Like a Lobotomy or a Broken Foot
Between 1946 and 1956 roughly 80,000 lobotomies were conducted worldwide with the consent of individuals (and/or their family members). Put another way, 8,000 people every year had a surgeon drill into their skulls and remove a portion of their brain.
Taking it down a notch.
My wife’s foot has been hurting for about two weeks. Last week she decided to see a doctor. She was surprised to find out that she has a hairline stress fracture. They immediately put a boot on her, told her to stay off it, and will be working from home for the next week.
She is one of roughly 6,800,000 Americans that will experience a fracture this year. Without a doubt, nearly every single patient will accept a boot, or a splint, or a cast, and be on their way.
No questions asked.
Why in the world am I telling you this?
These patients are also our clients. They have no problem seeking out professional opinions when it comes to their health and wellness. They walk into their doctor’s office and tell them their symptoms. Their doctor likely asks a few additional questions and prescribes the appropriate treatment.
Sometimes, the client has been reading too much webMD and starts telling the doctor what is wrong with them and how to treat it. At this point the doctor will walk them through their reasoning and prognosis confidently – barring any additional information that could alter materially their prior assessment.
In our industry we are fantastic at accepting patients and prescribing solutions to what ails them. Where I find we fail is in letting our clients dictate their own solutions when they decide that ours are not a good fit.
Could you imagine if my wife had walked into her doctor’s office last week, explained her situation, and after her doctor had suggested she have her foot x-rayed my wife responded with “Can you just prescribe me rollerblades, so I can get places without picking up my foot and putting it down?”
It seems absurd but that is what we allow many of our clients to do. This likely sounds familiar to you:
“My spouse will not receive my pension if I die first”
“We suggest laddering Term Insurance with Permanent coverage”
“Thanks, but I’ll just take the Term Insurance”
And in order to not “lose the sale” we acquiesce.
Rollerblading with a broken foot might help you move around a little faster and minimize impact, but I am certain (even though I am not a medical professional) that it will not rehabilitate a broken foot. I am just as confident that 20-year Term Insurance is not the best planning tool for Pension Max cases.
It isn’t brain surgery…