Right now, the market isn’t humming like a machine…it’s thrashing like a wave.
With sweeping tariffs reshaping trade policy, inflation biting into daily expenses, and headlines blaring like air raid sirens, your clients aren’t just watching the market—they’re watching their future wobble.
Clients are calling, texting, emailing. Some are concerned. Some are panicked. And all of them are wondering the same thing:
Should I do something?
But beneath that question is another, quieter one.
What clients are really asking
“Should I be worried?” doesn’t mean “Should I move to cash?” It means:
- Am I going to be OK?
- Is my family going to be OK?
- Can I still retire the way I’d planned?
- Did I make a mistake?
They’re not looking for market commentary. They’re looking for emotional clarity. Because in times like these, fear rewrites the narrative. Suddenly, every dip feels permanent. Every bad headline feels like the beginning of the end.
The instinct for many advisors is to respond with logic. To jump in with historical averages, long-term charts, the talking points that have always worked before.
But clients aren’t in their rational brains right now—they’re in their emotional ones. And if you try to speak logic to fear, fear won’t hear you.
What works better?
Reflect, before you reassure.
Instead of saying, “Don’t worry, this will pass,” try this:
- “You’re not alone. A lot of people are feeling the same way.”
- “It’s OK to feel anxious—this is a tough time.”
- “Let’s talk about what feels most uncertain for you right now.”
When you do this, you make space. You validate emotion. And a client who feels seen is a client who can finally hear reason.
Your job isn’t to predict the future. It’s to narrate the moment.
Clients today are swimming in information and drowning in anxiety. They don’t need a forecast—they need a filter. They need someone to make sense of the noise, to separate what matters from what’s just market static.
You don’t need to have all the answers. But you do need to offer a point of view.
“Here’s what’s happening. Here’s what it doesn’t mean. And here’s what we’re going to do about it—if anything.”
That’s not prediction. That’s presence. And presence is what clients remember when the dust settles.
4 tactics for steadying the conversation
- Mirror emotion. Say what they’re likely feeling out loud: “This is scary, and that’s OK.” Normalizing fear creates space for calm.
- Revisit the plan. Anchor the moment in what hasn’t changed. “Let’s check in on your long-term goals. Do they still feel right?”
- Tell a story. Share a past storm they weathered—or one you’ve helped others through. Stories calm better than stats.
- Slow the pace. Your tone becomes their tempo. Speak a little more slowly, pause more often. Presence is contagious.
The myth of being the fixer
A lot of advisors were trained to believe that their job is to fix things. Solve problems. Have the answers. But during moments like this, your greatest value isn’t being the smartest voice in the room—it’s being the calmest.
Reassurance isn’t about optimism. It’s about orientation. You’re helping clients orient themselves to something bigger than today’s headlines. You’re helping them stay anchored.
Sometimes, the best thing you can say isn’t a strategy—it’s a sentence:
“I’m here. We’ve planned for uncertainty. And we’re going to walk through this together.”
When fear spikes, this is your posture:
- Reflect. Before you speak, slow down. Let emotion surface. Clients don’t need answers right away—they need acknowledgment.
- Reframe. Shift their focus from panic to perspective. Narrate what’s real, not what’s loud.
- Re-anchor. Bring them back to what matters most: their life, their plan, their future. That’s what steadies the boat.
In the end, presence is the product
In times of fear, clients don’t remember what you predicted. They remember how you made them feel. Were you calm? Were you clear? Did you help them feel a little more grounded, a little less alone?
What clients need most in uncertain times isn’t a prediction. It’s you and who you are…steady, clear, and committed.
We trust you find this helpful.