In this project, you will be talking with two real people (of your choosing). You are practicing hosting a client introduction/discovery meeting, which is one of the first interactions with a prospective client. Please note that the goal of this project is not for you to actually gain a client. You are practicing having conversations with other people about money, which can be a very challenging thing. This is practice not actual prospecting. Please read these instructions very carefully.

1. Step 1: Preparation.
   • Read Touchy-Feely Finances: How to Find Out What You Really Want From Your Money. This article presents the concept of values-based retirement planning. Previously in this class, we established that relationship building is at the heart of financial planning. In this project, you will get to practice relationship building in the context of financial advice and dive into the psychology (i.e., emotions) underlying two interview subjects' perceptions and plans.
   • Read these tips on asking good questions.
   • Watch the video on this LinkedIn postingLinks to an external site.. It is about money scripts. Part of your goal in this project is to understand the way your client views money.
   • Download my list of template questionsYou will be submitting your list of questions as one of the two required submission items for this project.
2. Step 2: Select two clients. You will need two "clients" for this project. Identify them as "Client 1" and "Client 2" in your paper... no real names, please.
   1. • CLIENT 1: someone who is young and has likely not yet begun planning for retirement. This person will preferably be either a peer of yours or roughly college-aged.
        • Note that Client 1 cannot be a student who is a Finance (or equivalent) major. Ideally, this will be a person who has not had formal investment education.
      • CLIENT 2: someone in your life who is approximately 5 to 15 years away from retirement.
3. Step 3: Meet with each client and ask them the questions. Carefully record their answers. If you hold the meeting over Zoom, then you can record the meeting and refer back to it as needed. Recording the meeting is not a requirement of this project. It is simply a tip to make your life easier. Your goal is to understand what your client thinks about money, have they begun to set short and long-term financial goals, are the goals realistic/achievable, how has your "client" prepared for these goals, and most importantly - what are your client's attitudes and emotions surrounding their short-term and long-term financial picture. The intention is not for you to offer advice. You are welcome to share your thoughts with them after the interview is over, but educating as you go could shut down the natural flow of the conversation.
4. Step 4: Write a thoughtful and professional paper with the following criteria. Each should have a subheading in your professionally organized paper.
   • Very briefly introduce Client 1.
   • Discuss how the client responded to the list of questions. Do not provide a transcript of the conversation. Your goal is to prepare a summary with all key items that you learned related to Client 1.
   • Very briefly introduce Client 2.
   • Discuss how the client responded to the list of questions. Do not provide a transcript of the conversation. Your goal is to prepare a summary with all key items that you learned related to Client 2.
   • What did you learn from this experience?

Deliverable:

• All of my papers are single-spaced. (2-point deduction if this rule is not followed)
• This paper should be 2 pages (minimum) to 3 pages (maximum) in length
• Make sure that you put your name on a single line in the document header as I do not count document header information toward length requirements.
• Follow the requirements established in Steps 1-4 above.
• . Feel free to adjust this list to suit your personality and experience.