The relationship dynamic between advisors and clients is shifting.

It’s shifting away from treating the plan and towards treating the person. The old model was the financial advisor as the “advice giver.” Treating the problem by dispensing advice. 

The new model has the advisor playing the role of “thinking partner.” It goes like this: Diagnose the situation, discuss the options, and decide together on the best solution.

The client is the hero of their story.

And the advisor is a thinking partner, a guide, a facilitator, a collaborator, and a problem-solver.

We discuss:

• What the field of medicine can teach us about this relationship dynamic
• Two client stories showing the importance of being a thinking partner
• Three specific ways to be a thinking partner with your clients

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

Every advisor remembers sitting in a meeting with a couple where one person is engaged and the other hasn’t said a word.

Or the meeting with the couple whose goals aren’t aligned.

While working with couples certainly has its challenges, it’s also an opportunity for advisors to help couples align and thrive financially. But, doing so requires knowing the skills you need to navigate the dynamics of working with couples and money.

Fortunately, Ashley Quamme specializes in this area and is going to crack the code to get both partners engaged and on the same page so they can thrive together financially.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Her favorite question to help couples get “unstuck”
• How to use “Relationship Maps” when working with couples
• How to set the expectations for both partners to talk and engage
• The 3 factors that contribute to couples not on the same page with their goals
• Questions to ask couples to assess their financial relationship (without being intrusive)

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

If you want to convert more prospects into life-long clients…

You need to know the answer to two questions: Why do people hire a financial advisor? Why do people fire their financial advisor?

They just might be the two most important questions for any advisory business.

Fortunately, Samantha Lamas and Danielle Labotka did the research to get the answer to those two questions. And, what they learned will forever transform the way advisors approach client acquisition and client retention.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• How to create digital content that makes an emotional connection
• The connection between listening skills and higher client retention
• The most commonly cited reasons for both hiring and firing an advisor
• The most commonly listed emotional reasons driving hiring and firing decisions
• The “Value Prop Makeover”: 3 steps to effectively communicate your emotional value

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

Christine Benz has been dispensing financial planning knowledge and impacting the lives of people around the world for decades.

She’s written hundreds of articles for Morningstar on practical financial planning advice. In fact, she’s one of the best out there. But there are 3 articles that stick out from the rest.

They deviated from her usual style laying out step-by-step technical knowledge and ventured into the field of psychology and emotions.

So, we talked with Christine about those three articles.

She explains the psychology of retirement spending, why peace of mind is the ultimate luxury good, and the biggest money mistake she’s ever made.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why peace of mind is her ultimate luxury good
• The importance of celebrating financial milestones
• The psychological advantage of prioritizing short-term goals
• Using a “Retirement Policy Statement” to get retirees to spend money
• The biggest money mistake she’s ever made (and the emotional reason for it)

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

There’s a dilemma that every financial advisor eventually comes face-to-face with.

It’s when you realize that you have too little time and need to be more efficient. At the same time, you also know that the real differentiator for your business is human-to-human connection.

And you start wondering, “Can I still be efficient without sacrificing the human connection?” or “Is it possible to maximize efficiency and the human connection at the same time?”

Fortunately, Libby Greiwe figured out how to be more efficient and more human at the same time. And, in this episode, she reveals the exact systems she built to scale the human-to-human connection throughout her advisory business.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Using an “Ideal Client Avatar” to humanize communication
• The crucial psychological shift she made from “guru” to “sherpa”
• The system she used to make every person feel like her #1 client
• The power and importance of asking “How do I want my clients to feel?”
• An example of an advisor re-writing an email to create more connection

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

There’s an email you can send that actually:

1) Improves conversion ratios

2) Improves connection and receives responses like “You get me.”

In other words, it wins clients AND their trust. Thus, it’s the most important email you’ll ever send.

We discuss:

• The psychology behind why these emails are so powerful
• The key things to include when sending a recap email
• Why advisors claim these emails are essential to converting prospects

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

After 18+ years in the industry, Justin Castelli decided to shift his business model away from traditional financial planning.

Here’s his quote to explain why:

“My clients were planning for the life they were told to live. Not the life they wanted to live.”

Too often, our client’s life and money decisions are influenced by what society tells them, what their family did, the pursuit of achievement, and so on… 

But what if you could guide clients toward crafting a life they actually want to live? 

That’s exactly why Justin Castelli decided to evolve his business model. The traditional financial planning model didn’t suffice. He shares with us the personal journey that led to this decision and how he plans to do it with new and existing clients.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Questions that uncover passion and purpose
• How this approach forever changed a client’s life
• Why most people don’t live the life they want to live
• Two exercises he suggests for clients to uncover their authentic life
• How he harnesses regret to help clients get clarity on what’s important

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

“Behavioral Coaching” continues to emerge as the primary source of value in a relationship between an advisor and client.

Yet, most advisors have never learned the skill set required to actually influence and change a client’s behavior for the better. It starts by first understanding the forces that influence client behavior both positively and negatively. To learn what works and what doesn’t.

Fortunately, Dr. Michael G. Thomas has done extensive research on two forces that often go overlooked: Financial empathy and data visualization. He’ll explain just how much power these two forces carry and how he uses them to influence client behavior for the better.

We discuss:

• The “Zoom Out/Zoom In” approach he uses to identify emotional barriers
• Why confidence and clarity are crucial for changing client behavior
• The big mistake advisors make that demotivates clients
• What Robinhood teaches us about the power of data visualization
• His approach to budgets that avoids anxiety and overwhelm

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

There’s one communication technique in the skill set of FBI hostage negotiators that stands above the rest.

One they describe as being the closest you’ll get to a jedi mind trick.

It’s called “mirroring”. 

Here’s what it does in conversation: Facilitates bonding and trust, creates connection and empathy, buys you time to regroup your thoughts, and gets someone to open up (and keeps them talking). So, how can you use this in conversations with prospects and clients?

We discuss:

• The biological and psychological reasons that mirroring is so powerful
• Why servers who mirrored customer’s orders got higher tips
• Two ways to start mirroring words with prospects and clients

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

The financial advice industry does an outstanding job of training and developing technical knowledge.

The industry is full of advisors and planners who can sit down at a computer and calculate the time value of money with the best of them. But, financial planning done right isn’t just about technical answers. It’s about how those answers intersect with the person’s life.

In this episode, Hannah gives us a look at how she incorporates the human element into her planning process so that the technical knowledge aligns with the client’s life.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• How (and why) she changed her approach to the prospect process
• How to respond when a client says “Tell me what to do!”
• The power of the values exercises she takes clients through
• The “Budgeting Blocks” exercise to align values and spending
• Why she believes the industry is training the human out of the professional

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

Resources:

• The featured partner for this episode is Knudge, an automated system to help clients actually follow through on their tasks and reach their financial goals

Connect with Brendan Frazier: 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More