There are certain abilities every successful financial planner needs.
They’re not complex and they’re not technical.
And they’re rarely taught.
Despite the significant advances in financial planning education over the past few decades, one vital element is still largely left to chance:
The human side of the profession.
A profession that’s evolved – but not completely
When I became a self-employed financial adviser in 1991, I attended a week-long training programme and was then expected to go out and make a living.
The failure rate was, frankly, appalling.
Fast-forward to today and the route into financial planning is far more rigorous, structured, and professional. Qualifications are deeper. Regulation is tighter. Standards are higher.
This is unquestionably progress.
And yet, something essential is still missing.
The training required to become a financial planner focuses almost entirely on technical competence – products, legislation, tax, investment theory.
What it takes little or no account of is a planner’s ability to build trust, connect emotionally, listen deeply, empathise, guide, or counsel another human being.
And yet, aren’t these the very qualities that define a trusted financial adviser?
“I don’t do feelings”
I was speaking with a coach who works in the corporate world. She shared a story about a new client sent to her from a large engineering firm.
In their first session, he stated very clearly:
“I’m an engineer. I don’t do feelings.”
Yet the reason he’d been referred for coaching was simple: people struggled to relate to him.
They found him overbearing, difficult, and poor at building relationships. His logical, left-brained approach, excellent for engineering, was becoming a liability when it came to people.
I’ve heard financial planners say similar things.
Some openly admit they dislike what they call the “touchy-feely” side of the job.
There’s often an unspoken belief that logic is enough. That if clients are given the right information, they’ll naturally make the right decisions.
But this belief doesn’t stand up to real life.
The limits of logic
Logic, as a method of influencing behaviour, leaks like a sieve.
I recently watched a presentation on Key Person Cover. It was polished, factual, and intellectually sound from start to finish.
And yet, it completely missed the point.
People don’t buy or act for logical reasons alone. In fact, they never have.
Human beings make decisions based on how they feel. Logic comes afterwards, neatly packaged to justify the choice that’s already been made.
This isn’t a flaw in human behaviour. It’s how we’re wired.
What’s really getting in the way?
My coach friend gently pointed out to the engineer that he did do feelings. Just like everyone else.
His statement, “I don’t do feelings,” wasn’t a fact. It was an emotional reaction to his own discomfort and insecurity around people.
Ironically, it was those unexamined feelings that were undermining his relationships and bringing out the worst in others.
This is where things become truly interesting.
Human beings don’t feel their circumstances. We feel our thinking. We live in a thought-feeling system.
When this distinction is genuinely understood – not intellectually, but experientially, it changes everything.
People find themselves thinking less, not more. Feelings settle. Clarity increases. Well-being improves.
And with that comes a very different way of relating to others.
Why this matters in financial planning
Your most important asset as a financial planner isn’t your technical knowledge.
It’s your depth of presence when with your client.
Without it, influence becomes impossible. With it, trust forms naturally, relationships deepen, and conversations have more impact.
Clients may forget the details of your recommendations, but they will remember how it felt to be with you.
But genuine presence is becoming increasingly rare in the fast-paced, digital world we live in.
People notice when we’re not fully there. Even unintentionally, it sends a subtle message:
You don’t really matter right now.
A simple experiment
So, next time you sit with a client, try something different.
Create a distraction-free space, let whatever thinking you were carrying settle on its own and give your client your full, undivided attention.
No techniques. Just complete presence.
You may be surprised by how this can impact both your client and you. In a profession built on trust, that difference can be extraordinary.
I will leave you with a quote from Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now:
As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out the present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality, care, and love — even the most simple action.”
PS. You can read more about ‘The little understood power of the present moment’ by clicking here.
