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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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The Truth about Social Media for Financial Advisors with Kristen Walker (Ep. 15)

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

What is your relationship with social media? 

Social media for financial advisors means different things.

Some advisors have embraced social media as a concept, posting content and occasionally engaging with others, but wonder why they bother because they haven’t seen any noticeable results. 

Other advisors have embraced social media as a way of strengthening their client relationships AND can see a straight line from their activity to acquiring new, in-segment clients. 

In this episode, Bill Cates invites Kristen Walker, vice president of marketing at Michigan Financial Companies to discuss several marketing ideas, including how advisors can implement social media and target marketing into their marketing plan to increase client engagement and attract new clients.

Bill and Kristen discuss: 

  • How much time and energy should advisors dedicate to social media—and where they should be focusing their attention
  • The importance of targeting your in-segment clients
  • What virtual and in-person events are producing results these days
  • Other best practices you can employ in terms of social media for financial advisors 
  • The creative methods her 90 advisors are using to engage with clients

Resources: 

Connect With Kristen Walker:

Connect With Bill Cates:

About Our Guest:

Kristen Walker is the VP of marketing at Michigan Financial companies. 

Her purpose is to help advisors become successful business owners by providing the sales and marketing support, materials, training and expertise to generate new, and retain existing business. She works closely with the marketing department to ensure each of their representatives have their own unique marketing plans that are customized to their specific goals and objectives. As the VP of Marketing, she also oversees the brand image for our firm to increase awareness of Michigan Financial Companies and its affiliates. She places a special focus on the growth and development of their marketing initiatives to help the firm stay ahead of the curve throughout the financial services industry.

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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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