Arrow Icon
blog header pale blue image blog header abstract shape

Heart of Advice

Insights and best practices for successful financial planning engagement

left arrow Back to All Articles

Bridge the Gap Between Intention and Action

Emily Koochel March 25, 2025

A financial professional reviews a financial plan with their clients.

You’ve probably heard clients make statements like “I know I need to save more” or “We should really start estate planning” many times. But despite your expertise and well-thought-out recommendations, many clients struggle to move from having good intentions to taking meaningful action.

This disconnect is a fundamental challenge for clients and financial professionals alike.  When clients fail to follow through on their financial plan, it directly impacts their financial well-being, erodes their confidence in the planning process, and can limit the progress you’re able to make together.

By implementing practical strategies that encourage your clients to take tangible steps toward their financial aspirations, you can help them bridge the gap between intention and action.

The Foundation of Motivation

Transforming your clients’ intentions into actions starts with creating the right intentions. Generic targets like “save more for retirement” often fall short of inspiring action. Goals that are aligned with personal values and create an emotional connection, like “create a retirement lifestyle that allows for annual trips with grandchildren”, have a stronger impact. By first identifying values and setting meaningful goals, you can build a foundation that motivates your clients to take tangible steps toward their financial aspirations.

Practical Strategies for Motivation

Once you’ve established meaningful goals that tie back to your clients’ values, the key lies in keeping the momentum going and supporting continuous progress on their financial journey. Even with the best financial plan, clients can stumble without ongoing motivation. By implementing these strategies, you can empower your clients to stay committed and focused on achieving their goals.

1. Create Manageable Tasks

By breaking down large goals into smaller, actionable steps with clear timeframes and identifying key stakeholders and responsibilities for each step, you can help your clients build momentum through early wins.

2. Be an Accountability Partner

Tracking progress is just the beginning—by becoming your clients’ accountability partner, you can guide them toward achieving their goals. Leveraging advanced planning software can empower you to monitor client goal progress, while features like client portals facilitate regular engagement.

3. Use Future Self Visualization

Connecting clients with their future selves through guided visualization exercises and encouraging written expression, such as letters to their future selves, can significantly impact their financial decision-making.

4. Identify the Delta

It’s essential to help your clients understand the gap between their current situation and their desired future outcomes. Assess their current financial habits, resources, and progress compared to their goals and use tangible metrics to quantify the difference.

5. Visualize Positive Outcomes

Show clients the impact of consistent positive behaviors by using financial planning technology to help them visualize the outcomes of achieving their financial goals.

6. Foster a Growth Mindset

Recognizing and celebrating all forms of progress and success, no matter how small, will help promote a growth mindset and reinforce your clients’ efforts.

7. Practice Self-compassion

Help your clients see setbacks not as failures, but as chances for growth and development. By normalizing setbacks and emphasizing continuous progress, you can equip your clients with the mindset needed to navigate challenges with resilience.

Successful execution of these strategies hinges on customizing them to your clients’ individual needs. Different methods will work better for different clients, so you must identify the most effective combination of approaches for each.

Keep the Momentum Going

To motivate clients to act on their financial plans, financial professionals need to utilize a blend of psychological insight and practical strategies. Download our eBook, Motivating Client to Act: A Guide for Financial Professionals, to explore the psychological foundations of client motivation and delve deeper into the practical strategies we discussed here.

DISCLAIMER: The eMoney Advisor Blog is meant as an educational and informative resource for financial professionals and individuals alike. It is not meant to be, and should not be taken as financial, legal, tax or other professional advice. Those seeking professional advice may do so by consulting with a professional advisor. eMoney Advisor will not be liable for any actions you may take based on the content of this blog.

Image of Emily Koochel
About the Author

Dr. Emily Koochel is an experienced financial professional, academic, and researcher. She currently serves as a leader for eMoney Advisor’s Financial Education and Wellness initiatives in her role as Manager of Financial Wellness. Dr. Koochel’s PhD in Applied Family Science and Master’s in Financial Planning provide a multidisciplinary lens to inform her work where she focuses on understanding the effect of financial behaviors and financial decision making on personal and financial wellness. She serves as a subject matter expert in the field, reviewing and authoring peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and contributing to public scholarship. Most notably, she served as a co-author for the CFP Board’s book – The Psychology of Financial Planning - and was awarded 2020 Outstanding Research Journal Article of the Year by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. She holds the Certified Financial Therapist – I designation and is an Accredited Financial Counselor and Behavioral Financial Advisor.

You may also be interested in...

Advisor helping client with decision-making in stressful times

How to Help Clients with Decision-making During Stressful Times

Have you ever had a client become overwhelmed with stress while attempting to make an important decision? Such situations require… Read More

Financial planner reviewing 2025 tax updates

Learn These Strategies for Overcoming Client Inertia

Clients often seek financial advice with the hope of receiving validation that their current approach is sufficient. They want reassurance… Read More

Financial planner motivating client

Webinar Recap: Driving Client Motivation Through Accountability Strategies

Understanding and nurturing client motivation can foster stronger relationships, better financial outcomes, and a more rewarding experience for both the… Read More

eBook: Candid Conversations - Mastering the Art of Asking Questions

Download our latest eBook for a complete guide to asking questions that spark productive conversations.

Download Now

Sign up to have the most popular Heart of Advice posts delivered to your inbox monthly.

Heart of Advice by eMoney Advisors

Welcome to
Heart of Advice

a new source of expert insights for
financial professionals.

Get Started

Tips specific to the eMoney platform can be found in
the eMoney
application, under Help, eMoney Advisor Blog.