Matt Linnert says a client’s psychological needs and wants typically change over time.
When asked, many planners say their goal is to bring their clients peace of mind. Is this what you wish to achieve for your clients? The only way for this to happen is if there was stress and suffering in the first place.
Interestingly, suffering and peace live at different levels, so once one level of suffering has been dissolved, the next level of needs and wants begins to appear.
You may believe it’s not your role or place to attend to any other needs than a client’s financial security needs (level two).
If so, you significantly reduce the “personalised value experience” for your clients throughout their relationship with you.
One model that looks at the changing nature of needs and wants is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow works on the principle that needs arise according to a hierarchy, where lower needs, once adequately satisfied, no longer motivate. You can make a massive difference to your clients’ lives if you can take them to the level of self-actualisation. Such arrival does not occur with inadequate satisfaction at the previous four levels.
FROM THEN TO NOW
When your client first comes to you, they will be at one of these levels of needs and suffering. It will be different from client to client, but the framework remains.
If you are not receiving the referrals you would like, it’s typically because you are looking after the level two needs, and doing it well, meaning their current needs and yearning are not being consciously attended to by you.
As a result, they love you for a year, and after that it’s just a process.
To keep your clients engaged in your service – which will be so important should the “opt-in movement” continue – keep in mind that the real needs of your clients will evolve and change over time.
Matt Linnert is a co-founder of www.moneypersonality.com.au and www.innergi.com.au
