Research shows asking great questions builds trust, establishes likability, and uncovers valuable information.
Which is why asking great questions forms the foundation of a successful first meeting that converts a prospect into a lifelong client.
This episode is meant to be a guide for advisors to hone their question-asking abilities, so they can enhance client outcomes and forever change the trajectory of their business.
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Ask any financial advisor if behavioral finance plays an important role in delivering ideal outcomes to clients, and you’ll get a resounding “Yes.”
Ask those same advisors if they know exactly what to say and do to seamlessly apply behavioral finance, and you’ll get a resounding “No!”
Knowing someone is suffering from loss-aversion helps explain why he or she behaved a certain way. But the effective application of behavioral finance tells you what to do about it. That’s where change occurs.
Jay Mooreland, founder of the Behavioral Finance Network, has been helping advisors apply behavioral finance in their practice for the better part of a decade (even before “behavioral finance” was cool!).
We discuss:
How to use a “Behavioral Plan Policy Statement” to facilitate ideal behavior
What effective behavioral coaching looks like and what most advisors get wrong
The often-overlooked benefit of differentiating your business when applying behavioral finance
The importance of coaching on one principle in every meeting
How proactive communication instills good behavior and ways to use it with clients
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Resources:
Joining The Behavioral Finance Network, Jay is offering a $75/month discount on his memberships for our listeners. Go to themembership page, and apply the coupon code “HSOM” at checkout.
For most financial advisors, the idea of work/life balance is nothing more than an illusion. Especially for those who started, survived, and thrived in the profession based on a mindset that success was simply a numbers game.
Survival and success relied upon activity. There was a direct correlation between the amount of work you put in and the reward you received.
Travis Parry used to live this life. But, now, he’s using his research-backed method to show advisors how to, not only, achieve work/life balance, but thrive both at work and at home.
We discuss:
Regaining more time by conquering the three myths of time management
Why “balance” is misleading and a better way to think of it
Prioritizing your time according to your goals and values using a Business Ideal Calendar
The surprising results from his research on a crucial element to goal achievement and behavior change
How work/life balance better equips you for the human side of advice
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Financial planning without any regard for the person’s dreams, values, and life they want to live is nothing more than numbers on paper.
A person’s dreams, values, and life they want to live without any regard for money is nothing more than a fantasy.
Life planning is simply connecting the client’s dreams and values with the strategies of financial planning that create the life of freedom that person has always envisioned.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
The two pieces of advice that George gives to anyone that wants to become a great listener
“The Pause” – the one skill he said every advisor should know and learn
The two things they train advisors to listen for to enhance the conversation
A deep dive into the famous three questions and the best practices for applying them
“Lighting The Torch” – the key step in the life planning process that ignites behavior change
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There is zero correlation between the size of your bank account and the overall contentment and happiness of your life.
If you’ve worked with people and their finances long enough, you’ve seen it time and time again. But, once you can align money with meaning, you have the foundation of a happy, meaningful life.
Financial advisors excel at financial strategies but often fall short at helping clients illuminate the ingredients of a meaningful life. Brian Portnoy has spent decades writing, speaking and teaching on how to map money to meaning on the path to funded contentment.
We discuss:
A real, tangible definition of financial wellness or well-being
Using the “Four C’s” of contentment and the “7 Dimensions of Money Life” to map money to meaning
The conversations to have with clients to uncover their meaning
The behavioral and psychological challenges inherent with goals-based planning and why most advisors aren’t equipped for it
The dimensions of behavioral coaching beyond keeping your client invested in the market
And more!
To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here
The greatest barrier for every client isn’t lack of information. It’s their own mindset and behavior.
Whether it’s someone who overspends, someone who under-spends, someone who wants to sell out at the worst possible time, or even the person who never sends in the data you need, the key to changing their behavior starts with understanding their money mindset.
Sarah Newcomb, Director of Behavioral Science at Morningstar, joined the show to discuss how to better understand a client’s money mindset.
We discuss:
The framework she and her team developed to assess a client’s money mindset
The important distinction between financial and emotional well-being
The #1 predictor of savings behavior and how to help clients with it
Using a “What-If Journey” to help clients overcome their fears
How role models can play a powerful role in changing behavior and overall well-being
To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here
Adrian Murphy is the CEO of Murphy Wealth, a multi-award winning financial planning firm in the UK. Most recently, his firm made waves throughout the industry with the announcement that they were hiring a Chief Behavioral Officer as a part of their transition to a “human-first” strategy.
We discuss:
The decision to transition to a “human-first” strategy and what the vision looks like for the firm and for clients
The importance of getting clients from a “thinking” place to a “feeling” place and how to do it
The reason he intentionally avoids starting a question with the word “Why”
The listening workshops his firm goes through to hone their listening skills
How he came to the decision to hire a chief behavioral officer
What he envisions for the role of a Chief Behavioral Officer and the ways he expects it to benefit client outcomes and the growth of the firm
And more!
To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here
When it comes to changing someone’s behavior, much of the focus goes to persuasion and nudging techniques.
In reality, for financial advisors, the primary weapon of influence you have over someone’s behavior is your ability to communicate and connect at the highest level.
Dr. Joy Lere is a licensed clinical psychologist and behavioral finance consultant who has spent her entire career learning to communicate and connect with her clients to give them clarity, build trust, and ultimately change their behavior for the better.
We discuss:
Ways to create “space” for someone to open up and share more than they do with most people
Reading body language and posture and effective ways to address it
What Joy would tell herself 10 years ago about how to get better at reading people
A powerful questioning technique to get someone to make changes
The two points in your life that have the biggest impact on your beliefs and behaviors around money
And more!
To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here
Dr. Moira Somers, financial psychologist and author of the best-selling book Advice That Sticks: How to Give Financial Advice People Will Follow, consults with advisors and firms around the world to deliver “stickier” advice that leads to more follow-through and implementation.
We discuss:
A specific process to use at the end of every meeting to drastically improve follow-through
The biggest mistake advisors make when trying to get clients to follow-through (also the most common)
A specific process for the beginning of every meeting to make your advice stickier
The #1 piece of advice Moira gives any advisor looking to improve their meetings, relationships, and follow-through
What studies show is the primary determinant of client satisfaction in a meeting
And more!
To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here
Dr. Moira Somers specializes in the growing new field of financial psychology. She trains and consults with financial services professionals, helping them and their clients deal with the challenges of wealth.
Dr. Somers’ executive coaching practice emphasizes behavior change for leaders and their team members. As a neuropsychologist and unapologetic brain science nerd, Dr. Somers enjoys coaching other people who love to learn, are quick to implement, and are prepared to pivot in response to data about their performance. Her work is rooted in evidence-based findings from the fields of neuroscience, behavioral economics, management science, and positive psychology.
Her work as a keynote speaker, educator, and consultant takes her around the globe. She speaks and trains about such topics as the reasons why clients may fail to follow good advice, the psychological factors at play during major life transitions, and the hazards of mental depletion.
The perfect plan is rendered useless in the absence of execution.
Flawless technical advice minus implementation is worthless.
While you would think that providing someone a step-by-step plan to accomplish their goals while minimizing their fears would be all that’s needed to spur someone into action, anyone who works with people and their money knows that simply isn’t the case.
But, take a minute to imagine what your day would look like if every client immediately followed through and implemented your advice without having to follow up with a phone call or email.
While that might be a bit of a stretch, the quickest and most effective way to boost follow-through is by improving the “stickiness” of your advice.
Dr. Moira Somers, author of the best-selling book Advice That Sticks: How to Give Financial Advice People Will Follow, discusses:
The parallels between medical and financial advice and what medical research can teach us about the challenges and improving “adherence.”
How much responsibility falls on the advice-giver when advice isn’t implemented (Hint: It’s way more than you think!)
How improving follow-through and implementation benefits both your clients, your business, AND your well-being
A proven method to help get through the friction of the data-gathering process
The most important role an advisor plays in improving future behavior
To sign up for Brendan’s monthly newsletter focused on the human side of advice → Click Here
Dr. Moira Somers specializes in the growing new field of financial psychology. She trains and consults with financial services professionals, helping them and their clients deal with the challenges of wealth.
Dr. Somers’ executive coaching practice emphasizes behavior change for leaders and their team members. As a neuropsychologist and unapologetic brain science nerd, Dr. Somers enjoys coaching other people who love to learn, are quick to implement, and are prepared to pivot in response to data about their performance. Her work is rooted in evidence-based findings from the fields of neuroscience, behavioral economics, management science, and positive psychology.
Her work as a keynote speaker, educator, and consultant takes her around the globe. She speaks and trains about such topics as the reasons why clients may fail to follow good advice, the psychological factors at play during major life transitions, and the hazards of mental depletion.