How advisors handle their most difficult conversations
May 24, 2019 by Graison Dangor
As both an advisor and therapist, Susan Zimmerman thinks a lot about handling tough conversations with clients — and how to dissuade their fear of the unknown.
Many clients walk in the door with minimal financial literacy, says Zimmerman, co-founder of the firm Mindful Asset Planning.
It’s an advisor’s job to help steer them in the right direction, she says, and speaking the right language is a large part of the task. Even well-meaning advisors who tell their clients to “calm down” are not likely to get the result they want.
“The opposite is usually the reaction,” says Zimmerman, who cofounded the Apple Valley, Minnesota-based firm three decades ago.
But how to set the right tone? Click HERE to see how advisors handled talking to clients about tough topics.
