*I received tons of messages and emails asking when I was doing to have Dan back on to finish our conversation from Episode 13. If you haven’t listened to Episode 13, my suggestion would be to start there, because even though we recap quite a bit of that conversation in this episode, it’s the kind of information that you’ll want to hear more than once! How do I know? Because I’ve had several people tell me they’ve listened to the other episode 2-3 times already.

Ever wondered why you don’t get more referrals from your clients?

Dan Allison interviewed thousands of clients to get inside their minds and better understand:

• What they think about referrals
• How they feel about referring
• How they would prefer you to bring it up
• What prevents them from referring more often

Good News: Most advisors have a client base that’s willing to refer.

Bad News: Most clients aren’t capable of executing a referral.

Armed with this information, Dan Allison designed a comfortable process for advisors that creates clients who are both willing and able to refer.

And once you combine the two, the referral floodgates are opened and the trajectory of your business will never be the same.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The 5 characteristics for creating clients that are willing and able to refer
• The #1 reason clients say they don’t refer
• The biggest mistakes advisors make when asking for referrals
• Goldmines vs Landmines: How to identify the clients you want to refer
• The referral mindset advisors must have

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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode69.

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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The Human Side of Money in 2022:

• Released 28 episodes
• Had 21 conversations with expert guests
• Delivered 2,342 minutes of content on the human side of advice

Inside those 28 episodes, 21 conversations and 2,342 minutes lie hundreds of ideas, insights, and nuggets that will do two things:

1) Enhance and enrich your clients’ lives

2) Forever change the trajectory of your business and career

But, there were certain ideas inside each episode and conversation that deliver more impact than others.

Certain insights and nuggets that move the needle a little bit further.

In this episode, I go back through each conversation from 2022 and extract the most impactful ideas and insights advisors need to know.

 

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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode68

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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Every advisor has two puzzles to solve:

1) What to do

2) How to get them to do it

The first requires an understanding of numbers.

The second an understanding of people.

Whether you’re trying to get a prospect to become a client or a client to implement your advice…

One thing is certain.

The least effective way to get them to do something is to push or persuade them.

The most effective way is to get people to persuade themselves.

And, there’s a communication technique that does just that called “motivational interviewing.”

Fortunately, Jeremy Keil is trained in motivational interviewing and uses it with prospects and clients every single day.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The crucial change he made in his connection meeting with prospects
• His intentional office design to foster comfortable conversation
• The power of asking permission before giving any advice
• The “righting reflex” clients experience when you give advice
• The importance of acknowledging clients as experts in their own lives

 

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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode67

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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Most goal-setting exercises have one major flaw.

They focus too much on WHAT someone want to accomplish rather than WHY they want to accomplish it.

The best goal-setting exercises combine the two.

They produce goals that are both meaningful and measurable.

Goals that provide connection and clarity.

And when you do that, clients are motivated, inspired, and resilient.

But, the question is how?

Fortunately, Eric Trexler knows. He uses a “Goal Hierarchy” with his fitness clients and explains how it can be applied to create more meaningful goals for clients in financial advice.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The power and execution of a goal hierarchy
• The problem and challenges inherent in goal setting
• A psychological framework to better communicate with clients and prospects
• Focusing on “approach goals” rather than “avoidance goals”
• The optimal level of difficulty when setting goals

 

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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode66

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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The discovery meeting is the single most important meeting for your clients and your practice.

If you’re like most, you’ve probably looked up “the best questions to ask prospects in a first meeting.”

You’ve likely picked up ideas listening to podcasts with advisors explaining how they conduct their meetings.

You’ve implemented the tips and tricks you gathered from talking with fellow advisors.But, it still feels like there’s something missing.

It hasn’t quite clicked.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to prep your clients for a successful discovery meeting
• The importance of shifting your mindset to win the mental battle
• The keys to nailing the discovery meeting
• Most effective ways to follow up with a prospect after the meeting

 

*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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode65.

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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You can’t help a prospect if they never become a client.

You can’t help a client if they don’t implement your advice.

Like it or not, both require a skillset rooted in sales.

As Nancy Bleeke points out, sales isn’t about being pushy.

It’s simply an information exchange.

And the purpose isn’t to convince someone to do something.

Rather, it’s to guide them through a process that leads to a confident, comfortable decision.

Fortunately, Nancy teaches advisors around the world an approach to convert prospects into clients without being salesy.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why an “anti-sales” mindset is harmful to prospects and clients
• A 4-point framework for prospect meetings
• Why “ghosting” happens and how to fix it
• “Rightsizing” your services to exactly what the prospect wants and needs
• How to “close” without being salesy

And WAY more!

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode64

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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No client actually cares about maximizing their wealth.

Every client cares about maximizing their life.

Therefore, money should never be a goal. It should simply be a tool.

A tool that funds the life you want to live.

That’s why every client needs to define their “financial purpose.”

It allows clients to align their money with what’s truly most important in their lives (rather than what they think is important).

But the challenge is knowing how to do this with clients.

Fortunately, Derek Hagen does this with his clients and teaches advisors a process for defining financial purpose to align their money with their life.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The two exercises he uses to clearly define what’s most important to clients (Values Cards and “Life-in-Perspective”)
• Why clients need a “Statement of Financial Purpose” and how to help them craft one
• His four-step process to help clients get “unstuck”
• A real-life example of how he helped a client reign in their spending
• Why we should diversify meaning in life just like we diversify portfolios

 

*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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode63.

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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Your client’s decisions are almost always subconsciously driven by invisible influences.

Have you ever wondered:

• Should I wear a suit? (Or what if I wear a hat?)
• Should CNBC be on in the lobby?
• Does the way I’m presenting the info influence the client’s decision?
• Should I offer free financial planning in the beginning or charge for it?

Whether these things should influence a client’s decision-making or not, they do.

Fortunately, Derek Tharp has conducted the research for these questions and joined the show to share the psychological insights advisors need to know to improve the communication and delivery of advice.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What are prospective clients subconsciously assessing to determine trust and credibility
• How your clothes signal different things to different people
• The “Guardrails” approach that improves confidence and behavior around retirement spending
• The “Mapquest” vs “GPS” approach in financial planning
• Why initial planning fees impact the perceived value of ongoing planning

 

*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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode62.

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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The job of a financial advisor and planner isn’t simply to dispense the advice, pat yourself on the back, and walk away as if your job is done.

It’s to help the client follow through on your advice.

Ensuring they implement and execute the items you’ve laid out that solve their problems and achieve their goals.

The reality is that getting clients to actually follow through and implement the advice you give without constant follow-up is hard.

There are several possible explanations.

But, one of the most prominent culprits is a psychological barrier inherent within the very nature of financial advice.

The battle between the current and future self.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the current versus future self is such a powerful force
• A strategy to counter the battle between the current and future self
• 9 simple and effective ways to use this strategy everyday with clients

 

*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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode61.

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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Money and happiness will forever be intertwined, specifically the relationship between the two.

While money may not be able to buy happiness, it can certainly influence it.

And, when you’re working with people and their money, you have the opportunity to help them use their money in a way that accumulates happiness rather than just simply accumulating wealth.

Of course, that first requires a deeper understanding of happiness.

Not only what it is, but the components that contribute to happiness, and how money can either increase or decrease it.

Fortunately, Chris Budd runs an organization focused on helping advisors and planners understand what clients actually want from their money.

And, he explains what advisors need to know in order to help clients become happier and more fulfilled, not just wealthier.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why the worst first question is: “What does money mean to you?”
• The “un-training” every advisors needs to improve relationships
• When he realized clients didn’t actually want to talk about money
• The “financial wellbeing junkie” conversation to have with every client
• The ways to spend money that create long-term happiness

 

*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.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode60.

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of advice, go to www.wiredplanning.com.

*Follow Brendan for insights on mastering the human side of advice:

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