How Asking Yourself WHY Would Help You Be a Better Advisor
Asking ‘why ‘can greatly increase your understanding of yourself and of those around you, both of which will make you a better advisor. Asking ‘why’ your clients do business with you can make the referral process easier. Asking ‘why’ can help motivate your clients into investing for their future. Asking ‘why’ you became a financial advisor can help you re-energize your career.
Asking questions of yourself and others can help you reassess your core values, spark conversation and establish good relationships with clients.
Ask your clients WHY they do business with you
When you ask your clients for referrals you are essentially asking them to ask themselves ‘why’ they do business with you. What have you got that’s different from other advisors, so much so that they would happily recommend you to their friends and family?
It’s not about ‘what’ you do, but how you do it. Once your clients really understand their reasons for selecting you as their financial advisor referring you will become second nature.
You can also turn to your clients to help you do a self-audit to help you identify any blind spots in your skillset. Ask clients not only ‘why’ they think you’re good at what you do, but if there are any areas in which you could improve. What could you do differently? What are you good at? What are you not good at? Then build an action plan to work on getting even better at doing what you do.
Ask your clients WHY they need to invest
Sharpen your powers of persuasion and get to the bottom of your clients’ conflicting thoughts. Get them to focus on their real reasons for investing. Is it to set up a fund for retirement? So they have a plan in place for getting the kids through college?
By asking WHY questions you can get them to recognize that they need to invest sooner rather than later; you can get them to recognize that retirement and college fees are not that many pay checks away.
In order to get them to answer the question and really understand the implications of the question get your clients to visualize their future.
Ask them to picture themselves at retirement having accomplished all the financial goals they wanted to in life. Make this vision come alive by adding detail. Make it sensory and visceral. How do they feel, having bought themselves that condo in Florida? How big is the condo? 3000 square feet? Are they a member of a golf club, if so what does the golf course look like?
Get them to envisage how happy they will be to feel free of financial worries and able to take up all the activities they never had time for before.
Envisioning the future makes the unsurmountable mountain that is ‘saving for the future’ surmountable.
WHY do you do what you do?
Understand the values that govern your behavior. Maybe these are honesty, passion or having a good work ethic. Then learn to maximize your true abilities as both a person and advisor.
Ask yourself why you started out as an advisor? Were you curious to find out how to manage your own money? Did this progress into a desire to help others? Find out what motivates you in order to change the direction of your life and create success. It’s never just about the numbers. Really understand what got you into this business, what used to make you happy about your job – does it still make you happy?
If you are unsure about where you are going, always remember you are an important person. Because of you someday your clients will get where they want to go and achieve financial stability. You help people improve their lives. If you believe in yourself and understand your importance, you will enjoy your job more and you will achieve the success you deserve.
Your job entails selling yourself and your ideas. So be proud of being a salesperson.I It’s a means to the end of making your clients’ lives better so always have a positive attitude and a strong self-image.
Make a list of things you can’t do anything about. Once you understand what you can’t change you can focus on the things you can control. You can’t control the stock market but you can add value to your client’s lives by getting them to stick to the plan.
Make the first step to honing your soft skills – try Don Connelly 24/7
