What seems clear is that most new clients in a financial advisor’s office are coming in for help at a difficult time. They are truly under duress because all of the plans they have made are now faulty in some way because of market losses, or they have done no financial planning and are adrift as to how to proceed.

It’s important to assume that an equal or greater number of prospective clients are sitting on their duress and are stuck. How do you get them to take an action step toward understanding their financial situation more fully? The answer is speak in their terms?  The best way for financial advisors to find new financial planning clients is to pepper their website with case studies that speak to the difficulties people are facing.

Here are suggestions for real life problems you might want to address in a case study format on your own website:

1. Can I still afford to retire?

2. When will I run out of money?  How do I figure this out?

3. How do I turn a non-performing asset (residential rental property) into a performing asset to help with my long term care?

4. Should I struggle to continue to pay my long term care insurance policy. Money is tighter now than ever?

5. I just lost my job and don’t know when I’ll get my next one. Should I take needed assets from my taxable account or my 401(kl) first?

6.  I promised to help my kids put my grandchildren through college and now I can’t afford it.  What do I do now?

Real life, real stories, and visitors to your web site should find real solutions.