When a client says, “Everything’s fine! Nothing to discuss,” in all your meetings, that’s a financial advisor win—right?
Not necessarily. According to Meghaan Lurtz, Ph.D., a leading global expert on the psychology of financial planning, this can be a sign of looming danger for your relationship.
Fix, Fine, Flourish: How (and Why) Clients Fall Out of Love With You
In her recent article on Michael Kitces’ blog entitled Fix, Fine, Flourish: A Framework To Take Clients From (Just) “Fine” Stagnancy To Being Engaged Again, Lurtz breaks down a typical client’s journey into three stages.
The first stage is “Fix.” Clients seek out a financial advisor when they have immediate financial concerns to address, and as their chosen expert, you’re able to gain their trust and gratitude in this phase by helping them to stabilize their financial situation and set themselves up for a lucrative future. Nice work!
The second stage is “Fine.” Once a client’s initial issues are resolved, they transition into the “Fine” stage, where you’re likely to hear:
“Nope, don’t need anything!”
“Everything’s still good!”
“Don’t call me, I’ll call you.”
These are the words of a satisfied and seemingly stable client. You’ve resolved their most pressing financial concerns; what more could they want?
A lot, actually. In fact, they don’t just want more from you—they need more, or they’re likely to leave after their upteenth “fine” monitoring meeting.
What Your “Fine” Clients Are Actually Thinking
No matter how impressed or satisfied your clients were in their “Fix” stage, the farther they travel into “Fine,” those feelings will start to dwindle. With no new problems to resolve for your clients, you’ll have no way to continue proving your worth, and they’ll naturally start to value you less, weakening your relationship.
And then, one day, you might find yourself blindsided by a “fine” client dropping you to manage their finances independently. Why should they retain a financial advisor who, in their opinion, isn’t needed anymore?
According to Lurtz, the psychological underpinnings of this “fine” complacency lie in the end of history illusion. This cognitive bias leads individuals to believe they’ve reached a stable point in their lives, whilst vastly underestimating the likelihood of future changes. Research involving over 19,000 participants from ages 18 to 68 reinforced this; though participants generally acknowledged that significant change had occurred in the past, they believed relatively little would change in the future, regardless of their age. This distorted perception limits our ability to envision new goals and opportunities, even as our life circumstances, interests, and aspirations continue to evolve.
So, even if a client came to you just a year ago with a mountain of financial issues to address, they may genuinely not anticipate that ever happening again, and thus not see the need to stay on as a client.
How to Become Invaluable to Your Clients—Indefinitely
The “end of history” illusion is a huge detriment when clients see their financial advisor as a simple problem-solver—which they likely do, given that this was the nature of your relationship through the “Fix” phase. (You “fixed” their problems, and now they’re “fine.”)
The key to becoming an invaluable asset to your clients is to establish yourself as someone who helps motivated business owners reach their goals, rather than someone who just manages their money.
By educating your clients on the importance of proactive financial planning, you can open up an endless amount of opportunities for your relationship to thrive.
This brings us to the third (often skipped) stage of the client journey: “Flourish.”
Turn Your “Fine” Meetings Into an Endless Stream of Client Wins
In the last stage of her “Fix, Fine, Flourish” framework, Lurtz encourages advisors to take their check-in meetings from mere progress monitoring to “Flourish Meetings,” where you prioritize the client’s discovery, reflection, and growth.
An easy way to make this pivot is by asking your client reflective questions that delve into their evolving goals and aspirations:
- What significant changes have occurred in your life or business since our last meeting?
- What changes would make you feel more fulfilled?
- What are the biggest challenges in your business today?
Come prepared with a library of solutions to propel your clients toward their goals. Here are just a few that our top advisors have used to “wow” their clientele:
1. Client Goal: “I’d like to retain my talent for as long as possible.”
Financial Advisor Solution: “Small businesses have to get creative to compete with larger companies’ salaries and benefits packages. Have you heard about student loan matching?”
SECURE 2.0’s student loan matching provision is a game-changer for business owners. Employers can now match employee student loan payments with 401(k) contributions, even if the employee isn’t contributing themselves. This tackles the tough choice between paying down debt and saving for retirement.
Employees will love the early start to retirement savings and increased financial security, and employers will love the boost in talent retention and employee morale.
2. Client Goal: “I wish I had better retirement planning options for myself, but it is what it is.”
Financial Advisor Solution: “Actually, there’s an excellent option for business owners that I don’t think we’ve discussed yet. Have you heard of cash balance plans?”
Cash balance plans promise a specific benefit amount at retirement, which can be taken as a lump sum or moved into an annuity for regular monthly income. The employer makes all contributions based on an actuarial formula (percentage of pay or a fixed amount). Employees don’t contribute.
This is often favored by business owners due to potentially higher contribution limits than traditional defined contribution plans. Plus, it can be combined with a profit-sharing 401(k) plan to benefit all employees.
If you want to learn more about cash balance plans (and earn CE credit for it), register for our upcoming webinar with NAPA on April 2, 2025.
3. Client Goal: “I wish I could find more quality hires.”
Financial Advisor Solution: “Fifty-seven percent of millennials said they’d feel less stressed if their employer offered financial wellness benefits. Have you heard of Roth employer matching?”
Roth employer matching is a powerful option for business owners looking to attract younger employees who anticipate higher future incomes. It allows employees to contribute after-tax dollars, ensuring tax-free growth and withdrawals in retirement.
Want More Ways to Help Your Clients Flourish?
By embracing the “Fix, Fine, Flourish” framework, encouraging your clients to think proactively about their finances, and offering a variety of services to reach their goals, you can transform “fine” clients into engaged, loyal partners.
If 401(k) offerings aren’t in your reengagement library yet, contact us. We’d love to help you overdeliver to your clients through every step of your relationship.
