Here’s how it works. Advisers get paid in basically one of three ways. 1, hourly for doing a plan or other work that ends when the work stops. 2, commission on selling mutual funds, insurance products, annuities, etc. 3, AUM – Assets Under Management fee, typically 1% of the account balance per year.

When buying our last car, we decided exactly what we wanted and then I emailed 10 dealers to get them bidding on getting me the car for the best price. 4 of them made an offer and I sent everyone each other’s bid to see who would go the lowest. I am pretty sure I wasn’t going to get a better price than the one I ended up with and there was little to no hassle.

When you are trying to be empathetic to others, it’s often perceived significantly better if you don’t refer to yourself at all. Instead of “I understand” simple restate what they are feeling and ask them if you understood. For example, if the client says, “I am scared of losing money” your reply of “I understand” is okay, but a better, more empathetic response would be “So you feel that some investments are not right for you because they have a high potential of loss? Is that right?” The “I” in any answer makes the conversation about you not them. The topic is them, stick to it.