One of my most surprising discoveries over the past dozen years serving as a Trusted Advisor, delivering comprehensive financial services to my Ideal Clients through a team of Subject Matter Experts, is the fact that most of the experts I recruited onto my Deliverables Team were not accustomed to providing simple straightforward recommendations to clients in writing. At the inception of our relationship I have been required to coach even the most experienced, highly skilled, Best-in-Class experts on our team regarding the definition of a “recommendation” versus skilled advice, education or general (non-specific) counsel.  Our point of view is that Trusted Advisors should set a high standard and only allow “recommendations,” as we define it, onto each Ideal Client’s written step-by-step implementation plan of action.

For our purposes a recommendation is best thought of as a specific set of instructions or action items required to implement a single (recommended) course of action.  For clarity, let me share some actual pieces of advice provided by Subject Matter Experts, and how Trusted Advisors amended the phrasing and coached their Subject Matter Experts to transform the wording into a clear client recommendation.

Original client advice: We started Social Security payments at your “financial independence” age for both of you in our projections since you are planning to retire at that time.  If you decide to work longer, you will want to consider delaying Social Security benefits until you are fully retired between ages 66 and 70, after which time there are no tax consequences for working and receiving SS benefits.

Revised Recommendation:  Lynn, you will begin receiving Social Security Benefits at age 62 (next year) and Ted you will begin receiving Social Security Benefits at age 64 (also next year).  We will initiate the process for you to begin these benefits at our regular progress meeting scheduled for December 10^th this year.

The obvious point made about delaying benefits if the client decides to work longer is unnecessary since the Trusted Advisor will be aware of any “Change in plans” well in-advance.  How?  1. You’re meeting with the client every four months (through The Three Meeting Process™ we teach), and 2. You’ll confirm the issue at each meeting until the financial independence date.  Here’s another example.

Original client advice: To provide for your Grandson’s college you will need to set up a trust or simple educational account and fund it with $126,000.

The problem here is the Subject Matter Expert needs to understand the client’s situation better, counsel with other Deliverables Team Members (Estate Planning Attorney) and select a single funding vehicle, not two.

Revised Recommendation (After asking more questions and discussing the issue with the Tax & Estate Planning Subject Matter Experts on the team): To provide for your Grandson’s college you will need to set up a trust account (we’ve scheduled an appointment with your Estate Planning Attorney for you) and fund it with $126,000 from your InvestAtrade Account #z09816735. 

I could give you hundreds of actual examples like these, but the issues to be aware of are these:

• Be clear up-front with every Subject Matter Expert on your Deliverables Team that you only allow clear recommendations onto the client’s step-by-step implementation plan of action.
• It is, of course, an expectation that each are capable, but don’t assume that your highly-skilled Best-in-Class experts will submit clear, concise simple recommendations which follow a single logic-path.
• Corollary: Don’t be surprised when you are required to coach more experienced experts in how to phrase a clear recommendation.
• Always remember that the signs of a highly-skilled, Best-in-Class recommendation are its clarity, simplicity and its focus on a single objective.

By requiring simple and clear recommendations you will be establishing an impressive standard, providing leadership as well as offering valuable consulting to your Deliverables Team Members. Most valuable of all is the direct and unambiguous direction provided to your Ideal Clients, which will save them time and confusion.  Stop for a moment to consider how you are set apart from your peers by providing each of your Ideal Clients with this 3 – 5 page implementation plan of action which is so elegantly simple and clear.  A professional and refreshing change for your client, who has not seen straightforward recommendations, phrased in plain English, from any of their previous financial advisors.