Category Archives: Marketing

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2 Big Marketing Strategies for Financial Advisors that Most Fail to Use – featuring Sara Grillo, CFA

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

“Outspoken” “Controversial” “Disruptive” 

These are some of the words that have been used to describe Sara Grillo.

Sara’s on a mission to help advisors rise above the platitudes and sameness they use to describe the valuable work they bring to their clients. 

In this lively interview, Bill and Sara discuss 2 important (but often overlooked) marketing strategies for financial advisors – the concepts of transparency and brevity – and how to use those concepts in communicating your value.

Some of the highlights of this interview…

  • Sara’s challenge to advisors to define the term financial advisor in one sentence without using the words goals, financial, or plan – and why this is important.
  • How advisors can distinguish themselves from others through transparency.
  • Why financial advisors should master brevity and examples on using her 2-Sentence LinkedIn Message Formula and her 2-Sentence Elevator Pitch Formula for better concise and highly effective communication.
  • Excerpts from Sara’s 17-Point Self-Assessment advisors can use to measure their ability to communicate with authenticity and brevity. 
  • A powerful perspective on why and how financial advisors can use their knowledge and skills to unify people around shared values and family-oriented practices.
  • Plus other key marketing strategies for financial advisors. 

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Sara Grillo: 

About Our Guest:

Sara Grillo, CFA, is a financial advisor, marketing consultant, and financial services keynote speaker focusing on LinkedIn lead-generation strategies for wealth management, investment management, financial planning, and RIA firms. All actions taken by Sara Grillo are governed by a professional code of ethics.

Before her current role, Sara Grillo worked as a financial advisor at Lehman Brothers. She holds a degree from Harvard University and pursued her Masters at NYU Stern School of Business before obtaining her CFA designation.

Sara Grillo is renowned for her outspoken and disruptive perspective on the unethical practices prevalent in the private wealth industry. She specializes in helping ethical financial advisors transparently attract wealthy clients. Her financial advisor marketing strategies prioritize simplicity, honesty, empathy, and high ethical standards over questionable methods. This is how she assists financial advisors and private wealth managers in areas such as marketing, branding, and lead generation.

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Ep. #37 Strategies for Attracting Affluent Women Clients with Adri Miller-Heckmann

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

How are YOU doing when it comes to attracting and working with affluent women?

At this moment in time, women control one-third of total U.S. household financial assets – representing more than 10 trillion dollars.  By 2030, women in the U.S. are projected to control much of the $30 trillion in financial assets that baby boomers will possess.

Women are also the largest beneficiaries of the current transfer of wealth. Since women are living an average of five years longer than men, 90% of all women will be managing their own finances during the final years of their life.

Marketing to affluent women is the most lucrative demographic since the onset of the baby boomers!

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates interviews Adri Miller-Heckmann, Founder of FemXAdvisor, about how advisors can make just a few adjustments in their practices to attract more affluent women clients. 

Adri and Bill discuss:

  • Focusing on the women’s market will become a huge differentiator for you AND generate more referrals more easily.
  • How some men repel potential women clients, while other men naturally attract women.
  • A unique way to help your female clients open up and share their financial goals.
  • How can advisors build stronger relationships with their female clients over time.
  • Adri’s recommendations for showing appreciation for your clients. 
  • …And more!

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Adri Miller-Heckmann:

About Our Guest:

Adri Miller-Heckman is a powerful influencer in the world of women. As a former financial advisor and National Training Officer with Smith Barney, she learned firsthand what it takes to succeed as a woman in a male-dominated industry, and it’s not about working longer, harder, or sacrificing more. Adri’s femXadvisor business model provides new solutions, systems, and female-friendly tools fueled by a passion that drives growth.

As a globally recognized speaker, author, and consultant in the financial industry, Adri is highly motivational, challenging her audience to expand their vision of what is possible. Using humor and real-life experiences, Adri eloquently transforms thinking from linear to creative, traditional to innovative, conformers to disruptors, and redesigning long-held industry concepts.

Adri’s book, Keys to the Ladies Room, has empowered thousands of advisors to create a female-friendly business and marketing plan that appeals to women and attracts clients of both genders. Adri’s new podcast, femXadvisor, is quickly becoming a trusted resource for female financial advisors to embrace their authentic selves.

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Ep. #36 Attracting Affluent Women – Great Niche Markets for Financial Advisors –An Interview with Russ Thornton

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

“Targeting niche markets for financial advisors” is a common theme these days. Are you sick of hearing that?  Do you have a well-defined niche market?

Are you casting too wide a net in your marketing efforts? Could you benefit from a narrower target or adopting 2 narrow targets rather than one large target?

When you find the right market for you, almost every aspect of client acquisition becomes easier and more effective. Your messaging hits the bullseye in the brains of your prospects and wakes them up to how you might be of value to them.

In this episode, Bill Cates interviews Russ Thornton, founder and principal of Wealthcare for Women. Russ explains the benefits of focusing on niche markets for financial advisors and how he found success in serving women in their pre-retirement age.

Discover how Russ maintains extremely high client retention and the ways in which he uses blogs and podcasts as effective tools for building relationships with clients. 

This episode is a must-listen for financial advisors looking to grow their businesses and better serve their clients.

Bill and Russ discuss:

  • The inspiration behind Russ’ decision to specialize in serving affluent women, particularly those nearing retirement.
  • How focusing on a narrow niche has made Russ’ messaging much more effective in attracting his ideal clients AND generating unsolicited referrals. 
  • Why he considers his financial planning services as the “central nervous system” of the relationships he builds with clients.
  • An inside look into his use of blogs as a tool for connecting with clients and sharing his expertise.
  • Bill Cates’ perspective on the benefits of targeting niche markets for financial advisors. How narrow is too narrow?
  • …And more!

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Ross Thornton:

About Our Guest:

Russ Thornton is the founder and principal of Wealthcare for Women, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. For almost 30 years, Russ has been delivering personal financial advice to clients and families. For instance, he has guided countless women to prepare for retirement, take care of their families, protect their wealth, and, most importantly, live life to the fullest.

When he was young, his mom went through a divorce and what she needed was someone in her corner to help her navigate financial uncertainty and look out for her best interests.

 As an adult, he devoted his career to helping women like his mother. That’s why he started Wealthcare for Women to empower them to make financial decisions that enable them to live comfortably without having to worry about money.

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Ep. #35 Before you ask for referrals, get your mindset right with Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

Your ability to ask for referrals – to get more new clients through personal introductions – has to start with your mindset. This means that before you ask for referrals and introductions you must first eliminate any limiting beliefs and mistaken assumptions. Without the right thinking and perspective, you’ll be unlikely to use the methods proven to work.

Most previous episodes of Top Advisor Podcast involve Bill interviewing a top advisor or top consultant – to bring forth their brilliance for you to put into action.

In this episode, Bill’s conversation is with YOU – designed to flip the switch in your brain so you can begin to ask for referrals without begging or pushing.

No, you can’t answer through the podcast, but we guarantee this episode will get you talking to yourself about your own current perspective around referrals and personal introductions. 

In this conversation with you, Bill discusses:

  • The 4 strategies that allow you to ask for referrals and create introductions without looking like “That Cheesy Referral Guy.”
  • The limiting beliefs and mistaken assumptions that hinder many advisors from creating a highly successful referral-only business. 
  • An example of how one advisor achieved phenomenal growth once a switch inside his brain flipped into the right way of thinking.
  • … And much more!

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Ep. #34 “Growing Wellthy”: The Importance of Holistic Financial Planning With Stevyn Guinnip

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

6% of retirees say that health is more important than wealth.

Are you helping your clients (regardless of their age) with their most important asset – their health? 

There are two ways you can be of value to your clients in terms of holistic financial planning:

  1. Be a purveyor of great information in this area. Your clients will appreciate this added value. 
  2. Be a role model of someone who is – as our featured guest would say – wellthy.

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates interviews Stevyn Guinnip, “the girl named Stevyn”, Founder & CEO of Grow Wellthy about holistic financial planning. Bill and Stevyn discuss how many financial advisors are creating value and building stronger relationships with their clients by helping them with both their financial wellness and physical wellness – guiding their clients to become wealthy AND wellthy.

Stevyn discusses with Bill:

  • What role wellness plays in holistic financial planning. 
  • How advisors are helping their clients turn their health into their most valuable asset.
  • The two ways she helps financial advisors, and their clients improve their state of wellness.
  • What steps advisors can take to protect their own health.
  • How advisors can comfortably offer health-related advice to their clients AND the impact of doing so.
  • How you can offer “Wellth Webinars” to your prospects and clients.
  • …And much more!

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Stevyn Guinnip:     

About Our Guest:

Stevyn Guinnip, MS, CWC is the founder & CEO of Grow Wellthy™ and the creator of the Wellth Academy™. She grew up a financial advisor’s daughter & enjoyed 20 years as an exercise physiologist and certified wellness coach in the US & Australia. Now Stevyn has blended the world of finance & fitness, helping financial professionals & their clients earn back their health so they can retire ‘wellthy.’

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Ep. #33: How This Advisor Built a $1M+ Boutique Financial Practice Taking 248 Days off per Year

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

What if you could net over $1M per year working 30-hour weeks and taking 13 full weeks off every year?   

What would that mean to you?  More time with family and friends?  More time on the golf course, boating, fishing, cooking, traveling, and whatever the heck you feel like doing?

And what if you could build a successful referral-only practice tapping into a goldmine of referrals from certain types of estate planning attorneys?  What would that mean for your business and how would that feel?

Is this achievable?    Well… Yes, it is!

In this episode, Bill Cates interviews Anat Yoder, CFP®, CRPS®, Principal and Wealth Manager at Yoder Wealth Management. Anat explains how she and her business partner (husband Michael Yoder), have been able to significantly reduce the amount of time they spend working so they can have a healthy work-life balance. 

Bill and Anat discuss: 

  • What motivated her (and her husband) to have a healthy work-life balance by working just 30 hours per week and taking 13 weeks off each year
  • Anat’s process for releasing clients into the loving care of another advisor to free up her time to serve wealthier clients. 
  • How she cracked the code for referrals from estate planning attorneys to reach wealthy clients. 
  • Her unique approach to getting to know her client’s children BUT NOT working with them. 
  • ….And more!

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Anat Yoder:

About Our Guest:

Anat N. Yoder began her professional career in structural engineering, earning her PE license and working on several notable projects, including the Bay Bridge. She became a financial advisor in 2004 in order to direct her problem-solving skills toward work that was more personally meaningful for her. She is active in the community and serves on the board of a local non-profit organization. Anat has a BS in civil engineering, as well as an MS in structural engineering, both from UC Berkeley.  She is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP) and a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS).

 

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Ep. #32: 5 Brilliant Steps to an Effective Client Acquisition Process with Sandro Forte, FCII, FPFS, FPSA, CSP

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

Sandro Forte serves as a financial advisor to the Royal Family in the United Kingdom. But that’s not why we interviewed him.

We interviewed Sandro because of the insight and wisdom he brings to the client acquisition process.  

In this episode of The Top Advisor Podcast, Referral Coach Bill Cates sits down with Sandro Forte, CEO of Forte Financial Group, a financial planning firm in the U.K.

Sandro is all about using the right processes AND the right words to move prospects along to becoming clients.

Bill and Sandro discuss:

  • Why you should schedule meetings with your prospects and clients and not appointments. 
  • The importance of not positioning yourself as subservient with prospects and clients.
  • The 2 most critical rules to follow when approaching prospects in your client acquisition process.
  • His 3-step approach to dealing with objection. 
  • The mindset needed to create sustained success and profitability.
  • How to maximize your productivity and profitability over time.
  • ….And more!

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Sandro Forte:

About Our Guest:

Sandro Forte is a dedicated, passionate and highly qualified personal success coach. As one of the most influential and sought-after speakers in the world, Sandro has built up an extensive network of contacts and proven himself to be a popular hit with people from all walks of life. Having spoken to more than 1 million conference and session attendees across 86 countries, Sandro has been all over the world providing his message of empowerment and self-improvement.

As one of the few speakers to hold the prestigious titles of Certified Speaking Professional Fellow of the Professional Speakers Association, and a Global Speaking Fellow, Sandro is well known for not just being able to motivate and inspire but to create positive outcomes for all the clients he works with. All of his solutions and outcomes are tailored, focusing on the unique needs of the individual to guarantee something actionable.

With such an extensive list of clients and a proven success rate, it’s not surprising that all the speaking work he does is actively endorsed by the clients from his past projects.

Sandro is a man who has come from a challenging background but has used that as a way to thrive. His unending optimism and enthusiasm are some of the things that his clients love about him because even in the face of challenges, he doesn’t give up.



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Ep. #31: The Secret Sauce to Winning High Net Worth Prospects in the First Meeting with Erin Botsford, CFP®

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

How would you like to turn high net worth prospects into clients in the very first meeting, instead of chasing them or wondering if they are going to come back for a second appointment?

I think it’s safe to say that your answer to the above question is “yes” – as long as that prospect is a good match for your business.

First, they have to feel they can trust you.  (You’re probably pretty good at doing this already).

Second, if there is no triggering event going on in their life, you’ll need to create one. You want to uncover at least one critical issue that will compel them to take action to find resolution. 

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates sits down with Erin Botsford, CFP, Founder & CEO of The Advisor Authority, and author of Seven Figure Firm. 

In this lively interview between Bill and Erin, you will discover:

  • Erin’s “disturbing track” strategy to win a new client on the first appointment.
  • How Erin started her financial advisory firm without knowing anyone in the industry
  • The “out to lunch bunch” strategy and how it can help you get introduced to high net worth prospects.
  • How and why using stories is more important than presenting information.
  • How you can get a complimentary copy of Erin’s book, Seven Figure Firm.
  • And more!

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Erin Botsford:

About Our Guest:

Erin Botsford started in the financial industry in 1989 at a time when there were practically no mentors. But after spending over 30 years in the financial services business and achieving at the highest levels (Barron’s Top 100 in all categories – Independent, Advisor, and Women Advisor), Erin sold her business in 2017 in a successful exit, to found The Advisor Authority to help financial advisors as a way to give back to the industry that allowed her to grow.

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Ep. #30: Asking for Referrals and Getting Referred Up With Maribeth Kuzmeski, PhD. (Part 2)

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

In Part 1 of this 2-part series – Bill Cates interviewed Maribeth Kuzmeski, Ph.D (RedZoneMarketing.com) about creating more unsolicited referrals. 

In Part 2, we flip the table!  Maribeth is interviewing Bill about asking for referrals and how to get referred up!

Maribeth Kuzmeski Gets Bill to Discuss: 

  • Why getting referrals without asking is incomplete. 
  • The difference between referrals and introductions. 
  • What advisors can do to get referred up.
  • The keys behind asking for referrals without sounding like “that cheesy referral guy.”
  • Bill’s popular V.I.P.S. Method.
  • Teaching your clients how to talk about you to others.
  • … and more!

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Maribeth Kuzmeski:

About Our Guest: Dr. Maribeth Kuzmeski is the president of RedZone Marketing, an award-winning marketing consulting firm with clients throughout the financial services industry. RedZone Marketing’s primary focus is designing innovative marketing and business growth initiatives for financial service practices.

Maribeth has written nine books on marketing and is also a professor at Oklahoma State University teaching marketing, personal branding and name, image, and likeness for student athletes.

She has a bachelor’s degree from New House School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, an MBA from George Washington University. And a PhD in business administration from Oklahoma State University. 

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Ep. #29: The Difference Between Pursuing Unsolicited Referrals and Asking for Referrals (Part 1) – with Maribeth Kuzmeski, PhD.

Education, Finance, Marketing, Speaking, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Every financial advisor wants referrals without asking – as long as those prospects are an ideal fit for their business. 

How do you get these qualified unsolicited referrals? And what’s the difference between pursuing unsolicited referrals and actually asking for referrals?

In Part 1 of this 2-part interview, Referral Coach Bill Cates CSP, CPAE, interviews Maribeth Kuzmeski, PhD., President of RedZone Marketing, author, and marketing professor at Oklahoma State University. Maribeth’s insights are grounded in her research of financial advisors across The United States.

Find out what mistake’s advisors are making and why unsolicited referrals are the best way to get new clients. 

Maribeth Kuzmeski and Bill Cates discuss: 

  • Why unsolicited referrals are the number one marketing strategy that brings in new clients for most advisors.
  • The growth-limiting mistakes that most advisors make with their marketing.
  • Which social media platforms are producing results for advisors.
  • One critical element you need to consider about your online presence.
  • ….And more!

Resources: 

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Maribeth Kuzmeski:

About Our Guest: Dr. Maribeth Kuzmeski is the president of RedZone Marketing, an award-winning marketing consulting firm with clients throughout the financial services industry. RedZone Marketing’s primary focus is designing innovative marketing and business growth initiatives for financial service practices. Maribeth has written nine books on marketing and is also a professor at Oklahoma State University teaching marketing, personal branding and name, image, and likeness for student athletes.

She has a bachelor’s degree from New House School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, an MBA from George Washington University. And a PhD in business administration from Oklahoma State University. 

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