When The Markets and Your Clients Are Freaking Out

China, commodities, currencies, Iran, oil, stocks – up, down, up, down, up, down and if you have been watching the markets in January 2016 you and your clients may be sensitive to an up and down mood.

As a financial advisor the number one value that you can offer right now is listening.

First of all, get offline.

Take some time out to listen to yourself and to the truth about the value that you have provided to your clients over the years.

The truth that you work with your clients to help them to create a plan, to grow assets, to protect assets, to save tax and to leave a lifelong legacy and that value has been received by your clients from you over the last ten, twenty and even thirty years because the value that you provide is long term.

Your value is not about the up and down mood of the market in the short term.

To clarify this truth, make a list of the top 10 clients that you have served over the years and in writing, write down the value adds that you have added to each client in respect to creating a plan, growing assets, protecting assets, saving tax and leaving a lifelong legacy.

To reinforce the truth write down how this makes you feel, how it makes the client feel and write down the positive beliefs that you have about your ability to create a plan, to grow assets, to protect assets, to save tax and to leave a lifelong legacy along with long term value that you have created for your clients over the years.

In speaking with my financial advisor clients, they tell me that most of their clients are working with them long term and that their clients understand that there are going to be ups and downs in the market and there are not that many of their clients that are overly sensitive to the up and down mood of the market.

What should you do when a client is freaking out about China, commodities, currencies, Iran, oil, stocks – up, down, up, down, up, down?

1. Remember to listen.
2. Ask – How can I be of service?
3. Listen to your client’s anxiety and fear.
4. Repeat your client’s anxiety and fear to confirm to them that you heard them.
5. Listen to your client’s anxiety and fear again.
6. Again, repeat your client’s anxiety and fear to confirm to them that you heard them for the second time.
7. Ask – What is it that you would like me to do?
8. Explain that you are happy to go over the plan, along with the value adds that has been in place for years, to create a plan, to grow assets, to protect assets, to save tax and to leave a lifelong legacy.
9. Ask – What is it that you want me to do?

I believe that you will find that once you have listened to your client and given them the opportunity to express how they are feeling; they probably don’t want you to do anything other than listen.