Financial Advisor Success Podcast Archives

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 449th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Michelle Perry Higgins. Michelle is a principal of California Financial Advisors, an RIA based in San Ramon, California, that oversees $2 billion in assets under management for approximately 1,500 client households.

What's unique about Michelle, though, is how her firm has grown to $2 billion of AUM entirely organically and has achieved a greater than 99% client retention rate, in part by setting high standards for client service (and sticking to them over time).

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Michelle prioritizes her clients' time (ensuring they never wait more than 5 minutes for a meeting and always receive a same-day call back when they contact the office), how Michelle created what she calls an "Everything Binder" that allows clients to put all of their key information in one place (providing clients with peace of mind by easing the transition for loved ones if the client becomes incapacitated or passes away), and how Michelle builds a half hour into her schedule after client meetings to record notes into her CRM so that she doesn't forget any important messages the client communicated during their conversation.

We also talk about how Michelle has achieved strong client satisfaction by spending the majority of time during meetings listening to what they have to say (and avoiding jargon when it comes time for her to discuss technical planning topics), how Michelle seeks to go a level deeper when talking to clients about their personal lives (for example, not just asking about where they went on vacation but also whether they had any money conflicts during the trip), and how Michelle ends each client meeting by asking whether there are any issues the client wants to talk through (which may or may not be financial-related and helps her gauge their satisfaction with her service).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Michelle shares how she has built California Financial Advisors with three of her partners over the course of 30-plus years (and why they maintain an "eat what you kill" approach towards compensation), how Michelle has found significant value from operating an internship program (both professionally by identifying talented students who could become the next generation of advisors at her firm, and personally by being able to mentor aspiring advisors), and how Michelle has navigated the challenges of being successful as a financial advisor and as a parent at the same time (including the joys she's had and the sacrifices she's made along the way).

So, whether you're interested in learning about setting and maintaining high client service standards, fostering deeper client conversations, or making a partnership last over multiple decades, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Michelle Perry Higgins.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 446th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Misty Lynch. Misty is the owner of Sound View Financial Advisors, an RIA based in Walpole, Massachusetts, that oversees $46 million in assets under management for approximately 100 client households.

What's unique about Misty, though, is how she grew her AUM by $30 million in 2 years in part by being recognized as a financial planning expert within Facebook groups for her ideal target clients of small business owners and families in her local area.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Misty gained recognition in key Facebook groups (for example the Boston Business Women’s group) not necessarily by promoting her own business or content but rather by being recommended by group members who were already familiar with her work, how Misty started creating personal finance blog content while she was still working in a corporate role at a broker-dealer (which gave her a running start when she did make the transition to client-facing advisor), and how Misty started a podcast that gave her access to key centers of influence (such as estate planning and student loan planning attorneys) and led to referrals from these professionals down the line.

We also talk about how Misty jump-started her firm ownership journey by buying a firm from a retiring advisor (which helped her avoid the time and effort involved in registering a firm from scratch), how Misty raised the fees on the firm’s legacy clients with little pushback and created an ongoing service and fee model that reflected her desire to (profitably) have long-term relationships with clients, and how Misty made the decision to make her first hire to provide additional support during a period of rapid growth (helping her ensure that current clients remained engaged as she onboarded a number of new clients).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Misty shares how she earned a life coaching certification that has helped her ask better questions to recognize clients’ money mindsets (which eventually led to her writing a book on the topic, further enhancing her reputation), why Misty previously ‘chased’ financial designations in an attempt to make herself more credentialed as a relatively young advisor (but eventually recognized that she was already ‘good enough’ to serve clients even without the various initials listed after her name), and how Misty transitioned from viewing success as a matter of personal and firm metrics and instead as a feeling that she’s doing good work and is living her life in the way she wants to.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about generating prospect leads through Facebook groups, jump-starting the firm ownership journey by buying a retiring advisor’s practice, or creating content across a variety of platforms, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Misty Lynch.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 445th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is James Conole. James is the founder of Root Financial, an RIA based in Encinitas, California, that oversees $1.3 billion in assets under management for 630 client households.

What's unique about James, though, is how his firm has experienced massive growth (expecting to grow its revenue from $4.6 million to more than $10 million in 2025 alone) thanks in part by attracting clients who have engaged with his educational YouTube videos.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how James found that transitioning from audio and video content covering general personal finance topics to material specifically for his ideal target clients (pre-retirees and retirees with at least $2 million in investible assets) initially led to fewer viewers but ultimately to more interested prospects, why James views consistency (in his case, posting a new YouTube video weekly) and depth of content (to differentiate his videos from others covering more surface-level material) as keys to his success attracting clients through this medium, and how James has created a separate YouTube channel that offers prospective clients (and potential employees) a behind-the-scenes look at how Root operates and the people behind it (giving these groups a better idea of what they could expect if they work with the firm).

We also talk about how James (once his firm started to receive a strong flow of leads) increased the friction involved for prospects to schedule an introductory meeting by requiring them to fill out a short form on their financial situation and disclosing the firms fees and asset minimums (leading to a higher percentage of meetings with good-fit prospects), how James firm transitioned from a three-meeting sales process to what it calls a "one-meeting close" (enabled in part by prospects already being familiar with the firm and how it operates based on their experience with its YouTube videos), and how James established a standardized system of five meeting types (in order, discovery, income, investments, retirement and tax projections, and security) to efficiently onboard new clients as the firm grows.

And be certain to listen to the end, where James shares how instituting a $2 million asset minimum for clients allows the firm to reinvest more aggressively (particularly into new staff to handle its rapid client growth) and position itself to potentially create a service for less wealthy clients down the line, how James firm standardized advisor training into its "Root University" program (which leverages tech tools like Monday.com and Loom to provide a consistent and scalable training experience), and how James is working to establish a strong company culture in a remote working environment (including by holding annual company retreats and smaller in-person gatherings among members of individual teams).

So, whether youre interested in learning about leveraging YouTube to increase the number of inbound leads who are already familiar with you and your firm, executing a more efficient prospect-to-client conversion process, or creating a tech-centric training system to ensure consistent service across advisors within the firm, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with James Conole.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 442nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is David Bahnsen. David is the founder of The Bahnsen Group, an RIA based in Newport Beach, California, that oversees approximately $7.5 billion in assets under management for 1,800 client households.

What's unique about David, though, is how his firm has been able to attract $100 million in new client assets per month thanks in large part to his content creation and public commentary on investment markets as well as issues that advisors often avoid, including religion and politics.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how David's weekly market commentaries (which he has written since 2008 and draws 15,000 weekly viewers across blog, podcast, and video formats) familiarize readers with his firm's investment approach and put it top-of-mind when they are ready to seek out a financial advisor, how David has written multiple books on markets and his other passions that not only have educated readers on his views on these issues but also have led to many television appearances that have expanded his reach further, and how being public with his opinions on divisive topics has allowed David to demonstrate competence and likeability, attracting to his firm both like-minded consumers and some who might disagree with him but appreciate his willingness to be candid.

We also talk about how David's transition from focusing on both business development and client service to spend much of his time on content creation (reducing his client count from 180 to 20 in the process) has led to explosive asset and client growth in his firm during the past several years, why David focuses on hiring advisors with talent in financial planning and relationship management (rather than prospecting, given the robust lead pipeline his content generates), and how David has implemented a pay model that offers advisors a base salary in their early years while providing for significant income upside through revenue-based compensation (and a path to partnership) as they serve more (and higher-net-worth) clients over time.

And be certain to listen to the end, where David shares why he decided to incorporate tax preparation into his firm not as a profit center but rather as a way to offer a comprehensive financial services offering for clients (helping the firm close more prospects and maintain higher client satisfaction in the process), how David has found success opening offices located away from coastal population centers (not only to attract clients in those cities but also to demonstrate that they are a truly national firm), and how David, after growing a successful firm, is now focused on opportunities for his firm's advisors to develop in their careers as well as the ultimate stewardship of his business.

So, whether you're interested in learning about leveraging content across multiple media to attract like-minded clients, transitioning from a lead advisor to management role, or the decision making behind opening offices in new locations, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with David Bahnsen.

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