It’s not just about the money.
If you’re an adviser or planner, you’ve heard this many times before and you’re probably thinking “Yes, but, money is involved and you need to get the money bit right. Otherwise, everything else falls to pieces.”
And if that’s what you’re thinking, I get it. You’ve studied and trained for years to get the numbers bit right. Saying ‘it’s not about the money’ sounds ridiculous.
Even as a money coach it took me a while to understand that money is much more than numbers. And, when I’m first talking to clients, I usually have to tell them that we’re not going to discuss their financial situation till we have a good handle on their patterns, behaviours and emotions around money.
So, if money is more than numbers, what does that mean for financial planners?
In their excellent book ‘The Heart of Finance’, James Woodfall and Cliff Lansley make the critical point that ‘when you are dealing with financial planning clients, you are dealing with their wants, needs, hopes and fears. You are dealing with their hearts and minds’.
Hearts and minds are emotion-based, not numbers based. Hearts and minds have been around a lot longer than numbers and money.
They go on to add:
‘Because you are dealing with their hearts and minds, it is crucial to work out what they are feeling and thinking about you and the advice you are offering.’
As a money coach I would add that it is equally crucial to work out what they are feeling and thinking about money, and about money and themselves.
Because the beliefs they have about what they can do, be or have with money, will drive their spending, saving and investing.
And since that’s what you help them with, it really makes sense to know what’s going on in their hearts and minds.
You don’t need to coach clients. But you do need to understand them.
Money coaching is a framework for understanding patterns, behaviours and emotions. With that understanding, you can help your clients to make better decisions, reduce anxiety and other negative emotions, and communicate in healthy ways.
Book an appointment to find out how Money Coaching can help you and your clients.
