Category: Financial Advisors

102: Delivering Advice That’s Easy To Implement By Making It Reasonable Not Rational

102: Delivering Advice That’s Easy To Implement By Making It Reasonable Not Rational

Lack of follow-through and implementation of advice is a widespread problem.

One study revealed this gut-wrenching stat: 70% of clients implement less than 20% of financial planning recommendations.

There are a number of reasons to explain this. A primary reason is that advisors deliver advice that looks good on a spreadsheet, but it doesn’t fit into real life. 

If you can design your advice for the person rather than optimizing for a spreadsheet, you’ll watch your implementation problems disappear. After all, the best advice is the advice that actually gets implemented.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • A client story demonstrating doable over optimal advice
  • One of the primary barriers that prevent clients from implementing
  • How to optimize advice for spreadsheets but design it for real-life
  • Three questions to ask that will drastically improve follow-through

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: 

101: Building A Human-First Approach Into The Fabric Of An Entire Firm with Shaun Erickson

101: Building A Human-First Approach Into The Fabric Of An Entire Firm with Shaun Erickson

In 2012, Shaun Erickson founded Single Point Partners because he wanted to do something different.

As a solo advisor at the time, his primary focus was on building a process with one main focus: Building it around the client’s agenda (a.k.a. – the things that matter most to the client).

Fast forward to 2023, and his focus has shifted.

Now, he’s focused on building a human-first approach into the fabric of an entire firm. Whether you’re a solo advisor trying to embrace a human-first approach or a firm owner wondering how to build an entire firm with a human-first approach, you’re in the right place. 

Shaun Erickson takes us inside Single Point Partners to share exactly how to build a human-first approach into the fabric of your entire firm.

We discuss:

  • A question to put a prospect’s mind at ease
  • Why you should follow up with clients 3 times
  • How they train advisors to learn the human side
  • The “Pebbles vs Boulders” approach to improve follow-through
  • A story where asking one question forever changed the relationship

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: 

100: A Collection of Advisor Stories Telling The Power of The Human Side

100: A Collection of Advisor Stories Telling The Power of The Human Side

Mastering the human side of advice will:

  • Enrich your clients’ lives
  • Enhance your relationships with clients
  • Forever change the trajectory of your business/career

Think it sounds too good to be true?

Listen to these 7 stories from advisors around the world sharing how the human side has made their clients and their practice infinitely better off.

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: 

99: Understanding How Your Client’s Past And Future Impacts Financial Decisions Today

99: Understanding How Your Client’s Past And Future Impacts Financial Decisions Today

Your client isn’t just the person sitting in front of you today.

It’s who they’ll become 30 years from now. And, it’s who they were 30 years ago.

They might be making a decision in the present. But, their decisions in the present are shaped by the experiences of their past and influenced by their vision of the future.

When you work with human beings and money, it’s crucial that you fully understand the powerful forces that the past and future play on your client in the present.

We discuss:

  • How our past experiences with money carry forward into the present
  • The two ways in which our current self makes decisions to the detriment of our future self
  • Two client stories on the power of the past and the future
  • How to help clients understand their past to drive better outcomes
  • Two ways to improve the client’s connection to their future self

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: 

98: Creating A Unique Money Vision To Build A Client’s Ideal Life with Jake Northrup

98: Creating A Unique Money Vision To Build A Client’s Ideal Life with Jake Northrup

It’s one thing for advisors to say they want to get better at the human side.

It’s another thing to actually start making changes to your processes and conversations. And, it’s another thing entirely to have your entire meeting process and deliverables focused on the human side.

Yet, that’s exactly what Jake Northrup has done.

At his firm, Experience Your Wealth, Jake has made a point to optimize the human element in every single meeting. From the questions they ask to the deliverables they provide, he’s thought of it all.

In this episode, Jake gives us an inside look into each meeting to reveal how he infuses the human side to help clients live their ideal lives.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • Using “micro-steps” to improve client behavior
  • The process they use to help clients create their “Unique Money Vision”
  • The psychological power of “spending experiments” to help clients live their best life
  • The action item dashboard they use to improve the gap between knowing and doing
  • The “Life Planning Timeline” he creates to visualize and prioritize what’s most 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: 

97: A Blueprint For Conducting “Re-Discovery” Meetings With Long-Time Clients with Meghaan Lurtz

97: A Blueprint For Conducting “Re-Discovery” Meetings With Long-Time Clients with Meghaan Lurtz

Let’s face it…most advisors’ meetings with long-term clients are lackluster.

You ask about life, the kids, any changes in their life, etc. Then, you tell them that everything looks good. They’re still on track. They leave and you do it all over again next year.

And, that’s not bad. But, there’s a better way. There’s a meeting that will strengthen your trust and connection, guide your clients to live their best lives, naturally display and reinforce your value

It’s called the “Re-Discovery” Meeting and Meghaan Lurtz shares the blueprint on how advisors can start conducting these meetings right away.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • How to avoid long-time clients getting the “7-year itch”
  • Questions to ask clients to help them live their best lives
  • The relationship-building power of co-creating visions and goals
  • A question to ask at the end of every meeting to improve the client experience
  • Why asking a prospect to “think it over” may actually be detrimental to the relationship

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: 

96: Why Advisors Shouldn’t Give Advice (And What To Do Instead)

96: Why Advisors Shouldn’t Give Advice (And What To Do Instead)

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: 

95: Navigating The Dynamics Of Working With Couples And Money with Ashley Quamme

95: Navigating The Dynamics Of Working With Couples And Money with Ashley Quamme

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: 

94: Why Clients Actually Hire & Fire Their Financial Advisors with Samantha Lamas and Danielle Labotka

94: Why Clients Actually Hire & Fire Their Financial Advisors with Samantha Lamas and Danielle Labotka

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: 

93: The Psychology of Retirement Spending and Prioritizing Peace of Mind with Christine Benz

93: The Psychology of Retirement Spending and Prioritizing Peace of Mind with Christine Benz

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: