Monthly Archives: April 2025

#87 Building Your Financial Advisory Team with Top Talent – Insights from Steve Perry

Leadership, Practice Management, , , , , , , , , , ,

What does it mean to truly scale your advisory team without sacrificing quality or culture?

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates interviews Steve Perry, founder and president of Well Recruiting Solutions, as they delve into the art of building teams with top talent.

Discover the innovative approaches Steve uses to overcome the biggest hurdles financial advisors face in recruiting the right people.

From leveraging technology to crafting a compelling value proposition, Steve shares his unique insights gained from 16 years of hiring and managing financial professionals.

Steve discusses: 

  • (05:22) How mission-driven recruitment aligns with long-term business goals
  • (08:55) Overcoming the abundance of data in recruitment with strategic filtering
  • (09:25) Recruiting overload in the tech era
  • (11:24) The significance of breaking down roles within firms for effective scaling
  • (18:00) Leveraging firm values in recruitment
  • (24:28) Quantifying aspirations in hiring to recruit top talent
  • (26:30) The 3 different types of talent: potential, emerging, and proven
  • (34:21) Cost of hiring delays revealed
  • (36:45) The benefits and challenges of automated applicant systems
  • …And more!

Packed with practical advice and proven strategies, this episode is a must-listen for financial advisors looking to grow with the right people in the right roles. 

Sponsors:

Connect With Steve Perry:

Cates Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

About Steve Perry:

Steve Perry, Founder and CEO of The Well Recruiting Solutions, brings over 17 years of leadership experience in the Fortune 100 sector. Known for his ability to drive team growth and operational excellence, Steve has consistently exceeded benchmarks in recruitment, retention, and performance. His career is marked by a dedication to innovation, team development, and creating scalable solutions for businesses.

Steve’s expertise includes interviewing thousands of candidates, hiring hundreds, and leading large teams to achieve record-breaking success. His strategic approach to recruiting and team building has helped organizations bridge talent gaps and achieve sustainable growth.

After nearly two decades of corporate leadership, Steve founded The Well Recruiting Solutions as a response to a calling from God. Leaving a seven-figure executive leadership career, he set out to build an innovative, world-class recruiting company that not only delivers exceptional results for its clients but also makes a meaningful impact on the world.

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#86 Become a Million-Dollar-Advisor with Dave Mullen

Client Experience, Client Experience & Loyalty, communicating your value, Creating Advocates, Education, Finance, Leadership, Marketing, Practice Management, Prospecting, Speaking, Top Advisors, , , , , , , , ,

Are you ready to become a million-dollar advisor, or are you already there wanting to push your success further? Discover the core strategies that separate high-performing financial advisors from the rest in our latest episode.

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates interviews Dave Mullen, a veteran in developing top financial advisors, for an engaging discussion. With over 44 years of experience, Dave unravels insights backed by his bestselling books, such as “The Million Dollar Financial Advisor Team.”

Dave discusses: 

  • (05:40) Seven traits of successful advisors, from optimism to time management.
  • (09:31) The importance of client segmentation and how it increases productivity.
  • (15:42) Transitioning from client service to creating a client experience that builds trust.
  • (19:32) Crafting an unforgettable onboarding process for new clients.
  • (24:30) Mastering the art of gaining referrals through a structured, strategic approach.
  • …And more!

With practical advice and proven strategies, this episode is a must-listen for financial advisors aiming for excellence. For more insights and processes, visit Altius Learning and unleash the full potential of your practice.

Sponsors:

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Dave Mullen:

About Dave Mullen:

Dave Mullen is Founding Partner & Principal of Altius Learning. Dave retired as a managing director at Merrill Lynch in 2007, where he personally hired, trained, and managed over 500 financial advisors over 27 years. He has worked with over 100 individual million-dollar and multimillion-dollar advisors, including five of Merrill Lynch’s top 30. His responsibilities included, Financial Advisor, Complex Manager, National Sales Manager and Managing Director.

During his management career, Dave was recognized numerous times for being one of Merrill Lynch’s top national managers. While at Merrill Lynch, his advisor training programs had a consistent success rate significantly higher than the industry average.

Dave founded LearnTactix, now called Altius Learning, in 2007 with the objective of creating training and coaching programs that would be career-changing experiences for participating advisors and managers. He is the author of three bestselling books: The Million Dollar Financial Services Practice (one of On Wall Street magazine’s top picks and a Top Five choice by AdvisorOne); The Million Dollar Advisor—Powerful Lessons and Proven Strategies from Top Producers (one of On Wall Street magazine’s top picks); and his new book The Million-Dollar Financial Advisor Team. He has been featured in Investment News and Smart Money magazines.

Dave holds a BA and MBA from the University of Georgia, and has attended the Executive Leadership Program at The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. Dave is an avid mountain bike rider and skier. He and his wife Cynthia have 4 children and reside in Denver, CO.

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