I recently attended a webinar on Emotional Intelligence. Emotions influence the way clients think, speak, decide and respond. By recognising the signs of emotion, you can get a better understanding of how clients are thinking and feeling. You can then respond appropriately.
And this process applies to us too. We need to recognise our own emotions as they occur. Otherwise we can’t be fully present with our clients and we may also project our own thoughts and emotions into the conversation.
But, as well as recognising emotions, what if there was a way to understand what was actually behind those emotions.
If you understand what’s driving your clients patterns behaviours and emotions around money, you know what is likely to make them reactive, and you would know how best to support them when that happened.
Recognising and validating how a client is feeling is one of the most powerful ways to build trust. Not just in volatile markets, but in every interaction.
And understanding money behaviour starts with ourselves. Because we all have our own views and biases and, without awareness, we project those onto our clients.
Understanding your own money behaviour also gives you insights into the process of understanding other money people’s behaviours. And then you can respond in a way that helps your clients to feel seen, heard and understood.
Responding to other people’s emotions can feel daunting. But it’s a skill you can learn and it starts with inviting the client to tell you more.
You can think of it as Money Intelligence.
We call it Money Coaching.
