Between Now and Success

On this special bonus podcast episode, I'm doing something I've never done before: republishing someone else's podcast. I think you're really going to enjoy this episode of the Top Advisor Marketing Podcast, hosted by Matt Halloran and featuring guest Mitch Anthony. This was a really fun listen for me because I go back a long way with both of these guys. Matt was one of the best coaches we had when I was running Peak Advisor Alliance. And Mitch is my business partner in ROL Advisor, our online platform that's helping advisors refocus the planning conversation on people's lives, not just their money. And that idea is at the heart of Mitch's conversation with Matt. They do a real deep dive into how advisors can use the discovery process to reveal the client's story and understand how significant life experiences have shaped the client's relationship to money. In addition to discussing how ROL Advisor builds out that initial storytelling into an engaging client experience, Mitch and Matt also talk about: How to guide clients towards an empowering decision-making mindset that makes them feel more in control of their planning. What kinds of questions you can ask to help clients connect their means to a sense of meaning. Why dialogue is more powerful than monologue. What the true purpose of money is. How to get more comfortable and more adept at helping clients manage the emotional side of financial life transitions. How to pull all of the above together to create a value proposition that's truly valuable to clients and prospects. A big thanks to Matt Halloran and the team at Top Advisor Marketing for letting me share this insightful conversation.

Where does the drive come from for top achievers who keep knocking it out of the park long past the point that many of us would have kicked up our feet and called it a career? That question has fascinated me for decades and today's podcast guest, Laila Pence, CFP®, shared with me one of the most compelling stories I've ever heard about overcoming early life challenges to become one of the country's most successful and respected financial advisors. As we talked at the Barron's Teams Summit in Las Vegas, Laila also explained how her approach to overcoming some incredible personal hardships informed how she built her billion-dollar advisory firm with an intense focus on creating true, lasting relationships with her clients. Laila Pence is the President of Pence Wealth Management, one of the nation's leading private wealth management firms with over $1.0 billion in AUM. She's currently ranked in the top 1% of female financial advisors nationwide and, in 2019, she was named among the top 6 female financial advisors in the country by Forbes, and the #38 top independent financial advisor nationally by Barron's Magazine. Forbes also ranked Laila #1 on their Best-in-State Wealth Advisors List for Southern California in 2019.

In a Nutshell: All financial advisors deliver services and advice. The ones who are growing their businesses find creative ways to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace and attract a niche of clients they can offer the most value to. Guest: Steve Wershing. Steve is the President of The Client Driven Practice and the author of Stop Asking for Referrals. He's also the cohost of a great podcast called Becoming Referable. My Key Takeaway: To differentiate both your firm and your prospective client base: 1. Discover, design, develop, and declare your niche. 2. Craft a unique client experience that will cater to your ideal client. 3. Remember: a niche is a need that sets your clients apart, and a need that you are able to service in a unique way. Also Learn: 1. Why separating "target" from "niche" is essential to transforming your business. 2. How simple tweaks to things like your meeting calendar can have a big impact on your niche client experience and drive up your value to clients. 3. What kinds of dialogues you can have with clients that will lead to referrals ... without you having to ask for them.

In a Nutshell: Delivering great service is table stakes. Drive toward extraordinary by creating a unique, emotionally engaging experience for each individual client. Guest: Julie Littlechild. Julie is a leading expert on the drivers of client engagement. She's also the cohost of the Becoming Referable podcast and the author of the book The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement. My Key Takeaway: To create an engaging client experience that becomes a magnet for new ideal clients: Be intentional about designing a discovery and planning process that engages your clients emotions and makes them feel more connected to you. Focus less on a prospect's assets and more on how they view themselves, then deliver an experience that is tailor made for who they are. Draw a distinction between service and hospitality ... and excel at both. Also Learn: 1. Why creating a client journey map should be an essential early step in thinking about your systems and services. 2. How to put your firm and its ideal clients to an "Authenticity Test" that will make you think about what you're really trying to accomplish as an advisor and as a business owner. 3. What it means for advisors and their clients to "co-create" a financial planning experience together.

In a Nutshell: In 2020, the most successful advisors have moved past worrying about "competing" with technology. Instead, they're finding ways to automate the 30 - 40% of the mundane tasks that are necessary for relationships but don't enhance them, so that they can focus on the human conversations that create real lasting value -- and more business. Guest: Matt Reiner, CFP® CFA®, the cofounder and CEO of Benjamin, "the world's first A.I. assistant created for advisors by advisors." My Key Takeaway: Used properly, AI can do things human advisors don't need to be doing so that we can focus on things AI can't do, like: Build better relationships with our clients. Coach our clients on financial matters so that they make better decisions and feel more in control of their futures. Help clients clarify what their money is for and live their best life possible today, not just in retirement. Also Learn: 1. Why you need to start thinking about technology -- and AI in particular -- as your partner, not your enemy. 2. How an AI platform can help keep your margins and expenses under control during a burst of high growth. 3. What nuts and bolts integration and training looks like when you decide to add an AI component to your tech stack.

A single word or a short phrase could permanently change your life. When you were young, a teacher may have said something to you that forever altered how you viewed yourself—good or bad. Maybe a parent said something that still sticks with you today. Or perhaps a former boss made a comment that drives you nuts to this day—I'm in that boat! In a similar way, this "My 3 Words" exercise I learned from Chris Brogan is designed to empower you with 3 words that drive your actions and keep you on track to make this your best year ever. This is the sixth year now where I've begun the year by identifying 3 words that will set the course, give me direction, and totally excite me as I move through the year. I write these words at the top of my Daily Outcomes sheet and look at them daily throughout the year. The premise is simple. Pick 3 words that motivate you, remind you, and guide you on your road to making 2020 your best year ever. I encourage all my clients to do this and I encourage you to do this same exercise as it will help you stay focused on the most important outcomes for the year.

In a Nutshell: The largest financial advisory firms have developed consistent marketing programs that deliver a predictable stream of ideal clients...and there's just a handful of different ways to do it. Guest: Brad Johnson. Brad is the Vice President of Advisor Development for Advisors Excel. He's also the host of a great podcast for financial advisors called The Elite Advisor Blueprint. My Key Takeaway: To get your marketing machine humming: - Understand that marketing is NOT optional. Referral marketing is not enough. Choose from a list of five broad marketing buckets (with an infinite number of tactical ways to execute), and implement aggressively and consistently. - Marketing is math. Don't let your emotions distract you from the key numbers that will determine how and when a particular marketing initiative will pay off. - Make practicing a practice. Once you identify the most effective marketing strategy for your ideal client pool, practice and pursue mastery of it. Also Learn: 1. Why strong marketing that keeps your business growing double digits each year is one of the most effective ways of retaining top talent. 2. How one well-produced piece of content (like a book) can be repurposed, sliced and diced, and become an evergreen source of more content (like blog posts, short videos, and social media posts). 3. What sets apart a valuable proprietary process from a generic commodity that prospects can get from any advisor.

In a Nutshell: Shifting from being a financial advisor to being a financial coach could be the next evolution of how financial guidance is delivered and enable independent human advisors to remain profitable and relevant. Guest: Todd Tresidder. Todd is a former hedge fund manager who transitioned into a successful financial coaching career. Recently, he has adapted his coaching into a series of premium online courses on wealth building at Financial Mentor. My Key Takeaway: In order to keep adding to your value proposition: - Spend more time empowering clients and less on enabling them. - Help your clients find the path to the next step, help them always be taking that next step, and help them avoid the missteps that are in their path. - Consider getting formal training in how to coach people, from organizations like Coaches Training Institute. Also Learn: 1. How the act of gaining financial freedom doubles as a path to personal growth. 2. How a financial coach's services differ from a traditional financial advisor's. 3. What separates most people from setting their wealth goals and actually achieving them.

In a Nutshell: Clear career paths and offering a path to partnership and equity ownership are key ways to attract and retain next generation advisors and advisory firm leaders. Guests: Lisa Salvi is Vice President of Advisor Services at Charles Schwab, where she oversees business consulting and education offerings, including their one-on-one consulting engagements, the annual RIA Benchmarking Study, and other programs that support the development of advisor talent. Yonhee Gordon is a principal and Chief Operating Officer of JMG Financial Group just outside of Chicago, which has more than $3.0 billion in assets under management.

In a Nutshell: Whether you're writing website copy, sending email newsletters, social media posts, physical mailers, or a combination, you have to master the psychology of engagement to turn your prospects into clients and keep your business growing. Guest: Adam Bensman. Adam is one of the top direct response copywriters and consultants in the country, and he has a particular expertise in helping financial advisors improve their marketing. My Key Takeaway: If you want win more business from your copywriting, you need to craft a compelling offer that: Differentiates your firm. Reaches your ideal client right where they are. Addresses the questions that are going in their mind. Provides a high level of perceived value. Also Learn 1. Why you should delete your glossy headshot from the top of your emails, open with an ellipsis (...), and always end with a PS. 2. How to address your prospect's pain by appealing to the "search trigger" that brought them to you in the first place. 3. What 4 quadrants Adam says your marketing needs to hit in order to set yourself apart and demonstrate your value to your audience.