SUMMARY
One of the greatest challenges facing financial advisors today is not a lack of value. In fact, many advisors provide an extraordinary range of services, guidance, and support that extends well beyond investment management. The real challenge is that much of that value remains invisible to clients. While advisors spend their days coordinating professionals, answering questions, calming fears, facilitating important conversations, and helping families navigate life's most significant transitions, clients often experience these interactions as isolated moments rather than as part of a larger, intentional philosophy. This episode explores how advisors can solve that problem by transforming invisible value into a memorable client story.
The conversation centers around the Legacy Package, not as a marketing piece or sales tool, but as a practical example of how advisors can articulate the broader value they already provide. The key insight is that clients do not naturally connect individual services into a cohesive narrative. They may remember a beneficiary review, a legacy planning conversation, or a discussion about family dynamics, but they often fail to see how these pieces fit together. As a result, many of the most meaningful elements of an advisor's value remain hidden.
The motivation behind the Legacy Package began with a simple observation. As clients age and become more financially secure, their priorities often evolve. Early in their financial journey, clients tend to focus on accumulation, retirement planning, tax-efficient strategies, and financial security. Over time, however, their concerns shift. Questions about wealth become questions about people. Clients begin to think about their spouse, children, grandchildren, and the impact they will leave behind. They become increasingly interested in continuity, family preparedness, and personal legacy.
This natural evolution presents an opportunity for advisors. If client priorities change, the advisor-client relationship should evolve as well. The Legacy Package was created to acknowledge and support that transition. Rather than functioning as a legacy planning document or another technical deliverable, it serves as a tangible expression of a deeper message: that the advisor has anticipated the next chapter of the client's life and is prepared to help them navigate it.
One of the most important lessons shared in the episode is that stories begin with problems. Every meaningful client-facing resource should solve a specific issue. In this case, the problem was not a lack of services. Advisors were already providing beneficiary reviews, legacy planning discussions, family meetings, charitable planning conversations, and guidance for surviving spouses. The problem was that clients experienced these services individually rather than collectively. The advisor's challenge was to connect those interactions into a unified story.
To accomplish this, the development process began with a simple exercise: inventorying everything the firm already did related to legacy planning and family support. This exercise revealed a long list of services that were already being delivered. The important realization was that differentiation did not require creating something new. Instead, it required organizing and communicating existing value more effectively.
Once that inventory was complete, the focus shifted from services to storytelling. Rather than asking what services the firm provided, the more important question became: what promise was being made to clients? This question changed everything. The breakthrough came when the team recognized that the true message wasn't about legacy planning or asset transfer. The real promise was much more powerful: there is a place in the practice for the people who matter most to the client.
With that promise clearly defined, every design decision became intentional. The package itself was named the Legacy Package because "legacy" is emotional while terms like "estate planning" tend to feel transactional. Legacy focuses on people, relationships, values, and continuity. Estate planning focuses on documents. This distinction reinforced the emotional story the firm wanted clients to hear.
Organization of the package followed the same philosophy. Rather than presenting a long list of disconnected services, everything was grouped around questions clients naturally ask. The structure was built around concerns such as preparing family members, supporting beneficiaries, adapting to life changes, and coordinating important planning decisions. By organizing around client questions instead of advisor functions, the package became easier to understand and more memorable.
The language used throughout the package was also chosen carefully. One notable example involved referring to children and grandchildren as "legacy clients" rather than heirs, beneficiaries, or future clients. The terminology subtly communicates belonging. Instead of suggesting that family members might someday become clients, it reinforces the idea that they already have a place within the firm's broader vision of serving the family.
The episode also highlights the role of experiences in validating a story. Resources alone do not create relationships. Experiences do. This is why the Family Phone Call and Sounding Board conversations became integral components of the Legacy Package. These are not merely services. They serve as proof points that reinforce the underlying promise. The Family Phone Call demonstrates the firm's commitment to multi-generational relationships by creating introductions before major life events occur. The Sounding Board conversation provides younger family members with access to guidance and support without pressure or obligation.
Another significant takeaway is the emphasis on simplicity. The Legacy Package does not need to be lengthy or highly sophisticated. Whether it takes the form of a brochure, a one-page guide, or a digital presentation is largely irrelevant. What matters is that it communicates a clear and memorable story. Complexity often obscures meaning, while simplicity enhances understanding.
The timing of introducing the package is also important. Rather than presenting it during highly technical onboarding discussions, advisors are encouraged to introduce it after the foundational planning work has been completed. At that point, the conversation naturally evolves from implementation to stewardship, making discussions about family, continuity, and legacy feel relevant and timely.
Perhaps the most important lesson from the episode is that the Legacy Package itself is not the true objective. The broader objective is to help advisors recognize that every meaningful part of their practice can be transformed into a memorable story. Advisors should not ask what new services they need to create. Instead, they should ask what problem they are solving, what promise they are making, and what story clients are hearing.
Ultimately, clients rarely advocate for services alone. They advocate for ideas, experiences, and stories that resonate with their values and priorities. The Legacy Package succeeds because it communicates a clear promise about family, continuity, and care. It transforms invisible value into something clients can understand, remember, and share. And in doing so, it strengthens relationships, increases confidence, and creates a foundation for long-term advocacy.
TRANSCRIPT
Aaron Grady, Advisor Consulting Director at USA Financial - Welcome back to another episode of The Rare Advisor. I'm your host, Aaron Grady. And if you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, you know there are a few themes that seem to come up over and over again. A few episodes ago, we talked about an idea that worth is communicated, not assumed. The lesson was simple: providing value isn't enough. Clients have to understand it. Then we expanded that idea with a previous episode.
on the service matrix and the stewardship framework. The idea there was that the conversation was all about organizing and communicating your client's experience in a way that's intentional, scalable, and most importantly memorable. More recently, we talked about the family phone call and how one recurring event can intentionally build relationships with the next generation before life forces those conversations. Now today,
In this episode, we're going to talk about the next step in that progression. Not because we're introducing another philosophy, but because I want to show you how those philosophy actually all come to life. Today we're going to walk you through one of the real-world examples, the legacy package. Not because every advisor needs a legacy package, but because every advisor has areas of their practice that deserve to become memorable client stories.
And I want to show you exactly how we built one. Now, before we talk about how we built it, I think it's very important to understand why we built it the first place. You know, and interestingly enough, it it wasn't because we needed another marketing piece. It wasn't because we needed another resource, it was because we noticed something happening inside of every successful or almost every successful advisory relationship. When clients first begin working with an advisor, their focus is
Pretty predictable. They're trying to build wealth. They're trying to reduce taxes, prepare for retirement, protect their family, make smart financial decisions. They're focused on their own financial journey. But something interesting happens over time. As clients become more financially independent, their focus naturally begins to shift. They become less concerned about accumulating wealth and more concerned about what that wealth will ultimately mean for the people that they love.
They begin asking different questions. Questions like, will my spouse be okay? Have I prepared my children? Are my beneficiaries organized? Will my grandchildren understand what we've built? And what kind of legacy will I leave? In other words, their priorities evolve. And if their priorities evolve, shouldn't our relationship evolve with them? And I think that's an important, important thing to think about.
The clients' lives are going to continue to evolve over time, and you, as an advisor and your practice, need to evolve with your process along with them. You know, that's probably the crux of why we built the legacy package. It wasn't built not as an legacy planning document, it wasn't built as just another deliverable, but as a way of telling our clients.
We've anticipated the next chapter of your life. And we've we're already prepared to help you navigate it. And you know, to me, that's a more meaningful story. Now, every once in a while someone's gonna ask me a really interesting question. They'll say, you know, hey Aaron, there are so many client experiences, great client experiences that you could have packaged up and tell the story around.
Why did you start with the legacy package as the one that you picked? And you know, it's it's honestly it's a fair question. And here's my answer. Because financial planning has never really been about money. It's always been about people. Financial planning is a relationship business. And when you really stop and think about it, the strongest relationships inside of almost every advisory practice revolve around one thing family.
For most clients, their biggest why isn't sitting inside their investment portfolio. It's sitting around their dinner table. It's their spouse. It's their children. It's their grandchildren. So if we're going to coach advisors to deepen relationships, we're better to start than with the people who matter most. And there's another reason too. Every advisor with an aging client base will eventually experience natural attrition. It's inevitable. Clients age, families inherit wealth.
Relationships transition. The question isn't whether it will happen. The question is whether you're intentionally preparing for it. The legacy package allows advisors to do something really powerful. It strengthens the current client relationship while naturally opening the door to future relationships. It helps clients feel confident that the people that they care about already have a place inside of your practice. And in doing so, it strengthens retention.
It creates differentiation and it builds familiarity with the next generation and ultimately increases your enterprise value. That's a pretty compelling return for one client-facing story. So today, instead of simply talking about the legacy package, I want to build one with you. Not literally, but conceptually. Because I think once you understand how we built it.
You'll begin seeing opportunities all throughout your own practice. And as we go, I want you to keep asking yourself one simple question. Why did we make that design choice? Because every design choice should reinforce the story you're trying to tell. And I want you to keep asking yourself one more question. What story is my client hearing? Because at the end of the day, that's what really matters. The story you're telling.
And the story that your client is hearing. So, step one in this process would be identify the client problem. Every great client-facing story starts with a problem. Not a brochure, not a design, but a problem. Here's the problem we were trying to solve. We were already helping clients with legacy planning, beneficiary reviews, executor guidance.
Family phone calls, conversations with adult children, legacy planning, our sounding board services, charitable giving, attorney coordination. The value already existed. The problem was our clients were experiencing those as separate conversations, not one intentional philosophy. So we asked ourselves, how do we connect all of those conversations into one story? Because remember,
Invisible value becomes unforgettable when it's wrapped in a story. Let me say that again so it sinks in. Invisible value becomes an inf an unforgettable story when it's wrapped in a story. Step two, start with what you already do. Now, here's where I think a lot of advisors make their first mistake. They think building something like the legacy package starts
With designing a resource, like laying out the format. It doesn't. It starts with simple discovery. In our coaching, we have an exercise that we call the notepad exercise. We use it as a fundamental and foundational part of the work that we do early in client relationships, in advisor relationships, to help them get a sense of all the things they can do in their practice. But in this context, you could use the notepad exercise as a very simple, incredibly simple.
way to start figuring out what you actually do. So take a blank legal pad and just start writing. Don't organize, don't categorize, don't edit yourself. Just write down every single thing that you do for your clients around this particular topic. Now for us, that topic was legacy. So we started writing everything that had to do with legacy, beneficiary reviews, legacy planning conversations, executor guidance.
Conversations with adult children, family meetings, family phone calls, sounding board conversations, trust coordination, attorney introductions, charitable planning, legacy planning, distribution planning, helping surviving spouses and helping children navigate inheritance accounts, and helping grandchildren get started financially. The list just kept going and growing. And here's the important part. We didn't
Have to invent any of those services. We simply made visible what was already happening. And I think that's a very important distinction because advisors often believe they need to create something new to differentiate themselves. But most of the time, you don't. You simply need to organize and communicate the value you're already providing. That's exactly what happened here. So
Here's a question I would encourage you to think about. If you were going to pull out a legal pad today, how many legacy-related services would you actually write down? Five? 10? 20? My guess it's far more than you actually realize. So step three, find the story. Once we had the list, we didn't immediately start organizing it. Instead,
We asked ourselves another important question. What story are we actually trying to tell? Notice I didn't ask what services are we providing. That's where advisors naturally go wrong. Instead, ask this: what promise are we making? That's a completely different question because stories are not built around services. Stories are built around promises. For us.
The breakthrough came when we realized we weren't really talking about legacy planning. We weren't talking about beneficiaries. We weren't talking about paperwork. What we were talking about was something much bigger. We were telling clients this simple statement. There's a home in our practice for the people you care about most. Hear that again. There's a home in our practice for the people you care about most.
Everything changed after that. Now every service, every conversation, every experience had a purpose. Not because it was another item on a checklist, but because it reinforced one promise. And once we had that one promise, designing the package became much easier. So here's another question to ask yourself. What's the promise you're making? Not what do you do, but what are you promising?
Because once you know the promise, the story almost writes itself.
So, step four in designing your legacy package is the design itself. Now, this is where the fun begins. once we knew our story, every design decision became intentional. And I think that's an important word. When you do this, when you start doing these things to help illustrate stories, you want to use intentionality. You want to be intentional about your choices. And this is where I want you to keep asking yourself the same question.
Why did we make that design choice? Now you can point that finger at yourself as you're designing your own legacy package to ask yourself why are you making those design choices? But as I'm describing this, you can ask the question, why did we make that design choice? And I'm going to explain to you why we did it, because I think it's going to help you as you start designing your own legacy package. Because the answer should always reinforce the story. So design choice number one.
Is it called the legacy package? Why didn't we call it the estate planning services or the estate planning guide or the end-of-life planning? And the answer is simple: because those names focus on documents. Legacy focuses on people. Estate planning is a transaction. It's transactional in nature. Legacy is emotional. Estate planning is about transferring assets.
Legacy is about transferring values, relationships, confidence, and continuity. Remember, our story wasn't we'll help you prepare for your estate. Our story was we'll help you prepare your family. And that's a very different conversation. Think about something in your own practice. Does the name describe what you do? So think about a service that you provide.
And this is the important of using terminology that really describes what you're providing. So does the name describe what you do, or does it describe what why it matters to the client? Because clients remember meaning, and this is important. Clients remember meaning, not mechanics. Design choice number two for us was how we actually laid it out. we built this document into four sections.
Because once we had the name, the next question for us became how should we organize everything? And we could have listed 30 different sections or services, or maybe even 50. But instead, we grouped them, we took all the services that we'd come up with on our notepad and we grouped them into four sections. Now, the why behind that is because clients don't remember lists.
If I come up with 150 different things, they're not going to remember all 150. But they do remember stories. And so each section answers a question that net that's naturally on a client's mind. So section one was designed around legacy planning. It answers the question: how do you help me prepare my family? The next section was working with beneficiaries. What happens after I'm gone?
The third section was financial planning updates, which answers how do we continue adapting as life changes. And then the the fourth and final for our legacy package was legacy planning services. And it answered the question: who helps coordinate everything? And hopefully you can see the difference as we laid that out. We didn't organize by department, we organized around the questions client naturally ask. And that's that's the crux of storytelling.
Your legacy package may have five sections, or maybe it has six. And it really depends on the questions that you believe your clients are asking around personal legacy and the answers that you're providing. And so you may organize your slightly different, but understand and understand it's all about telling the story. So look at your own service offerings and think about it this way: if a client picked them up today, would they immediately understand the story that you're trying to tell?
Or would they simply see a list of services that you've curated? Design element or design choice number three for us was why did we use the term legacy clients on our resource? Now, to be fair, this is probably my favorite design choice in the entire package, and it was kind of the crux of some of the work that we did. You'll notice we don't refer to children and grandchildren as heirs.
Or beneficiaries, or even future clients. We call them legacy clients with purpose. Because, as we often say, the words matter here. Heirs inherit assets. Legacy clients belong. That's intentionality. That's what that's acting with purpose. We're commuting say we're communicating something without have ever having to say it completely. We're telling our clients.
The people who matter to you already have a place here. Think about how different that feels. We're not waiting until someone inherits money before building the relationship. We're telling clients we're all we've already made room for them. That changes everything. So, design choice number four was: why is the family phone call inside the legacy package? Why did we include that? this design decision is.
one I think that is incredibly important. if you've listened to our previous episode on the family phone call, you'll know you know that I'm a huge believer in intentionally creating relationships with the next generation before life voice forces those conversations. But here's what I want you to notice: the family phone call isn't the story, it's the proof. Think about it. The legacy package tells clients.
the people that you care about are important to us. The family phone call demonstrates it. It's the first intentional introduction. It's the first opportunity to meet the children or grandchildren of your most valued client relationships. It's the first opportunity to begin building familiarity and trust. And that matters because relationships shouldn't begin during a crisis. They should begin during life. And that's why the family phone call belongs here.
Not because it's just another service that we wanted to tuck in, look, we're padding our stats. It's because it proves the promise. Remember, a brochure or resource has never changed a relationship with a client, but an experience has. So ask yourself this. What experience inside your own practice proves the story you're trying to tell? Because every great client story needs evidence. And if your
Experiences aren't telling a story, and if they're not providing evidence, you're missing a huge opportunity. So, design choice number five is simply why is the sounding board included? Now, again, this is like the the family phone call. This is another great question, and again, it reinforces the promise. one of the things we've learned over the years is that adult children and grandchildren often have financial questions. Sometimes they're
Buying things for the first time. Or maybe I I let's look at it this way. Sometimes they're buying their first home, maybe they're changing jobs, maybe they're getting married, starting a business, having children, and many times they may have questions around those things that maybe they've asked mom and dad, or maybe they don't feel comfortable asking mom and dad, or maybe they just want a second opinion.
Or maybe they just don't want to bother them. The sounding board simply says, look, you don't have to figure it out alone. You've got us. As an extension of the relationship with your mom and dad, with your grandma and grandpa, you have us. You're not alone. It's not a sales tool, it's a relationship tool. It creates accessibility, it creates confidence, it creates trust, and once again, it reinforces the story.
really is a place for you here. Now before we move on to other topics, I want to I I want to touch on and and I know I've gone through a huge list of potential things that you could put on your legacy package and I would encourage you to you know do the note when you're ready to build your own use the notepad exercise you know include the sounding board include you know things like the family phone call
but before we we move on to the n the next part of our conversation, let me answer a question that I often get from advisors. and and I I kind of chuckle on this because sometimes I get so enamored with talking about what it is, it's I don't get into the details of what it actually looks like. And that's really the question. What does the legacy package actually look like? And honestly.
It might be a beautiful brochure. It could be a polished one page client guide for that matter. You know, and I've had some advisors that have even created a digital resource that you walk through together on a screen. It doesn't need to be 20 pages and it doesn't need to be complicated. In fact, I'd argue that the simpler it is, the better. The goal isn't to overwhelm clients with information. The goal is to leave them with something that they can easily understand, a format.
Is important, but it really isn't the point. The story is. that said, I do think it should be something tangible. A tangible piece simply gives your clients something to revisit long after the meeting ends. It gives them something they can remember and something they can even reference, and maybe even something that they can share with people they care about. Because the resource isn't actually the point, the story is.
Here's the important part. The resource isn't the experience. The resource simply introduces the experience. The relationship is what brings it to life. And so the next piece of this is really: when do you introduce the legacy package? And this is probably one of the questions I get asked most often. It's simply, Aaron, this is great, but I've built this thing now. When do I actually use it? And the answer is.
Earlier than most advisors think. We typically introduce the legacy package towards the end of an onboarding process. And I think the timing is very important. Think about what happens during onboarding. Initially, the conversations are very technical. you're gathering information, you're building the financial plan, you're opening accounts, you're discussing investments, you're completing paperwork. And that's exactly where the client's attention needs to stay, right? That's where it needs to remain, is in that.
Phase of the relationship. But eventually, the relationships begin to shift. It begin begins to become less about implementation and more about stewardship, less about transactions and more about the relationship. That's where the legacy package naturally enters the conversation. Not as another document, but as a way of simply saying to the person sitting across the table, now that we've built the financial.
Financial foundation, let's talk about the people we're ultimately building it for. And that transition, that transition feels incredibly natural. One of the ways we often introduce this sounds something like this. One of the things we've learned over the years and is that our clients, as our clients achieve financial independence, their priorities naturally begin to shift. Initially, most people are focused on building wealth.
Preparing for retirement and creating financial security. But over time, the questions become different. Clients begin thinking more about their spouse, their children, their grandchildren, and the legacy they're eventually leaving behind. We found, Mr. and Mrs. Client, that this is such an important transition that we actually created a dedicated resource around it. And we call it our legacy package. It's our commitment to helping you preserve not only what not only your wealth, but the people.
The values and the relationship that mattered most. Now, that introduction to this resource doesn't feel like marketing. It feels more like wisdom. And so the positioning is as important as the creation of the document itself. So now we've introduced it to a new client, we've rolled it out at onboarding. Now what? This is the biggest mistake advisors can make when they develop resources like the legacy package. The biggest mistake is.
Handing this to a client and never talking about it again. The legacy package is not meant to live in a drawer. It's meant to be a living part of the relationship and a living part of your process. It naturally comes back into the conversation and it should during future strategy and tactical meetings, in legacy planning reviews, in beneficiary updates, in during the family phone calls, or in the discussions around the family phone calls, in legacy planning discussions, major life transitions.
Conversations about children or grandchildren, conversations about the birth of a grandchild, possibly the sale of a business, retirement, or even charitable planning. Every one of those moments becomes an important opportunity to reinforce the same story. Not a different story, the same story. And here's the key thing to think about. Consistency creates confidence, and confidence builds advocacy. Let me say that again. Consistency creates confidence.
And confidence creates and confidence builds advocacy. So let me leave you with one final coaching exercise. This week, don't build a legacy package. Not yet. Instead, find one area of your practice that you believe creates tremendous value. Then ask yourself these three questions. What problem am I solving? What promise am I making? And what story is my client hearing? Once you have those answers, everything else becomes much easier.
The document, the language, the experiences, they all begin to fall into place because you're no longer organizing services, you're organizing a story. And that's exactly how we built the legacy package. You know, as an advisor, you spend your career creating value. You solve problems, you answer questions, you coordinate professionals, you calm fears. You help families make some of the most important decisions of their lives. But here's the challenge.
Most of that value is invisible, and invisible value is difficult to remember. And that's why I believe invisible value becomes unforgettable when it's wrapped in a story. I'll say it again, invisible value becomes unforgettable when it's wrapped in a story. The legacy package is one example of that, not just because it's a tangible resource, not because it's a beautifully designed resource, but because it tells one simple story, a story about family.
A story about continuity, and a story that says there is already a place in our practice for the people you care about most. And that's important because stories create significance. Clients rarely advocate for services, they advocate for stories they believe in. So here's my challenge to you for this week. Don't ask yourself what services should I add. Ask yourself, what story am I trying to tell? Because once that story becomes clear, everything else becomes easier.
Thank you again for joining me for another episode of the Rare Advisor Podcast. If you found today's episode helpful, make sure you like and subscribe so you never miss a future conversation designed to help you refine your practice, elevate your client experience, and build more valuable business. And remember, when the why is clear, the how becomes easy, so never lose sight of your why.
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The RARE Advisor is a business model supercharged by Recurring And Repeatable Events. With decades of experience coaching successful advisors, your host, along with other leaders in the industry, discusses what it takes to grow a successful practice. With the aim of helping financial professionals and financial advisors take their business to the next level, this podcast shares insights and success stories that will make a real impact. Regardless of the stage of your practice, The RARE Advisor will provide thoughtful guidance, suggestions for developing systems and processes that work, and ideas for creating an authentic experience for your clients.
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