Advisor or interrogator?
Who would you want to work with?
Good morning!
Would you rather discuss your money with a financial advisor or a financial interrogator?
Hold that thought…
Many people I talk to are a lot like you.
You know you should spend less than you earn.
You know you should save for things like retirement while setting some money aside for life’s unexpected surprises.
You know you shouldn’t carry a balance on a credit card.
There’s more, of course…
You might be surprised how much you already know about smart financial decision making.
But for many of you, there’s still a feeling of uncertainty around your money.
So you ask yourself questions:
Am I doing enough?
Do I need an advisor? Or is my current advisor the right one for me?
What am I missing?
This is just some of the money questions that might be bouncing around in your head...
Despite your uncertainties, you work up the nerve to finally seek out a financial advisor.
This may be your first experience with an advisor, or perhaps you have an advisor but are questioning whether your interests are truly being served.
So you ask your friends. Your family.
You ask your accountant or attorney.
You ask around your professional network.
And it seems like everyone knows at least one advisor that you should talk to.
So you’ve persevered and narrowed your list down to a few names and have scheduled meetings with each.
You visit the advisor’s website.
You check the advisor’s online reviews or their Linkedin profile.
Maybe they have a YouTube channel.
And then something strange happens after you contact an advisor…
It starts with a nice, pleasant conversation.
But then… they send you a long, detailed questionnaire.
Maybe it’s a PDF or maybe it’s an online form.
They want to know some basics like your birthday and income, but as you read further, it begins to feel a bit burdensome.
Maybe even a bit invasive.
Here’s an advisor you’ve only spoken with for a few minutes, and they’re asking you to divulge all your financial details.
All the good, the bad, and the ugly.
They want details on your taxes. They may even ask for copies of the last two years of tax returns.
They want to know your budget. How much do you spend on groceries, gasoline, utilities, housing, entertainment, healthcare, and everything else?
Maybe one of the reasons you were going to see an advisor in the first place was to get help with creating and maintaining a budget!?!
But wait, they’re not done yet… there are more questions:
What are your goals?
When do you want to retire?
How much will retirement cost?
How much do you want to leave to your kids?
And you’re only on page 3 of a 12-page questionnaire.
For some of you, this may seem perfectly normal and you’re happy to provide this information to a virtual stranger.
But for some of you, many of you…
Your heart is pounding. Your blood pressure is up. You feel a little anxious.
And it’s no wonder.
You’re planning to meet with this financial advisor and possibly hire her to work with you for many years into the future.
You could potentially be paying this advisor a lot of money over the course of your relationship, yet she’s asking you to do all this work and preparation before you’ve even had more than a brief “meet & greet” conversation?
I don’t know about you, but that seems a little backward to me.
And burdensome to you.
Thankfully, there’s a better way.
It’s not perfect. And I’m not perfect. Far from it.
But rather than putting the burden on you, I tell potential clients they don’t have to bring anything to our initial “discovery” meeting.
Of course, they’re welcome to bring anything they like.
But they don’t have to.
They just need to show up ready to have a conversation.
Sure, I need to ask questions. A lot of questions.
I need to gather information.
I need to get to know you before I can help or provide anything more than generic advice.
I’ve done a lot of research about communication, body language, active listening, and more. And while I work to continually improve my client interactions, I’m really proud of my approach to client discovery.
It’s not an interrogation. It’s an exploratory conversation.
You shouldn’t have to face a financial interrogator!
For instance, you’ll often hear me say things like:
Tell me more
How did that make you feel?
Is that all?
What did you learn?
Discovery is the first step in my Wealthcare for Women process, but as I hope you can begin to tell from my comments above, there is very deliberately plenty of time and space for conversation.
Time to go off on tangents.
Time for reflection.
Time for silence.
If I ask you a question and you need to think about it, I’m perfectly willing and able to wait until you’re ready to share.
I’ve learned that I don’t have to fill the silence with the sound of my own voice.
In today’s essay, I’m doing a lot of talking about me and how or why I do things the way I do.
I hope you’ll begin to glimpse that the reason I do things this way is to make for a more comfortable and productive environment for you to share and explore the role of money in your life and what’s truly important to you.
One of the first questions I always ask in a discovery session is, “What’s important about money to you?”
And I’m asking because I want to know.
I’m curious.
Rather than subject you to a financial interrogation where you’re likely already a little on edge…
Rather than invite the possibility of you feeling like you’re being judged for your financial decisions in the past and present…
Rather than giving you a long list of homework to do before I’m willing to meet with you…
I do my best to make financial planning as comfortable and inviting to you as I can.
If you ever feel like you’re working with a financial interrogator instead of a financial advisor, I’m happy to tell you there is a better way.
Schedule a call with me at your convenience if you’d like to learn more.
Let’s have a conversation.
Hit reply or leave a comment and let me know what you think…
Links & Things
You’re the worst!
Boss, that is.
For more, read this recent Seth Godin article:
Even if you’re already retired, I think there are some takeaways from this article.
In fact, I think there are some financial planning lessons too!
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Hit reply or leave a comment and share your thoughts…
Until next Wednesday,
Russ