"Define it. Cost it. Fund it."
Lifestyle comes at a cost. With your clients work out that cost. Build a plan to fund that cost over three decades.
Job done. You have wowed your clients and they will remain clients for life.
Is that easy? Not really. There's a fair bit to unpack here - but the process is repeatable and can be largely systemised. In essence:
Define It. Get the clients to mentally draft out what their ideal future life would look like. Don't skimp on the dreams or the numbers here. That can be done later - if there's really no other option. Just don't get them to cry: leave that to the mentalists who do that stuff for a living. Be Kinder to your clients (see what I did there?)
Cost It. Get the clients to tell you what their annual lifestyle spend is. Nowadays most people track this information. Banking APIs mean budget apps can (almost) do it automatically, tagging clients expenditures by category. At worse (still better than perfection) calculate their net client incomes, work out what the clients have saved over 12 months, and that's their annual spend.
Fund It. With the use of fit-for-purpose cash flow modelling software, show (don't tell) the clients their lifestyle cash flow forecast. Show them how much they need to fund for their future selves, and where, to maximise tax-breaks.
"But Nick, we have no idea what we will be spending in retirement? How on earth can we even begin to guess?"
Good question.
In retirement, people don't want any less of a lifestyle than the one they have now. Take their current expenditure as a good proxy for their (inflation-adjusted) retirement spend.