Doctors, Advisors, and Cab Drivers.

It's a little amusing to me how a lot of guys in my business, whether they call themselves an insurance agent or a financial advisor, feel the need to tether their level of professionalism to something totally unrelated to the task at hand.  They say things like:

• "It's like when you go to the doctor..."
• "You wouldn't want the doctor to just walk in and write a prescription without asking you a few questions."

There's a lot more but, you get the point.  A lot of the statements made have some validity but, we really are nothing like a doctor.  First off, we don't have a cot in the office where we sleep just in case you need us.  If you paged us in the middle of the night, there'd be no point in responding outside of normal business hours.  There are no lives in the balance.  Last but not least, do you really want us to act like a doctor, lawyer, or anything else that requires more than an undergraduate degree?  We could talk over your head and use big confusing words that you'd never hear anywhere else.   We could make you feel like our time is so valuable that you're lucky you've got a few minutes of it.  Do you really want to worry about the outcome of our next or last meeting?

I don't think so.  Financial planning can be very intimidating.  Since they don't teach financial literacy in school (yet), it's a topic with which many of us are unfamiliar.  It's kinda like going to a major city that you've not been to before or maybe you have been there, but you don't really know your way around.  You arrive at the airport and you can do one of two things.  You can rent a car or hail a cab.  Remember, it's a big city where the natives drive like maniacs, parking's a bear, and you're not real sure where you're going.  So, you opt for the cab because everything you plan to do is just another short cab ride from your hotel.  What are you really looking for at that point?    You want someone who you can count on to get you where you want to go, get you there in one piece, and speaks your language.