There are various ways to help a client succeed in retirement. One of the easiest and most rewarding is to regularly discuss the client’s retirement planning. This means having face-to-face coaching discussions where the emphasis becomes not just talking about money but really gearing the conversation towards what the money is for.
Step 1- Getting Agreement Opportunities Exist
The first, and most critical step, in the coaching process is to get your client to recognize the opportunities available in retirement. There is a natural tendency to assume a client knows this. After all, he/she knows what they are doing. It sounds logical, but it doesn’t work that way. A common cause preventing clients from better preparing is they are not aware what is needed for a satisfying retirement.
Take the time to describe the importance of actions required – i.e. building a realistic retirement plan, creating a balanced leisure lifestyle, building a health and wellbeing strategy, importance of purpose, etc.
Ensure your client understands what it is and why. For example, in my coaching, I conduct one-on-one and couples coaching discussions as well as facilitate small group workshops where attendees learn from each other and from me. Workshops are valuable in that they afford clients an opportunity to explore retirement options in a fun setting using group discussions, exciting activities and social networking.
Step 2 – Identifying Alternative Solutions
In this step the client will identify as many alternative solutions as may be necessary to obtain their visualized retirement. For example, when building a health and wellbeing strategy, clients are coached to consider their own diet and nutrition and exercise practice to arrive at what mind, body and soul changes are needed as part of building a balanced lifestyle.
Step 3 – Agree on Actions to be Taken
In step 3, a client not only agrees on which alternatives will be acted upon, but specifically when the action(s) will take place. Goal setting and identifying milestones are important because they give you and your client specific points for discussion and evaluation. For example, clients are coached to consider options to deal with a financial matter that may appear on the radar five or ten years down the road (i.e. care of an aging parent).
Together, the options are reviewed including how they fit into the client’s attitude towards risk, reward, goals and values. Often the client self-selects the actions to be taken and embarks on solving the problem before it has an opportunity to fully manifest.
Step 4 – Follow-Up
Follow-up is a demonstration of caring. It is the process of finding out whether the client is doing what he/she said they would. At each coaching meeting, ask how the client is progressing. What’s working, what’s not working as well as she would like and how can you help. Use notes from past discussions. The more specific this part of the discussion is, the richer and fuller the meeting will be.
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Effective coaching is coaching that creates the right changes leading to improvement in the client’s ability to impact their retirement. As part of the coaching experience, you may wish to host client workshops. Workshops are an awesome way to celebrate clients’ success and launch them towards higher realms of experience and personal fulfillment.
Clients are searching for the coaching model in wealth, health and relationships as demonstrated by the surge in books and coaching programs in the marketplace. Furthermore, clients think that these types of coaching and extra value services are only for the wealthy, but they don’t have to be.
By working together using our tested programs, you can implement effective coaching into your practice today. Such action carries a very high return on investment, and helps you achieve social prominence as an elite advisor in your community.
For further information about coaching clients for retirement, contact:
Richard (Rick) Atkinson, MBA, CHRP, CMC, FDFS
Author of: Don’t Just Retire – Live It, Love It! Why Me? And No Gold Watch! Strategies for Retiring Right! Life After Work: Live it, Love it! and Coaching Clients for Retirement (a Primer) plus the workbooks, The First Step and Strategies for Retiring Right!
Email: ramgt75@rogers.com
