Regardless of a client’s financial position, you can always provide hope.
Sometimes clients will begin working with you, and they’re bringing in a financial history that they’re not too proud of.We had a couple come in, and the husband had retired a while back, the wife was on a very small wage, [and they were] living in a very expensive area. It was evident that within six or seven years, they were going to need to sell up and move to a cheaper area within the U.S.We’ve also had clients come in where one partner will be involved in choosing all the investment choices, and they feel insecure about some of the decisions they’ve made, believing that they haven’t been the wisest choices. Regardless of that, there’s always a way to provide hope. There’s always a way to encourage. So,
Compliment them:compliment them on coming in and now finding out exactly what ground zero looks like. Encourage them:“Now that we know what ground zero looks like, we can now begin planning accordingly.” For instance, with that couple and the debt situation and one income coming in, we let them know, “Hey, it’s great that you’ve brought this situation to us now instead of in six years time, when you’d only have one year to make that massive decision of selling up and relocating.” Be honest with them:let them know this is the situation. However, then provide them hope and encouragement, letting them know that now they can take action, and with the time they have left, really provide themselves with the best financial opportunity and outcome possible.I look forward to bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor Idea next week.
