Almost every one of your clients will have debt at some point in their lives. But many will not want to talk about it. Discussing debt can eliminate the “elephant in the room” and deepen your relationships with your clients.

“Debt is part of almost every client’s life situation,” says Rosanna De Jong, manager, financial planning, with RBC Financial Planning in Edmonton. “It is the financial planner’s responsibility to exercise due diligence on borrowing and debt management on an ongoing basis with the client.”

Follow these tips to help your clients manage and reduce debt:

> Do your homework
Get a handle on the client’s situation by doing a little digging before they come in.

De Jong suggests doing a “pre-dive” into a client’s financial situation. For example, if you have access to that information, find what debt the client has, such as loans and mortgages, and how it was acquired.

> Stay objective
Debt is often a difficult topic for some clients, so use tact when talking to clients about it.

Because clients are often apprehensive, De Jong says, it’s important that you make every effort to make them feel comfortable. Assure them that you can get them started down the right path to fix a debt problem.

> Work together
Make sure you and your client are clear about how the debt will be reduced.

In order to achieve the goal of debt reduction, De Jong says, you and your client must make a commitment. Emphasize to your client that you need full disclosure about his or her financial situation in order to provide the best possible financial advice.

> Get the facts
Assemble all the information you’ll need to help your client conquer debt.

Find out your client’s assets, liabilities, cash flow and expenses, De Jong says. These important details will help you to discover opportunities to reduce debt, such as consolidating high interest loans into one loan with a lower interest rate.

> Arrange more meetings
Help your client stay on track with regular meetings throughout the year.

If your client has a serious debt problem, De Jong says, arrange regular meetings to ensure they are paying down their debt and to enable you to make new recommendations, if necessary, as time goes on.