The Power of Human-First Financial Guidance with Ross Marino

DBDL Insider is a weekly recap of the Do Business. Do Life. Podcast for financial advisors. This newsletter is my attempt to help financial advisors create unlimited growth and freedom in their LIFE and their BUSINESS and do it faster than they ever thought possible. We call this #DBDL or "Doing Business. Doing Life." at Triad Partners.

It’s an experience. It’s a community. And more than anything, it’s a movement.

Our next guest is Ross Marino, CFP?, CeFT? .

This week, I'm talking to Ross Marino. Ross is the founder and CEO of?Transitus Wealth Partners?and?Advisor 2X. He's also the creator of the first behavioral finance conference, SHIFT. Ross is a seasoned financial planner with over 35 years of experience and a pioneer of the human-first financial guidance movement.

As Ross wisely says, "Life happens, plans change." As a financial advisor, your role goes beyond crunching numbers and discussing products. It's about truly understanding your clients—their thoughts, emotions and experiences. By connecting with them on a deeper level, you can provide the guidance they need to navigate life's uncertainties. That’s what human-first financial advice is all about.

In this episode, we dive deep into the human-first process and how a better understanding of your client’s circumstances and story, will allow you to create a clear plan to help them retire with confidence.

My Key Takeaways:

Embracing a Human-First Approach

• Lead with compassion, empathy and curiosity. That's what cements the relationship and helps you understand how to guide your clients. It also builds trust and allows you to get to the root of who your clients really are.
• This approach can create a therapeutic experience for clients. When they connect the dots, they begin to understand what they want to worry less about, or more specifically, WHY they worry to begin with.

"I realized that as financial advisors, our role goes beyond just managing money. We have to help people adapt to life, to navigate its twists and turns with resilience and confidence. That's the essence of what we do at Transitus Wealth - we're not just financial planners; we're life navigators."

Replace your first meeting with a "Mission Meeting"

• A mission meeting is a special meeting where the advisor learns about the client's values, goals and beliefs about money. It's not about numbers but about understanding the client's personal background and motivations regarding their finances.
• This meeting helps build trust, strengthens the advisor-client relationship and ensures that financial guidance is tailored to the client's unique aspirations and priorities.

"The insight that I get from these people is stuff I would have never picked up on. ‘Well, this is what happened to me when I was younger and here's how my mother reacted and this is what we went through,’ pause for effect, ‘And I suppose that's influenced what I'm doing with my money.’ Well, actually it has."

Start with Who and What

During the mission meeting, you need to start with these two questions:

1. WHO in your life shaped your views on money? (Family members, mentors, authors, etc.)
2. WHAT impactful experiences or life events influenced your financial decisions?

"I've seen clients share things that they never shared with their spouse of 10, 20, 30 years."

We’ve got a bunch of copies of Ross’ book,?Shaping Change: How to Respond When Life Disrupts Your Retirement Plan, and we’ll be giving them away until they’re all gone.

Here’s what to do next if you’d like your free copy:

• ?First, text the number 67 to 785-800-3235
• ?We’ll reply back asking you to leave an honest rating and review of the show.
• ?Once completed, we’ll grab your mailing address and ship you the book. That’s it!

Please note, text message and data rates may apply, you can opt-out of receiving text messages at any time by replying STOP to any message you receive.

Do Business. Do Life.

This week I was DBDLing with Triad Partners members at the Michael Hyatt mastermind. I hope you've been enjoying your week.