Gaining Financial Knowledge Alongside Coaching Clients

One of the questions I get asked ALL THE TIME by newer coaches is: “What exactly do I need to know about money to coach people?” It’s usually followed by a string of other concerns:

• What order do I prioritize topics when I’m coaching my clients?
• What exactly do I recommend for clients who [insert scenario here]?
• How do I make sure I’m not overlooking anything?

For example, I often receive messages where someone asks which needs of their clients should be addressed first—their bills, 401k, spending, cash flow, credit card payments, emergency savings, investments, tax organization, etc.

These questions come from a good place. They stem from a desire to feel confident and to know that you can help every client you sit down with. But it’s important to recognize that this perspective often comes from a novice or beginner standpoint. Not only that, but it comes from an external perspective: this idea that there’s some perfect information OUT THERE that you need to gain, some magical formula that will give you the confidence and reassurance you’re seeking.

The Danger of One-Size-Fits-All Thinking

I don’t think we can possibly prioritize financial topics for all people without putting them into a baby step-like program. And that leads us down a dangerous path of “one size fits all” thinking. If managing our money was easy and formulaic, everyone would be good at it, and it wouldn’t be the pervasive problem it is today.

We coach real people through real life. Which topic you address first might be debt for one client and savings for another. It might be spending for one client and income for another. The concern about not overlooking anything is perfectionism talking because it assumes you will be perfect and never overlook anything.

Reframing Your Approach

So, I want to offer some reframes when it comes to asking questions such as these:

• What exactly do I need to know to coach this person?
• What priority order does this person need most?
• What can I recommend to this client right now?
• How do I make sure I don’t overlook the BIG picture?
• How do I communicate the big picture to this client?

In other words, instead of asking what you need to know for ALL people in ALL situations, narrow your focus. By a lot.

Three Key Focus Areas for Coaches

I want to encourage you to focus on 3 things:

1. Progress

The goal is that the client is continuously making progress. If you put A before B or B before A, chances are it doesn’t really matter. Could you argue that one way saves more money than the other? Yeah, maybe. But who says that way is best just because of that?

For example, there are times when I’m sitting with a client who is so overwhelmed that all I care about is helping them create some wins. We might go an entire month without trimming a single expense or making progress toward a goal. All I want them to do is feel successful at sticking to their spending plan.

Your client determines your priority—not some book, not this podcast, and not me. Your goal is to focus on helping the client to make and see financial progress!

2. Curiosity

I want you to turn over every leaf. I want you to question everything. Bills? Yup. Savings? Yup. Debt? Yup. It’s all on the table and every client, again, will have different things you’ll need to look at.

If you see something…anything, what is it? Use it as an opportunity to explore and go down rabbit holes. I have learned so much in this way.

For instance, I once had a client who did ballroom dancing. I first learned about it because she had Arthur Murray on her budget. This led to a whole series of questions about the hobby, the costs involved, and how it fit into her financial picture.

3. Intuition

Intuition is defined as a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.

My guess is that many newer coaches lean heavily on the conscious reasoning part but avoid or ignore the instinctive aspect of coaching their clients.

When it comes to helping your clients, your ability to do that is less about knowledge you need to gain and more about skills you need to acquire. Specifically, the skill of learning to listen to and trust your intuition as well as your ability to learn and listen to the client.

The Power of Demonstrating Learning

When we focus on 1) progress, 2) curiosity, and 3) intuition, this sets us up to deliver one thing consistently: the ability to demonstrate learning for our clients and the skill of sourcing information so you can gain knowledge as you need it. Is there any better gift we can give our clients, Coach?

A Real-Life Example: Coaching Through Uncertainty

I have a client, let’s call her Amelia, who shared that her mom has begun to experience memory loss. This situation was entirely new to me. In over 15 years of coaching, I’d never encountered this specific scenario.

Instead of pretending to have all the answers, I approached it like this:

1. I let Amelia share her story and emotions.
2. I reminded her of the financial options she’d created for herself through our work together.
3. I asked about her mom’s existing estate planning and suggested speaking with an estate planning attorney.
4. I gave her open-ended questions to ask the attorney, focusing on learning and exploration rather than immediate decision-making.
5. I committed to doing some research myself and reconvening in two weeks to compare notes.

This approach demonstrated how to handle new financial situations, showed the value of seeking expert advice, and reinforced our coaching relationship.

Remember, Coach, it’s not about having all the answers. It’s about knowing how to find them, how to guide your clients through uncertainty, and how to keep making progress even when you’re in uncharted territory.

By focusing on progress, curiosity, and intuition, you can provide immense value to your clients. You demonstrate the skill of learning and expanding financial knowledge. You show them that it’s okay to lean on experts and ask for help. You guide them in exploring topics without rushing to decisions. And most importantly, you deepen your coaching relationship by showing that even when you don’t have the answer, you’re still a valuable resource.

This approach to gaining and applying financial knowledge will serve you and your clients far better than any one-size-fits-all formula ever could. Keep learning, keep growing, and keep helping your clients do the same!