David Solie, MS, PA

Advisory Relationships in Turbulent Times:
New Communication Strategies

(Audience: Financial Advisors, Attorneys, CPAs, Senior Service Professionals, Planned Giving Specialists, Caregivers, and Trust Officers)

The financial meltdown has taken a heavy toll on the “second half of life” population in the U.S., the 125,000,000 adults who are 50 and older. Understandably, they are feeling confused, panicked, and fearful about the about the future. They are also looking to their trusted advisors to help them understand their current situation as well as provide a sense of direction as to where to go from here.

David Solie’s presentation offers a new approach to the “art of communication” in turbulent times. He begins with a review of his work on the psychological agenda of second half of life clients: the developmental tasks of middle and old age. These important insights from his pioneering work on aging provides advisors with a unique framework to understand the underlying psychological needs that influence all aspects of their second half of life clients’ lives.

His presentation then shows advisors how to create “agenda-based communication strategies.” These are communication strategies designed to resonate with developmental tasks of a specific age group. They offer advisors an effective way to transform the pervasive gloom of turbulent times into to a more useful and balanced perspective. While the current financial meltdown is unquestionably a crisis, it is also an involuntary moment of deep personal reconsideration of what really matters most in life. Agenda-based communication strategies offer advisors an on-ramp to present creative and positive planning and risk management alternatives as a first step to offset the confusion, panic and fear their clients’ are experiencing.