41. Building Client Experiences That Actually Drive Engagement with Julie Littlechild Artwork

Planning & Beyond®

Planning & Beyond® transforms how financial advisors approach client relationships by bridging psychological insights with practical planning strategies. Hosted by Ashley Quamme, a licensed therapist and financial behavior specialist, each episode delivers actionable techniques you can implement in your next client meeting.

Unlike traditional financial planning podcasts that focus primarily on technical aspects, Planning & Beyond® explores the behavioral and psychological elements that shape client relationships. Through in-depth conversations with leading experts in behavioral finance, financial psychology, and financial therapy, you'll gain evidence-based strategies to navigate emotional client situations, build lasting trust, and create more meaningful relationships.

Whether you're preparing for discovery meetings, helping clients through major life transitions, or looking to deepen client connections, you'll walk away from each episode with practical tools and confident approaches to enhance your practice. Join a community of advisors who understand that exceptional financial planning goes beyond the numbers.

Topics include:

Mastering discovery and prospect meetings
Navigating difficult money conversations
Understanding client psychology
Building trust and deepening relationships
Managing emotional client situations
Enhancing communication skills
Developing behavioral finance strategies
Supporting clients through life transitions

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Planning & Beyond®

41. Building Client Experiences That Actually Drive Engagement with Julie Littlechild

January 15, 2026 • Ashley Quamme

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You've got your CRM humming. Your workflows are tight. Your service calendar is consistent. So why aren't clients more engaged?

Here's what most advisors miss: efficiency doesn't equal engagement. A frictionless experience is table stakes, not a differentiator. And if you're only solving for your own pain points instead of what clients actually need, you're leaving massive opportunities on the table.

Julie Littlechild, CEO and Founder of Absolute Engagement, has spent decades helping advisors understand what clients truly want. Spoiler: they can't tell you unless you ask. And most advisors never ask the right questions at the right time.

In this conversation, Julie walks through her Experience Innovation Framework, the evolution from efficient to engaging to enduring client experiences. You'll learn why the data you're drowning in isn't the data you actually need, and how to capture real-time insights about how clients are thinking and feeling at critical moments in their journey.

We talk about the psychological barrier that keeps advisors from asking for feedback (hint: it's fear dressed up as "people are over-surveyed"), the difference between transactional questions and transformational ones, and why asking about life goals in an onboarding form doesn't cut it anymore.

Julie shares practical starting points, whether you're a solo advisor or building a team. The framework isn't about doing everything at once. It's about knowing where you are and what comes next. Start with one or two key touchpoints. Mix a few simple questions. Position it as what's in it for the client, not what's in it for you.

And here's the kicker: just asking for feedback can increase referrals. Not because you did anything with it yet, just because you asked.

If you're ready to move beyond checking the boxes and start building experiences that actually deepen relationships and accelerate growth, this one's for you.

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