Story of the Day:
I have been coaching and talking to a lot of financial advisors this past year. It has been a rough year. There has been so much change: in the markets, within financial organizations and across the nation. At each step you advisors are working hard to protect and help clients through all the discomfort of change. It has been tough going. Hat’s off to you who’ve worked so hard to keep everything moving forward.
A major negative for you advisors, is having to explain to clients all the repeated shifts (and manage it for yourself – too). This is especially difficult as many of have had to deal with organizational transitions on top of the market volatility. I hear the fatigue in your voices. You’re tired of having to explain yet another change. You’re also tired of having to deal with the extra tasks that come with such changes.
As I was coaching a client about this challenge, I thought of an analogy. It’s like the everyone in the financial world up and moved houses all at once. When you move, there is a lot of disruption and disorder for a while. So many tasks have to be completed in order to get everything in place in your new home. It’s frustrating and exhausting until order is restored. Most of the time, we just plow through it. Despite the disorder, we know that all our valuable things are still with us, they’re just buried in boxes under packing peanuts.
Packing peanuts (you know – those styrofoam nuggets that everyone uses to pack valuables) are a great tool for packing. They are amazingly effective at keeping valuables safe. They work with any item and can fit into all size boxes. After that, they’re a MAJOR PAIN! When you unpack they fly all over the place. They attract static electricity and stick relentlessly to everything including your clothes and fingers. Then when you try to sweep them up, they reverse polarize and repel away from the broom. Even the tiniest brush of air will send them flying all over the room. Getting rid of the boxes and removing all the packing peanuts is big annoyance. BUT you have to do it AND the presence of the packing peanuts is really minor because you still have all your valuables. In fact, it is all this annoying packing material that kept your stuff safe. What’s been happening in the financial world is the same. Client accounts are still active, you can still do your job and all necessary tools are still there. You’re weary but all the valuables and tools are there. There’s just a lot of empty boxes and packing peanuts around too.
Tip of the Day:
Don’t get overwhelmed by all the changes and feel discouraged by having to help clients through these transitions. It’s just packing peanuts! The clients still have all their accounts and so do you. You just moved spaces and this are lot of leftover moving material to clean up. That’s all. In many cases the move was good because it provided a more secure home for you and the client valuables. If it works for you – take and use this analogy. Treat the changes like you would leftover boxes and packing peanuts. They’re a pain for a while, but that’s all. They’re not important. What’s important is that you and the clients have a safe home and all your important stuff came with you.
Fact of the Day:
Women who have an advisor are far more confident in their financial situation and financial knowledge than those who do not use an advisor. You have very important role in providing comfort and confidence to women and all clients.
