Inspire action. Aim to move the needle in a positive way.
Information is not enough. Education is not enough. Knowing is not enough. Nike said it best — you have to DO IT.
If we want to help our clients reach for their own success, sometimes we have to inspire it out of them. Are you making it easy for that inspiration to take place?
Do you find yourself judging, jumping to conclusions, or writing off people because of their past mistakes before ever figuring out how to help?
What makes them tick? How are they motivated (is it the carrot or the stick)? Are there small milestones that can be identified to help them feel they’re making progress?
Let’s say you’re an investment advisor and you determine that your client needs to contribute $1,000/month to meet a very important goal that they have shared with you. Once you see all of the finances, you uncover that their budget is out of control, they continue to rack up high-interest credit card debt, and they feel as though they are falling further and further behind each month that passes.
What do you do?
Do you have the patience to inspire meaningful change in these people’s lives by helping them with baby steps? Much like an ER doctor must do, you must first triage the situation and do the most important things to get the situation under control.
In this example, your steps might look something like this:
- get the budget under control,
- look to solutions like a debt-consolidation loan to get the interest charges lowered,
- build an emergency savings (to keep this from happening again),
- begin a reasonable investment strategy, then
- agree that each time a pay raise happens that the increase goes to boost the monthly investment
Someone who has struggled financially is used to being dismissed. Setting smaller, more manageable goals for them can inspire them to turn their life around instead of just rearranging the chairs on the Titanic.
Although it takes time (and patience), if your clients are serious about making this a strategy, you look like a rock star for inspiring them to make these significant changes in their life.
Inspire action in whatever form it needs to take place.
Financial Professionals: Schedule a 30-minute consultation with Chris Kowalik of ProFeds to see if this proven, step-by-step system is right for you.
Ready to get started? The ProFeds Bootcamp is where all of the magic begins! This training program is limited to the first 10 financial professionals who qualify, so reserve your seat today! CLICK HERE for details about our next available class.
About the Author: Chris Kowalik, founder of ProFeds, is the industry’s leading business coach for financial professionals who specialize in working with federal employees. She is a frequent speaker for financial services firms and federal agencies throughout the country.