Pete the Planner: Dealing with clients who don’t listen – USA TODAY

Peter Dunn, Special for USA TODAY 7:02 a.m. ET June 3, 2017

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Im on the outside now.

But when I was on the inside of the financial planning industry, one particulardynamic made my job unexpectedlyharrowing. And now that Im on the outside, I often talk to financial advisers and other financial professionals who find themselves compromised by the same phenomenon that used to drive me crazy. Its so dangerous and counterproductive that no one benefits from this very common reality clients who dont listen.

The stakes are too high for both you and your adviser to not follow their advice. As a point of distinction, its important you understand Im not necessarily talking about what to invest in, rather how much to invest and how to execute your financial plan in general.

The role of your financial adviser is to listen to your goals, translate them into a financial strategyand then provide you with the steps necessary to achieve them. But this is where the crickets can start chirping.

If you dont execute the plan given to you, then you will fail. At that point, youre the only person to blame. Yet, advisers are often the people with fingers pointed at them and their reputations on the line.

Think how different this is compared to a trip to the dentist.Every single time I go to my dentist, he tells me to floss. Every single time I offer a forced smile and nod. He gives me floss. I take it home, and place it in my floss drawer. I have approximately 500unopened containers of dental floss in my floss drawer. Under no circumstances is he to blame. My dental crimes are my own.

However,with financial advice and financial advisers, theres a lot more at stake than hygiene. If you dontlisten to youradviser, you run the risk of failing at the hardest game in town creating financial independence. This means working longer (if not indefinitely), settling for less, and creating oodles of cripplingfinancial stress.

When your adviser says your goals need $500 per month or $150 per month or $273.76 per month, then send in the money, or change your goals. And if you arent willingtofeed your goals, stop wasting your money on financial advice.

The fact is, clients get distracted by the market and returns, which causes them to ignore their role in fueling the fire.It never ceases to amaze me how much more attention is paid to what to invest in, versus how much money should be invested. The result is every single retirement readiness statistic produced.Im not lamenting your rightto do what you want or don't want to do, if you dont fund your goals properly, you will fail every single time.

I want you to get the most out of your relationship with your financial adviser. Youre paying for it. Just understand, it behooves you to be a good client and follow through on the advice your adviser give you.

I cant imagine a more important professional relationship than the one you have with your financial adviser. If you find yourself a trustworthy adviserandput your faith and energy into the relationship, then you will benefit greatly. If you dont, or you dont put your faith and energy into the relationship, the equation breaks down completely.

You can do yourself a huge favor with your financial adviser by taking them a thorough set of financial goals. Talk through the goalsand then allow the adviser to put a plan in place to help you achieve the goals. If your adviser happens to tell you that one of your goals is a bad goal, dont get offended. Be glad. Save the customer-is-always-right drama. A great adviser will find a way to help you accomplish important goals and delicately dismiss counterproductive goals.

My feeling is that most relationships with financial advisers fail because measurablegoals are neither set nor accomplished. If youre sending your adviser a few hundred dollars per month with no specific goal, then everyone is worse for it. Be sure to put in the leg work from the beginning, by giving both you and your adviser a target to aim for. And above all else, act on your plan.

(Photo: Provided)

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Peter Dunnis an author, speaker and radio host, and he has a free podcast: Million Dollar Plan. Have a question about money for Pete thePlanner? Email him atAskPete@petetheplanner.com.

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Pete the Planner: Dealing with clients who don't listen - USA TODAY