How to Help Your Clients Build Their Financial Power Team

Your Role as the Financial Quarterback

Before we talk about who else should be on your client’s money team, let’s clarify your specific role as their financial coach. As coaches, we focus on the tactical and behavioral aspects of money management—the habits, mindsets, and systems that create financial success. We help clients develop healthy money behaviors, create sustainable budgets, establish savings habits and work through the developmental barriers to financial progress.

We’ve seen coaches become really successful by leaning fully into this role rather than trying to be everything to their clients. You are your client’s primary financial guide, but that doesn’t mean being their only financial resource.

Think of yourself as the quarterback of your client’s financial team. You’re directing the overall strategy, but you bring in specialists for specific plays. This quarterback role is incredibly valuable, because most clients struggle to coordinate their financial lives across multiple professionals who rarely communicate with each other, which is really unfortunate and does a disservice to our clients.

When you serve as this central coordinator, you help clients see how all the pieces of their financial life fit together. Many clients come to coaching specifically because they need this holistic perspective that traditional financial professionals often don’t provide, and honestly, they may not even realize that that’s what they’re looking for.

Your role includes helping clients understand when they need specialized advice and connecting them with trusted professionals. You’re also uniquely positioned to help translate the technical advice they receive from other professionals into practical actions they can implement. Think of it as acting as a liaison between your client and another professional—providing a bedside manner approach to technical financial conversations.

And in this role, you aren’t providing additional advice outside of your scope of work. You’re part of the conversation with this other professional and helping to interpret what they’re saying in a way your client can better grasp.

Embrace these natural boundaries of your expertise and use them to create more value for clients, rather than seeing them as limitations. Developing this quarterback mindset will actually enhance your rapport with your clients, because you’re demonstrating both your expertise and your integrity by knowing when to bring in specialists.

When Your Clients Need Additional Support

Recognizing when your clients would benefit from working with other financial professionals starts with being crystal clear about the scope of your coaching practice and where your expertise begins and ends. Financial coaches work primarily on money management, behavior change, and creating financial systems. We don’t provide specific investment recommendations, tax strategies, or legal advice unless you have specialized knowledge and education around these topics.

We’ve seen situations where coaches try to stretch beyond their boundaries, which can create risk for both the coach and the client. Here are some clear indicators that your client needs additional support beyond coaching:

• When clients need specific investment advice, such as where to invest their retirement funds or how to evaluate specific investment opportunities, they need a financial advisor.
• When clients are dealing with complex tax situations, like owning a business, receiving an inheritance or managing investment properties, they need a CPA or a tax professional.
• If they are making major legal decisions, such as estate planning, business formation or real estate purchases, they need an attorney.
• If clients are purchasing insurance products or need to evaluate their insurance coverage, they should work with an insurance professional.
• When clients are dealing with significant debt issues that might require legal intervention, they may need a credit counselor or attorney specializing in debt resolution.
• If clients are purchasing a home, they’ll need a mortgage broker or lender who can guide them through that specific process.

These are just the most common examples, but of course, not an all inclusive list. Clients don’t always recognize when they need specialized help, so part of your role is helping them identify these situations.

Here’s a quick rule of thumb: it’s always better to refer too early than too late. If you’re unsure whether a client needs specialized advice, lean toward making the referral. These referral moments are opportunities to add value, rather than admissions of limitation. Chances are you’ll gain a better understanding of the situation, and the professional will tell you when it’s time to come back.

Remember that continuing to work with clients on issues beyond your expertise could actually reduce your effectiveness in the areas where you can truly help them.

Key Professionals for Your Client’s Financial Power Team

Let’s talk about the key professionals who might be part of your client’s financial power team, and the specific value each one provides.

• Financial Advisor or Planner focuses on investment strategy, retirement planning and overall financial planning. They help clients make specific investment decisions and develop long term wealth building strategies. Many coaches work alongside financial advisors, with the coach focusing on day to day money management and the advisor handling the investment strategy.
• Certified Public Accountant or Tax Professional helps with tax planning, preparation and compliance. They’re especially valuable for business owners, high income earners and people with complex tax situations. We’ve seen great partnerships between coaches and CPAs, where the coach helps implement the tax strategies the CPA recommends. If my business client’s CPA recommends that they save $1,000 per month for taxes or make quarterly tax payments, we help them build that into their business budget.
• Estate Planning Attorney helps clients create wills, trusts and other legal documents to protect their assets and provide for their families. They’re essential for clients with children, significant assets or complex family situations.
• Mortgage Broker or Lender specializes in helping clients obtain appropriate financing for home purchases. They can guide clients through the complex mortgage process and help them find the best loan terms.
• Insurance Agent or Broker helps clients evaluate and purchase appropriate insurance coverage. This includes life insurance, disability insurance, property casualty insurance, and sometimes even health insurance.
• Credit Counselor can provide specialized guidance on debt management, negotiation with creditors and in some cases bankruptcy alternatives. For clients with student loans, companies and experts who specialize in this area are also incredibly helpful.
• For business owners, a business attorney can provide guidance on legal structures, contracts, employee issues and other legal aspects of running a business. .

Here’s an example I want to highlight: remain open to when it’s time to refer to a specialist, even if you haven’t in the past. For the first 12 years in business, I could personally handle student loan guidance. In more recent years, though, the changes were happening so quickly and became so complex that I was having a hard time staying up to date on all of it. I decided that what was best for my clients was for me to partner with someone whose sole focus was on student loans.

Who you need can change as policies, life, and situations around us change. I didn’t feel bad about myself when the day came that I decided I would partner with someone on student loans instead of doing it myself. I felt proud of the fact that I was the type of professional who cared more about what was best for my clients over my own ego. Relying on experts and owning your own expertise are signs of strength, not weakness.

Each of these professionals bring specialized expertise that complements your coaching work rather than competing with it. The exact composition of your client’s money team will depend on their specific situation, goals, and the stage of life they’re in. Many clients won’t need all of these professionals at once, and part of your role is to help them prioritize which specialists to engage with first.

Building Strong Referral Relationships

Now let’s talk about how to build strong relationships with other financial professionals so that you have a reliable network for referrals.

The first step is identifying potential referral partners who share your values and approach to working with clients. Look for professionals who are client-centered, educational in their approach, and respectful of the financial coaching relationship. The more transactional they are, the harder it will be for you to refer to them.

I never worry about timing with any of my partners, because they will not be upset if my client meets with them, gains insight and knowledge, but is told “not yet, we don’t need to do anything yet.” My partners know this is part of the process of client service sometimes.

Look for professionals who care about staying in their lane just as much as you care about staying in yours. I don’t tell them how to do their job, and they don’t tell me how to do mine, but we talk strategically and openly about the needs of our clients.

We’ve seen coaches build amazing networks by starting with professionals who already work with their target client demographic. When you meet with someone who would be a great partner for your clients’ money teams, reach out and request an informational meeting to learn about their services and their approach. Most professionals are open to these conversations because they’re also looking for referral sources.

During these meetings, clearly explain your role as a financial coach and how you complement rather than compete with their services. Be specific about the types of clients you work with and the problems you help them solve so they can identify good referral opportunities for you as well.

Many successful coaches create one page overviews of their services specifically for other professionals, making it easy for them to understand and refer. Consider creating a formal referral process, including how you’ll introduce clients to your referral partners and how you want to follow up.

Be proactive about staying in touch with your referral partners through regular check-ins, sharing relevant resources, and providing updates on mutual clients with proper permission. Remember that referral relationships work best when they are mutually beneficial, so actively look for opportunities to refer your clients to these partners.

Many coaches find that their referral relationships become one of their best sources of new clients, as these professionals refer people who need coaching before or alongside their specialized services. Most importantly, be patient in building these relationships. The strongest referral partners develop over time through consistently positive experience with mutual clients.

How to Make Effective Referrals

Let’s focus on how to actually make these referrals in a way that serves your clients and strengthens your coaching relationship. The way you present a referral significantly impacts how clients receive it, so we want to be thoughtful about our approach.

Frame referrals as a way to expand the resources available to your client, rather than passing them off to someone else. You could say something like, “To help you reach your goals faster, I’d like to bring in a specialist who can address this specific aspect of your financial picture.”

Be clear about why you’re making the referral and what specific value the client will receive from working with this other professional. When possible, offer multiple referral options so clients maintain a sense of choice and control in the process.

You can prepare your clients for these referrals from the beginning of the coaching relationship by explaining your role as the coordinator of the client’s financial team. Consider creating a simple guide for clients that explains what to expect when working with different types of financial professionals.

For particularly nervous clients, offer to facilitate an introductory call or meeting with a referral partner to ease that transition. Always follow up with clients after they meet with a referral to help them process the information they received and integrate it into their overall financial plan.

Be prepared to help clients translate technical advice into practical action steps that align with their financial habits and systems. Remember that clients often need your coaching support most when implementing advice from other professionals. I have found this to be very true over the years.

You can also schedule specific sessions focused on helping clients implement recommendations from referral partners. If a referral doesn’t work out, take responsibility for finding an alternative rather than leaving the client to figure it out on their own.

I always invite the client to come back and tell me what they think. Sometimes a client just isn’t feeling it, and that’s okay. Let them know you are always happy to connect them with another one of the professionals you suggest on the list and make another introduction. Thank them for being honest, because their success is our only priority.

Overall, it’s important to maintain a central role in the client’s financial journey, even when multiple professionals are involved.

Taking Action This Week

Building your client’s money team is one of the most valuable services you can provide as a financial coach. By connecting clients with the right professionals at the right time, you expand your impact and demonstrate your commitment to their comprehensive financial success.

Here are three actions I encourage you to take this week to start building your clients’ money team:

1. Create a clear scope of practice document for your coaching business that outlines what you do and don’t do, helping you identify when referrals will be needed.
2. Reach out to at least one professional in your area, whether that’s a financial advisor, CPA, or attorney, and schedule a coffee meeting to explore a potential referral relationship.
3. Review your current client list and identify anyone who might benefit from working with another financial professional, then discuss this with them in your next coaching session.

Remember that every great quarterback needs specialized team members to win the game. Your effectiveness as a coach increases dramatically when you connect clients with the right resources.