founder of The Certified Professional Retirement Coach Designation which focuses on the non-financial aspects of life after work. He can be reached at [email protected].