Setting life goals are a big part of working with clients. Often times, it takes more than just a simple question to examine the real goals of clients. They tend to say what they think you want to hear, or what sounds good. My anecdotal evidence suggests that most advisers accept that as they are just trying to land the business, and pushing further isn’t beneficial to the sale. In sales, your selling the vision, not reality, which is why beer commercials with great looking girls work really well with male beer drinkers. 🙂 However, in this business, I would argue that going beyond the superficial is crucial to trust building and a long term relationship. But I would also acknowledge this will cost the adviser some business and makes things harder. So you have to decide how much you’re going to push them for their real thoughts.