“Early in my career, I used to get very excited whenever clients came in for a consultation or review meeting,” said Kyle Walters, an L&H CPAs partner and author of The Personal CFO. “I really thought they were coming in to learn about all the latest developments I was following in accounting, tax and personal finance. It took me about 10 years to understand from their body language that they were just zoned out, waiting patiently for me to finish my lecture so they could ask the only relevant question—“What does this mean for me?” added Walters, a longtime HB client and regular columnist for Accounting Today.
Walters said it’s like taking your car
to the mechanic and having to spend hours listening to him explain the details
of what’s wrong with your crankshaft or carburetor. Unless you’re really into
cars, you probably don’t care. Walters said that for years he was like Tony, the
overzealous mechanic from the Seinfeld show. “My wife would
hear me on a call and say, ‘You shouldn’t talk so much; they don’t care as much
as you think they do.’”
Don’t talk down to clients
According
to Walters, you don’t want to overwhelm clients with how much you know, and you
NEVER want to talk down to them (or worse, talk down to their spouses). That’s
not only arrogant; you’re implying they’re not smart enough to understand a
tax-related subject. Chances are they’re smarter than you, which is why they
have the means to afford a professional CPA and other financial advisors.
No offense, but they’re just not interested in taxes, asset allocation and Monte
Carlo simulation. They’re coming to your office to get advice—not a jargon-filled
finance lecture about RMDs, NOL, EBIDTA and Alpha.
By the way: The spouse who talks the
most in the meeting with you is very often NOT the financial decision maker in
a married couple. On the elevator down to the lobby, guess who’s giving the
thumbs-up or thumbs-down sign? Hint: It ain’t the husband. And who is most
likely to switch advisors after her husband passes away. Right again!
Clients appreciate simplicity, not
complexity
Again, too many advisors think clients are
impressed by how much they know about the new tax reform, or Modern Portfolio Theory
or estate tax laws. In reality, they will be rewarded if they can simplify all
of a client’s financial issues and say: “Here’s what all this means for you and
you’re going to be OK if you do the following things. These are the next steps,”
Walters added.
This is where advisors have a really
hard time: Clients don’t want to pay you for data. They’re paying you for
advice and educated recommendations so they can make smarter financial
decisions.
Conclusion
What’s
your take? Please share. I’d like to
learn more
#practicemanagement
#thoughtleadership #thepersonalcfo
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