Every single individual is unique. That’s because every single person has a story. And their story matters.
Think about your own life. Your story starts before you were even born, with your grandparents’ stories, and then with your parents’ stories. Their stories shaped the beginning of your story. Did they immigrate? Did they struggle to make ends meet, or were they financially successful?
Then you were born; what kind of family and financial situation were you born in to? Was it stable? Were there big family celebrations? Were there religious traditions? All of this is important – none of it is irrelevant.
Now fast forward to your teenage years. What kind of person were you in high school? What kind of activities were you involved in (both good and bad)? What kind of values were you developing?
Now you’re a young adult, just starting out. How did you get your start in business? Did you get married? Did you have kids? Did you get divorced? All along the way, what kind of lifestyle were you building? What traditions? What values? What motivated you?
Now we are at present day. Where are you now?
Absolutely everything that has ever happened to you is part of your story. It all matters – and it has all helped to influence what matters to you. Now take all of that and apply it to a client. It’s a lot, isn’t it? This is why a “fact find” is insufficient and Discovery is so crucial.
Story is about more than just what a person does, and what they want in the future. Story is about what has happened to them in the past. Every single person is unique, because every single person’s story will have a unique variance in it. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to handling clients.
Everyone’s story is different. Everyone’s story matters. Every story needs to be discovered if you want to get the planning right.
