Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 439th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Alvin Carlos. Alvin is the CEO of District Capital Management, an RIA based in Washington, D.C., that generates $850,000 of annual, primarily retainer-based, revenue serving 155 client households.

What's unique about Alvin, though, is how he has grown his firm by using project management software Monday.com as a central hub for financial plan presentations and efficient client task management.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Alvin uses Monday.com alongside financial planning software RightCapital (which he uses to run planning projections) to create a task board of common planning recommendations (and the subtasks needed to complete them) to efficiently present clients' financial plans and track their progress completing follow-on tasks, why Alvin recently switched from Wealthbox to Monday.com as his CRM (as he was attracted by Monday's ability for it to seamlessly connect with its project management functionality as well as its mass emailing capabilities), and how Alvin uses AI meeting notes tool Krisp to prepare meeting summaries, transcripts, and lists of action items (and how he found it to be more cost effective than planning-industry-specific notetaking tools).

We also talk about how Alvin is able to profitably serve clients in their 30s and 40s with a primarily retainer-based model by charging a fee based in part on the complexity of their planning needs, how Alvin is able to achieve his goal of serving clients from a variety of financial circumstances by charging a “market price” for higher-income clients and then discounting this fee for those at lower income levels, and how Alvin tracks his firm's Labor Efficiency Ratio to link his staff costs to the revenue they are able to generate (giving him a better idea of when he can bring on new employees while meeting his profitability targets).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Alvin shares how he has used search engine optimization tactics to rise up the search rankings in his local area in part by writing blog posts on the key questions his ideal target clients are asking (and incorporating the keywords they are most likely to search), how Alvin and his business have benefited from joining a local entrepreneur's group (which provides him with both business coaching and peer accountability), and how Alvin has been surprised about how much he has come to enjoy running his business (beyond the actual financial planning work) and how it allows him to create new jobs in the financial planning industry.

So, whether you're interested in learning about using project management software to prepare financial plans and manage follow-on tasks, key metrics to determine firm productivity, or how to leverage content to rise up local search rankings, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Alvin Carlos.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 428th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Lorie Jones. Lorie is the wealth manager of Fearless Financial Advisors, a dba of hybrid advisory firm Fidelis Wealth Advisors based in Castle Rock, Colorado, where Lorie personally oversees $30 million in assets under management for 88 client households.

What's unique about Lorie, though, is how she has leveraged the functionality of the Salesforce CRM software (which is often used by larger firms due to its more extensive features and higher cost compared to other CRMs) to systematize processes and workflows not only for her individual practice but the entire eight-person $230M AUM advisory firm she's a part of (without needing to hire expensive Salesforce developers).

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Lorie creates what she calls "magic buttons" placed in strategic locations in client records within Salesforce to allow her staff to conveniently initiate workflows that save time on common firm tasks like client onboarding and money movements, why Lorie currently uses the XLR8 Salesforce overlay (rather than Salesforce on a standalone basis) for its advisor-specific functionality and lower price point than buying Salesforce directly, and how Lorie views Salesforce's "clicks not code" functionality as an opportunity for firms to create custom automations and workflows without needing their own Salesforce developer or any deep coding expertise.

We also talk about how Lorie advanced from what was originally a purely administrative role at her first firm to eventually take on leadership of firm operations as a partner at a new advisory firm (allowing her to nerd out on Salesforce and spreadsheets) and then eventually adding advisory responsibilities and ultimately becoming a full-time advisor, how the toll of working in these dual roles eventually led Lorie to open her own business as a dba of her prior firm to focus on advisory (rather than operational) work and spend more time working with her ideal target client of high-net-worth women, and how Lorie overcame the challenges of loneliness when starting her own advisory practice by seeking out the advice of other women who had gone through the same journey.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Lorie shares how she balanced earning the CFP certification and an MBA while working in an advisory firm and raising 5 children, how Lorie got more comfortable in prospecting for clients after starting her own podcast in which she interviews successful female professionals, and how Lorie ultimately found that it was seeking out mentors, to learn from their experiences, that gave her the confidence to be more fearless when it came to making her own career decisions and take the leap to becoming a full-time advisor.

So, whether you're interested in learning about leveraging Salesforce in a mid-sized firm, making the decision of whether to pursue operational or advisory roles in a firm, or how interviewing individuals that match your ideal client avatar can increase your confidence when prospecting, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Lorie Jones.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 427th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Sten Morgan. Sten is the owner of Legacy Investment Planning, a hybrid advisory firm based in Franklin, Tennessee, that oversees $220 million in assets under management for 90 client households.

What's unique about Sten, though, is how he realized that the team that helped his firm reach an initial level of success as a $1M+ practice was not the team hed need to take it to the next level… and ultimately found he had to turn over 100% of his original team, led by a new Director of Operations who eventually re-staffed the entire firm, in order to rebuild the team for his firms next growth stage.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Sten recognized that while his firm appeared to be performing well (in terms of AUM, revenue, and other metrics) its culture was not resulting in the collective skillset and team member initiative needed to reach his growth goals, how Sten handled difficult conversations with team members to find the best resolution for both them and for the firm (which quickly brought his firms headcount down from 8 to 4), and why Sten decided to hire a new full-time director of operations to serve as an integrator to make even more changes to get both staffing and day-to-day firm operations back on track.

We also talk about how Sten and his operations director implemented a five-step process for hiring (which includes a resume review and screening call, an asynchronous video interview using the JobVite platform, an in-person interview, a work assignment, and then finally a team debrief to select a candidate), why Sten waits to interview at least four to six candidates for a position before making an offer to ensure his firm doesnt settle too quickly for the first candidate that appears to be qualified, and Stens best practices for using recruiting firms to support the hiring process (including the need to get guarantees from the firm in case the hire doesnt work out).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Sten shares why his firm is currently focused on hiring and maximizing internal operational efficiency before going through its next growth phase, why Sten recommends that firms try to be more proactive in hiring (for example by hiring today for a position that is going to be needed six months from now) rather than waiting to hit the next capacity ceiling to do so, and the process Sten uses to iterate on his own creative business ideas (taking time to think through ideas both in his mind and with the help of outside experts) to ensure they are well-vetted before taking action so he doesnt try to implement too many different ideas at once and focuses in to the few that will matter most.

So, whether youre interested in learning about making the difficult personnel decisions needed to take a firm to the next level, best practices in hiring (and how hiring a director of operations can help), or a process for iterating on new ideas for the business, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Sten Morgan.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 415th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Erika Wood. Erika is the Director of Wealth Management of VisionPoint Advisory Group, a hybrid advisory firm based in Dallas, Texas, that oversees approximately $3 billion in assets under advisement for both 780 client households and for retirement plans.

What's unique about Erika, though, is how her firm leverages centralized financial planning and service teams (along with a ticketing workflow system) to systematize a firm-wide planning process to more efficiently serve its $600M AUM private wealth client base.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Erika's firm uses an internal meeting preparation team to support their client-facing advisors both by preparing financial plans in the firm's planning software and by providing their advisors with a pre-meeting worksheet with all the information they need to run the meeting, how Erika's firm is able to more efficiently complete tasks by dividing its client service team by functional specialty rather than assigning client service team members to particular advisors, and how Erika's firm uses a ticketing system within its CRM (with required fields their advisors must fill out) to ensure that every task is completed efficiently and correctly.

We also talk about how Erika's firm divides its clients into 3 segments (private wealth clients, e-wealth clients, and foundational clients) based on their investible assets as well as the complexity of their planning needs, how Erika's firm uses a data-centric approach to setting fees, first determining the cost of serving each client segment (including the estimated number of hours it will take to serve them and each advisor's hourly rate) and then adding a buffer on top to ensure each client can really be served profitably, and why Erika's firm uses a quarterly client service calendar approach with its top-tier clients, with each quarterly meeting covering a different planning topic (and scheduling them based on where the topic most appropriately fits during the year).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Erika shares how her firm builds client loyalty through regular webinars on relevant planning topics, in-person social events, and client appreciation gifts, why Erika decided to leave her previous broker-dealer (which 3 generations of her family had worked with) to have more flexibility in how she conducts financial planning and communicates with clients, and why Erika recommends that newer advisors find the part of the planning profession that speaks to them (rather than being pigeonholed into a certain path) and focus on getting better there to make the most of their individual strengths.

So, whether you're interested in learning about using centralized financial planning and service teams, segmenting clients effectively, or ways to build client loyalty, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Erika Wood.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 413th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Kevin Leahy. Kevin is the CEO of Connecticut Wealth Management, an RIA based in Farmington, Connecticut, that oversees approximately $4 billion in assets under management for 1,100 client households.

What's unique about Kevin, though, is how his firm has built a systematized internal advisor training program to efficiently onboard young new talent straight out of college, maintaining a strong advisory talent pipeline as his firm has grown to $4 billion in AUM through both organic growth and acquisitions of retiring advisors (whose clients can be transitioned to Kevin's up-and-coming young advisors) while maintaining a high level of service with a relatively low 35-to-1 client-to-advisor ratio.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Kevin's firm's new hire training program ramps up through the first 6 months, starting with an initial 90-day stage that uses standardized case studies to teach the firm's financial planning process and how to review and input data into the firm's systems, followed by a second 90-day stage that builds new hires' confidence in their client communication skills by conducting mock client presentations and receiving constructive feedback from peers and current advisors, how Kevin's firm uses a software platform called Playbook Builder to compile training materials (including videos, PowerPoint presentations, and word documents) in a centralized location and create a more systematized onboarding and training process, and how Kevin typically assigns new hires once they have completed this 6-month training program to service teams not based on having complementary skills to the lead advisor, but rather based on having similar strengths to better align the team with its clients' preferred planning style.

We also talk about how Kevin sources entry-level hires not only among recent college graduates, but also from a robust paid internship program that allows his firm to vet interns before committing to a full-time offer, why Kevin's practice of bringing on multiple new hires at one time both keeps the firm ahead of hiring needs and promotes efficiency by allowing these cohorts to go through the training process together, and how Kevin has found that this 6-month training process has paid off (even though the new hires add limited value during this initial training period) as nearly all employees who have gone through this training are still with the firm, saving the firm the time and money in turnover costs it would otherwise face to replace hires that don't work out.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Kevin shares why his hiring process puts a premium on identifying individuals who mesh well with his firm's 8 core values and emphasis on teamwork (and in the case of experienced advisor candidates, weeding out those who might prefer an ‘eat what you kill' approach that doesn't fit in Connecticut Wealth Management's team-oriented culture), why Kevin decided to create a centralized planning team to ensure consistent service for each client even as the firm's average client AUM and complexity grows, and how Kevin's firm has grown not only through acquisitions, but also by increasing its wallet share amongst clients obtained in these deals by demonstrating a higher level of service than they might have previously been accustomed to that leads clients to grow even more with the firm over time.

So, whether you're interested in learning about building an internal advisor training program, how to use an internship program to keep a firm's talent pipeline full, or how to maintain a firm's core values as it grows over time, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Kevin Leahy.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 408th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Maddi Keegan. Maddi is a Financial Advisor and the Director of Operations of Frazier Financial Advisors, an RIA based in Columbus, Ohio that oversees $860M in assets under management for 650 client households.

What's unique about Maddi, though, is that after building a successful solo advisory firm, she then decided to merge her business with Frazier Financial Advisors, a mid-sized RIA in her area where she negotiated for a stake in the business while stepping into both an advisor and operational role where she could really have impact in helping them to scale to the next level.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Maddi, after successfully establishing and building her own solo firm, made the decision to merge her firm with a larger (but not too large) firm and negotiated the '2-way' street of sharing her knowledge while also absorbing the way of Frazier Financial, how Maddi charted the size and worth of her (solo) firm against Frazier Financial's (multi-advisor) firm to allow for an equitable 18-month transition into Frazier, and how Maddi's 3 non-negotiables of company culture, equity, and base compensation shaped how Maddi negotiated a package that she 'felt' acknowledged the full spectrum of her value, from existing clients to knowledge of large business operations, that she brought to the table.

We also talk about Maddi's own unique journey from working at a Fortune 100 company to launching as a solo advisor to now being a director at her firm, including how, as a solo advisor, Maddi invested just $1,500 in improving her SEO strategy at her firm by leveraging better keywords and gathering Google Reviews and soon managed to get over 50% of her new prospects coming from Google instead of referrals, how Maddi's experience of mentoring, hiring, and eventually losing her first (contractor-turned-)employee made Maddi reflect on what she really wanted out of building her own firm (and ultimately decide that she didn't want to continue to build alone), and how Maddi explained her decision to close her business and merge with Frazier Financial to her existing clients, highlighting it as an expansion of resources and opportunities for her and her clients, ensuring that she was ultimately able to bring all but 2 of those clients along with her.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Maddi shares how Frazier Financial positions 'at cost' tax preparation as a value proposition (to clients who actually don't really need a further discount, but are instead just eager to delegate), how Maddi looks to build out her firm's tech stack to get Frazier Financial though the 'dangerous middle' of growing and scaling the business, and why Maddi believes that the most powerful thing an up-and-coming advisor can do is network and build good connections with those around them to open more doors, as she reflects on how being a volunteer leader in her local FPA chapter was the introduction that led her to the firm she's at today.So, whether you're interested in learning about how to frame big changes as opportunities for clients (who may not mind those 'big changes' very much anyway), how to build holistic personal and professional goals and actually make progress year over year, or how to evaluate and negotiate a broad variety of career opportunities, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Maddi Keegan.

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