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

 

*For resources and similar episodes, visit: www.wiredplanning.com/episode30

*For more insights and resources on mastering the human side of money, check out www.wiredplanning.com

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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.

In this episode, Brendan helps financial advisors understand what clients think about behavioral coaching, think about whether they should be actively promoting the value, and reveals the ways to communicate it most effectively.

For more insights and ideas on how to embed behavioral finance in your practice, visit: www.wiredplanning.com

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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!)

Fortunately, the industry’s foremost authority on digital marketing, Samantha Russell, joined us to discuss:

• 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

For more information and resources, visit: www.wiredplanning.com/episode28.

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Every financial advisors knows how crucial it is to effectively build trust and connection with prospects and clients.

Study after study and story after story will tell you that’s what clients look for when choosing an advisor and it’s why they stay with their advisors.

But, is it even possible to build the same level of trust and connection virtually?

Is it reasonable to expect the same level of comprehension and follow-through from the client (or prospective client)?

Dr. Sarah Asebedo and her colleagues conducted a study to help financial advisors and financial planners better understand the keys to building trust and connection in virtual meetings.

For more resources and information from this episode, visit www.wiredplanning.com/episode27

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As the value and future of advice continues to shift towards the intersection of technical knowledge and the human side of money, it has coincided with the rise of financial therapy.

Financial Therapy is focused on improving how clients think, feel, and behave with money to improve their well-being.

Nathan Astle, founder of Relational Money, helps advisors who don’t want to be full-fledged financial therapists develop and hone the most critical skills from financial therapy that lead to better connection, and ultimately, better outcomes.

In this episode, we discuss:

• “Financial Flashpoints” – what they are and why they are so critical to changing behavior
• The “Money Timeline” exercise to help clients uncover their own financial flashpoints
• Why money issues are rarely about money and the importance of finding the real issue
• Two simple phrases you can use to facilitate communication and connection
• How to effectively identify and label someone’s emotions

 

For more information and resources on this episode: www.wiredplanning.com/episode26

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We’ve all been inundated with information showing how behavioral biases impact financial decision making. But far less attention has been given to the fact that these same biases can undermine the identification and prioritization of goals.

Research shows that there is indeed a gap between the goals clients think are important to them and the goals that are actually important. And that gap is forged by our biases and mental blind spots.

Samantha Lamas and her colleagues at Morningstar have conducted the research for us and explains the impact these biases have and what advisors can do to help clients uncover their most meaningful goals.

For more information and resources, visit www.wiredplanning.com/episode25.

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One of the main challenges for financial advisors when it comes to applying behavioral finance is as simple as this: it’s a lot easier to construct a financial plan than to deconstruct your client’s emotions.

Graeme Newell has been helping financial advisors better understand what goes on in their client’s minds by literally putting them in brain scanners for most of his career. 

And he takes the insights he learns and turns them into practical advice to improve client’s decisions and behavior.

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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 your question-asking abilities, so you can enhance client outcomes and forever change the trajectory of your business.

For a list of the best questions to ask and links to the research mentioned in the article, visit this page.

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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!).

In this episode, 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

 

*For anyone interested in joining The Behavioral Finance Network, Jay is offering a $75/month discount on his memberships for our listeners. Go to the membership page, and apply the coupon code “HSOM” at checkout. 

For more information and resources discussed in this episode, visit: www.wiredplanning.com/episode22

To join a community of like-minded advisors and planners around the world looking for top-notch insights and information on how to leverage behavior, psychology, communication, and emotion to master the human side of money, visit Wired Planning.

Follow Brendan:

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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 reaped.

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.

In this episode, 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

 

For more information and resources discussed in this episode, visit: www.wiredplanning.com/episode21

To join a community of like-minded advisors and planners around the world looking for top-notch insights and information on how to leverage behavior, psychology, communication, and emotion to master the human side of money, visit Wired Planning.

Follow Brendan:

Twitter

LinkedIn

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