How to get people talking about their money
Here’s how you can use stocks as a conversation starter in social situations.
Investing has become a spectator sport. Years ago, people never talked about money. Today people spend hours watching financial news channels. In your business, you might sell benefit plans, insurance, individual retirement plans or stocks. People don’t usually brag about the first three, but everyone seems to have an opinion about stocks and the market. Let’s assume you are invested in the stock market too. Here’s how you can use stocks as a conversation starter in social situations.
1. Did you see what the market did today? Years ago, the stock market (DJIA, S&P or NASDAQ) went up or down. Today, it soars or plunges. At 3:45 PM, commentators on financial channels narrate the day like the last seconds of a horse race. Before attending an event, check out what the market did and what your firm gives as the reasons.
2. What do you think will be hot next? Everyone knows about the FAANG stocks, aka Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (now known as Alphabet). Many investors wonder who will be the next big winners. Plenty of people have opinions.
3. What’s the best stock you ever owned? People who trade stocks have their favorites. It might be one they bought and held forever. Maybe it’s one they trade in and out of often. These are their lucky stocks. Get them talking about them.
4. Do you manage your own investments? This might be a “give to get” conversation. You might say: “I buy mutual funds. I let the pros make the day-to-day decisions. Do you pick your own stocks or bring in outside experts?” This can get them talking about their advisor, too.
5. Where do you think the stock market is going? If you are an advisor, that’s the question people ask you! By asking them, you can draw them out. Why do they think it’s going up? Why are they convinced it’s going down? You have your own qualified opinion, which you share. In this case, qualified means “not absolute.” It might go this way for these reasons, etc.
6. Any ideas of a good place to keep “safe” money? When you invest in stocks, you are putting your money at risk. You must put up with cycles in the market and “This isn’t a good time to be selling.” Everyone has money they consider safe money. It often resides in bank CDs or short term treasuries. Yield is what everyone wants.
7. Do you think world events will affect the stock market? So far, this hasn’t been the catalyst that pushes the stock market off a cliff. But it’s happened before – 9/11 is a good example. There’s unrest in the Middle East and plenty of other problems. Do they think this will harm or help the stock market?
8. What do you think interest rates will do? Lots of people hope they will go up, but they also want the stock market to go up and inflation to remain low. How do they feel about the direction of interest rates?
9. Do you think any companies benefitted from the pandemic? COVID-19 hurt lots of people, but it also got us shopping online. Which companies do they think benefitted? Do they think they will continue to do well or will we go back to our old habits? This might be a time to mention some people have developed a renewed appreciation of the benefits of owning insurance.
10. Do you think inflation has returned? People like to talk about how prices have risen at the supermarket and restaurants have become more expensive. There’s lots of pent-up demand after lockdown. This drives prices up too. What do they think?
11. Do you think cruises and vacation travel will come back? They likely think and hope so, because they want to get away. Hoe fast do they think it will come back? Who might be the likely beneficiaries?
There are plenty of ways you can draw people out by getting them to talk about their investments and their feelings about the future. You don’t need to push business. It might even be difficult to get them to stop talking!
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