Communication Essentials for Financial Planners. Grable John E.

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      John E. Grable

      Communication Essentials for Financial Planners

      Communication Essentials for Financial Planners

       Strategies and Techniques

      JOHN E. GRABLE

      JOSEPH W. GOETZ

Edited byCharles R. Chaffin, EdD

      Cover image: © olgaaltunina/iStockphoto

      Cover design: Wiley

      Copyright © 2017 by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. All rights reserved.

      Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

      Published simultaneously in Canada.

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      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Grable, John E., author. | Goetz, Joseph W. (Professor of financial planning), author.

      Title: Communication essentials for financial planners: strategies and techniques / John E. Grable, Joseph W. Goetz.

      Description: Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |

      Identifiers: LCCN 2017001119 (print) | LCCN 2017016280 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119350798 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119350774 (epub) | ISBN 9781119350781 (cloth)

      Subjects: LCSH: Financial planners. | Interpersonal communication. | Interpersonal relations. | Investment advisor-client relationships.

      Classification: LCC HG179.5 (ebook) | LCC HG179.5 .G695 2017 (print) | DDC 332.6 – dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017001119

      Preface

      For financial planners.. communication.. is the single most powerful antecedent to trust and commitment. .

– Dr. Dave Yeske1

      The purpose of this book is to provide financial planners with insights on how they can improve their communication and counseling skills. The approach presented in this book is based on helping financial planners develop, practice, and use skills associated with the formal and informal sharing of information between a client and the financial planning professional in an empathic manner that enhances the client–financial planner relationship.2

      This book serves as a valuable resource for students and professionals alike. The ineffable importance of consistent and effective communication with clients is widely acknowledged by experienced financial planners. At the same time, few planners have implemented systems within their firms (or personal professional development plans) to increase knowledge and hone skills associated with client communication! This book provides professional financial planners, as well as the leadership within financial planning firms, with a blueprint for taking their client communication to the next level. Inarguably, increased sophistication in client communication translates to higher client retention and a more effective financial planning process. Thus, the ROI on time allocated to toward communication skill development is quite high.

      Those who conduct research on financial counseling and planning also know that communication skills are the foundation to building a successful financial planning practice. Some researchers have even contended that, “effective communication is vital to successful financial planning.”3 Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) – the primary academic standards setting and enforcement board for college and university programs4 – supports this notion, as it has identified communication and counseling skills as an essential element of financial planning competency.

      WHY THIS BOOK

      Over the past two decades, myriad financial planning practitioners have emphasized the importance of client communication to business success and client satisfaction.5 In fact, the authors, who regularly hear practitioners speak about their professional roles when invited by their university’s student financial planning organization, have noticed a consistent emphasis on client communication and relationship building as the foundation of each presenter’s success. Many of these practitioners believe strongly that their method of client communication is effective, and undoubtedly it is at some level, but what they may fail to consider is whether another communication strategy or skillset could work even better. As will be highlighted throughout this book, the study of communication and counseling skills can assist even those financial planners who are already quite proficient communicators to become even more effective in their work with clients.

      Current financial planning practice standards mandate that anyone hoping to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP^®) professional must obtain proficiency in the following interpersonal communication domains:

      ■ Evaluating client and planner attitudes, values, biases, and behavioral characteristics and the impact these have on financial planning

      ■ Principles of communication and counseling

      The CFP Board’s requirement goes beyond a theoretical understanding to requiring proficiency. The role of communicating effectively with prospective and current clients permeates the financial planning process. Consider the CFP Board’s standards related to professional conduct and fiduciary responsibility, disciplinary rules and procedures, and practice standards. According to the CFP Board, practice standards are intended to:

      1. Assure that the practice of financial planning by CFP^® professionals is based on established norms of