When good advice goes unnoticed

One of the most interesting things about working with advisors is seeing how much work happens that clients never know about.

And I don’t mean that as a criticism of clients.

Most clients aren’t supposed to know every detail of what happens behind the scenes.

They hired you because they trust you to handle things they don’t have the time, interest, or expertise to manage themselves.

But there is a difference between doing valuable work and making sure clients understand the value of that work.

Because the reality is that your clients can’t appreciate what they never see.

Think about everything that happens before you make a recommendation.

You review their situation.

You look for planning opportunities.

You coordinate with other professionals.

You consider tax consequences.

You make decisions today that can impact their financial future years from now.

That is valuable work.

But from the client’s perspective, sometimes all they see is the final recommendation.

And when the only visible part of the relationship is the investment account, the conversation can quickly become about the things everyone can measure:

“How did we do this year?”

“What did the market return?”

“Why is this fee what it is?”

Those are not wrong questions.

But they are often missing the bigger picture.

The advisors who are creating the strongest relationships are finding ways to bring the planning process into the conversation.

They are helping clients understand not just what they recommended, but why they recommended it.

Tax planning is one of the best ways to do this. Not because clients want to sit around talking about the tax code.

They don’t.

But because clients do care when you uncover something they didn’t know was possible.

They care when you help them avoid a mistake.

They care when you show them that someone is thinking ahead on their behalf.

Those moments are what separate an advisor who manages accounts from an advisor who becomes a trusted part of their financial life.

The goal isn’t to create more work.

The goal is to make sure the work you’re already doing has the impact it deserves.

If you want to learn how advisors are using tax planning conversations to create more of these moments with clients, join me for a free training on July 21st at 9 AM PST: The Advisor Advantage: How Advisors Are Quietly Becoming Indispensable While Everyone Else Competes on Performance.

Happy Tax Planning!

Steven Jarvis, CPA