The following is based on a recent conversation Ellen Rogin hosted on Horsesmouth Live with Beth Fitzgerald and Holly Reimel, two consultants who have worked in financial services and who now work with advisors on growing their practices. Fitzgerald and Reimel described Emotional Freedom Technique, a technique similar to acupuncture that they say combined with their advising helps their clients grow their businesses. The full interview is in the video below.
Key topics in the conversation
- Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is being used by some financial advisors to improve their performance and overcome internal barriers.
- EFT involves tapping on specific body points, similar to acupuncture, to release “stuck” energy associated with negative emotions.
- Common issues addressed by EFT for advisors include fear of public speaking and discomfort with wealthy clients.
- Proponents argue that EFT can help advisors present a more authentic self to clients, potentially improving their effectiveness.
- Some advisors have reported increased confidence, improved stress management, and breakthroughs in long-standing business plateaus after using EFT.
- The technique can be self-administered, but working with a practitioner may provide additional benefits and insights.
- While skepticism is natural, Fitzgerald and Reimel encourage advisors to approach EFT with an open mind due to its potential benefits.
Tapping to the next level
What keeps you from reaching the next level? How do you get unstuck?
Beth Fitzgerald and Holly Reimel have an answer: Emotional Freedom Technique.
Fitzgerald and Reimel, who work as coaches through their firm AdviseHer Consulting, work with financial advisors who are seeking to grow their practices. Each has 20 years or more of experience working in financial services. They present regularly, seeking to help advisors grow their business while maintaining happy, healthy lives.
Motivated by gender disparity
Fitzgerald and Reimel’s journey into their consulting practice began with a startling realization about gender representation in the industry.
Reimel: “We both worked at Oppenheimer together, and when we were there, we both traveled the country doing Women and Investing programs. At that time, which was over 20 years ago, 18% of financial advisors were females. Beth and I reconnected a couple of years ago and both were coaching and consulting and working in different areas. We looked at the numbers and we said, ‘Oh my gosh. It’s still only 18% of financial advisors are females. What can we do to move the needle?’”
Reimel said they recognized traditional methods weren’t making a significant impact on increasing female representation in financial advising. This led them to explore alternative techniques, including Emotional Freedom Technique—also referred to as EFT or “tapping”—as a means to address the underlying barriers that might be holding women back in the industry.
Not just for women
While their initial motivation was to help women advance in financial services, the techniques they teach may be used by anyone.
EFT combines elements of therapy with a form of acupressure. Fitzgerald and Reimel said it can help someone release energy, clearing internal barriers that often hold advisors back from reaching their full potential.
Fitzgerald: “So energy isn’t good or bad, it’s just flowing or stuck. The reason that energy gets stuck is because we have a negative emotion and that will cause it to get stuck. It gets stuck because we have this mentality that we don’t want anyone to see a kink in our armor. So we say, ‘I handled that.’ Or, ‘I’m fine.’ Or, we just kind of shove it down. Well, you can’t fool energy, it’ll just stay there and it kind of festers until you move it.”
These stuck points often manifest in ways that directly impact their business. Common issues include fear of public speaking, discomfort working with high-net-worth clients, and general feelings of inadequacy, Fitzgerald and Reimel say.
Reimel: “We’ve had a couple of advisors who say, ‘I want to get to the next level and can you help me?’ And so we start kind of looking at the book of business and talking about what that looks like and how they can get to that next level. What we uncover is that most of their clients are in that $500,000–$2 million range, and they don’t want to reach out to really wealthy clients. And there’s something in there that they can’t figure out.”
Fitzgerald and Reimel will work with the client, talking about their past and how negative emotions from events as far back as childhood may be blocking her or him from getting past a fear or hangup. Combined with the conversations, the EFT tapping technique is designed to help free a body’s energy flow, Fitzgerald and Reimel say.
They say that people they have helped report increased confidence in client meetings, improved ability to handle stress, and even breakthroughs in long-standing business plateaus.
Fitzgerald: “I think that the best way to share it with your advisors is: Ask yourself three questions. The first one is: Where are you right now? The second question is: Where do you want to be? And then the third question is: Why haven’t I gotten there? Then kind of take a beat and take a moment and say, What is the reason? Or, do I know the reason of why I haven’t gotten to where I want to be? And then that goes back to considering the energy work.
How to get started
For advisors interested in exploring EFT, there are several ways to get started. Self-guided techniques are widely available through books and online resources. However, working with a trained practitioner can provide more targeted results.
Fitzgerald: “You really don’t always need a practitioner. But I will say this, I use it on myself and I know Holly uses it on herself and you can get so far. But there’s a point where you really need that external person to be independent and willing to say some of the things that maybe you’re not willing to say or see or that you just can’t have the perspective.”
Reimel encourages advisors to approach EFT with an open mind.
Reimel: “I think it goes back to what Beth says, be open to the possibility.… People kind of throw in the towel and say, ‘I look OK,’ or ‘My business is pretty good and I’m going to keep riding this wave and I’m happy and things are going well.’ But be open to the possibility that something different could change your direction, change your alignment, change the way you’re thinking about yourself.”
“Be open to trying something new. And this is certainly new and different to most people. So I would just say be open.”
Fitzgerald: “It can’t hurt you to do it. That’s what I always say to people.…It can’t hurt you if it doesn’t work, although I’ve never seen it not work.…Once you remove that roadblock, now you say, OK, now wherever I want to go to, wherever that next level is, it’s now available to me because I’m not getting in my own way.”