Monthly Archives: March 2025

#85 Helping Clients Sleep Well at Night with Financial Planning with Pamela Sams



Does financial security keep you up at night?

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates interviews Pamela Sams, founder of Jackson Sams Wealth Strategies. Discover how Pamela has harnessed the power of having a clear mission and target market to build a thriving community of advocates. With a focus on helping professional women secure their financial future so they can “sleep well at night,” Pamela shares the origin of her unique SWAN (Sleep Well At Night) philosophy. They also explore the journey of financial planning that turns financial “ugly ducklings” into confident “swans” and dig into how behavioral finance plays a pivotal role in guiding clients.

Pamela discusses: 

  • (03:11) Her journey into financial advising
  • (04:52) The inspiration and significance behind the SWAN story
  • (06:08) The process of building a community of advocates
  • (10:11) How behavioral finance benefits her clients
  • (17:03) The dynamics of having family members work in her practice
  • (25:55) Tools like “Unlock Your Money Blocks” and leveraging media for business growth
  • …And more!

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Connect With Pamela Sams:

About GUEST:

For 19 years, Pamela has been helping women improve their personal and financial wealth through solid financial life planning. Pamela believes it is important to align your money decisions with what’s important in your life. She knows how to listen, engage in meaningful conversations with her clients to gain a better understanding of what is important to them, their goals and values. Pamela believes that financial planning is about a woman’s values not just their money.

Her education and training enable her to help clients successfully navigate through the myriad of personal and financial decisions they face during their lives. She assists them in working to attain a higher level of financial security through education, understanding and scenario planning. With this knowledge, she develops a customized approach for each client’s planning needs.

Pamela has become a strong voice in the area of personal finance for women. Her knowledge in this area has made her a sought-after speaker. She has been quoted in articles in various financial publications.

Throughout her financial services career, she has acquired several client service and financial planning awards. She has membership in the Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT). Membership in MDRT is a highly recognized mark of excellence and limited to only the most successful in the financial services profession. This places Pamela among the top professionals in the global life insurance and financial services industry. Pamela was featured in the Women in Wealth section of Fortune Magazine November 2020 issue as a top Wealth Manager in the Washington DC metro area.


#84 EXACTLY What to Say (And Ask) with Phil M. Jones, CSP, CPAE



“My book is titled Exactly What to Say, but maybe I should have called it, Exactly What to Ask.”

In this enlightening episode of the Top Advisor Podcast, host Bill Cates sits down with Phil M. Jones, CSP, CPAE, the renowned expert and author of the bestselling book – Exactly What to Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact.   Phil and Bill delve into the art and science of building an effective flow of questions that advisors can use to build trust, gain new clients, and serve those clients better.

While Phil is celebrated for his mastery of the precise language that can transform conversations, this discussion shifts the focus to the power of asking the right questions.

With financial advisors as the target audience, Phil emphasizes the importance of gaining a deep understanding of clients’ contexts before offering solutions, highlighting a strategy that invites dialogue and builds trust. 

This interview of Phil is jampacked with practical techniques, such as the OFQ (Opening, Fact, Question) method, and reveals how asking better questions can lead to improved client relationships, increased referrals, and ultimately, better service. 

Bill Cates and Phil Jones discuss:

  1. The danger of giving advice without proper context and the necessity of understanding a client’s full situation.
  2. The incredible power of curiosity-driven conversations.
  3. The technique of question stacking and creating sequences.
  4. How to use perspective-shifting questions.
  5. Overcoming inertia in clients to move them to take actions that are in their best interest.
  6. How slowing the process can help you achieve smoother and faster outcomes.
  7. The transformative power of intentional language in building rapport and trust.
  8. …And so much more!

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About Phil M. Jones, CSP, CPAE:

Best known for his international best-selling book, Exactly What to Say® – The Magic Words for Influence and Impact and his vast experience as a professional speaker at conferences and events, what is often overlooked is the strategic intellect Phil provides behind the scenes for some of the world’s biggest brands to understand their critical conversations and the success language required to maximize their effectiveness.

Phil thinks and acts differently. His precise insights around communication, added to a proven personal pedigree of peak performance and a richness of real-world experience mean that Phil is the kind of thought leader whose counsel is sought by other thought leaders.

He believes with passion that the answer to increased success, in every area of life, is to ask better questions, focus on QUALITY of conversation as well as quantity and that quite often, the difference between you, and all the others, is knowing exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to make more of your conversations count.