Monthly Archives: October 2025

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#100 – From Top Advisor to Industry Leader: Derrick Kinney’s Secrets for Making Competitors Irrelevant and Attracting Clients

Client Experience & Loyalty, COI's, communicating your value, Creating Advocates, Generational Wealth, Leadership, Life Balance, Marketing, Philanthropy, Practice Management, Prospecting, Referrals & Introductions, Social Media, Target Marketing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Standing out as a financial advisor requires more than credentials; it’s about clarity, connection, and purpose.

How do you move from being “just another advisor” to someone clients instantly trust and want to work with? How do you stop competing on titles and start owning the problems your clients care about most?

In this special 100th episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates interviews Derrick Kinney, bestselling author of Good Money Revolution and former top-ranked advisor, about the mindset and strategies that helped him scale his practice to the top 1% before transitioning into coaching advisors. Derrick explains how clarity of purpose, the right words, and emotional connection can transform an advisor’s business and make competitors irrelevant.

Derrick discusses: 

  • Why he sold his successful advisory practice to pursue writing, coaching, and media work
  • The biggest mistake advisors make when introducing themselves and how to “own a problem” instead of relying on credentials
  • How asking the right questions and not solving problems too quickly keeps prospects engaged and builds trust
  • The importance of narrowing your focus, presenting yourself as a specialist, and connecting with clients’ pain points
  • How visibility in media and storytelling can make competitors irrelevant and attract ideal clients
  • …And more!

Sponsors:

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Derrick Kinney:

About Derrick Kinney:

Derrick Kinney is widely considered one of the most engaging and down-to-earth money and business experts in the country. He built one of America’s top financial firms and helped countless clients become millionaires. Then, he sold it to give everyone access to his Middle-Class to Millionaire Playbook. As America’s Financial Educator, he’s a sought-after guest on top podcasts and a go-to expert on FOX, CNN, CNBC, and Yahoo Finance. He’s also the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of Good Money Revolution.

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#99 – What Every Advisor Needs to Know About Storyselling and Life Planning with Mitch Anthony

communicating your value, Marketing, Prospecting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you think numbers and charts are enough to win clients, think again.

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates interviews renowned author and speaker Mitch Anthony about the decisive role of storytelling and life-centered financial planning. 

Mitch shares how neuroscience has proven that emotional connection, not just data, drives decisions, and how financial advisors can uncover deeper client relationships through meaningful conversations.

He also unpacks the real promise advisors should be making, that is, helping clients get the best life possible with the money they have.

Mitch and Bill Discuss:   

  • How story-based communication triggers emotional engagement and decision-making better than logic-heavy pitches
  • Why advisors should uncover the client’s story before telling their own, and how that builds trust
  • The importance of using relatable metaphors to explain complex financial concepts
  • The shift from ROI-focused advising to Return on Life (ROL) and values that can’t be easily compared
  • Simple but profound questions advisors can ask to build deeper connections without taking more time
  • …And more!

Highlights:

  • [00:04:15] Mitch defines “storyselling” and why it works so well
  • [00:14:30] The mistake most advisors make with stories – and how to fix it
  • [00:26:10] What life-centered planning really means (hint: it’s not just about the numbers)
  • [00:38:45] How to shift your discovery process to focus on “return on life”
  • [00:48:00] Mitch’s advice to advisors looking to deepen client loyalty

Sponsors: 

Connect With Mitch Anthony:

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

About Mitch Anthony:

For more than two decades, Mitch and his team have provided training and development for both individual advisors and major organizations throughout the world. Mitch personally consults with firms around the world on both life-centered financial planning and relationship development.

Mitch is a consistently top-rated presenter who has spoken around the world, from private client events to audiences of more than 10,000. He has been named “one of the most meaningful speakers in financial services today” and hailed as one of the industry’s top “Movers & Shakers” for his pioneering work. Along with Texas Tech University, he has developed a certificate program in Life-Centered Financial Planning.

Mitch is a sought-after expert for the media and a regular columnist for Financial Advisor magazine. His columns have appeared on CBS MarketWatch and in the Journal of Financial Planning. Mitch is also host of the daily radio feature, The Daily Dose, heard on over 100 radio stations nationwide.

StorySelling for Financial Advisors, cited by Financial Advisor magazine as the number one “must-read” book for financial professionals, is an industry standard. In addition to The New Retirementality (now in its 5th edition) and Your Clients for Life, Mitch is the author of many groundbreaking books for advisors and consumers, including Defining Conversations,  The Financial Professional’s StoryBook, Your Client’s Story, Selling with Emotional Intelligence, The Financial Lit-Kit (The Cash in the Hat, The Bean is not Green, and Where Did the Money Go?), and Life-Centered Financial Planning.

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