What are your suggestions for clients that are having trouble even getting started up the Values Staircase™? I have had a couple clients that answer the "What’s Important About Money... To You" question with answers like “growth” or “retirement”. Even after I try to get them to take a step back and look at the question more broadly, they are still answering with very specific answers that seem more like goals.

Article ID: 203

Last updated: 20 Nov, 2019

Just accept whatever answer they give you and ask, “What’s Important About the-last-answer… To You? I don’t know what you are saying in your attempt to get them to step back and look more broadly, but they may feel judged and think they are providing the wrong answer which could shut them down.

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One client responded to What's Important About… and said to, “Feed my dog.” I responded, “What's Important About… feeding your dog…To You? I asked and the steps were a waste as everything centered on the dog. How do I move on to something else that is important?

Are all positive feelings considered Level 3 values?

Sometimes it is hard to get a client or prospect to move into a level 3 response. Does this more often speak to an Advisor’s skill level or the fact that some clients have a hard time getting to Level 3 responses themselves?

In a recent Phone Consultation™ I had the referral go all the way up the Values Staircase™ after which we continued halfway up the other one. While this was one of the more extreme number of steps, I do run out every now and then while on level 3. The Financial Road Map® tends to get a little messy as I draw additional steps to the staircase. What would be a practical way with finesse to continue without losing the flow of the conversation?

During the Values Conversation™, the client sometimes goes down a path about a particular aspect of their life, like travel, and may even get to level three, but then indicate that there are some level one and two responses in some other area of their life like children or community. How do we best encourage the client to transition to these other areas of their lives in the conversation without complicating or disrupting the flow of the process?

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