Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Scheavosky McGawion Founder of McGawion Insurance Pros Discussing Emotional Needs and Concerns in Financial Planning

Episode Date: November 29, 2024

Mr. Scheavosky McGawion is a proud United States Air Force Veteran having served in Operation Iraq Freedom and in the Global War on Terror after joining the Air Force in 2001.For over 15 years, Scheavosky now serves Georgia and communities across the nation by educating and protecting the financial interest of those seeking Insurance products and is committed to customers’ understanding of the products they seek and how they will enhance their life. Welcome to the Pros!Learn more: http://www.myinsuranceprofessional.com/Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-scheavosky-mcgawion-founder-of-mcgawion-insurance-pros-discussing-emotional-needs-and-concerns-in-financial-planning

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of Influential Entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have back with this Shavaski McGowan, who's the founder of McGowan Insurance Pros, and we'll be talking about the emotional needs and concerns. in financial planning. Shabowski, welcome back to the program. My, good to be on again, sir. Thank you. Hey, you know, I think it's really interesting that you want to talk about this topic because

I think that when we hear the phrase financial planning, we know it relates to retirement, and most of the time people just think, what's my rate of return, how much money am I going to get every year from my investments? But it goes so much deeper than that because the emotional needs. How is this impacting your family? Why do you need that? this, what is your risk tolerance, all of that. So let's kind of start the conversation. Where do you start when you are talking with your clients to address these emotional needs and concerns when you're setting up their retirement plan? Yeah, again, Mike, thanks for having me on again. I think when we initially sit down with a client, you know, we, we are looking to see what

their what their what is or what their why is rather in terms of the product that they're seeking and wanting to move monies, you know, whichever direction, you know, whether if it's a 401k or 403B or 457, you know, that they've had. And, you know, obviously at this point, when we talk financial planning, they're reaching a segment of their life where they're looking at the horizon and they're ready to retire. But, you know, that big what if it's, you know, what if it's out there? And that what if question is, you know, what happens if I don't have enough money to retire? You know, I want to retire. Do I have enough to, what does my retirement picture look like? And I think when we sit down with them, you know, the very, very important questions we ask is, you know,

what do you need, you know, to sustain your current lifestyle? out and then obviously, you know, how much, how much do you think you need? What do you need to, what do you need to ensure that you have the basis covered? And then how much, you know, do you think you have right now to suffice for that? And then what we do is we come and, you know, try to fill those gaps in with different products, you know, in the insurance world, you know, utilizing Extendix annuities and or permanent life insurance. You know, it's interesting.

you brought that up because I think a lot of times people assume, oh, well, I need X amount of money for retirement. And, you know, we won't get into the weeds of, you know, how many years should you plan for retirement, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, because that's a moving scale. Nobody knows that. But the thing that I want to check with you on is how do you approach guiding your clients to make the decision of how much you literally will need to be prepared for? Because I feel like a lot of times people are like, oh, well, I'm not going to need as much money as I need right now. But in reality, if you're not going to work nine to five, you've got more time to travel, do crafts, start a ministry, start a charity, start a new business. And all of a sudden now, if you start taking them through a checklist, they might discover they need a lot more than they initially thought. And that's what you want to do, Mike.

You want to take your client through that checklist of things that they may not be looking at, you know, the different landmines that are out there, i. he taxes. You know, they may be thinking, hey, I got this, you know, some of money in my 401 pay. I got the pension and I got my social security. I'm good. And then they forget about old Uncle Sam there, right? So, and then, you know, where is, you know, Mr. and Mrs. Client going to retire in a state where you don't tax social security and pensions

or are they going to stay in a state that does? What's that rate look like? You know, so there's several factors. that we need to, you know, ensure that one slows down and understands that we are looking at a holistic approach. And when we develop our plan, it's going to have everything that we could possibly consider so they can't take those trips, you know, and travel and go visit the grandkids or whatever it is that they set their mind on to do in their retirement years. Yeah, that's a big point because it's like you're discovering the gap.

you know like here's what your income that we know will be from these certain sources here's what you said you need to have and what if there's a gap now there might not be a gap that you might have planned wonderfully you're going to have plenty of money but if there's a gap how are we going to close that gap and you know kind of getting back to what we're talking about on the topic of this conversation emotional needs well you might have just stirred up a hornet's nest of emotional distress if now there's this gap and it's like I don't have enough money to retire So when you're able to smooth that over, boy, that just gives that peace of mind, right? Right.

I mean, America's a very dark time, right, back in 2008, you know, and we don't have to go into all the specifics, but just from a high level, we know most retirement accounts are from 39 to 42 percent in a matter of months throughout that year. And so if you were already approaching retirement through that time, you know, If you were, you know, again, I approached your retirement in your 60s or what have you. And you were like, yeah, I'm out the door. And then 2008 happened to you. Well, let's just call it half.

Whatever you had in your retirement account, you lost literally half of it. You know, by the way, you still had to pay taxes on that if you decided to still move forward. So, I mean, just a lose-lose situation, right? So a lot of times when we deal with our clients, we want to make sure that obviously they don't put all their eggs in one basket, But we want to make sure the basket is diversified enough where, hey, you know, what's your risk tolerance here? You know, if you're heavy on the conservative side, then, okay, we can maneuver and transform there. If you're kind of in the middle, well, we have products where we can do that. We're never going to tell a client that, you know, 401Ks are bad or anything like that, you know,

because we want to make sure that obviously they are spread correctly and they have the different safety nets and that's key, the different safety nets so that they can absorb some of that risk and ensure that they, you know, have monies that they can't lose on. And when people hear that, Mike, you know, if I made for a minute, when people hear, oh, I can't lose, no, you can't. With permanent insurance planning as well as fixed index annuity. they all have a guaranteed floor, as we call it, of zero. So what does that mean?

I mean, obviously money is not, number one, invested directly at the market, but two, it mirrors the market. And if the market starts acting crazy, i.e. 2008, well, you don't make any money, but guess what? You didn't lose any money even. Yeah. You know, that's a big point that I want to bring up that a lot of times people, you know, when you talk about emotional stability or the emotional needs in financial planning, when they open up that portfolio statement every quarter or whatever time frame or they look at the news, their heart sinks when they see drops in the market because with the market, if that's where

their money tends to be, you know, there's ups and downs and all around, you know, and that's got to be really distressing, but when you can give the gift of giving them some types of plans where it's, you know, outside of those volatile swings, that's a huge gift. Yeah. You know, the windows of opportunities surround in my mind, Mike, and, you know, I often, often always lead with this is the educational piece. You know, if we can make sure that, you know, the client understands what it is that's going to cover these gaps for, i.e., you know, life insurance, maybe term insurance, because there's a strategy for it or IULs or fixing their annuities.

If our clientele understand that, hey, you've got a gap here. Here's how we can solve it. But I think it puts some of that emotional distress, at least lowers it because, again, the money is directly in the market. that's going to flush your way up and down. Yeah, you're going to write. But then, you know, when we put these permanent products in place, well, guess what? I'm only, I'm getting a statement on an annual basis. I'm not having to watch the NASDAQ or the S&P every single day, you know, like I was, like it was once before. Maybe I still do that with some of my other accounts.

But at least I get a small percentage. Yeah, yeah, but this chunk of money here, I know that it's safe. It's sound. I cannot lose and it's going to meet my intention based on the goals that I said. Yeah, that's a that's a really, really big point. So let's let's kind of just, you know, put an icing on the cake and the cherry on top when we talk about that guarantee. You know, when you've got that guaranteed income with accounts that can't lose money and the peace of mind of brings, you probably have had clients that have said, hey, listen, I am tired of getting all of those statements where it's like loss, loss, loss.

And then you probably have clients that after you put them into this kind of approach, their friends come to them going, oh, my word, how much did you lose and they say nothing? Right, right. And even as an added approach, right, you know, we, we know with consumers who are maybe on the verge of retirement, you know, within a five-year window, right? And we meet with them and we offer, you know, the consultation. And it renders that, hey, okay, you got five years you want to retire. you know in your 401k, you're still going to have to pay tax, right? So why not?

Let's start to rock, convert some of that and still ensure that monies are growing. I mean, right now, a couple of products that come to mind, you know, they're offering premium bonuses just for people to roll over and they will assist in paying accounts and pay the IRS, the taxes on money. So you mean to tell me, not only can you ensure the protection of my parents, but you can help me solve my tax problem before I get to retirement. I mean, that's a win-win. That's the definition of a professional in my mind, Mike. Well, and I would say this too, that yes, you're exactly right. But when it can impact and mitigate lower taxes in retirement, but also when you set it up

the right way, it helps mitigate the taxes when you pass it on to your heirs and your family for that legacy and that's a gift that keeps on giving as they say absolutely you know hey you know bottom line uh mike you know consumers want to consumers want to know that you know um they're dealing with somebody who's got their best interest at heart obviously you know the SEC since the whole burning made off incidents years ago has made it to where you know people out here need to understand suitability right? And so telling a client that, hey, first, I got to make sure this suits you, right? Because it may sound wonderful. It may sound like the best thing on Earth, but if it doesn't suit you, you know, federal, federal regulators aren't going to allow us to do it. So, you know, imagine that agent that's, you know, typing up this particular product and then come to find out it's not suitable. They can't even, you know, the client doesn't pass suitability. So we have to ensure that we guard against that by, educating, you know, because at the end of the day, you know, mothers don't want to leave their, you know, children or grandchildren to struggle, you know, due to an untimely passing or a tax

bomb that they left for them. You know, they want to make sure that when they move on or transition that, hey, they can leave knowing that they've done the right thing. And that kind of gets into a little bit of what we do in the term of estate planning as well to calm those emotions. Yeah, 100%. So what are some things that people should be questions that they should be asking themselves when planning for that financial future to make sure that they, you know, kind of have all of that aspect taken in place for peace of mind and make sure that they don't outlive their money? Well, you know, Mike, the number one question I would look at it's, it's, you know, what do you think your tax bill is going to be, you know, and retire?

Because believe it or not, you're still going to have that tech bill. And so understanding what tax bracket, one, would be in in retirement is the number one question because you want to keep all that money. You've worked 40 quarters, you know, to get, you know. And if you understand the tax, I think, not find it, then you can really understand how far your money can go. And then, you know, how much time do I have before I really am going to pull the plug and, you know, venture off into the sunset and retirement? You know, time is a key factor as well there, Mike, because, you know, we don't know how much time we have here, right?

So, and trying to time it, we want to make sure that we can enjoy those monies again, that we've worked so diligently to build up. We made it path to 2008 massacure, but, you know, and avoid and employed having all of our eggs in one basket, you know, for whatever future, Yaskol may happen. Yeah, 100%. Well, I think that is so important because I think a lot of times people really don't take, like you just mentioned, there are those taxes in mind or they don't look at all of the aspects that could impact them. And when they start discovering like, oops, I should have taken this into consideration. that amps up than their emotional distress. And again, that's what we're talking about here is addressing emotional needs and concerns. Well, isn't it true that when you have addressed and you've got kind of like this holistic plan that you can check all the boxes, you know, your retirement is

moving in the right direction. You've got, you know, peace of mind. You've got some of that, those guarantees. Now all of a sudden, that really lessens the emotional distress that clients would have. And when you can guide them in that, that's a gift from you. but also just making sure that you're choosing a financial professional that's going to be addressing all that. I think that's just a huge need. Huge need. I mean, you know, parents want their children's college experience to be just that, like a college experience. They don't want to worry about the student a long debt.

So, you know, we have products, you know, in the permanent insurance space that can assist with that, you know, to make sure that once they graduate, they don't have to worry about it. newlyweds want to ensure that the mortgage will be taken care of if a spouse passes prematurely. You know, so we, you know, one of the things we find ourselves on is not leading with product. All right. We don't, you know, the product will be identified within the process, sure enough. But as long as we're leading with education first and then the client being able to at least regurgitate to his or her neighbor, hey, this is what I did. And you mentioned some earlier, you know, hey, my account just took a 25% loss.

What about yours? No. No loss, you know. So when you when you put forth the effort that we do, again, you know, some of my core values, you know, you know, service before itself. This is a servant. When you put that educational piece first, you know right then and there that that client, if you walk away from the table, nothing happens, you walk away knowing that you've been parted knowledge. that that client can take to the bank. And, you know, I'll just kind of make one last observation when we know that the kind of need

that arises when insurance is involved. Now, I know you work with a lot of clients with retirement plans and all that, but if there is a death in the family and they are, you know, not thinking straight and they call you, all of a sudden when you step in and say, I've got it, we put this plan into place, here's the next steps. Boy, that sure alleviates a lot of that emotional distress. stress as well, right? That support that you can give. Right, because, you know, in the annuity space, if it was an income product, then they have been exhausted, you know, all of the monies that was

being, you know, annuitized to them. Well, then there's a beneficiary who's going to receive that, you know? And then, you know, the question, hey, well, yes, this is yours, but maybe it wasn't a product where the client elected to the rock convert, right? So, hey, here, you're the tax, here's the tax code, here's the tax guidelines that you have to be aware of receiving this money. You know what I mean? So there's just so many nuances to this insurance industry that it really takes, you know, a professional dissect. Again, you know, when clients, like you say, pass away, we're right there. We're right there to help instruct. Like you said, we put a plan in place and a lot of the times, a lot of the times the beneficiary already knows what the plan is,

but yet they still rely on us to echo it back to them, you know, because they're not thinking about taxes and all this. They're thinking about the loved one who just passed, you know. Well, isn't it similar to when you're in business and your company says, hey, we're going to be changing the process and we're going to train you on this new computer software and they train you on it and then it doesn't roll out for three, four months, well, you forgot half of it. So you need to have someone to go back to and go, hey, how is this working?

Well, the same with what you're discussing here. When you set up specific types of financial or insurance products, that's fine and good. They understood it. But then when a minute passes and they need to, you know, act upon that, they need that reliable source like yourself to help guide them through the process. You know, a lot of times, you know, you know,

beneficiaries may find themselves what a matter. Hopefully by at that point, you know, we position ourselves within the, in that particular consumer's family as the professionals of course that they just pick up the phone. Hey, you know,

I'm grieving, but I need your assistance here. What was that? You know, who I need to call about this or that, you know, and we pride ourselves on being there. You've heard me say before that,

you know, this business is definitely a ministry. It's not for amateurs in any shape, form of fashion. I love it. Well, Shavoski, thank you so much for giving us your insights and how you're serving your clients. If someone is interested in learning more and reaching out and connecting with you, what's the best way they can do that?

Yeah, Mike, as always, consumers can go to my website, My Insurance Professional.com, all one word. My Insurance Professional.com, go there. You can request an evaluation or policy review, whatever it is. We do our very, very best to try to get back to you within 24 hours. I love it. Well, thank you so much for coming back on. It's been a real pleasure talking with you.

Thank you again, Mike. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders to learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes, visit www.com.