As a financial advisor, when you meet with your client for the first time, what do you initially start talking about?  Fishing, golfing, or similar chit chat?  Or do you start talking about the client’s money and their goals?  Really, there’s an even more important question that’s at the very foundation for the service you’ll provide for them.

Your first question should be: “What’s important about money to you?”

And don’t be content with asking it once.  This is a question you should direct to both the husband and wife individually.  Each person should be given an opportunity to fully express his or her feelings. 

Only when they focus on what’s most important to them, will you be able to help your ideal clients create the financial roadmap to get them where they want to go.  (And as a side note:  this illustrates why it’s so important for both the husband and wife to be at this meeting.)

Imagine how the quality of your meetings will improve and how much more quickly a trusting relationship will grow.  Before, when you ask about their finances and goals, you’d learn the bare facts about how much money they have, how they spend it, how much debt, and what they want to do. 

Now, when you ask “What’s important about money to you?” you’re going to learn how they view life and what they want money to do for them.  That in turn, tells you how you, as a financial advisor, can be of service to them.

You’ll hear things like how money gives a sense of security, peace of mind, and confidence that the rest of the family will be OK no matter what happened. How having enough money gives a sense of ultimate fulfillment in making a difference in the lives of each family member.  Don’t be surprised or embarrassed if it gets emotional.  This one question is providing a very valuable service in helping your clients gain clarity.

Once you realize what’s important to your clients, you can help them see that their financial goals simply set up an environment where they will be able to achieve and enjoy those things that are more important than money.

They’ll realize that the best reason to hire you as a financial advisor is that while money is important in their lives, its management can be delegated to someone else.   When they trust you, they’ll happily focus on all the other important things in their lives that they can’t delegate, like relationships and their own physical health, thereby enhancing the quality of their lives.

Knowing that your comprehensive financial service helped them achieve their goals will give you a huge sense of satisfaction.  And it all started with one simple question.

Would you like to learn how to easily create the processes and build a team of experts that empower you to deliver comprehensive financial services that brings that kind of satisfaction?  The Trusted Advisor Toolkit has all of the work outlined for you, so you can hit the ground running. Or take a look at a case study of an advisor named Kate Wilson to show you how it works. Click here to download your copy.