When was the last time you thought about:

• What your office or Zoom background is “signaling” to prospective clients?
• What minor detail or design on your website could drastically improve conversions?
• How to package your services in a way that feels less overwhelming and provides clarity around exactly what the client receives?
• What things could be causing your clients to perceive your services as expensive rather than a bargain?

Rory Sutherland, author of Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Business, Brands, and Life, consults with companies around the world to help them enhance their branding and marketing by better understanding the invisible influences that shape our behavior.

We discuss:

• Why you can’t always trust what people say they want
• The real reason why people go see doctors (and financial advisors)
• The psychological challenges involved when saving for retirement (and what to do about it)
• How to use context to influence decision-making and behavior
• The power of “signaling” – the most underrated component in building trust
• And way more!

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Resources:

• “Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Business, Brands, and Life” by Rory Sutherland

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X:@jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

Imagine guiding your clients through a process of discovering what a meaningful, fulfilled life would look like and then providing them with the financial strategies to fuel that vision.

You help your clients clarify and fund their best life. That is life planning.

But, what does life planning actually look like in practice? When do I have these heartfelt conversations? What do these conversations sound like? 

Fortunately, Scott Frank is the founder of Stone Steps Financial, has been through the Life Planning trainings, and coaches advisors around the world on the Life Planning process.

We discuss:

• Specific techniques to get clients to open up and tell you the things that are most important to them (and the techniques to avoid!)
• The #1 goal he has for every prospect meeting that creates connection, buy-in, and follow-through
• How to create a lens through which to make financial decisions based on life rather than returns
• A real example of how this process improved a client’s life in a way that simply providing technical knowledge never could

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X:@jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

Imagine going into a meeting with a complete picture of your client’s money mindset.

You know exactly how they like to communicate about money, that they have a tendency to “keep up with the Joneses”, and that they are likely to panic when the market plummets.

Armed with that information, you would know exactly which behaviors to focus on changing to improve their financial outcomes. But, that kind of information is not readily apparent and difficult to uncover.

Which is why behavioral assessments are on the rise around the industry. They have the ability to deliver that information faster and more reliably. Sarah Fallaw founded DataPoints to equip advisors with these assessments and show them how to use them in their practice.

We discuss:

• The four tools that Sarah recommends advisors use to help assess their client’s money mindset
• How do these tools help to first bring awareness to behavioral issues and why that’s so important to changing behavior
• How to communicate to client the benefits of better understanding their own beliefs and behaviors
• The problem with most risk tolerance questionnaires
• And way more!

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X:@jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

After five years of frustratingly inconsistent prospecting meetings, Dan Solin decided there had to be a better way.

So, he spent a year researching and learning everything he could about the neuroscience and psychology of what it took to seamlessly convert a prospect into a client.

From that, he built an evidence-based process that flipped everything he knew on its head. And, in his first year prospecting with this new approach, he brought in $100 million under management (no, that’s not a typo).

In this episode, Dan explains what he learned from his research and what he changed to see such massive growth.

We discuss:

• The science behind why it’s so powerful to get someone to talk about themselves
• The power of questions to build trust and credibility in a way nothing else can compete with
• The reasons why you shouldn’t take notes during meetings
• How to answer “What do you do?” and why most advisors get it way wrong
• The question to ask at the end of every prospect meeting instead of closing
• And way more game-changing insights!

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X:@jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

Most financial advisors conduct some version of goals-based planning.

If you’re helping a client use their money to accomplish a goal, then you’re doing goals-based planning.

But goals are formed and shaped by values. Yet, “goals-based planning” is an industry buzzword, and “values-based planning” is more like a foreign language.

Natalie Taylor CFP®, BFA™ has built her practice around “Values-Based Financial Advice That Works In Real Life” and joined the show to explain why her values-based approach is more effective than a goals-based approach and how she implements it throughout her work with clients.

We discuss:

• Why she prefers advice that gets 90% of the results rather than 100% optimal advice
• Why defining goals with clients comes after assessing values, net worth, and cash flow
• The “Values Exercise” she developed to help clients define their values
• The “Big Win” Natalie gets for most of her clients that helps create momentum during implementation
• The skills humans possess that computers will never replicate

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X:@jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

There are at least three things every financial advisor wants in their relationships with clients:

1) Great conversations and connection

2) Use their money to live a fulfilled life doing the things they love

3) Seamless buy-in and follow-through on the advice given to avoid spending time following up

Amy Mullen is the President of Money Quotient, a company that arms advisors with tools, resources, and a process to consistently deliver on all three of these things.

In Part II of our conversation, we move from the “Why” to the “How” as Amy offers up specific examples from advisors she’s worked with over the years:

• The 5 Steps of the True Wealth™ Process
• The case for having two separate discovery meetings
• Why memorable conversation and lasting connecting actually starts with the mindset of the advisor
• A structured process to help clients create a robust vision of their ideal life
• How to plan and prepare for barriers to implementation

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X:@jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

There are at least three things every financial advisor wants in their relationships with clients:

1) Great conversations and connection

2) Use their money to live a fulfilled life doing the things they love

3) Seamless buy-in and follow-through on the advice given to avoid spending time following up

Amy Mullen is the President of Money Quotient, a company that arms advisors with tools, resources, and a process to consistently deliver on all three of these things: great co

In Part I of our conversation, we discuss:

• The #1 factor in determining action towards retirement goals
• Why starting with the past is the most effective way for advisors to help client’s uncover meaningful goals
• How a client’s inability to follow-through is likely a roadblock stemming from their past
• The importantly subtle shift from “advice-givers” to “thinking partners”
• Why “advice kills conversations”

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X: @jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

Financial success relies just as much on knowing yourself as it does knowing what to do with money.

After spending the majority of her career teaching people what to do with their money, Rachel Cruze realized that knowing what to do wasn’t enough.

That the gap between knowing and doing is forged by how we think, feel, and behave with money (our mindset and motivations). And it’s these mindsets and motivations that drive most of our financial decision-making.

The key to behavior change and financial success is helping clients understand why they handle money the way they do and what to do about it.

In this episode, Rachel discusses:

• The percentage of personal finance that is behavioral vs tactical
• The Four Money Classrooms that reveal how your childhood impacts your decision-making today
• Why dreaming is the key to boosting savings
• The “Why Statement” that she says everybody should use to start their money conversations
• Three insights on how to create lasting behavioral change

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X: @jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

The value of behavioral coaching continues to show up as the top “value-added” service provided by financial advisors.

And, while it’s no surprise to advisors that have been working with emotional human beings on an emotionally-charged topic like money, studies also show that over 80% of advisors DON’T actively promote this value to clients or prospective clients.

We discuss:

• Understand what clients think about behavioral coaching
• Think about whether they should be actively promoting the value
• Reveal the ways to communicate it most effectively

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X:@jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

If you’re a financial advisor or advisory firm who wants to pursue growth through digital marketing, but you’ve always been unimpressed with the results, you’ve probably skipped the most important part:

The human side of digital marketing.

Knowing the behavioral and psychological principles to build trust and connection online while intentionally designing for the desired behavior forms the foundation of any successful digital marketing strategy. (Especially in an industry where obtaining a client means getting them to trust you with their life savings!)

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• The #1 goal for social media that most advisors get wrong
• Specific ways to design your website for instant trust and rapport
• The “5 Second Test” to determine the effectiveness of your website’s messaging
• Ideas for showing prospective clients what to do rather than telling them
• How to market your advisory firm in a world where planning and investments are commoditized

To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

• RFG Advisory
• LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier
• X:@jbrendanfrazier

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More