The gift of listening
“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”
Jack Kerouac’s famous words from his legendary road novel ‘On the Road’ sums up our very positive attitude to 2021 at Smarter Financial Planning.
A few years ago, I made a passing remark to a friend that I was planning a Californian adventure taking in sections of the Pacific Highway and historic Route 66, culminating in Las Vegas.
They gave me Kerouac’s book as a gift when I was departing, and along the way I read it.
It was the perfect gift for that trip, and what a joy to receive something so perfectly in harmony with my plans.
(I’m not sure if I that book came back home with me. Could have been another example of ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’.)
It was an episode that taught me a very important lesson: great things happen when people don’t just hear, but actually listen – when they sense exactly what would be perfect for your particular situation.
On another occasion, I was gifted a musical instrument, a ukulele in fact, something I would never have thought of for myself in a thousand years – but it was bought by someone who intuitively sensed what I would love to do. But the real gift was the gift of permission – I was empowered to embark on a new journey I would otherwise never have had. The enjoy was the many happy hours of music-making that ensued and the discovery of Ukelele Jam Nights in the World famous and historic Hop Pole, Aylesbury.
This is very much our conviction at SFP.
At the core of our client relationships is listening
Listening is the essence of financial planning. Of course it’s about money and figures, but first must come the conversations needed to really tune in to what people want to get out of their life.
It’s the opposite of what Waldfogel talked about in his landmark book ‘Scroogenomics’, where he described the massive waste of cash resources during the Christmas season, as a result of gift givers' lack of knowledge of the recipients' true preferences.
But listening is hard. It’s much easier to buy people socks!
At Smart Financial Planning we’re happy to put the work in. We know that every customer is unique, everyone has their own needs, desires, ambitions and dreams, and we get right inside those dreams. This is why our service is so very bespoke.
As financial advisers, we hope we empower people, give them the ‘permission’, to get more out of life, the ability and confidence to spend or invest their money, to dream about their future, even down to the smaller things, such as simply being able to go on holiday. We open up new possibilities which, perhaps, they did not even realise they had.
For us, success is when a client shows they realise and appreciate how much we know them, how much we listen to them, and how much we understand their needs. Here are just a few recent comments from clients who very kindly got in touch at the end of last year:
“Thank goodness for my brilliant pension, it's a total saviour this year and that's all down to you!”
“It's funny, they keep playing an advert asking if people were miss sold ISAs etc by banks or financial advisers. I always think of you, as if everyone used you they wouldn’t have had to take out the advert!”
“Thank you Jon for all your advice this summer, in what have been difficult circumstances for everyone. It is much appreciated.”
This feedback is wonderful to get.
At the moment, we see some of our clients who are exploring life changes. Having worked from home during lockdown, they’ve found that being inside their own four walls did not drive them ‘stir crazy’ – quite the opposite. In fact, for quite a few we are now exploring how we could facilitate their early retirement.
This is where the value of listening continues.
Do you have five years left until your official retirement, but would now like to retire much earlier?
Perhaps we can find that perfect gift for you – the gift of hanging up your business suit or overalls forever! Feel free to give us a no obligation call.