Monthly Archives: September 2025

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#98 – The Crisis of Differentiation: Michael Kitces on What Actually Works for Advisors

Client Experience, Client Experience & Loyalty, Finance, Practice Management, , , , , , , , , ,

Financial advisors face the real challenge of proving their worth to clients who have more options and skepticism than ever before. 

How do today’s top advisors cut through the noise, establish credibility, and attract clients in a way that actually works?

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates interviews Michael Kitces, Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com and a leading voice in the advisory profession, about what truly moves the needle for financial advisors. 

They tackle the foundational role of trust, the evolving meaning of holistic advice, effective tactics for client acquisition, and what separates advice-focused advisors from product-driven ones. The conversation also looks ahead at the future of financial planning and practical strategies advisors can use to grow their firms.

Michael discusses:

  • The essential role of trust in both building relationships and driving client acquisition
  • How advisors can leverage “borrowed trust” through referrals and other trusted sources
  • His mission to make advisors “better and more successful”
  • The changing definition of a holistic advisor and the increasing importance of delivering real, advice-first value to clients versus just selling products
  • Research-backed insights into which marketing activities effectively generate new clients and revenue for advisory firms
  • …And more!

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Connect With Michael Kitces:

About Michael Kitces:

Michael E. Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, is the Head of Planning Strategy for Focus Partners Wealth, a private wealth management firm located in St Louis, Missouri, that oversees more than $50 billion of client assets. In addition, he is the co-founder of the XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, fpPathfinder, and New Planner Recruiting, former practitioner editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, and the publisher of the e-newsletter The Kitces Report and the popular financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View through his website www.Kitces.com, dedicated to advancing knowledge in financial planning.

Michael is also a popular speaker on financial planning and practice management topics, and can be seen presenting at 50-70 regional and national conferences for financial advisors every year.

Michael is one of the 2010 recipients of the Financial Planning Association’s “Heart of Financial Planning” awards for his dedication to advancing the financial planning profession. In addition, he has variously been recognized as financial planning’s “Deep Thinker,” a “Legacy Builder,” an “Influencer,” a “Mover & Shaker,” part of the “Power 20,” and a “Rising Star in Wealth Management” by industry publications. These awards were presented to honor Michael’s active work in the financial planning community. Michael is also a co-founder of NexGen, a community of the next generation of financial planners that aims to ensure the transference of wisdom, tradition, and integrity from the pioneers of financial planning to the next generation of the profession.

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#97 – Sustainable Success for Financial Advisors – Integrating Work and Life with Kristin Harad, CFP

Life Management, Practice Management, , , , , , , , ,

Many advisors build thriving practices, only to feel trapped by the very work they love.

What if your career could energize, rather than drain, your life?

In this intriguing conversation, Referral Coach Bill Cates, CSP, CAPE interviews Kristin Harad, CFP®, founder of Full Advisor Coaching, who explains how financial advisors can embrace work-life integration rather than chasing an elusive balance.

Kristin unpacks her five-part framework for designing a business that fuels a life of fulfillment, freedom, and intention.

Kristin and Bill Discuss:

  • Why “work-life balance” is a myth and how to think instead in terms of integration
  • Common friction points high achievers experience when pursuing both career and personal goals
  • Her five-part framework for envisioning an integrated work-life future 
  • The importance of mindset shifts like embracing progress over perfection
  • Practical steps advisors can take, including calendar audits and giving
    themselves permission to prioritize life alongside work
  • …And more!

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Connect With Kristin Harad:

Resources: 

About Kristin Harad:

After years in financial services marketing with companies like Visa, Charles Schwab, and JPMorgan Chase, Kristin Harad set out on her own in 2006.

She founded VitaVie Financial Planning, the first fee-only financial planning firm focused on expectant parents and growing families in the San Francisco Bay Area. Starting from nothing, she built it into a six-figure business in under three years.

The freedom of entrepreneurship brought Kristin the satisfaction and fulfillment she had always craved, sparking her desire to help other firm leaders achieve the same. In 2014, she transitioned full-time into training and coaching independent financial advisors. She launched her coaching business to share the strategies and systems she had developed to grow her own firm and create a life she loved.

As Kristin began sharing insights from launching and scaling her successful RIA, she discovered the joy of helping fellow entrepreneurs reach their dreams, both within their businesses and beyond. She has since guided hundreds of financial advisors and understands what works for solo practitioners, boutique firms, and enterprise RIAs alike.

Kristin is passionate about helping advisors renew their entrepreneurial energy, focus on what matters most as leaders, and discover the success and fulfillment they’ve been searching for.

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