Carl Richards: Prioritizing Problems Over Solutions

Framework with Ana Trujillo Limón

Curiosity and prioritizing clients’ problems is an essential skill in financial advising.

In this episode, Ana Trujillo Limón, Director, Coaching and Advisor Content, speaks with Carl Richards, Founder of The Society of Advice, about why it’s important for advisors to understand that their clients' priority is their problem, not the advisor’s solutions. They emphasize the need for advisors to stay curious, gather information about their clients' current issues, and address the challenge of delivering certainty. Additionally, they discuss the evolving role of financial advisors and the significance of the field of financial therapy.

Carl discusses:

• Why it’s important for advisors to understand that people don’t care about your solutions, they care about their problems
• How advisors can stay curious and gather information from their clients about what their current problems are
• Why certainty is easy to solve but almost impossible to deliver
• What advisors aren’t doing but should be doing to help their businesses and firms
• How he works through feelings of fear, and why advisors shouldn't try to get rid of it
• Why the field of financial therapy will become much more meaningful
• The evolving role of financial advisors and why they might soon resemble media companies more than traditional banks
• And more

Resources

• Crazy Loco Love: A Memoir by Victor Villasenor
• MBS.works

Connect with Jamie Hopkins and Ana Trujillo Limón:

• Carson Group LLC
• LinkedIn: Jamie Hopkins
• LinkedIn: Ana Trujillo Limón

Connect with Carl Richards:

• The Society of Advice
• Behavior Gap
• LinkedIn: Carl Richards

About our Guest:

Carl Richards is a Certified Financial Planner™ and creator of the Sketch Guy column, which appeared weekly for a decade in The New York Times. Carl has also been featured on Marketplace Money, Oprah.com, and Forbes.com. In addition, Carl has become a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences and visual learning events around the world.