For those of you who are just dropping in, make sure you check out the last three blogs.
Now we are at the meeting itself; here is how you make it memorable.
The Four Realms of Experience
In the book The Experience Economy, Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore outlined that there are four basic kinds of experiences that you can have. They are educational, entertainment, esthetic and escapist.
Financial planning is very much rooted in the education realm. A lot of an advisor's work explains current events and conditions to their clients and the various features and benefits of specific products or tactics.
Investing to ensure your financial independence is important work, but don’t assume that because it is so important that it must be serious. One of my clients cultivates this impression, ‘serious but not dangerous.’ In fact, when we blend realms, experiences resonate more deeply and matter more. For instance, if you combine a little entertainment with your education, you get EDUTAINMENT. Some escape, EDUSCAPIST.
How can you create Edutainment? How can you create Eduscapist?
The Best Office I Ever Saw
I was in Charlotte, NC and I met an advisor whose entire office was full of toys. He collected them. In the few minutes I was with him, I learned a lot about toys, people and how bizarre yet charming we are, values and emotions.
The advisor uses toys as props to start this important conversation with potential clients about emotions and value. I remember he took a Ty Beanie Bear off his shelf and said to me, “This is the most valuable toy I own. I could sell it for X in minutes if I listed it today. But I'd never sell that toy (he gestured to a worthless toy on a table). That toy cost me $35 at a garage sale, I paid the lady $100 out of principle, and I’ll never sell it. I love it.”
The Four Questions For The Four Realms
Education. In addition to ‘investing,’ what else do I want to teach guests who come to my office?
Entertainment. How can I make learning about themselves and investing more fun?
Environment. How can I change my environment to better reflect the ideas that inform my work? What has to go? What should be brought out from the shadows? What do my guests find interesting or surprising?
Escapist. What can I do to encourage my clients to want to linger a little longer?
See you next time. We’ll spend a little more time on questions and discussion and escapism.