As the full impact of COVID-19 continues to unveil itself in the financial services industry, many advisors we are hearing from have begun to plan for a long-term remote practice. If you are contemplating a similar shift for the future, it is important to understand the limitations of the methods you used in the past to get to know prospects. Two of these methods, (a) judgment based on direct interaction and (b) forms with …
Like economics, financial planning, or psychology, there is a science to communication. Research-backed methods exist for sharing information with others, particularly in times of chaos or a crisis. As many of you probably have experienced during preceding days, there are excellent examples of letters, email messages, and social media posts that are both informative and comforting. See great examples from Radix Financial or this local business message to customers, Tap & Six. Likewise, there have …
If you have ever taken a quiz entitled “How to tell if your boyfriend is cheating on you” or “Answer these five questions to learn to see if you’re a good friend,” then you’ve probably taken something akin to what we call a “Cosmo test.” Your answers to just a few questions will result in a detailed analysis of your personality, along with a lengthy set of advice on improving your life (or a …
“My neighbor is driving me crazy. She always says she’s the most frugal person she knows, but she’s spending every dime on *&#$* at Target. It’s not frugal. It’s stupid.” A friend recently shared this sentiment with me, and it is an excellent example of the fact that some of us aren’t great at evaluating our own personal characteristics. Some of us lack self-awareness when it comes to specific attributes about ourselves. Frugality is …
While visiting Santa Cruz last year in August at the FPA Far West Roundup, I stepped into a surf shop on the wharf and saw a magic 8-ball for sale (I’m still not exactly certain what magic 8-balls and surfing have to do with each other). I hadn’t seen one of these things in quite some time, and it reminded me that, much like many of the other toys and games our children play with, …