Money Made Human Podcast

After years of conversations with my clients where I spend the majority of the call trying to help them make smart decisions, I realized that it typically wasn’t me or the business - which meant that attempting to weigh pros and cons wasn’t terribly effective…and it was just scratching the surface of the “problem.”

Because the root of indecision isn’t just one thing - it’s a combination of knowing the price (it’s right there plain as day), but not being able to truly quantify the benefits of the decision that they’re trying to make. The benefits aren’t always so black and white (and they’re quite often invisible), which means that each decision can’t be made based on the last - that would be like comparing apples to oranges. 

After realizing this, I created a 5-step framework called the Gains Financial Decision-Making Model - and I’m going to break it down for you today.

When it comes to the mindset around posting social media, especially video content, there are two mindset shifts that financial coaches need to make. 
The first major mental shift that you have to make is being able to take financial concepts, which generally come pretty easy to us, and make them easy to understand for our ideal clients.

Imagine when you, coach, are stuck in a super boring seminar or social media live stream where you scream at your computer to, "JUST GET TO THE POINT!!"
Our ideal clients can easily feel the same way and will turn off your content before it even gets to the good stuff.

The second mental shift you have to make is that "done is better than perfect." Your ideal clients are 100% not critiquing the content you put out as much as you are. We tend to get into this vicious cycle of really procrastinating to put any content out because it's not "perfect enough", so we never put out any content.

 
In this episode, Kelsa addresses both of these mindset shifts by sharing with you an Instagram live that she did, directly addressing her ideal clients on the financial coaching side of her business.

 
Notice how she communicates coming from her ideal client's perspective. Also, notice how she talks from the heart, not worrying about flubs or making mistakes.
Join our free Facebook community to help take your financial coaching business to the next level. 

Have you ever heard of the “Trust Triad?” The “Trust Triad” is a framework for building trust with your followers and prospects so they feel more confident reaching out to you or booking a session. 

If you’re unfamiliar, get excited because we will be breaking it down today. If you’re tired of getting asked whether or not you have credentials or certifications when you’re talking about your financial coaching business, you’re not alone - in fact, the fastest way off the “do you have credentials?” rollercoaster is to build that all-important know-like-trust factor with your audience. 

If you’re like most coaches, you’re getting quizzed on your “credentials” because people really like what they’re seeing…but aren’t totally sure that you’ll be able to help them. Find out exactly how to build their trust in you (and themselves) so that they will reach out to you and book a session.

In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss the actual demand for financial coaching. I get asked all the time whether or not the financial coaching market is “saturated”...and I have some pretty eye-opening statistics to share with you – including that 42% of people in the US are struggling financially - that's 138,000,000 people that need a financial coach. 

It’s important to note that financial coaching is still a fairly new profession…and because of that there’s a lot of education that needs to happen so that the people we are called to help can actually find us – and today’s conversation is a great first step. 

My first year as a financial coach was spent bootstrapping absolutely as much as possible because I only had so much time and money that I could invest in my new business.

So if you’re thinking about becoming a financial coach (or if you’ve already started financial coaching), you might be feeling like you're spinning your wheels because you’re not getting the traction or the clients you were hoping for. Or maybe you’re feeling like you’re spending all of your time trying to figure out if this thing will be “the thing” that finally works. 

It’s been awhile since I started my financial coaching business, but if I’d had a mentor or guide back then who could help me understand the things that I actually needed (and to steer me away from distractions), I think that I would have spent far less time bootstrapping and far more time in focused action. 

Which is why on this episode of the Financial Coach Academy® Podcast, I am going to break down what you need to get started as a financial coach - and what you don’t. 

Here’s a hint: you do not need a logo, a website, or a certification. Want to know what you DO need for success? Get a pen and paper - you’re going to want to take notes.

I’m just going to come out and say it: there is NO “right way” to get out of debt. In fact, there are a number of ways that you can support your clients (or yourself) to pay down your debts - and today, we’re going to examine five of those strategies. 

When I first started coaching clients whose goal was to pay off their debts, I would have ask the client to give me their financial details, which included balances, interest rates, payments, etc. Then I’d use the information they provided to create a “debt snowball” spreadsheet. Next, I’d show their spreadsheet to them and say, “see- this is how you do it,” or “see- this is what you’ll do.”

I found out rather quickly that while some clients had no problem sticking to the plan, others just couldn’t seem to stay on track. When my clients “failed” to “execute” the plan I’d given them, I dug deeper, asking them questions about what wasn’t working for them. Then I’d tweak the plan, taking their feedback into consideration, and give it back to them with the hope that it would work…this time. 

I quickly realized that I had been looking at my client’s goal to pay down their debt totally backward - once I had that revelation, I stopped telling every client that they needed to “snowball” their debt. Instead, I started asking more questions to figure out which debt payoff strategy would be the best fit for the client. And it worked! My clients were more engaged - excited even - which resulted in them getting results and enjoying the process. 

Let’s take a look at some of the different tactics you can use with your clients to take care of their debt.

What if I told you I don’t believe getting out of debt is a real financial goal, but I also believe it’s not the actual goal most clients have?

Stick with me…I believe that getting out of debt is a strategy that may be necessary in order to achieve the actual goal that your client has. Debt can be problematic for some folks, and yes, we may need to prioritize paying off or down the debt in order for them to be in a better position so that they can start thinking about their goals… 

…but we need to stop thinking that getting out of debt is the goal - it’s not. 

What is? The better position that they need to be in to achieve their dream. That means that getting out of debt becomes the method used to achieve that goal for them. 

 As financial coaches, it’s our duty to understand the client’s wants, needs, and desires, so that we can support them as they work to achieve those things. 

That means that we may need to help them shift their perspective on their debt. It’s likely that your client has some very valid feelings about their debt - and they probably feel the need to “run away” or ignore the “bad situation” that they feel they’ve put themselves in. 

But, if you can help them shift their perspective about their need to reconcile their debt to be the method they’ll use to achieve their dream goals (the ones that feel out of reach because of the debt), instead of wanting to run away, they’ll be able to see that they are running toward the ‘dream goals’ that they have. And that is a powerful transformation. 

…but how do you do that? I’m breaking this down for you today.

In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss what a financial coach is…and what a financial coach isn’t. My coaching journey began more than a decade ago with me working from my dining room table. What was once a little business of mine has grown into a 7-figure company that employs more than a half dozen people as of today. 

While this has been my journey as a financial coach, it doesn’t have to be yours. Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the financial coaching world, or you’ve been coaching for a while, we’re going to dive into financial coaching’s mix of both technical financial and emotional behavioral support as you work with your client to improve their financial situation.

Would you be surprised if I told you that your opinion on tithing, housing, eating out, travel, or clothing…does not matter? When you’re coaching, your opinions of your client’s feelings on things like tithing, travel, and clothing do not matter. Your job is to help your client understand their money - which means having candid conversations about the importance of things that, you may think are frivolous, may be incredibly important to your client. 

If you find yourself wanting to insert your opinion, take a deep breath and reflect on whether or not you’re coaching…or teaching. Part of financial coaching is supporting your client as they decide what to cut back on, what to focus more on and what to let go - without influencing their opinion.

If you read the title of this episode and had an immediate reaction, you’re not alone. Dave is a marketing GENIUS, but he’s not a financial or money coach. In this episode, I’m going to break down the reasons that I believe Mr. Ramsey is not a financial coach, though you’re welcome to disagree with me - it’s your opinion that matters! All that being said, I recognize that Dave Ramsey has helped thousands of people…as a financial educator. So today, I’m going to break down what the differences are between financial coaching and financial education (and why that matters in the first place).