As a financial practitioner, it’s easy to stay in familiar territory.
Talking with clients about products, investments, and financial strategies.
Why?
Because it feels safe. It’s what you know. It’s where you’re confident.
But here’s the thing.
Important as those things are, they’re not where the real value lies. Not for you and not
for your clients.
There are many highly qualified advisers who deliver technically excellent work yet never
create the kind of impact that is genuinely transformational.
If you want to be truly valued by your clients and do high-impact work that people gladly
pay for you have to step off the safe ground.
Where the real magic happens
The real magic begins when you start having conversations about what your clients truly
want from life.
Not just how they manage their money, but why it matters in the first place.
How often do people stop to reflect on what they genuinely want?
Busy lives, constant demands, and familiar routines mean we rarely pause to ask what
truly matters. And whether our lives are aligned with this.
Can you honestly say you know what really matters to each of your clients?
What compels them?
What keeps them awake at night?
What they hope for, fear, and quietly dream about?
One of my adviser clients recently shared a story.
A couple came to her wanting to invest a significant sum. Instead of simply implementing
the transaction, she got curious. She asked questions and she listened.
Through the conversation, they revealed that what they really wanted was to slow down
and spend more time together, and with their young grandchildren.
They’d assumed this was something for “later”, once they’d accumulated more.
But as the adviser explored their situation, she was able to show them that this goal
wasn’t out of reach.
It was possible now.
That insight changed everything.
The plan they built together wasn’t just about investing money. It was about creating the
life they actually wanted.
When you connect what matters most to your clients with your planning, advice, and
recommendations, everything changes.
The relationship moves from transactional to transformational.
From something they could get anywhere to something they could only get from you.
Why this requires vulnerability
Having deeper conversations isn’t about learning new tactics or following a clever
formula.
It’s about being willing to show up differently.
To be present.
To be genuinely curious.
To listen without an agenda.
That can feel uncomfortable.
You’re no longer standing on the safe ground of expertise and certainty. You’re stepping
into the unknown.
That’s why you can feel vulnerable.
Yet rather than something to fear, it’s something to welcome because it creates human
connection.
Understanding how your mind works
In my work as a coach, I help advisers understand the principles behind state of mind.
Because when your mind is clear, powerful client conversations become natural.
When you feel secure and at ease within yourself, the quality of your presence changes.
Clients sense it, they relax and open up.
The result?
Deeper trust.
Greater perceived value.
And often, greater commercial value too.
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