Mojo 726 - Where Are You From?

In this episode of Monday Morning Mojo, host Phil Buchanan reflects on a powerful lesson: learning is valuable, but applying what you learn is what truly drives success. Inspired by a recent conversation with industry veteran Jay Hummel and a story from his own early career, Phil explores why many advisors focus on pitching rather than asking the right questions—and how that limits their ability to uncover meaningful opportunities. He shares practical strategies for shifting from presentations to conversations, emphasizing the importance of discovery and listening to clients’ goals. 

Phil also reveals his favorite question to spark authentic dialogue— “Where are you from?”—and explains how this simple approach can lead to deeper connections and trust. Packed with actionable insights, this episode challenges professionals to elevate their communication skills and rethink how they engage with clients for long-term success.

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Transcript

Top performers in every field surround themselves with those who inspire them, who seek to build them up, and who push them to reach beyond their current limits. I am Phil Buchanan, executive chairman of Cannon Financial Institute. I designed Monday Morning Mojo to provide you with a weekly spark, a push and motivational insight to live your best life.

Thanks for joining. Good Monday morning. It's Phil here with episode 726 of Monday Morning Mojo. Jay Hummel is a long time wealth industry veteran and good friend. He and I were talking last week about business, about being dads and about great lessons that we've learned. After that call, I was thinking through the conversation and a conversation with a long since deceased mentor came to my mind.

This individual shared a thought with me after I had made an error early in my career. After sharing the details of what had happened, he had helped me pinpoint my. Err and thinking and the mistakes that I had made. So I went through and summarized the overall experience. It said to him, well, that's a lesson learned.

And he quickly responded. A lesson learned is great, but you have to apply the lesson to make the difference, and that is so, so true. So, so true. So let's talk about lessons and how we apply the learning. Almost every month we here at Canon get asked to opine on a wealth practice or wealth organization's overall processes, procedures, strategies, marketing, value prop, presentation decks, et cetera.

Now all of these are vital and the collective. Yet a lesser ask for evaluation request is to evaluate and coach the communication, discovery and conversational skills of client facing professionals. To that point, I actually had a complex director once tell me that their advisors could talk paint off a wall, and that wasn't their challenge or issue.

They just needed help in expanding their book of business. Now I'm rarely at a loss for words, but in that moment, I suppose shock overrode my response mechanism. So it took me a couple of minutes, but I, I gathered myself and I asked the director to expound on that thought. The director then pulled out a document that showed the complexes overall makeup of services that could be offered through the firm's resources.

And he compared that against the complexes usage of those services. Now, as you might guess, investment management was the highest ranking service for utilization, and from there, the percentage usage of other services was significantly lower. I randomly pointed to philanthropic services, something that was listed on the sheet, and I asked the director how many advisors in their complex were proficient in the questions and conversation paths that helped determine whether philanthropic planning is an issue, challenge, or need for a particular client.

The director quickly responded that they had a regional specialist who advisors could use if a philanthropic opportunity arose. Now, his response was fairly in line with what I expected. So I asked a follow up. I said, do your advisors have an investment specialist that you expect them to bring in if an investment need arises?

The director paused a second and said What? Like institutional asset management? No, I responded. Just any investment opportunity that would come up, would they bring in someone to talk about your firm's investment management? Heavens knows, said the director. All of our advisors are very skilled in assessing their client's goals and objectives and in laying out their process for managing money.

So I responded. They are proficient in the questions and conversation passed that pinpoint investment opportunities in positioning a go forward plan. Absolutely respond to the director. I then said, did they have those same skill sets for philanthropic planning, estate planning, asset structuring, entitling risk mitigation, tax mitigation, et cetera?

It was crickets in the room. The office was silent. I could tell by the look on the director's face that he finally got it. He looked at me and said, you've just pinpoint the gap. We have services, we have the experts, but the advisors aren't asking the right questions. They can tell clients about the services, but they don't know how to vet the opportunity.

My response was maybe, uh, and, and actually it's, it's very likely based on our conversation, but I went on to add that just because you've got something available. Doesn't mean professionals know how to discuss it and position it with a client. That's the bigger challenge that we see in the industry.

That is a lesson learned, but how are we as organizations applying that lesson? Last week I was working with a team that was meeting the next day with a $100 million prospect. This was to be their first formal meeting with the individual. Having been introduced to the prospect via a round of golf at a local club.

The prospect likely has an overall net worth significantly exceeding 100 million because it's comprised of multiple real estate and unique business ventures. The question the team lead posed is, how do we best present our value proposition? I looked at him and I said, you don't. Well, at least not early in the discussion.

I then asked them for a little feedback on the golf round conversation. What had they learned? There were several items that came up that raised potential opportunities and discussion paths. I then asked, do you work with any other clients who have similar issues, similar challenges to three specific points that had been identified?

They actually had several clients with whom they worked on these types of services. I said, have you helped them to solve those issues? He said, absolutely. Sure. I said, so after the small talk that you have with the individual tomorrow, why not say something to the effect of when we played golf at Capital City last week, our conversations got me thinking, you mentioned X, Y, Z.

And we've had several clients ask us to help them think through the unique issues and challenges of X and Y and Z. Now, you mentioned it last week, but I really don't understand how you have, how thought through and how you are taking proactive steps to, to mitigate those challenges. Would you mind kinda running through your, your thought process on them now, on the surface?

This seems like a very pedestrian conversation that seems counterintuitive. We've had clients ask, how have you thought through it? Does it really matter relative to your ultimate goals? Yet? The beauty of this conversation is, number one, it communicates credibility and experience with the issue by the way that you frame the question.

Number two, it creates a path for the prospect to deeply discuss the issue. And finally it opens up the path for them to clearly articulate their ultimate goals. See, long story short, successful entrepreneurs like this individual don't know what they don't know, but they do know what's in their head. And the more you have them talking by placing pertinent questions on the table.

All the better. Just remember this. If the entrepreneur has agreed to meet with you, they already believe there's some value in the conversation, so focus on the conversation. Get them talking, let them talk. There'll be an appropriate point in the conversation where you could say, Hey, would it be helpful for us to take a step back and let us outline how we really work with families like you?

If you've done the engaged conversation upfront, if you've gotten pertinent questions out on the table and gotten the dialogue going, then in that moment, in that moment, that particular individual is gonna be listening and focused and on your value prop. Just remember this conversations are either driven by really, really good questions or just random walks down the street.

If you really want to elevate your skills, focus on the questions that you ask and not the pitches you make. Oh, by the way, the number one question I use to kickstart any conversation, it's very simple. The question is, where are you from? Uh, the beauty is everybody is from somewhere and so they're going to respond.

The town they grew up or the different towns in which they grew up, if they were an Army brat or an Air Force brat, moved around a good bit. But what I have found is that the longer that I'm in the business, the more travel that I have done. Regardless of where somebody is from, there's a really, really good chance that I've either traveled there or I know somebody else from there, and that creates an engaged conversation.

Now, let's go back to my buddy Jay Hummel, who I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast. The day after he and I talked, I had a prospect call with a senior executive in North Carolina. Early in the conversation, I asked her where she grew up. Her answer was Kansas City. Well, funny, Jay Hummel lives in Kansas City, and because of knowing Jay and having spent time there, I asked the prospect, Hey, were you in Kansas City proper or Overland Park?

Where were you? She said, oh, wow, you, you know the area. Uh, actually, I grew up in Overland. My next question to her was, how many times have you eaten at Q 39? Out of her mouth, she screamed, oh my gosh, how do you know about that? I did not speak for the next three minutes. As she went through a couple of great stories about that restaurant and nights that she had spent eating that food.

After we were appropriately warmed up, we got into a great, great dialogue. Where are you from? No, I mean, you, the listener. Where did you grow up? Why don't we do this? Why don't you shoot me an email? The email address is mojo, that's mojo at Cannon Financial, C-A-N-N-O-N financial.com. Shoot me an email and tell me where you're from.

I promise to reply back, and I'll probably have a question or two for you about that little village or that large city. And for now, I bid you farewell. Hope you have a great week, and thanks for being part of the conversation. 

Monday Morning Mojo is a production of Cannon Financial Institute, executive producer of Monday Morning Mojo is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Brunner. Until next time, I'm Phil Buchanan reminding you to be a force for good. Have a great week and thanks for being part of the Mojo community.