Your Spouse Can Tell Your Story

What You Need to Know

Partners know what you do.
They know what kinds of problems you solve.
When they hear your kind of problem, they have an opening.

Many agents and advisors have spouses or partners. They share your social circle and maintain a separate one, too.

You’re in the business; they’re not.

Can they recognize a business opportunity? Can they tell your story and point people in your direction?

The Late Arrival at Dinner

My wife and I belonged to a private club when we lived in Brooklyn. We had a circle of friends and would get together often. I worked at my firm’s office in Brooklyn Heights.

One Friday evening, my wife and our friends were gathered in the bar at the club, before dinner. I was among the missing.

This was in the days before everyone had cellphones and connectivity was perfect.

The friends were talking among themselves, asking: “Where’s Bryce? How long do we wait?”

My wife said: “I think I know what happened. Bryce was leaving his office. His phone rang. Bryce will never ignore a ringing phone. It must have been a client. They had a problem. Bryce probably took off his coat, sat down and started trying to help the client. Who knows when he will get here? Let’s head into dinner. He can join us later.”

What do people hear? An advisor put his personal plans on hold because a client had a problem. He stayed until the problem was resolved. Isn’t that the type of advisor everyone wishes they had? What a great advertisement!

You Should Be Talking With my Husband

A West Coast advisor and his wife related this story: They were at a community evening, mingling over drinks before dinner. They each headed in separate directions.

A guy met the advisor’s wife. He asked: “What do you do?”

She explained that she runs the household and that her husband is a financial advisor with (firm).

The guy (thinking that the wife knew the terminology but would not try to sell him anything) started talking about his medical practice, and his investments.

The advisor’s wife is smart! She waited until something “blew up” in the story and then interrupted.

Putting the Spotlight on the Spouse

When presenting in the field, I met an advisor who remarked that spouses sometimes find themselves in the background or excluded from conversations.

In wealthy circles, it might be assumed that only one spouse “needs to work.” People take an interest in what one person does but not in the other half of the couple.

This spouse was married to a financial advisor.

In these situations, when asked, “What do you do,” he might say, “I own the hardware shop. You should really ask my spouse that question. They’re the one with the really interesting job.” This positions the spouse to explain that they’re a financial advisor.