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Ep. #25: How Your Personal Brand Story Helps Attract New Clients with Deirdre Van Nest

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

Do you have a Personal Brand Story Do you know your “why” – as in, why you believe in the importance and value of your work?

And are you using it to connect with your prospects and clients in a meaningful way – that leads to winning their business and generating referrals?

In this episode of Top Advisor Podcast, Referral Coach Bill Cates welcomes Deirdre Van Nest, Founder of Crazy Good Talks. Deirdre tells us why she works with financial advisors, a touching story that revolves around a personal tragedy. She also highlights the power of advisors telling their “why” stories to clients.

Bill & Deirdre discuss: 

  • The difference between a personal brand story and a bio story.
  • How one advisor increased his “win rate” from an already high 85% to almost 100%.
  • How an appropriately vulnerable story can help you connect with prospects and clients. 
  • Where and how successful advisors are using their personal brand stories to attract and convert new clients.
  • And more

Resources:

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Deirdre Van Nest:

About Our Guest:

Deirdre Van Nest doesn’t believe in boring you with a laundry list of credentials. She is the go-to expert for ‘Mission-Driven” financial professionals and entrepreneurs on how to Make An Impact when you express yourself.

Deidre is a top-rated International Keynoter, Trainer, Story Strategist & Artist, and the Creator of the Crazy Good Talks® Blueprint and the Emotionally Engaging Advisor™two practical communication systems that have taught thousands how to capture attention, connect emotionally and Make An Impact.

She is passionate about this work and feels blessed every day to help my clients succeed. On a personal note, Deirdre is an Italian & Irish New Yorker living in Minnesota, where she tries hard not to scare people with her loud voice and enthusiastic hand gestures.



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Ep. #24: How to Guide Your Clients as a Sudden Wealth Financial Advisor Featuring Myah Moore Irick

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

Sudden Wealth can strike in many ways. It can come through an inheritance, an athlete signing a lucrative contract, a legal settlement, the sale of a company, or even winning the lottery.

Sudden wealth can bring elation and a host of challenges.

Without a sound plan of action, sudden wealth can escape almost as quickly as it came. It can even leave debt in its wake.

In this episode of the Top Advisor Podcast, Bill Cates speaks with Myah Moore Irick, who has built and sustained a highly successful practice as a sudden wealth financial advisor helping her clients navigate their newfound fortune and resulting challenges. 

Bill and Myah discuss: 

  • How Myah got started in her niche as a sudden wealth financial advisor.
  • The type of sudden wealth clients Myah serves and how she meets them.
  • How involvement in the community and philanthropic activities bring her new clients.
  • Why she has chosen to build a diverse, multi-cultural team and why it’s been great for the health of her business. 
  • Bill’s answer to Myah’s question, “If you were building your practice today, what types of clients would you try to serve?”
  • …And so much more!

Connect with Myah Moore Irick

Connect With Bill Cates:

About Our Guest:

Myah Moore Irick focuses on providing wealth planning strategies to successful executives, individuals and families navigating sudden wealth, and a growing list of professional athletes.

Myah possesses a deep understanding of the psychology of wealth: the challenges that executives, individuals, seasoned professionals and even up-and-coming athletes face when making decisions about their financial futures. With this knowledge, Myah can help her clients identify what they want their money to do for their lives, families and communities – and then create a wealth plan for achieving that.

Myah is devoted to giving back in her own life. While she spends much of her free time with her husband and three children, she also sits on several boards and committees that promote access to financial literacy, and equity & inclusion in the classroom and the boardroom. She serves on the boards of the Carnegie Science Center, the Energy Innovation Center Institute, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and serves as a strategic partner to InvestmentNews and The Advanced Leadership Initiative (TALI). Her experience as Miss Oregon (with the Miss Universe Organization) in 2003 inspired her ongoing commitment to promoting educational opportunities for women. 

 

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Ep. #23: Defining a Target Market Strategy That Brings More Perceived & Real Value with Don Hilario

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

Many top financial advisors use a target market strategy that enhances just about every other aspect of their client-acquisition efforts. They are able to build a reputation that begins to draw people in – where they are sought out by prospects with their hand raised saying, “I’ve heard great things about you. You were highly recommended. I know you work with people just like me.”  

And if you pick the right target market, you’ll likely find more enjoyment and passion in your work.

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates speaks with Don Hilario, financial advisor and founder of Hilpan Moxie. Bill and Don discuss how Don found his niche working with Big Tech clients, specifically Google, and how having a very clear target market strategy can earn you validation as an advisor.

Bill and Don discuss: 

  • How Don carved out his niche with clients at Google.
  • Don’s 4-5-6 method to acquire right-fit clients from Google.
  • The clear benefits and potential drawbacks from having a very specific target market strategy.
  • And more

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Don Hilario:

About Our Guest:

For over 15 years, Don Hilario has been a financial advisor for Big Tech employees. He collaborates with software engineers, managing directors, and tech recruiters to help them minimize taxes, accelerate growth & align investment decisions with smart goals – so they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-oriented.  

In 2012, Don started his own business, called Hilpan Moxie. Where he connects with his audience across different mediums, including interactive visualizations that empowers client engagement and transforms financial jargon into relatable and compelling stories. 

When he isn’t working with clients, Don teaches Catechism at St. John Neumann, traveling with his wife and two daughters. And cheering on the New York Knicks!



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Ep. #22: The 3 Roles Any Entrepreneur Financial Advisor Must Play

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

In business, when you hear someone talk about the CEO’s role in a company, your first thought is that they’re the leader and top decision-maker for the company. 

What if we told you that there are two other integral roles in a company that also fall under the CEO umbrella? 

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates speaks with Travis Chaney, CEO of Dynamic Directions (D2). Bill and Travis talk about the three essential CEO roles in a company that every entrepreneur financial advisor should know about.

Bill and Travis discuss: 

  • The difference between an entrepreneur financial advisor and a non-entrepreneur advisor.
  • How the three CEO roles contribute to your business growth.
  • What does the concept “Client Experience” mean and why is it so important?
  • Something you can start doing with your clients today to add to their experience, create strong loyalty and make you highly referable.
  • And much more!

Resources:

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Travis:

About Our Guest:

Travis is the CEO of Dynamic Directions (D2), a coaching and consulting firm working exclusively with successful financial advisors – helping each one of them build an extraordinary practice and an extraordinary life and practice for financial advisors. 

Travis is a former award-winning financial advisor who consistently ranked in the top 1.5% of financial advisors at his broker-dealer. Travis is also the author of Turbo Growth: Proven Strategies to Create an Extraordinary Life and Financial Planning Practice, and has just released his latest book: The 3 CEOs – The Three Most Important Roles Entrepreneurial Financial Advisors Play.

Travis lives in Owensboro, Kentucky, with his wife Christy, son Ryland, and two daughters Lucy Jagoe, and Stone. He is a bourbon enthusiast and a country music songwriter.

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Ep. #21: Succession Planning for Financial Advisors with Karen Jessey & Neill Turner

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

Many business partnerships begin with two people coming together with like-minded business ideas. 

In the beginning things are great, both parties get along well and the creative juices flow. Eventually a legal partnership is formed. 

However, once the business is formed, do you know how your partner deals with setbacks and success? Do you know how they deal with money? What about hiring employees?

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates meets with financial advisors Karen Jessey & Neill Turner from Strategic Wealth Partners. They discuss how to successfully navigate the ins and outs of a business partnership, as well as specific considerations around succession planning for financial advisors. They share the process they’ve taken to build Neill’s acumen as the successor of the business as Karen moves towards retirement.

Karen & Neill discuss: 

  • Why Karen decided to start thinking about the succession of her business
  • The importance of having difficult conversations with your business partner 
  • The decision-making process within a successful business partnership
  • The potential difficulties of bringing in a business partner, and eventual challenges regarding succession planning for financial advisors
  • And more

Connect With Bill Cates:

Connect With Karen Jessey & Neill Turner:

About Our Guests:

For over 35 years, Karen Jessey has been helping people feel better about their financial world. Through the years, Karen built a team consisting of top-notch individuals. Together, they create a unique process which helps clients delve into their financial worlds and identify their dreams and goals, as well as potential problems. They value long term relationships that evolve and change as life does. In 2013, she partnered with Neill Turner to create Strategic Wealth Partners. 

When she isn’t helping clients build their financial future, She enjoys being outdoors and exploring the mountains.  However, the ocean calls her name every year and she must find a place to sink her toes into the water.

For over a decade, Neill Turner has been helping clients make better financial decisions. His experience waiting tables, earning an engineering degree, owning his own business, and teaching yoga has helped him become not only a successful financial advisor but a great partner. Karen is currently grooming him to take over the company in the future!

 

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Ep. #20: Cultivating a Company Culture that Drives Long-Term Success with Scott Leibfried, ChFC®, APMA®

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

How much of a difference does your company culture really make for your clients and your employees?

In this episode, Bill invites Scott Leibfried to talk about the “Premium Client Experience” and how his years in the industry have helped him develop the toolkit to strengthen his clients’ and employees’ relationship with his business.

Bill and Scott discuss: 

  • The culture of Scott’s business, and how it has evolved with their growth
  • What made Scott think deeper about the importance of work culture
  • How company culture impacts every component of a business
  • How Scott’s employees’ values shaped their culture and cultivated long-term success
  • How the “Premium Client Experience” demonstrates the way that little touches can make a big difference
  • And so much more!

Resources: 

Connect with Scott Leibfried

Connect With Bill Cates:

About Our Guest:

Scott Leibfried APMA, ChFC is a Private Wealth Advisor at StackStone Wealth, a private advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Scott aims to develop a personalized financial plan for his clients so they can gain the confidence they need to focus on what matters to them most in life. 

He has built a culture design to provide his clients with the best possible experience in the workplace, and at the same time allows his firm, including his staff to flourish! The net result of this intentional culture is that his clients do his marketing for him, meaning they have become advocates for him. They send qualified prospects to him on a regular basis. He has been able to retain and attract great talent for his team.

Scott became a private wealth advisor in 1998 when he founded StackStone which headquartered in Dubuque. He also became a pilot in 2011, flying every week for business. He frequently plays pickleball and tennis as well as golf when he has the chance.

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Financial Advisor New Client Onboarding Process: How to Deliver a “Wow” Experience With Rod Gibbings, CFP® (Ep. 16)

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

Having a very specific financial advisor new client onboarding process can get your relationship off to a great start – help them feel good about choosing you and create referrals early in the new relationship.

In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates is joined by Rod Gibbings CFP®, senior executive financial consultant with Gibbings and Associates Private Wealth Management. Rod discusses how he uses his proprietary Transition Navigator financial advisor new client onboarding process to deliver a wow experience. He also shares how he produces a regular flow of video messages to boost client engagement, gain new clients, and acquire more assets to manage.

Rod discusses: 

  • Why he created the Transition Navigator for his new client onboarding process.
  • How he gets many great referrals within the first six months of a new relationship.
  • What prompted him to start recording videos to send to his clients and prospects
  • His amazingly simple production process for recording his videos.

Resources: 

Connect With Rod Gibbings:

Connect With Bill Cates:

About Our Guest:

As a Certified Financial Planner professional, Rod Gibbings provides sound financial advice and support for high net worth families and retirees. He specializes in the areas of intergenerational wealth transfer, comprehensive estate and retiree income planning. His philosophy is simple: “put people and service first.”

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Ep. #14: Financial Advisor Best Practices – What’s Working (and What’s Not)?

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

Despite all the challenges in reaching qualified prospects, some advisors are doing quite well, while others are not rising to the challenges that we all face. So, what are the financial advisor best practices that separate the wheat from the chaff?

In this episode, Bill Cates interviews Mark Williams, president and CEO of Brokers International, to discuss what we need to think about and do to connect with more Right-Fit Clients™.  Mark speaks to hundreds of financial professionals each year, so he’s in a unique position to see what’s working and where advisors are wasting their resources of time, energy, and dollars.

Bill and Mark discuss:     

  • The top 3 challenges that financial professionals face in terms of client acquisition today.
  • The financial advisor best practices that he believes are gamechangers.
  • Is LinkedIn the “New Cold Calling?”

Connect With Mark Williams:

Connect With Bill Cates:

About Our Guest:

Mark Williams is the President and CEO of Brokers International, one of the industry’s largest field marketing organizations — providing annuity and life insurance solutions to independent insurance and financial professionals across the nation.

Few executives have Mark’s breadth of experience as a differentiator and success across every aspect of the industry. He grew up in an insurance family and has licensed, sold and had exposure to almost every financial vehicle that can be used as a solution to a customer need. He has held crucial roles as an agent, stock broker, independent distributor, captive agent, and head of an FMO.

Mark has a proven track record driving transformation, having helped transform companies such as Allianz, The Hartford, and GamePlan from the inside out. He has spent his career leading sales growth in fixed indexed annuities, life insurance and fixed universal life products as well as directing mortgage leads, developing marketing programs for independent financial professionals and leading strategic initiatives.

Currently, Mark is focused on the future of the insurance industry: from the disruptions of InsurTech and robo-advisors to the changing demographics and needs of customers. He also is an avid mentor helping financial professionals navigate the industry.

 

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Ep. #13: Using Philanthropic Leadership to Grow Your Business and Serve Your Community With Jeff Chaddock

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

It can be personally rewarding to make a contribution to a philanthropic cause to impact your community. But can philanthropic leadership be professionally rewarding as well?

In this episode, Bill Cates speaks with Jeff Chaddock, a private wealth advisor at Envisage Wealth. Jeff has philanthropy in his DNA, which has been extremely helpful for the charities and people in his community, and has been instrumental in making him a go-to advisor for many.

Jeff discusses:

  • How Jeff uses philanthropic leadership to grow his business
  • What the elements of ‘the trifecta of difference’ can mean for your business.
  • How Jeff has created his incredible business––and what kept him going through doubt
  • Why you should create experiences that have a ‘shelf life’


Resources:  


Connect With Bill Cates:


About Our Guest:

Jeff Chaddock: With over 32 years as a Private Wealth Advisor, Jeffrey Chaddock, CRPC® , APMA® is the CEO of Envisage Wealth, with four offices across Ohio. Jeffrey’s firm manages over 2.5 billion in client assets.  Jeff differentiates his practice by providing numerous civic, social, and educational opportunities for his clients and their guests.  Jeffrey is heavily involved in numerous charitable organizations and serves on the board of trustees at The Ohio University Foundation, where he established the Jeffrey D. Chaddock Endowed Scholarship program.

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Ep. #12: Using the “Wow Factor” to Maximize Client Engagement & Create Advocates with Scott Miller

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

An engaged client is someone who feels connected to your value and connected to you as an advisor.

Is your business truly maximizing client engagement?

In this episode, Bill Cates speaks with E. Scott Miller, Vice President and Investment Officer at Wells Fargo Advisors. Scott shares how he has created the “wow factor” in his business relationships, and how his client engagement strategy has led to incredible loyalty and, in many cases, a number of referrals.

Scott discusses:

  • The positive impact of using the ‘wow factor’ in your business
  • Some examples of how he has created incredible client engagement and loyalty
  • What he does differently in his business to build loyal business relationships
  • And more!

Connect With Scott Miller:

Connect With Bill Cates:

About Our Guest:

Scott Miller’s experience focuses on the construction and execution of investment strategies for long range retirement and estate planning strategies. His fee-based approach enables him to create tailored financial strategies to help meet specialized wealth management needs. He assists in the design and implementation of qualified retirement plans, and helps plan sponsors manage their fiduciary liability. He advises plan participants how to effectively allocate their retirement investments for maximum diversification and growth potential within stated risk parameters.

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