🔧 F.I.X. Your Client Conversations: The Path to High-Impact Advisory Services
In the world of advisory services, technical skill alone isn’t enough. To drive real outcomes, you need to guide conversations that uncover real problems, fuel insights with data, and lead to meaningful action. That’s where F.I.X.comes in.
F.I.X. stands for:
- Find the Burning Issue
- Identify the Fuel Source
- eXecute at the Flash Point
It’s a framework that brings together powerful questioning techniques, diagnostic tools, and financial strategies to help advisors move beyond surface-level talk and make a difference fast.
🔍 F – Find the Burning Issue (Using the Elevation Sequence) #
Before you recommend any solution, you must first understand what the real problem is. Most clients talk about symptoms. Your job is to uncover what’s fueling the fire.
This is where the Elevation Sequence comes in—a set of eight conversational techniques designed to elevate the conversation until the core issue becomes clear.
The Elevation Sequence Techniques: #
- The Compass – Set the direction of the conversation to make it client-focused.
- Clear the Noise – Separate emotion or distractions from the actual business problem.
- The Explorer – Use open-ended questions to investigate what’s really going on.
- The Crowbar – Pry deeper when a client is vague or hesitant to open up.
- The Mirror Moment – Reflect their situation back to them for clarity and insight.
- The Nudge Pact – Encourage forward motion with a small, collaborative next step.
- The Economic Echo – Quantify the cost of inaction or missed opportunities.
- The Accolade Anchor – Tie past wins to future possibilities to build confidence.
You move through these techniques in sequence, asking one focused question per technique until the client clearly expresses a burning issue—the point where conversation shifts from “thinking about” to “ready to act.”
🔥 I – Identify the Fuel Source (Classify the Burning Issue) #
Once a burning issue surfaces, your next step is to classify it.
Burning issues usually fall into one of six categories. Each one has different root causes, and each one responds to different advisory techniques.
The Six Burning Issues: #
- Education
The client doesn’t fully understand their numbers or how decisions impact the business financially.
They need clarity and confidence. - Cash Flow
There’s a mismatch between when cash comes in and when it goes out.
They need control and breathing room. - Profitability
Margins are shrinking or revenue isn’t translating into actual profits.
They need efficiency and better returns. - Debt
The company is overloaded with debt or struggling to service what they owe.
They need structure and relief. - Operations
Business processes are inefficient, manual, or error-prone.
They need systems and scalability. - The Future
The owner feels stuck or unsure about what comes next.
They need direction and long-term planning.
Once you identify the category, you’ll know which tools and strategies will have the biggest impact.
⚙️ X – eXecute at the Flash Point #
Now that you’ve uncovered the problem and identified what’s fueling it, it’s time to act. This is where you match the burning issue to the right Clear Path To Cash technique and toolset.
Each of the six burning issues is paired with the most effective diagnostic and advisory tools from the Clear Path To Cash system. This ensures your client gets real results, fast.
🔹 Education #
Symptoms: Confusion about financial statements, poor decisions from lack of understanding.
Tools & Techniques:
- The Home Run Financial System – Learn to read financials in 7 minutes or less.
- The Financial Doctor – Diagnose overall financial health using ratios and trends.
🔹 Profitability #
Symptoms: Revenue is up but profits are thin, cost structure is unclear, pricing feels off.
Tools & Techniques:
- Mining Your Business for Hidden Cash – Analyze operations and cost drivers.
- Pricing / Cost Analysis – Examine margins, cost structures, and strategic pricing opportunities.
🔹 Cash Flow #
Symptoms: Revenue exists but there’s never enough money in the bank when needed.
Tools & Techniques:
- The Fast Money Formula – Fix the cash conversion cycle to speed up cash flow.
- Mining Your Business for Hidden Cash – Identify sources of trapped or wasted cash.
🔹 Debt #
Symptoms: Overleveraged, struggling to service debt, denied for financing.
Tools & Techniques:
- The Home Run Financial System – Reveal long-term financial trends and leverage ratios.
- The Fast Money Formula – Improve cash timing to avoid relying on debt.
- How to Deal With Your Banker – Prepare for strategic conversations and loan readiness.
🔹 Operations #
Symptoms: Constant rework, inefficiency, manual processes, burnout from doing too much.
Tools & Techniques:
- Pricing Calculators – Break down service lines and time to profitability.
- Process Diagramming – Visualize and streamline inefficient workflows.
🔹 The Future #
Symptoms: No exit plan, unclear goals, or uncertainty about what the business is worth.
Tools & Techniques:
- Start With the End in Mind – Define long-term business goals and financial targets.
- Forecasting by the Numbers – Build 12-month projections tied to strategy.
- Simple Valuation Formula – Estimate current business value using cash flow and benchmarks.
- The Deliberate Exit Strategy – Plan for ownership transition and value growth.
🧠 From Diagnose to Action #
Your job isn’t just to spot problems—it’s to fix them.
By linking a burning issue to its diagnostic fuel source, then executing the right Clear Path To Cash technique, you help clients gain clarity, control, and momentum.
👉 Your role as an advisor becomes invaluable—not for what you know, but for how you guide.
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