Get Rid Of The Clutter

SAN ANTONIO -- Our mind is like a smartphone – if we don’t update it regularly, it will become stuck.

Financial coach Simon Reilly told NAIFA members that – like a computer or smartphone – people have only so much random access memory in their mindspace. Reilly spoke during the NAIFA Annual Meeting.

“We’re dealing with clutter, interruptions, meetings, multitasking, noise, social media and texts,” he said. “And we have these two things going on big-time: decision fatigue and anxiety.”

If financial professionals – or anyone else for that matter – do not put themselves first, they will find themselves in what Reilly called “a state of overwhelm.”

He gave some steps to break out of the overwhelm.

- Create some space to become anonymous and away from everything that is going on. Empty your RAM by emptying your mind.

“I don’t believe the mind was meant to store that much information,” Reilly said. He advised his audience to take their mental information, sort it by category, categorize it and delegate it.

- Build a time management system. Reilly divides his own time in this way. He blocks out his free time. He designates buffer time, which is time he works on his business, not in his business. And then he sets aside focus days – days he works directly with clients.

In this way, he creates more space for what he needs to do. He also lists all the tasks he loves do to and delegates any other necessary tasks that he does not love to do.

By clearing the clutter out of their minds, advisors can build the foundation that leads to what Reilly called “cracking the income code.” He defined the income code as “discovering what clients want.”

“If we are too busy, there is a possibility that our RAM memory won’t take the time to ask questions to get a deeper understanding of what the client wants,” Reilly said. “Because we don’t have enough space in our own lives, there is the potential that we may not take the time to ask the deeper questions to serve the client’s needs.”

What are those deeper questions?

Reilly suggested asking the client what are the three biggest improvements they want to make in relationship to their financial plan, and their potential to grow assets, protect assets, save taxes and leave a financial legacy.

From there, an advisor should ask the client what are the three biggest things that are not working in regard to the advisor they are currently working with in relationship to their current financial plan, their asset growth, their asset protection, their tax savings, and their financial legacy.

From there, the advisor must confirm what the client wants and whether the client believes they can work together to accomplish the client’s goals.

But that mental decluttering is the first step, Reilly said.

“If advisor has space in their own life, they will have space for their clients,” he said. “If an advisor asks the right questions and provides value, income will take care of itself.”

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @INNsusan.

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