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Advice That Sticks: How to give financial advice that people will follow
The advice is sound; the client seems eager; and then… nothing happens! Too often, this is the experience that financial professionals encounter in their daily work. When good recommendations go unimplemented, clients’ well-being is compromised, opportunities are lost, and the professional relationship grows strained.
Advice that Sticks takes aim at the problem of financial non-adherence. Written by a neuropsychologist and financial change expert, this book examines the five main factors that determine whether a client will follow through with financial advice. Individual client psychology plays a role in non-adherence; so, too, do sociocultural and environmental factors, general advice characteristics, and specific challenges pertaining to the emotionally loaded domain of money. Perhaps most surprising, however, is the extent to which advice-givers themselves can foil implementation. A great deal of non-adherence is due to preventable mistakes made by financial professionals and their teams.
The author integrates her extensive clinical and consulting experience with research findings from the fields of positive psychology, behavioural economics, neuroscience, and medicine. What emerges is a thoughtful, funny, but above all practical guide for anyone who makes a living providing financial advice. It will become an indispensable handbook for people working with clients across the wealth spectrum.
Advice that Sticks takes aim at the problem of financial non-adherence. Written by a neuropsychologist and financial change expert, this book examines the five main factors that determine whether a client will follow through with financial advice. Individual client psychology plays a role in non-adherence; so, too, do sociocultural and environmental factors, general advice characteristics, and specific challenges pertaining to the emotionally loaded domain of money. Perhaps most surprising, however, is the extent to which advice-givers themselves can foil implementation. A great deal of non-adherence is due to preventable mistakes made by financial professionals and their teams.
The author integrates her extensive clinical and consulting experience with research findings from the fields of positive psychology, behavioural economics, neuroscience, and medicine. What emerges is a thoughtful, funny, but above all practical guide for anyone who makes a living providing financial advice. It will become an indispensable handbook for people working with clients across the wealth spectrum.
218 pages, Paperback
Published February 26, 2018
114 people are currently reading
586 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 29, 2021
I read this book because I’ve given financial advice before to friends, family, and a few random people, but without being a certified advisor myself.
This book contains really actionable advice that can be implemented from day-one by any financial advisor. If I ever decide to become one, I’d read it again.
This book contains really actionable advice that can be implemented from day-one by any financial advisor. If I ever decide to become one, I’d read it again.
June 7, 2024
there is a growing list of books to re-read and this is one of them!
June 9, 2019
It’s been said that personal finance is 20% head knowledge and 80% behaviour. Moira Somers provides great insight into this concept, arguing that people are often non-adherent to financial advice, not from an absence of advice, but because of other factors that hold people back from compliance.
The age old question then becomes whose fault is this non-adherence? Surely not the advisor as they provided the correct information to the client in the situation they are in. Is there more to be said about how the advisor conveys the information, or whether the advisor should be looking for warning signs in the client’s life that they aren’t ready for certain changes? If the ultimate goal of financial advice giving is to see change, more responsibility should fall on the advisor to clearly communicate the right information at the right time so it is followed and the client’s situation is changed for the better.
This book is a must read for anyone in the advice giving profession as more attention & consideration needs to be given to the topic of behavioural economics.
The age old question then becomes whose fault is this non-adherence? Surely not the advisor as they provided the correct information to the client in the situation they are in. Is there more to be said about how the advisor conveys the information, or whether the advisor should be looking for warning signs in the client’s life that they aren’t ready for certain changes? If the ultimate goal of financial advice giving is to see change, more responsibility should fall on the advisor to clearly communicate the right information at the right time so it is followed and the client’s situation is changed for the better.
This book is a must read for anyone in the advice giving profession as more attention & consideration needs to be given to the topic of behavioural economics.
May 23, 2025
Not bad! I didn't connect with her writing style, but the tips for helping financial advice stick to clients was practical and useful.
August 13, 2022
Perfect book for someone just starting their career in the arena of delivering financial advice. Several pieces were immediately applicable as I was able to make connections with her examples and some of my real-life experiences with clients.
Biggest takeaways for me:
- People will tell you they understand, even when they don't. If you're unsure, have a client explain to you what the plan is in their own words and describe what their role is in the next steps.
- People hire you because this is not their area of expertise. Anticipate when things can be overwhelming, especially if there are multiple steps that need to be taken care of. Break them down.
- Remove friction. Signing documents or delivering financial items can slow down the progress and clients WILL, even if unfairly, attribute that lack of progress to working with you. Include document signing or as many homework pieces as you can in meetings so it actually gets done.
As others have pointed out, at just under 200pp it was a quick read. To that end, I hope I can return to its content through the years as a refresher.
Biggest takeaways for me:
- People will tell you they understand, even when they don't. If you're unsure, have a client explain to you what the plan is in their own words and describe what their role is in the next steps.
- People hire you because this is not their area of expertise. Anticipate when things can be overwhelming, especially if there are multiple steps that need to be taken care of. Break them down.
- Remove friction. Signing documents or delivering financial items can slow down the progress and clients WILL, even if unfairly, attribute that lack of progress to working with you. Include document signing or as many homework pieces as you can in meetings so it actually gets done.
As others have pointed out, at just under 200pp it was a quick read. To that end, I hope I can return to its content through the years as a refresher.
January 19, 2020
Required reading if you’re a financial advisor
If you’re a financial advisor and think it’s all about the numbers this is a book you need to read. Moira does a thorough job of helping us who work with others around financial issues understand that the numbers are just a starting place.
If we’re trying to get our clients to change any behavior (and we’re always trying to do this) we need to have tools that we can use to help the people we work with actually make the changes we recommend.
This book will give you several great strategies for getting clients to adhere to changes BOTH of you agree to and are important.
In addition to the great information Moira provides, she also gives you a huge list of other thought leaders in this space you should pay attention to. Most of them I know and can vouch that they will add as much value for you as this book. It’s a bonus you don’t want to miss.
Buy this book, read it and adopt the suggestions. Your practice will be better for taking those actions.
If you’re a financial advisor and think it’s all about the numbers this is a book you need to read. Moira does a thorough job of helping us who work with others around financial issues understand that the numbers are just a starting place.
If we’re trying to get our clients to change any behavior (and we’re always trying to do this) we need to have tools that we can use to help the people we work with actually make the changes we recommend.
This book will give you several great strategies for getting clients to adhere to changes BOTH of you agree to and are important.
In addition to the great information Moira provides, she also gives you a huge list of other thought leaders in this space you should pay attention to. Most of them I know and can vouch that they will add as much value for you as this book. It’s a bonus you don’t want to miss.
Buy this book, read it and adopt the suggestions. Your practice will be better for taking those actions.
October 8, 2019
Beyond excellent and a must for anyone giving financial advice.
Very a much a wakeup call for the wealth management/advising industry, which seems to have spent a a lot of years ignoring the human side of things.
While I suspect a lot of this stuff is already on the radar of people outside of the asset-focused side -- that is, the financial coaches, counselors and so on who do not handle assets but do a lot of the heavy lifting in helping people get to the point of having assets to handle -- it is still an excellent addition to any financial coach/counselor's library. It'll distill down what many already have learned through their practices, while presenting new info and ideas, as well.
Very a much a wakeup call for the wealth management/advising industry, which seems to have spent a a lot of years ignoring the human side of things.
While I suspect a lot of this stuff is already on the radar of people outside of the asset-focused side -- that is, the financial coaches, counselors and so on who do not handle assets but do a lot of the heavy lifting in helping people get to the point of having assets to handle -- it is still an excellent addition to any financial coach/counselor's library. It'll distill down what many already have learned through their practices, while presenting new info and ideas, as well.
June 20, 2022
Excellent insights for financial advisors in the art of increasing adherence to advice given to the people they serve. I found the questions and application prompts at the end of each chapter to be particularly helpful and look forward to implementing them in conversations.
July 8, 2022
OK, I don't know that anyone outside of my industry wants to read this, but it's good. Lots of conversation about transitions and getting your clients to do the things they need to do. I read it really fast. I'll reread it really slowly before too long.
June 24, 2023
I thought this was rather outstanding! Very simple, straight forward, and easy to read through quickly. The book was mentioned on a Kitces podcast and it sounded interesting. It certainly was!
Anyone in the business of giving financial advice: CFPs, CPAs, bankers, etc. should give this a read. Dr. Somers does an excellent job laying out scenarios we most have seen and experiences, but then takes it from the perspective of viewing both the client/customer AND the advisor.
It is broken down into sections of dealing with the problem of communication in advice. How to better understand your client's desires and wants, and how we can subtly alter our advice to help make it more understandable and actionable for others to implement and most importantly, stay with and make a positive habit. I have read many books on building habits, but most clients have not, so how do we communicate this process to clients without coming across as arrogant, officious, and even boorishly over-bearing.
Sometimes it is difficult to have confidence in a situation due to our own insecurities. But, our clients come to us simply because they know they don't know something, and they think/hope we do know whatever that something may be. She discusses what is advice and why clients seek it; the fundamental reasons why advisors/advisor teams cause themselves and clients issues with adhering to an advice regimen; types of people types of advice; and case studies on client situations.
I will keep this book handy. Much different than when I started my career 25+ years ago and having a book on "How to Close Any Deal" handy so I could survive. This is at the heart of what financial advisors are truly dealing with and how to do it more efficiently.
Anyone in the business of giving financial advice: CFPs, CPAs, bankers, etc. should give this a read. Dr. Somers does an excellent job laying out scenarios we most have seen and experiences, but then takes it from the perspective of viewing both the client/customer AND the advisor.
It is broken down into sections of dealing with the problem of communication in advice. How to better understand your client's desires and wants, and how we can subtly alter our advice to help make it more understandable and actionable for others to implement and most importantly, stay with and make a positive habit. I have read many books on building habits, but most clients have not, so how do we communicate this process to clients without coming across as arrogant, officious, and even boorishly over-bearing.
Sometimes it is difficult to have confidence in a situation due to our own insecurities. But, our clients come to us simply because they know they don't know something, and they think/hope we do know whatever that something may be. She discusses what is advice and why clients seek it; the fundamental reasons why advisors/advisor teams cause themselves and clients issues with adhering to an advice regimen; types of people types of advice; and case studies on client situations.
I will keep this book handy. Much different than when I started my career 25+ years ago and having a book on "How to Close Any Deal" handy so I could survive. This is at the heart of what financial advisors are truly dealing with and how to do it more efficiently.
September 6, 2021
A great book on advisory in the financial domain but also remarkably applicable to every aspect of professional and personal life. Clearly written and easy to understand with summary and tips on adherence boosters at the end of each chapter, revolving around the FACTS model for a better outcome of follow-through (Finance, Advice, Clients, Team and Social). This book will benefit both ends of a client-advisor relationship as well as individuals that strive to be more mindful and better equipped to navigate situations laden with cognitive biases and short-term emotions. In addition to recommended materials on money, decision-making, and change enabler, the book ends on an inspiring note by expanding beyond its obvious predicament:
"Consider this is a call for you to become part of an emerging new guild of financial professionals, a guild made up of people who are fully equipped to address the needs, the opportunities, and the gifts inherent in working with people and their finances. You are being invited to experience what Frederick Buechner was thinking of when he wrote of the highest level of vocation, that place 'where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.'"
"Consider this is a call for you to become part of an emerging new guild of financial professionals, a guild made up of people who are fully equipped to address the needs, the opportunities, and the gifts inherent in working with people and their finances. You are being invited to experience what Frederick Buechner was thinking of when he wrote of the highest level of vocation, that place 'where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.'"
August 2, 2024
I thought this was a solid book. It’s definitely one I will go back to again in the future. Picked up some good tips on improving the quality of questions I ask clients when giving advice. The premise I got out of it was essentially to get on your client’s level, and obtain their buy-in for advice to better their financial plan and lives. I’d call this a must read. Even if it took me a minute to get into it. I was captivated after the first or second chapter.
January 5, 2020
Relevant and important insight for anyone who wants to help others make real changes in their lives.
April 29, 2020
Some good actionable items. Little repetitive and the tone is a little odd at times, but not bad overall.
August 6, 2020
Good content, but felt a bit stretched. Despite being a short book it was filled with fluff.
May 28, 2025
Easy to read & follow along. Great insight on how to convince clients to adhere to your advice
January 29, 2021
A must for all financial personnel who work with clients — advisors, money managers, relationship bankers, loan officers, and so forth. No financial theories are found here, only excellent advice on navigating the emotion and mental side of financial management.
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August 23, 2018Interesting
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews