“People are emotionally anchored to the economic experiences they learned on the seas of distress.”
Do you know your client’s worst financial experience? The event that left a mark, the moment where all seemed lost? They learned some things in that incident that left a permanent tattoo on their psyche. Just as some use tattoos to tell of the passages in their life, most people have psychological markers for the economic events that have shaped their approach to money matters today.
“Clients will trust their wealth to the party that best understands that wealth’s origins.”
I’ve always loved the question, “What does this money represent to you?” (when they bring a check or a statement for investment purposes). I remember an advisor telling me that the first time he asked this question the man had laid a check for $400,000 on the desk. His answer to the question “What does this $400,000 represent to you?” was “4 months in traction so you’d better not lose a single penny.” The advisor told me he was awfully glad he asked. Clients want to know that you know the price they paid to get what they got.
