One of the simplest yet most revealing questions a financial advisor can ask is:
"Would I give this same recommendation to my spouse, my children, my parents, or someone I genuinely care about?"
Financial advisors are trained to identify needs, recommend solutions, overcome objections, and close sales.
But there is an uncomfortable reality in our profession: sometimes, the recommendations we make to clients are influenced by production targets, commission opportunities, and the pressure to generate business.
We may justify these recommendations because the products are legitimate, the benefits are real, and the client has agreed to proceed.
Yet an important question remains: Would we recommend the same solution if there were no commission involved and the person sitting across from us were someone we love?
Here are my four #acgadvice insights.
1. If You Wouldn't Recommend It to Your Family, Question Why You're Recommending It to a Client
The quality of your advice should not depend on your personal relationship with the person receiving it.
Imagine presenting a life insurance product with a ₱10,000 monthly premium to a client earning ₱60,000.
You explain the benefits, illustrate the future values, and emphasize the importance of financial protection.
The client expresses concern about affordability, but you successfully address the objections and secure the application.
Now imagine the same recommendation being made to your younger brother, who earns the same income and has similar financial obligations.
Would you still encourage him to commit ₱10,000 monthly?
Or would you first examine his household expenses, existing debts, emergency savings, and ability to sustain the premiums?
Would you consider a more affordable alternative?
If your recommendation changes simply because the person is family, it may be time to examine your professional judgment.
Of course, the same income does not always mean the same financial needs. Recommendations must account for individual circumstances. But the standard of care should remain consistent.
My insight: Apply the same diligence, concern, and professional judgment to every client that you would apply when advising someone you love.
Your clients deserve the same quality of advice you would want your own family to receive.
2. The Best Recommendation Is Not Always the Product You're Selling
A financial advisor's responsibility is to recommend an appropriate solution, not simply find a justification for the available product.
Consider a young parent who needs substantial life insurance coverage but has a limited budget.
An advisor may offer a product that combines insurance protection with savings or investment features.
The benefits may be legitimate, and the product may serve some clients well.
However, a simpler and more affordable protection-oriented policy might provide the coverage this particular client needs.
If the client were your son or daughter, would you insist on the product that produces a higher commission?
Or would you compare available options and explain the advantages, disadvantages, costs, and limitations of each?
- This is where genuine financial advising differs from product selling.
- The goal should not be to prove that your product is good.
- The goal should be to determine whether it is good for this particular client.
My insight: Be willing to recommend a smaller policy, a simpler solution, or an alternative provider when doing so better serves the client's circumstances.
Your loyalty to your company is important. But it should never prevent you from exercising sound professional judgment.
3. If You Would Protect Your Family From Financial Pressure, Protect Your Clients From It Too
A client's willingness to buy does not automatically mean the client can afford the commitment.
Suppose your daughter tells you that a financial advisor has convinced her to purchase an insurance policy requiring premiums she will struggle to sustain.
She explains that the advisor emphasized the dangers of being uninsured and warned her against delaying the decision.
Would you praise the advisor's persuasive ability?
Or would you question why someone encouraged your daughter to make a commitment without sufficiently considering her financial capacity?
Most of us would want our family members to receive balanced explanations, realistic illustrations, and enough time to make informed decisions.
We would want them to understand the consequences of missed premiums, policy lapses, surrender charges, exclusions, and other limitations.
We would also want them to feel comfortable declining a recommendation.
Our clients deserve no less.
My insight: Never use your professional influence to persuade clients into commitments you would discourage your own family from making under similar circumstances.
If you would protect someone you love from an unsuitable financial decision, your clients deserve that same protection.
4. Give Advice You Can Defend Even When There Is No Sale
Professional integrity becomes most visible when doing the right thing offers no immediate financial reward.
Imagine meeting a prospective client who has accumulated substantial credit-card debt, has no emergency fund, and is struggling to meet monthly obligations.
The client expresses interest in purchasing an investment-linked insurance product.
A sales-oriented advisor might focus on the opportunity to close the transaction.
But what if this were your sister?
Would you encourage her to commit immediately?
Or would you first suggest reviewing her debts, identifying more urgent financial priorities, and evaluating what protection she can realistically afford?
Sometimes, responsible financial advice leads to a smaller sale.
Sometimes, it leads to a postponed sale.
And sometimes, it leads to no sale at all.
The important distinction is that the recommendation remains appropriate regardless of the financial benefit to the advisor.
My insight: Build a professional practice where you can confidently explain and defend your recommendations even when they produce no commission.
The value of your advice should not disappear when the opportunity to earn a commission disappears.
My #acgadvice Principle
"If you would not recommend it to someone you love,
ask yourself why you are recommending it to someone who trusts you."
All the best my friends!!
#acgadvice
