All Set or All Wet: Why the Truth Doesn't Always Hurt
All Set or All Wet: Why the Truth Doesn't Always Hurt
Jay L. Gershman, Retirement Visions LLC, West Hartford
Twenty-five years ago, I started my career in financial services as a life insurance agent. Like all new agents, I was given the cold, hard sales task of calling strangers. Most times, the people I connected with either hung up quickly, gruffly dismissed me or politely responded, “We’re all set.”
In the years since I have learned a lot about people and I’ve come to understand that “all set” is often a cover for one of the following underlying issues:
- A person doesn’t want to focus on financial issues at the current point in time because he or she believes there are other, more pressing concerns.
- A person believes that they are a “lost cause” and would rather not face the truth. By the way, after going through the numbers, the truth is surprisingly almost always better than they imagined.
- A person has delegated their finances to someone, a spouse or an advisor, and believes that he or she is all set because someone else is “taking care of it”. Unfortunately, they have never sought a second opinion.
Unfortunately, after meeting with countless individuals and couples, I have yet to meet anyone who was actually “all set”. Instead, most believe that only investments require attention and have little to no focus on estate planning, long term care, pensions or social security. Worse yet, many have hired investment specialists and don’t realize that their investment allocation doesn’t match their long term goals or risk tolerance.
I picked up a book in the airport several weeks ago entitled “What Motivates Me”. I haven’t read it yet, and I might not have to. What motivates me is the appreciation that my clients have shown for the work that I do by introducing me to their loved ones. I work to make my family proud and I remind myself of where I’m from - immigrant grandparents with modest means and a father who spent his entire career genuinely caring about people in his pharmacy.
As a life coach, I have been asked many times, “what motivates you”? The answer is simple. Even though my business has grown over the past twenty-five years, I still advertise regularly, host complimentary seminars for the public and meet with young people just starting out - all to be able to help more individuals become truly “all set”. I wake up each day with the goal of delivering honest advice to people regardless of their wealth. While other organizations turn away clients based upon their net worth, I work with people to build their net worth. My goal is to help people who are focused on their big picture and who are excited about living their dreams.
The bottom line: being “all set” is about much more than investment returns. Want to take the first step to see how you fare? Take our quiz today at https://www.allset2retire.com/all-set-2-retire-quiz
Jay Gershman is the Owner and Founder of Retirement Visions LLC, a West Hartford-based financial planning firm that focuses on comprehensive life planning and financial management. For more information, visit www.allset2retire.com. Information and advice are for guidance only and opinions expressed belong solely to the author. Securities offered through Securities Service Network, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. Fee-based services are offered through SSN Advisory, Inc., a registered investment advisor.
