Wait a minute Mr Postman
Today I write to you from the post office queue, where I now live. Or it feels as if I do anyway, I’ve been here so long.
It’s great actually – they have an inspiring array of gifts worth staring at – I’m particularly taken with the giant barrel-shaped money box and its pattern of purple £20 notes. If that’s not positive visualisation, I don’t know what is.
But it’s too late for shopping, I’m here to post. And I need to focus. Because any minute now I’m going to ask me that question: “What are you sending?”
This always makes me tense up like a hedgehog. Because it feels quite private. So to save me, the postmaster and the silent queue of people behind me the awkwardness that would come with announcing that I’m posting a commemorative 1981 Charles and Diana Royal Wedding mug, I usually go with “socks”. And that’s for every single parcel. So that by the seventh, everyone assumes I’m the most boring present giver in the land.
Of course I know these questions are designed to find out if you’re sending hazardous liquids, but still, I was very glad to see this sign the other day that acknowledged the slightly intrusive nature of the whole process.
Sometimes all it needs is a little bit of context.
We’re not being nosey
As financial planners you have to ask a lorra lorra questions as Cilla Black might have said.
Could this feel intrusive, judgemental, or even nosey?
Probably not when it’s the mundane queries about household expenses and how much they splash out on shoes a year. It’s still fairly uncomfortable, but they’ve come to see a financial adviser – what did they expect?
It’s the planning-based questions that could throw them if there’s not more context.
“What keeps you up at night?”
“What are you passionate about?”
“What has your relationship with money been like?”
To move from numbers to questions that cover wellbeing might sometimes seem a bit odd, confusing, perhaps inappropriate without some warning.
So rather than spring these on people, why not weave the nature of financial planning into everything you do? Even if you’ve talked about this on your website, keep the conversation going.
For example, create blog posts that cover emotional wellbeing. Capture amazing client stories that show how they were able to retire early, sell their business, or pursue a lifelong passion.
These stories are engaging and easily repeated, so by the end, you’re creating messages others can share, keeping your raving fans revved up.
Wild card
Nothing says Merry Christmas more than a mouse riding a lobster, or a baby being stewed in a teapot, I think you’ll agree. This piece on the heyday of the Christmas card examines the Victorian’s unique approach to spreading good cheer.
System addict
Teens may be so convinced that using their phones is better than standing idly that one study finds nearly half (45%) have pretended to text while in public. If you’ve never done this... I don’t believe you.
Clothes show
Japan Airlines is offering rental clothing kits to encourage travellers to fly with less baggage. For £22 you can reserve a kit complete with two pairs of shorts and three t-shirts. The clothes can be kept for a fortnight and are then collected, washed and ironed ready for the next traveller.
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