The right mindset

All of us are, to varying degrees, influenced by the media.  This afflicts clients and their financial advisers alike.  The client reads the headline and is influenced by it.  The adviser reads the same headline, and assumes that the client will be influenced by it - and the net result is that nobody takes control of their financial planning at a time when circumstances are screaming for it.

Remember the following headlines?

"Fuel Protests - Gordon Brown under pressure from Farmers and hauliers to reduce fuel prices"

That sounds recent - so when was it?  November 2000!

Or try this one...

"Will the world fall into global recession?  The world economy is heading for a full blow recession of the magnitude of the 1930's crash"

That one was in 2001.

Or...

"Millions face pension hardship - more than 12 million working people are not saving enough for their retirement, a major report into pensions has found"

That one came out in 2004.

Of course, there's more than an element of truth in these headlines, but the fact is that they are always there.  There are always superficially persuasive reasons for clients not to make the right financial decisions, and for us not to press them to do so - and if we allowed our lives to be dictated by the headlines in the media, we'd never do anything worthwhile.

Without the right mindset, our clients are doomed to penury, and we don't have a viable business model.  So it's time to be proactive!  Download our checklist of marketing emphases by clicking here.