Your Financial Hand™
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Your Financial Hand™ - Frequently Asked Questions
Q.Why do you think the Your Financial Hand™ deck is important for an advisor to use?
A. Over my forty+ years in this business, I have found that sometimes one of the members of a couple is reluctant to be there or that one does more of the talking than the other one. “Laying their cards on the table” gets them both involved in the discussion. I have personally used Power Point presentations or a dry erase board in the past to illustrate key points. Both of these methods caused me to lose eye contact with the prospect. I learn more by watching their eyes and their body language using these cards.
The cards are:
- visual- most producers focus on the data (numbers) while most of our clients prefer to see concepts visually
- portable- easy to carry to a meeting or keep at your conference room table
- non-threatening-by laying out a few cards with pictures and key concepts, you are creating a dialogue instead of something that feels like a sales pitch.
Q. Why do you start with the Challenge cards?
A. I tried starting with the assets (Path) cards and it got us in to the “meat” of the discussion too quickly. The Challenge cards serve as an ice-breaker. As the prospects flip through the possibilities of unexpected circumstances, it gets them thinking about situations that are specific to themselves. For example, they may not have had a car repair but incurred major dental expenses on top of their daughter’s wedding instead. You learn a lot as their wheels start turning to share their own version of the Challenge cards.
Q. What if I know they don’t have a daughter? Should I leave out the card about the wedding?
A. You could certainly do that to personalize it for them if you know some things in advance. However, it is a fairly quick process for them to flip through the Challenge cards so I leave them all in. I have personally had clients or friends who have experienced all of these challenges in the past twelve months. If they do not own a business, I don’t bring out the green Business Challenge cards.
By the way, I tried having them “pick a card” out of the Challenges to spur the discussion but if it didn’t apply to them, we had to go back and pick another, etc. Just having them thumb through them gets them talking about their own situation more quickly.
Q. Should I worry about whether my compliance department will approve the use of Your Financial Hand™?
A. We don’t believe so. Each card contains a disclaimer that these are for educational purposes and no specific investment is implied. We also suggest that they work with a properly licensed professional---YOU! The cards are published by SMART Press and not affiliated with a specific broker-dealer so they should not compete with your own b-d. There are no products mentioned so you, as the advisor, have a wide range of flexibility in developing solutions for your clients. If you have any concern, run it past your Compliance Department.
Q. How do I use the Path and Horizon cards?
A. I try to start with their largest asset (concentration of wealth). For many people this is their Home or their Retirement Accounts. I have grouped IRAs and 401(k) plans together to discuss the key characteristics of qualified plans as a group. Most clients don’t think of their assets as “qualified” or “non-qualified,” but as retirement or not.
I lay the Home card facing the client face up on the table. Then I take the Horizon card that says “Home” in the footer and lay it on top of the Home Path card and talk about the other expenses associated with owning a home. I try to get them to think about the Total costs of shelter and how the decisions about lifestyle, mortgage structure, etc. impact their overall portfolio. You have a lot of flexibility to share your own perspective about housing and mortgages as you discuss these two cards.
I move on to the next largest asset and do the same thing. If they are not a business owner, I don’t bring out the Business interest card.
If you have solutions that can serve more than one purpose for the client, use the Single Purpose and the Multi-purpose cards to make your point by laying them on top of the appropriate Path card you are highlighting.
If both parties are employed, I use two Paycheck cards.
I use the “Joker” card to address situations that are unique to them. It gives us a chance to talk about special situations such as parents, children, health issues, family property, inheritance, etc.
If your practice does not use Opportunity cost as a concept, just leave it off the table.
Tips:
As soon as the meeting is over, put your cards back in order. If you choose to use a 4-pocket business card holder, separate the Personal Challenge, Business Challenge, Path and Horizon cards. I found that alphabetizing the Path and Horizon cards was the easiest way for me to find them at the next meeting. You don’t want to be fumbling for the card you want to make your next point.
Usually one or two Challenge cards stand out for the prospect. When writing a summary to the prospect after the meeting, I usually incorporate some reference to their one or two Challenge cards. For me, it is about understanding what is most important to them in developing our relationship.
For this reason, we put together a 3-deck price. I carry one set in my car; have one at my desk and one in the conference room. That way I am all set to go when the next opportunity arises.
Your Financial Hand™ is a trademark of SMART Press
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