Lesson 5 | How to get at Vision (9:17 minutes)
How to get at Vision
All right, so let's walk through it. How do we get them to give you their vision?
So, the first one that we talked about is to remind them why we want to do that. So, you could say words like ... And we've got this scripted for you, it's in your notes. But, before you ask any of the questions, let them know that most people don't have this solved. So, they're going to relax a little bit, go, "Okay, so I don't have to show up and have all the answers here. As a matter of fact, the point is that I don't have the answers. You're gonna help me get it."
The next is, and language that you may want to use around this is this, you can say, "Hey, we spoke about vision when we first met, and the point of us understanding it is there's two points. One is to make sure we only address issues that are important to you, and the second is to make sure that what we suggest is going to matter in the long run, not just in the short term."
So, not too many wealth holders are gonna argue with that. It's like, "Yeah, I want you to address things that matter to me and only those things, and I want to make sure that it fits in the long run." Okay? So, we've got some specific language there.
The next place we want to go is just create some safety. So, we say, "I just have a few questions to help me get a sense for how you want things to be in the future." It's very disarming language. We're not putting a squeeze on them.
Then the other thing we want to talk about with them is the timeline, and so if you think about time on a line, there is the present, so, if the present is over here and the future is over here, then the future is inherently unknowable, right? So, there's a destination that's there that you just can't know. So, as you travel through time, the further through time you go, the less knowable it is, which means the next few days you probably have a pretty good idea of things that are gonna happen, and then the further you go, you don't know. However, you can have an idea about your vision that's crystal clear. Crystal clear. So, you can know what that destination looks like, and not know exactly how you're gonna get there. Well, that's a reason I come to you. That's a reason I get planning. That's a reason I get guidance along the way.
So, what we want to do, though, is we want to push them out as far on the time horizon as is reasonably possible, and at least aim for about a 10 year time window because 10 years seems to take away the boundaries of time, knowledge, and money. So, if I don't know how to do a thing, 10 years from now, I could probably have it figured out. 10 years from now, I could probably have saved things up. So, the time, the knowledge, the money, they become a lot less relevant when I run out about 10 years. So, go after that 10 year window.
The other is that try to encourage them to be bold about their vision, but still grounded. Okay? So, you still want to have something that is compelling to them. Until a vision's an obsession, people aren't gonna act on it. So, you want to make sure that they are really dialed in and connected with it, and that way they'll be more likely to act on their vision, and frankly, act on the advice that you're gonna provide along the way.
So, six questions that you can ask to help get at people's vision, and we highly recommend that you ask them in order. So, here are the six, and they're in your notes as well. So, the first is, "Do you have a sense of what you want the future to look like for your...," and then whatever the topic of conversation has been. So, if it's been about a business transition or the finances or the retirement or their family, so, whatever it is. So, you would say, "Do you have a sense of what you want the future to look like for your business transition?" Or, "Do you have a sense of what you want the future to look like for your retirement, or for your finances, or for your family?"
It's a binary question. They're gonna answer a yes or a no, or I guess a maybe, and then just, "Can you tell me about it?" So, "Do you have a sense of how you want the future to look like for your retirement?" "I've got a bit of a sense." "Well, can you tell me about it?" Get them into the conversation, and just let them talk, take notes. As a matter of fact, recording is a great idea so that you can look at those notes later.
The second question is, "How would you know if you created a successful...," and whatever it is you were talking about. So, if it was a retirement, "How would you know if you created a successful retirement?" Or, "How would you know if you created a successful life, or a successful succession, or a successful intergenerational wealth transfer? How would you know?" And what that starts to draw out is some specifics, and then ask, "So, give me some examples."
The third is, "If you were guaranteed to succeed at...," whatever it is that we're talking about, "What would you do?" So, "If you were guaranteed to succeed at retirement, what would you do?" So, if was gonna be exactly however you wanted it, what would you do?
The next are, "What are five things that you would want to be proud of in the future?"
The next is, "What is the thing you want to have, do, or be?" So, goals fall into one of three categories. Having goals, doing goals, or being goals. So, I want to have this stuff, I want to do these things, I want to be this person. So, "In the future, what is it you want to be? What is it you want to do? What is it you want to have?"
Then the sixth one is, "What will be happening in your life in 10 years? But also, what won't be happening?" And what happens is by asking those questions, you're gonna start to clarify or help them bring some clarity around how they want the future to look.
Now, every now and then you'll find someone who loves this stuff. They totally want to go deep. They want to have the philosophical conversations, so there's two things to keep in mind. One is, watch the clock. So, this shouldn't take forever for you to do, and in higher wealth situations, it may take longer, but just be aware of the time. As a matter of fact, set some time constraints at the beginning of your meeting so that you don't have to, especially if you know you have someone who's gonna be talking a lot.
But if you've got a client where it's you should be spending the time and they are into it, there is a question that will prompt tons from them, and it's the most powerful question I know when it comes to the future, and it's a bit of an unusual one, so follow me for a second here. The question is, "In the future, how do you choose to suffer?" And people go, "Suffer? I don't want to suffer. Are you kidding? You crazy? I don't want to suffer."
This is where you have to follow me for a second. No matter what you choose to do, there's some sort of suffering that goes with it. So, if I want to be ripped and in shape and look like a Greek god, then I will suffer by getting up early, hiring a trainer, eating the right foods, not going out for beers with my friends, getting lots of sleep, drinking lots of water. There's a lot that I have to say no to, there's the suffering.
Now, the flip side is if I choose to be a total couch potato, then I'm gonna suffer in a different way. I'm gonna put on weight, I'm gonna lose mobility, I'm gonna lose cardiovascular, I'm probably gonna get sick, I might die earlier. There's a whole list of things.
If a person wants to be single, there's a suffering tied to it. If a person wants to be married, there's a suffering tied to it. If a person wants to be an entrepreneur, there's a suffering tied to it. If a person wants to be an employee, there's a suffering tied to it. No matter what you choose, there's a suffering. So, if you've got somebody who's really into this stuff, ask them. Say, "How do you choose to suffer in the future?" They'll tell you. It'll help you see the things that they actually want. It'll tell you what prices they're willing to pay in the future.
Now, don't do this with everyone. The golden rule of this stuff is don't do a deep dive into a shallow pool. If you've got someone who is not into this stuff, don't push them. Just ask the questions. It may be very surface stuff, or you may have somebody who really, really goes deep. Okay?
So, when it comes to vision, we roll through these five stages. So, you want to reassure them. You want to tell them the purpose of it. You want to create safety, and you want to create context. Then you're gonna ask the five questions.
So, quite simply, and if I read this out to you, the reassurance is, "Most people simply haven't sat down to get really clear on their vision. So, rest easy if you don't have quick answers here. We're just doing a bit of exploring." The purpose. "We spoke about vision when we first met, and the point of us understanding it is first to make sure we only address issues that matter to you, and the second is to make sure that what we suggest is gonna matter in the long run as well as the short term." So, safety. "I just have a few questions to help me get a sense of how you want things to be in the future." The context. "So, let's start thinking about 10 years in the future. We can't know everything that'll happen between now and then, but it's enough time to make some real changes on things that matter to you, so let's ask some questions." Now you'll get into those questions, and that'll give you a chance to explore it with them.
So, that's the sequence for how we approach vision. Vision is a thing, having conversations about vision will absolutely change the relationship that you have with your clients and absolutely set you apart from other advisors out there.
