Clients relate to their money and their financial professional based on their "money style." Barbara Kay, business psychology coach, shares how to identify and tailor your communication to clients based on their particular style.

Well, today I’m flying solo with Barbara Kay and she’s going to share with us how to identify your clients money style. I’m really excited to hear her insights on helping financial professionals identify this alongside their clients and then really engage in meaningful conversations. Barbara is a return guest, and as you’ll recall, she’s been a business psychology coach since 1998. She works with professionals and financial services organizations nationwide, including Wires, Independence, RIAs and their wholesale partners. In addition to coaching, she speaks at conferences and provides custom skill building on coaching skills and leadership, teams, communication, brand and sales psychology, change, client relationships, women and behavioral science. She writes a quarterly leadership column in the Journal of Financial Planning and is the author of two books, The Top Performers Guide to Change and the $14 Trillion Woman. Your Essential Guide to the Female Client. We are so excited to have Barbara here with us today. So let’s go listen to some of the insights that Barbara has for us on determining our clients money styles.

Hi, I’m John.

And I’m Julie.

We’re the hosts of the Hartford Funds Human Centric Investing Podcast.

Every other week we’re talking with inspiring thought leaders to hear their best ideas for how you can transform your relationships with your clients.

Let’s go.

Hi, Barbara. Thank you so much for joining us today for the Human Centric Investing podcast.

Well, it’s so delightful to join you again, Julie. It’s always wonderful to have good conversation together.

I agree wholeheartedly and this is a topic that I’m very excited to dive into today. How do I identify your clients money style? And it’s interesting, Barbara, as I read your article and white paper on Harvard Funds dot com on this topic, you know, it occurred to me that we all have different personality styles and that obviously plays into how we interact with each other and communicate with each other. But I’ve never thought about a money style. So will you share with us a little bit about your your thinking and educate us on our different money styles and maybe how it could help connect with clients and really smooth out the communication process?

Absolutely. So the money style is is based on our personal style, but it impacts how we relate to money. So I designed it for this article, the the little acronym Cash for the money style C A, S H for the four styles that are out there. So the C stands for the Confident Money style. The A stands for the analytical Money style. The S stands for the sociable Money style, and H stands for the Harmonious Money style. And all four of those styles tend to deal with money and therefore they’re financial professional differently. So that’s that’s the framework. What more do you want to know about that?

So how do we understand what our clients are? Obviously, that’s us. I love that cash framework. And and as I hear those words, it’s interesting. And then I’m thinking, I wonder what I am. How do we go about that process of discovering that with with clients?

Well, they’re based on how the clients think about the relationship with the financial professional and their money. So half of the styles are task focused. They’re really focused on the goals and the objectives for the money. And the other two are focused more on the relationship. So that’s how you get half of the styles. The other part of it is are the styles tend to be quick and spontaneous or do they tend to be methodical and thoughtful? So if you put people on that continuum, you end up with the four different styles. So the again, c a, s,h stands for confident and the confident style is quick and spontaneous but focused on their goals and objectives for their money. And they that changes how they interact with their financial professional. The analytical style is also focused on the goals and objectives and that affects how they relate to their financial professional. But they are much more methodical and analytical. The sociable style is quick and spontaneous, but much more relationship focused. The harmonious style is also relationship focused, but much more thoughtful, cautious, and tends to want to take more time. So this really impacts how they relate to their money and specifically how they relate to their financial professional. Do you have any questions or you just want me to go into more detail about the styles and how to recognize the styles?

Let’s dive in. I’m fascinated, so I really would love to know more.

Well, the confident style the financial professional will recognize the confident style because they tend to be very direct. They tend to be not afraid to speak up, and they’re focused on the bottom line. These are the clients that come in and they really don’t want to spend a lot of time doing introductory chit chat. And they if you have a 20 page report on investment analysis, they probably just want to hear the bottom line. Just give me the top line. Three things I need to know. They can be really speedy and they’re focused on the results and they want to feel like they’re achieving their goals and they’re achieving a win. And so financial professionals will recognize that get down to business type of person. That is the confident style. The analytical style is also very focused on the project and the and the goals for their money, But they are the opposite of the confident style when it comes to the way they approach it. So they actually would sit down if you had a very long planning document or investment analysis document in front, they would literally go through the entire document and might ask you questions line by line. They’re very focused on quality and accuracy and they really want to get into the details. And so you can see just between those two styles. A financial professional needs to relate to those two different styles very differently. If you took the confident style and you started going line by line through that, let’s say 20 page document, they’d be bored out of their mind and probably interrupt you and push you to move forward. The analytical style, if you just gave them the bottom line, they would be distressed and say, Why aren’t you giving me the details and then asking you to go through the report line by line. Now, the sociable and the harmonious style are not so focused on the goals and objectives. They’re very focused on the relationship. So you can recognize the sociable style because they come in there, they’re going to glad hand you, they’re going to effusive they want to have a good time. These might be the type of clients that frankly want to go out to lunch and have a great time together and hardly want to spend any time on the, let’s say, 20 page report that you have for them. And the harmonious style is similar in the sense that they’re focused on the relationship, but they tend to be a little quieter and a little less extroverted. And so they’re very focused on peace and stability and harmony, and they want to feel like their financial professional is walking with them, has their back and is supporting them. So they they, the sociable in the harmonious style are much more focused on the relationship, but they come out a little bit differently. The sociable style is much more extroverted and the harmonious style is much lower key. But it’s really important that they feel like you have their back, they’re supportive and you’re partnering with them. They want to feel like somebody is with them in the in the journey. That’s just the overall objective and feel of the. Or different styles. What? What more can I share?

So I’m curious, do people tend to fall into just one style, or could it be a blend? Because as I listen to those and I’m thinking I might have parts of two or three. What in your expertise, is it just one or are we sort of a blended approach as people when we think about our money style?

Well, people are more complicated then for different styles. And and as I.

Imagine that!

Imagine that! you know, as I like to say, a really good personality assessment is one that I know of, which I won’t mention on the podcast, but it’s six on over 600 questions. That gives you a really high detailed personality assessment. The style is is really much more how you interact and and people do fall into primarily two styles are dominant and two are less. Some people may have a third one that is somewhat dominant, but most people fall into two styles that are their more dominant styles, and particularly in the way they relate to money, they probably have an approach. And what’s unique about styles versus personality is our styles change based on the situation and the environment. So for a financial professional, you might see that client in a money conversation in your office or on the phone or on a Zoom call, and you might know that client some other way in the community. And you might be surprised that the client shows up very differently in another role in another way in the community. So because they’re in a different situation. So for financial professionals, it’s really important that they focus on how the client presents in the moment. Because the other thing that’s true is they may have two styles that tend to be their most dominant styles in the financial relationship, but they can flip dramatically and they tend to flip dramatically when the client is under stress or there’s been a change in their life that have shifted the way they approach the money.

So, Barbara, you mentioned that the styles can shift based upon the circumstance, and I think that’s a really interesting topic that I’d love to explore a little bit more because I’m guessing that many financial professionals that are with us today listening have experienced that. Or maybe they knew the client in a different type of a situation, and all of a sudden when they became a client, they almost turned into a different person. And I just think that that really is fascinating. And when you think about financial professionals trying to determine, you know, if a client is a fit for their practice or their team. Are there signs or questions or anything up front that a financial professional might consider asking when they’re thinking about bringing someone on and into their practice and their team? Just to determine a little bit more about what that style might ultimately be?

Absolutely. Absolutely. And that’s 100% true. They might know the person in the community in another role and then they walk in their office and they are a totally different person. I will just use myself as an example, if I may. Is that all right?

Absolutely. Yes, please.

I tend to be sociable. I enjoy relating with my friends. I tend to be very high level. I’m not the person that wants to go into the 22 page report. However, when it comes to spending money, I can be excessively detailed. I am the purchase it. Like a lot of women, I’m the purchasing agent for our family and I purchase not only all the household things, I purchase all the vehicles, I purchase, all the vacations, I purchase, all the technology I do, all the big purchasing. And when I get to that space, I’m excessively detailed and I’m really into it. And so someone who knows me in a social setting must, must wonder who is this person who’s is really into the details? So you’re going to see people show up very differently. So questions to ask with be thank you for coming in. You know, do that nice chit chat or talk and then just ask them talk to me about when you’re dealing with your money and you’re working with an expert, financial professional, what’s important to you? What do you want that relationship to look like? How can I best serve you? How do you want to not only handle your money, what’s important for your money, but in our work together? What would a good relationship look like? And then you can go deeper into what would a good meeting look like if we were to meet? What kinds of things are you going to probably be interested in learning? And then what’s your style when it comes to money? Do you like to be highly involved in your money, or do you prefer to deligate that to a professional so you don’t have to be engaged in the day to day. If you ask them what I call coaching open ended coaching questions, you’re gonna to allow them to reveal not only their style but what they expect from the financial professional. And I’ve had many financial professionals who are coaching clients who this is very important for them. And even they have found that sometimes a long term client will shift based on circumstances in their life. And that client who was a great delegator. Now we have some economic concerns or some volatility in the market, and that client shows up totally differently under the different circumstances. And that can be quite disconcerting for a financial professional to feel like they’ve had this long term client and then suddenly a totally different person is showing up.

That’s so interesting that shift. But I can imagine that maybe a sale of a business or a death or a divorce or, you know, some major milestone in one’s life really could change the approach and the mindset and therefore create maybe some friction in the conversations or the communication between client and financial professional. So interesting.

Also very true is just the circumstances of the market. I’m sure many people listening to this. How are having in the last year their clients show up quite differently. They were happy and the market was going great for so many years. And then COVID hit and then the market got jittery and then suddenly the clients are showing up differently. If there is anxiety or fear, it really shifts the style. It can shift it very dramatically.

That makes so much sense. It takes me back to my grandmother. She passed away a couple of years ago, but in her early nineties she would, you know, receive her statements and she would call me and she would just be so upset and I would say, Grandma, what’s wrong? And I and she just always said, I don’t like my bar charts to go down, I just don’t like this. And and I kept, you know, I was trying to ask bigger questions like, well, is this causing issue with your spending or your budget? Well, no, none of that is impacted. I just I just it really bothers me. And it it it became really emotionally stressful for her. And I finally said, please stop opening the envelopes. Just tuck them away. You know, don’t put yourself through that. But it is interesting how emotional that can be, just the volatility. So you’re right. I’m sure many financial professionals are having lots of conversations along those lines. When you think about money styles in general, are there are there situations where a financial professional just isn’t communicating well with a particular style, maybe because of their style and it’s just not a fit? And what would be your guidance on that? Or maybe it just the conversations just aren’t clicking. They continue to be clunky or maybe even slightly contentious or just go to the negative side. What guidance have you given your clients as you’re coaching them through those situations where it just seems to be a very laborious conversation every single time?

Well, I guess the first thing I would say was hopefully we don’t have to get there. So good practice management. And I, I have worked with people for over 20 years in financial services from New York City to Alaska, literally. And good practice management is to have some regular processes and procedures that give the client a consistent experience and then also help you manage your practice in a consistent and smooth way. One of the downsides of that can be the tendency to treat everyone the same. And so the first thing I would say is try to just listen to who the client is and the moment that they are showing up in the office. Look, listen to the speed of their talking. If they’re talking quickly, then, you know, you either have a confident or sociable. If they’re talking more slowly, you have an analytical or harmon harmonious and then focus on what they’re saying. Are they all about the money and what’s happening with the money and the results of the money, or are they focused more on the relationship? And if you’re focused on the relationship, you’ve got a sociable or harmonious. If they’re focused on what’s happening with the money you’ve got confident or analytical. So literally in 2 minutes you can figure out who you’re talking to and then hopefully you can adapt to that and adapt to the individual. And if they’re confident, you can give them the bottom line, if they’re analytical, you can get into all the details. If they’re sociable, you can go out and do something fun and make them feel good. If they’re harmonious, you can partner with them and give them that sense of things are stable like your grandmother. Things are stable, things are stable, things are stable. And so you can meet their emotional needs if you adapt. So that would be the first thing I would say, because hopefully you won’t have those contentious conversation. However, if your client is just really challenging and you have just contentious, contentious, contentious. I had a situation where a client of mine had one of his clients completely changed, just changed from an easygoing client who followed my the advisor, the financial professionals advice to someone who had just gotten really fearful and has turned out to try to direct the financial professional and direct the financial professional against the financial professionals best judgment. And in that case we had a conversation the financial professional and I had about how to gently gives the client an opportunity to go a different direction. And that was a long conversation, which we won’t go into now, But it gave the client a diplomatic way to say, you know, my needs have changed, my situation has changed. And the financial professional was able to say, I think you will actually be happier and better served if you go into a different direction. Now, I don’t think I’m serving you now in the way you want to be served. And the financial professional had that conversation, was able to diplomatically release the client to set to, frankly, a DIY platform because that’s what they really wanted in the end. And it it’s it...diplomatically closed the relationship so both people were able to part ways with the client not being felt like they were fired.

Right.

And insulted because that never goes over well. And for the financial professional to be released from this relationship that had just become very conflictual. So I think if it’s very, very conflictual and not getting better, even if you are working to adapt to the client, you can give them permission to go a different direction in a diplomatic way.

I think that’s such good guidance. And really at the end of the day, it comes down to communication, communication, communication. But Barbara, it’s been so interesting to hear about these money styles and the approach and how to identify them and communicate well with each one. And I’m sure that for our financial professionals listening, there were some aha moments. I know I had many of them because I just had never thought about these styles as it pertains to our money, like I said. To me it’s always been about our personality, which obviously bleeds right into our money life. So I know that my eyes were definitely opened and I’m confident that our listeners took away some actionable steps. But before we wrap up today, since it is the Human Centric Investing podcast, I would love to if you’re if you’re willing and open to it, ask you what we call our Lightning Round questions. And this will just be some quick questions to get to know you as a person a little bit better. And so whatever is top of mind, that’s the right answer. It’s all about you. But if you’re willing, we’d love to segway into our lightning round.

Absolutely. Sounds like fun.

Okay. Okay. It’s one of my favorite parts of our podcast, so let’s dive right in. So on a scale of 1 to 10, how good of a driver are you?

Oh, my gosh. Ten.

I love it. There we go.

I’m an excellent driver. And this year I had the privilege of spending some time in Florida. And I’m sitting here in the suburbs of Chicago. And Florida is a 20 hour drive. And I rocked that drive from here to Naples, Florida, entirely by myself. Awesome.

Wow. Okay. That’s amazing. I’m impressed. I am not a great road tripper. So that is very impressive. What is your favorite holiday?

Easter.

Oh, that’s a fun one. I love that. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Oh, I’m totally a morning person. Totally a morning person. I’m glad we’re doing this in the morning. i would be....

Me too, I am by the time the afternoon rolls around.

Much duller at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Totally agree. What’s the best age?

Oh. 38.

Oh. Why do you say that? That’s very specific.

It’s very specific. So I would just say mid-thirties.

Okay.

Because you’re a mature and you have a lot of experience, but you still have a lot of your life ahead of you. And it’s a very, very vibrant time.

I love that. What is the ideal outside temperature?

72.

Well, with that, Barbara, we cannot thank you enough for being here today again, on the Human Centric Investing podcast and sharing a little bit about yourself and also guiding us on how to identify our clients money style. Those insights and tips, I’m confident, will be very actionable and valuable to our financial professional audience. So thank you again for joining us.

Oh, it’s always a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

And if you’re interested in learning more about Barbara’s guidance and ideas, please visit Hertford funds dot com slash insights where her white papers and educational videos are located. Thanks for listening to the Hartford Funds Human Centric Investing Podcast. If you’d like to tune in for more episodes, don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or YouTube.

And if you’d like to be a guest and share your best ideas for transforming client relationships, email us. Guest Booking at Hartford Funds dot com. We’d love to hear from you.

Talk to you soon.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the guest who is not affiliated with Hartford Funds.