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16 Why 97% of Your Clients Don’t Have Financial Goals and What to Do About It

goals2

There’s a myth about the success of setting goals.

The myth says that back in 1953, Harvard University conducted a study on the graduating class. They discovered that only 3% of the graduating seniors had definite predetermined objectives.

Twenty years later they did another survey of those same people, and of the 3% that had set those goals and committed them to paper and had made a commitment, they had accomplished more in their lives than the 97% who had not written it down.

However, there seems to be evidence that this myth isn’t true.

Now, you can call me pigheaded, but I strongly believe that this myth most certainly is true. Here’s why:

9 Who Else Wants to Matter Like Marco van Basten?

Marco van Basten

When I think of people who made the biggest impact in my life, it was not their expertise or their accomplishments that provided me with direction, guidance and reassurance I needed to accomplish my goals.

It was their sincere belief in me. They let me know through their words and actions that I mattered.

Your clients want that same validation.

In fact every single person you meet, shares this common desire. As I wrote last week, the largest part of a financial planner’s target audience want to know they matter. Mattering is a universal human need. And it’s one you have the opportunity to satisfy.

But it’s not only the people who believed in me which had an impact in my life.

There’s one other person who totally influenced me. He didn’t believe in me. Actually, he doesn’t know me.

But although he doesn’t know me he still means the world to me. He mattered to me in the past and he matters to me now. No matter what he does or doesn’t do, I believe in him.

This person is Marco. Marco van Basten.

0 Why Freedom of Information Drives 3 Critical Changes and Empowers a Financial Planner to Thrive

Let me tell you a short story before we go in depth. It’s about the new reality of a car salesman. Traditionally, many car dealerships are based on a simple idea: they know more about cars and pricing and profit than the customer does. By leveraging the information advantage, they can sell cars at a higher markup, upsell add ons, etc.

But what happens when the customers know more then they do, when potential customers know about every option, the inventory at every dealer, etc?

This is going to happen to every business, every sector, every level. Also to our financial planning business. When information is set free, does it help you or hurt you?

If it is not helping you, now is the time to act. Continue reading

10 What Matters Most to Your Clients and It’s Not Your Fee, Your Advice, Your Service, Your Knowledge or Your Experience

“I believe that financial planners will be more successful when using their right brain potential”. Actually it’s strange for me to say. I’ve always been a typical left brainer for years. Good at maths, very rational and successful with study. And always focussing on building knowledge. Because when I finished a study I could say that I achieved something. And that’s very tangible. That’s great, because left-brainers love it when it’s tangible.

I also thought that with this knowledge I could help my clients the most. But after reading Simon Sinek’s book ‘Start with Why’ about three years ago, my perspective changed. The book gave me the urge to search my WHY. And I discovered something I never knew before. Since ‘Start with Why’ I’ve read many, many other business books and found out that almost every successful and innovative influencers (like Seth Godin, Robert Cialdini, Anthony Robbins & Daniel Pink) wrote about the power of the right brain. Since then I can’t stop reading and researching about it. And more important: I’ve applied it in my financial planning profession.

Now, my goal is to inspire other financial planners to believe in their right brain potential. I believe in the importance of the financial planner. Financial planners are by definition highly educated. They have the ambition to reach for the best. And more important: they truly want to help people. Not by selling products. But to give real advice based on what their clients really want. Because financial planners have these strong ambition and are almost always smart people I know financial planners have this right brain potential. When using it right, it’s going to build more profitable and enduring relationships.

To prove it to you I’m not going to tell you a story, influence you with a metaphor or let you see the big picture. In other words, I’m not appealing to your right brain. To show you that what I believe is true, I’m going to appeal to your left brain in this article. Because I know your left brain asks you to rationalize your choice to work on your right brain potential. And therefore it needs facts and numbers. So please take a look at the picture below.

2 Why Some Financial Planners Almost Always Have Engaged Clients

What is your value proposition that sets you apart from other financial planners? Do you use terms like: ‘independent’, ‘wealth management’, ‘the best advisor’, ‘actual knowledge’, ‘CFP’, ‘trustworthy’ or other features? The problem with this kind of terms is that it’s used by everyone. And it’s also not really compelling. It’s just a feature, while your client is really interested in benefits. So how does your (potential) client know why he has to do (or has to stay in) business with you? He doesn’t, unless you have the right value proposition. That’s why it’s essential to write it in the exact words that relate most to your target audience.

The easiest way – and for most financial planners a really scary way – to discover what these words are, is to do this:

1 What Most Financial Planners don’t Realize about Their Clients

Most people hire a financial planner because they have a problem. A problem that you have to solve for them. Many financial planners think that their client only wantw their advice. But your clients also have another problem. If you ignore that problem you’re missing a huge opportunity. Chances are that you don’t take this into account. You should. Because you can miss sales if you don’t.

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