Money decisions are never just about money.

Research tells us that about 90% of all financial decisions are made emotionally, not logically.

Decisions driven by our mind rather than our money.

And every financial behavior, even if it appears illogical, makes perfect sense once you understand the underlying beliefs, feelings, and thoughts that accompanied the decision.

These beliefs, feelings and thoughts form your money mindset.

And every current and future client you work with is programmed with their own money mindset driving all of their decisions.

Fortunately, Rick Kahler is one of the pioneers in this space and shares from his own experience working with clients the latest tools and research to help you discover and change your client’s money mindset.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why there is no such thing as an illogical behavior
• The three exercises he uses to explore clients’ money beliefs
• Why asking questions kills conversational flow
• A powerful conversational tool to replace asking questions
• Why you can’t best serve your clients until you do your own work

*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/episode59

*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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Whether you’ve been an advisor for four days or four decades, you know that your client’s success has just as much to do with their mind as their money.

It’s simply not enough to run through monte-carlo simulations and construct diversified portfolios.

And you know it’s critical for you to be able to understand your client’s psycholgy and behaviors around money.

But, the challenge lies in knowing how to apply pyschology to real-life client scenarios.

Fortunately, Dr. Brad Klontz is one of the foremost authorities on financial psychology and works with advisors and planners to do just that.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How our genetics have programmed us to fail with money
• The importance of knowing your client’s “Money Scripts”
• The way he communicates the role of financial psychology to clients and prospects
• Why he lets clients decide if they want financial psychology
• The one technique every advisor needs to change client behavior

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

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode58

*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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Trust is the foundation of success in financial advice.

According to research from Vanguard, there are countless business benefits that stem from creating trust:

• Higher satisfaction with an advisor
• Higher likelihood of referring an advisor
• Higher likelihood of consolidating assets
• Higher likelihood of following advice

Other research has found that trust is the #1 characteristic clients look for in a financial advisor.

But how can you quickly instill trust into the conversation with a prospective client?

How can you consistently build trust throughout your relationship with a current client so they refer more and follow your advice?

Mary Schmid will explain how to conduct conversations that quickly and consistently build trust with clients and prospects.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why conversations send our brains into “Connect” or “Protect” mode
• The conversational techniques to get someone into “Connect” mode
• Why you should never talk about the weather
• The trust-building power of using an agenda in meetings
• The trust-eroding mistakes we make and never realize

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

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode57

*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 single advisor and planner recognizes the importance of the human side when working with people and their money.

And every single advisor and planner wants practical, tangible ways to embed it in their practice.

After exploring the human side of money with 50 of the brightest minds on behavior, psychology, communication and money, I wanted to help make it as practical as possible.

Consider this the training that every advisors needs but never received in any training, designation, or certification.

Hear are the top 10 insights and ideas from those 50 conversations that you can apply tomorrow.

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode56

*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 future of financial planning is the infusion of life within it.” – Tim Maurer

Most financial advisors do a great job focusing on WHAT clients want to achieve (Goals) and HOW to achieve it (Financial Planning).

But the best advice focuses first and foremost on WHY.

It focuses on the client’s values, purpose, intentions (what’s truly most important in their lives). And everything flows from there.

A financial plan without a “Why” is merely data on a page.

A portfolio without a “Why” is merely a list of investments.

Starting with “Why” infuses life into the financial planning process.

And, fortunately, Tim Maurer has been through the top trainings in the industry and has spent years teaching advisors how to do just that.

We discuss:

• Behavioral Finance 2.0 – the future of behavioral finance in the industry
• The four cards he uses to help advisors uncover what’s most important in their clients’ lives
• “Why are we here?” – why this question is so powerful and how to use it
• “Advisor-Driven” versus “Client-Inspired” recommendations
• Why he never gives more than three implementation items at a time

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode55

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of money (including our popular “Wisdom Round-Up” email), go to www.wiredplanning.com.

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

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“Let your life lead your money, not your money lead your life.” – Dr. Preston Cherry

Clients care more about maximizing their life than their net worth.

What’s the point of tripling your net worth if you still dread getting out of bed every morning?

That’s why financial advice at the highest level focuses on more than the accumulation of money.

It focuses on the alignment of money with what’s most important in the client’s life.

It’s what Dr. Preston Cherry calls “Life Money Balance.”

It’s at the core of his planning process, and he joined the show to walk us through how he helps his clients achieve life money balance.

We discuss:

• Why “statements tell stories” – the information you can glean simply by looking at statements
• The “Emotional HSA” (Honest Self Audit): A crucial step in achieving Life Money Balance
• The “Money Psychology” meeting he takes all clients through
• The “Money Egg” exercise he uses in this meeting
• The power of reframing a “Savings Plan” to a “Spending Plan”

 

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode54

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of money (including our popular “Wisdom Round-Up” email), go to www.wiredplanning.com.

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

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It’s the most storied rivalry in finance.

The current self versus the future self.

The very nature of financial planning work with clients is heavily focused on the future.

Yet, the current self often calls the shots when it comes to financial decisions.

In a profession so heavily focused on the future, the key to improving client’s behaviors, decisions, and outcomes starts by addressing the most storied rivalry in finance.

By striking a balance between their current self and future self.

Fortunately, Hal Hershfield is renowned for his work in research on the future self and joined the show to explain everything we need to know.

We discuss:

• The current versus future self in financial decision making
• How to help clients better connect to their future self
• The undicussed pitfalls of focusing too heavily on the future self
• The quesiton to ask clients who don’t spend as much as they could
• The “Illusion of Wealth” and how it effects retirement and social security planning

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode53

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of money (including our popular “Wisdom Round-Up” email), go to www.wiredplanning.com.

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

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You’ve likely heard of emotional intelligence (EQ).

Intellectual intelligence (IQ) is important. But, EQ is crucial.

Especially when you work with emotional human beings on the emotionally-charged topic of money.

But, how can advisors and planners seamlessly incorporate EQ principles into their practice?

Beverly Flaxington, Human Behavior Coach®, best-selling author, and international speaker joined the show to break down human behavior and how advisors can apply EQ principles.

We discuss:

• The top 5 secrets of human behavior
• Three specific ways advisors can apply emotional intelligence when working with clients
• The trust-eroding mistake most advisors make when seeking to understand goals
• The power of storytelling to connect and inspire (and how to use stories with clients)
• Improving your listening skills by listening for “nuggets”

And way more!

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode52

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of money (including our popular “Wisdom Round-Up” email), go to www.wiredplanning.com.

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

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Most trainings, certifications, and designations financial advisors receive fail to teach the difference between crunching numbers and working with emotional human beings on the emotionally-charged topic of money.

Working with human beings requires a completely different skill set centered on building trust, uncovering values and emotions around money, and changing behavior.

A skill set that sits at the core of financial therapy.

And, fortunately, Dr. Kristy Archuleta is the foremost authority on briding the gap between financial therapy skills and financial planning.

We discuss:

• The “No Advice” rule she teaches for every first meeting
• The invisible cues that influence conversations with prospects and clients
• The #1 thing you can do to positively affect a meeting that NOBODY actually does
• The correlation between the quality of relationships with clients and the outcomes they achieve
• The most influential tool an advisor has to help clients change behavior

And way more!

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode51

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of money (including our popular “Wisdom Round-Up” email), go to www.wiredplanning.com.

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

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*This is Part II of the conversation. It’s a continuation of the previous episode (Episode 49). I highly recommend listening to Part I before diving into this one!*

For financial advisors and planners to do their job at the highest level requires the ability to do two things:

1. Uncover someone’s personal, intimate financial details
2. Unearth someone’s values, emotions, hopes, dreams and fears about their money and their life

Most people don’t talk about one of those things with any one else in their life.

And almost NO ONE talks about both with the same person without being under the influence of something!

That’s why the best financial advisors and are masters at knowing how to ask the “right” questions that elicit trust and create rapport while uncovering the financial and personal information they need to formulate the best financial planning recommendations.

Dr. Meghaan Lurtz joined the show to explain the keys to unlocking the superpower of questions with prospects and clients.

We discuss:

• The secrets to asking great questions that get great responses
• Two types of questions designed to instill and build trust
• Two types of questions designed to elicit information by getting the person to open up
• Meghaan’s favorite question that she calls the “Swiss Army Knife”
• The big mistake almost everybody makes when asking follow-up questions

And way more!

*For more resources discussed in this episode, check out www.wiredplanning.com/episode50

*For more resources and insights on mastering the human side of money (including our popular “Wisdom Round-Up” email), go to www.wiredplanning.com.

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