What Is Your Sleep At Night Rule?

When I’m stressed or my brain is overactive because I’m overthinking something, I find it’s often hard to sleep. Sometimes it’s easier said than done to turn your brain off and relax. We’ve all been there. Maybe it’s your career or business that keeps you up at night. For others, it could be health concerns or family troubles. Because of the business I’m in, I hear clients say they lose sleep over leaving a legacy for the next generation, or ensuring they maintain their wealth, among others.

This led me to create what I call the “Sleep At Night Rule.” No, this isn’t a rule requiring all Mariner employees to get a full 10 hours of sleep each night. On the contrary, it’s a rule that guides how we treat and service our clients.

For us, the Sleep At Night Rule is a confidence and clarity in the client’s mind that not only does the client understand his or her own personal financial goals and objectives, but that the wealth advisor does as well. It means the advisor has helped the client develop a plan and put the implementation in place to help achieve his or her specific goals.

When looking at wealth goals, it really should be planned over a life span. Some advisors make the mistake of taking a short-term focus, possibly on investment returns or on certain products that can best be distributed among a group of clients. However, if your clients have a sense of peace and are at ease with their financial plan, it should help them sleep better at night.

We approach every situation, no matter how difficult it is, from the perspective of what’s best for the client. I truly believe, if you do that, everything else works out. I can’t believe Mariner is unique in that feeling. Honestly, I can’t think of a company that shouldn’t have a Sleep At Night Rule. If you have clients – whether internal or external – your Sleep At Night Rule more than likely revolves around them having confidence in your product or service.

While many companies more than likely share the same Sleep At Night Rule, they differ in the method used to deliver client confidence and clarity in their products or services. We earn a client’s trust by listening to their goals in regards to their wealth. We develop a holistic plan and walk through it, ensuring the steps and goals are aligned throughout the relationship. The relationship doesn’t end there, though. We maintain ongoing communication with our clients. We are continually listening to them and, if their goals change, our plan changes as well.

While you may not have formally coined it your Sleep At Night Rule, I challenge you to determine what makes your clients sleep better at night.

Written by

Marty Bicknell