I’ve written many times about the importance of understanding your client’s story, including in my book Your Client’s Story (coauthored with Scott West). It’s a skill that is critical to building strong and long-lasting relationships. Just as important is ensuring your clients understand your story. Storytelling can help prospects and clients appreciate how you approach [...]
Independence has as many meanings as you have clients, but I think it's safe to say that for most of them it means being able to live life on their own terms. As a financial advisor, you know better than anyone the impact you can have on helping clients achieve independence––however they define it. One [...]
You’ve heard me talk about this before: retirement is not a one-and-done decision. How clients envision their retirement is as unique as they are: there is no “one size fits all” formula. However, there is one consideration many of your clients share: they want to balance saving for the future with enjoying the present. Your [...]
I have spent the better part of my life in Rochester, Minnesota, home of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. All of my now-grown children have had procedures there, and one observation my wife and I have made is how sensitive and caring the staff has always been. At the Mayo Clinic this is by design. Early [...]
If your head is spinning from everything that’s been happening over the summer, you’re not alone. If there’s something 2024 has reinforced, it’s that change is a constant. Now that we’re entering fall––a season that symbolizes change––it’s a good time to review your own plans and adjust as necessary or desired. With that in [...]
Having a reputation as someone who asks insightful questions is good for you and whoever is on the receiving end of your questions. People respect someone who asks good questions—and listens to the answers. And when someone respects you, they’ll want to do more business with you and refer others to you. Asking good questions [...]
At this time of the year, gift giving is top-of-mind for many of us. Gifts are a way to show friends, family, and colleagues that we appreciate them. As a financial planner, you are in the privileged position of being able to give your clients a gift that no one will ever want to return [...]
Originally posted at journalofaccountancy.com by Maria L. Murphy, CPA, November 12, 2024. Caregiving comes with many challenges, financial and emotional. CPA financial planners can help clients and their families prepare for both the expected and unexpected. Providing care to parents, spouses, other family members, or friends as they age can be anticipated and planned for [...]
Originally posted at fa-mag.com by Mitch Anthony, February 1, 2025. In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, author Neil Postman writes that human conversation “has deteriorated to the point that there are no conclusions.” I think about that when I ponder the question: Why do we so [...]
Originally posted at fa-mag.com by Mitch Anthony, April 1, 2025. Just as Aretha Franklin once demanded R.E.S.P.E.C.T, your clients want to be valued as unique individuals. What they don’t want is to be defined by how old they are or lumped into a category just because they are 60, 70 or 80 years old. Unfortunately, [...]
Originally posted at fa-mag.com by Mitch Anthony, June 1, 2025. Sometimes, the greatest value isn’t measured. It’s felt. When I see all the tchotchkes being given away at financial conferences by fund and insurance companies, I’ve often wished some company would give away a crystal ball with their name on it. Then, the next time [...]
Originally posted at aarp.org by Bruce Horovitz, AARP, July 17, 2024. Try these tips to navigate retired life’s unexpected twists and turns. Retirement is supposed to be that time of life when the sun shines golden, the vacation has no expiration date and the early-bird dinner deals are endless. All those expectations might come true. [...]
Originally posted at fa-mag.com by Mitch Anthony, November 1, 2024. Imagine your life as a movie that is just being ‘shot,’ but that you will not be permitted to ‘cut’ anything out of the original film. Once the film is taken it cannot be retroactively changed.” These are the words of the late Dr. Viktor [...]
Originally posted at fa-mag.com by Mitch Anthony, September 1, 2024. It’s a frigid winter day. You go outside to start your vehicle and hear nothing—not a crank, not a turn, not even a whine. You try to flag someone down who might have jumper cables. Fortune smiles at you and someone stops, eager to help. [...]
Originally posted at fa-mag.com by Mitch Anthony, June 1, 2024. Let’s say you’re my client, and that I know your name, your address, your Social Security number and other account numbers. I know the whereabouts of those accounts and the balances within them. I know where you work and your adjusted gross income. I know [...]
Originally posted at fa-mag.com by Mitch Anthony, April 4, 2024. I once received a phone call from a local advisor I’ll call Mick, who had spoken to a friend of mine and heard I might be interested in a loan against my mortgage. Using this friend as a reference, Mick made a cold call to [...]
Originally posted at fa-mag.com by Mitch Anthony, February 6, 2024. Several years ago my 12-year-old niece had a phone conversation with her grandmother. After she hung up, she turned to her mother and said, “That was weird. I said something to Grandma, and she listened. Then she said something, and I listened. And we just [...]
The classic mistake that many financial professionals make is to assume that every client (or potential client) will automatically plug in to their style of communication. They won’t. If you expect clients to accommodate you, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Instead of enjoying a fruitful relationship, you’ll experience a communication breakdown and disintegration of trust. And [...]
Being emotionally intelligent means being both smart and sentient. To think otherwise is, frankly, just not very smart. The door of awareness stands between your emotional and rational selves. When this door is closed, you make poor decisions––regardless of how smart you are. When the door of awareness is opened, however, the emotional and rational [...]
As an advisor, there are three traps you––and by extension, your clients––can get caught in: 1. Predicting the future 2. Executing perfect timing 3. Focusing on outperforming last year’s returns You could argue that these are simply goals and a reflection of confidence in yourself as an advisor. That may be true, but you’re also [...]