In a Nutshell: As our industry evolves beyond money management, engaging with clients on their money-life issues and formative experiences surrounding money will be one of your most valuable services.

Guest: Dr. Preston Cherry, the Founder and President of Concurrent Financial Planning, a comprehensive financial planning firm serving households and business owners across generations. Dr. Cherry is also an Assistant Professor of Finance & Personal Financial Planning at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay’s Austin E. Cofrin School of Business, where he is in the process of building a new personal financial planning program.

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My Key Takeaways:

  1. Experience matters. Your clients are bringing a lifetime of positive and negative money experiences into this working relationship. You need to understand where they’re coming from to help them get where they want to go.
  2. Bridge generations. Older clients might still be “stuffing money under the mattress.” Millennials are curious about the latest bitcoin surge. How are you serving your current client base while broadening your horizons for the next generation?
  3. Share your stories. Opening up about the experiences that shaped your own life and career creates real connections. Those connections can create clients for life.

Also Learn:

  1. Why one of Preston’s favorite discovery questions is, “Tell me about a money situation that you’ve had the last six months.”
  2. How a combination of open dialogue and measurable assessments can keep clients actively engaged with your planning process.
  3. How to use connection, communication, and convincing to “nudge” your clients towards better financial decisions.
  4. What Preston saved in an envelope to remind him of an important disconnect between his emotions and his money that he was able to overcome.

Complementary Episode: Preston incorporates the “money scripts” concept into his teaching and practice, which I discussed with Dr. Brad Klontz, CFP. Listen/read here.

Resources Featured In This Episode

Dr. Preston Cherry on Twitter

Values Clarification Toolkit Click here to download this FREE tool and start living your values.