Between Now and Success

We all love great stories and in today's podcast I share some insights on why stories are better than facts when it comes to influence. You'll also hear my conversation with academy-award winning producer Ed Saxon, as we discuss the power of story. But wait, there's more! At the T3 Technology Conference I also talked to Jay Jay French, a founding member of the popular band Twisted Sister. And you'...

This is a jam-packed episode filled with my takeaways from the T3 Technology Conference as well as interview clips from six industry leaders. I cover four themes that emerged from the conference including: enhancing the client experience, offering a client portal, delivering a quality financial planning offering, and using big data to make better business decisions and personalize the client exper...

I just got back from the TD Ameritrade National Conference and in today's show, I'll share a few quick comments from the event. Yes, the conference covered the usual slew of technology sessions dedicated to robo advisors and scaling your business. But what I found most interesting was the theme of putting the "human" into finance. TD Ameritrade clearly understands the importance of the "human" in...

Podcasting is a great way for financial advisors to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. My good friend, Bill Keen of Keen Wealth Advisors, joins me in the studio for today's podcast and we discuss how he got into podcasting and how it's working for him. Bill is one of a small number of financial advisors who are pioneering the use of podcasting as a way to educate investors and expa...

“All the world’s a stage” said William Shakespeare. Turns out we’re all actors playing multiple roles in our business and the better job we do “acting” in each of these roles, the more deeply we’ll connect with other people, says Steal the Show author Michael Port. On the surface, thinking of yourself as an actor playing a role sounds like I’m asking you to fake it, to be someone you’re not. Actua...

Optimism is only half of the equation to overcoming a tough situation. Regarding the current volatile financial markets, I hear many advisors talking right now about staying the course, we're in it for the long-term, "this too shall pass," and other similar comments. Intellectually, that makes sense as over the long-term, the odds are high we'll hit new all-time highs in the market again. But if t...

With the turbulence in the financial markets and client accounts running near the flatline over the past couple years, it’s easy to get discouraged. Yet now more than ever it’s critical that you maintain one key characteristic. The importance of this characteristic was driven home to me during an interview I did last week with Sheldon Wolitski. Sheldon is a hugely successful entrepreneur (Inc. 500...

Can you organically grow a multi-billion dollar RIA? Many of the large RIAs you read about got there because they acquired firms or they were part of a banking, accounting, or law firm that fed them a large number of clients. Today's guest, Scott Hanson of Hanson McClain, built the firm with his partner Pat McClain the old-fashioned way--one client at a time. Using gorilla-marketing tactics, a rad...

Well, it's been an ugly start to the New Year in the stock market. And in today's episode, I share three things financial advisors can do right now to prepare for the next bear market. Whether what's happening now is the start of one, nobody knows, but the top advisors are doing a "bear market drill." I also share an idea on how to move beyond the "overwhelming tasks" that probably are lining your...

Welcome to 2016! This is the perfect time to look back on the past year and forward to the New Year. In today’s show, I cover three topics related to looking back and forward. Three key questions to ask yourself as you reflect on 2015. Yes, it’s important to look back so you can use the year’s experience to propel you in the New Year. Use the year ahead to “risk walking new ground.” Three importan...

How will you succeed in the years ahead? Multiple trends are shaping the industry and how advisors respond to those changes today will determine whether they thrive or just barely survive over the next few years. Will Robos drive down pricing and push mainstream advisors out of business? Will Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade grab the lion’s share of the mass affluent market with their...

What is the most important part of a happy retirement? Here's a hint--it's not financial security. A recent study from Age Wave said 81% of retirees felt health is the most important part of a happy retirement. That was followed by financial security at 58%, family and friends at 36%, and having a purpose in life at 20%. In today's show, I discuss the idea of helping your clients take more control...

Are you feeling too busy? Not enough hours in the day? The problem may not be your level of productivity. The problem may be you’re doing way too many activities that bear little fruit. Instead, in today’s show I share one question you can ask yourself that will force you to zero in on the leading activities you need to do to get the results you want. In addition, I discuss a simple three-step fra...

The unstoppable pace of technology innovation and market competition could put you out of business unless you take steps today to add value far above and beyond traditional investment management. Robo advisors, Vanguard's Personal Advisor Services, and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios are just a few of the firms who are transforming the delivery of financial advice. And these firms have bigger brands...

Is it a good idea to set stretch goals? Yes. Stretch goals, set and managed properly, could catapult your business 10X. Stretch goals make you realize you have to change your level of thinking. With stretch goal thinking, you have to ask yourself, “What new strategy or business model could enable me to grow 10 times bigger than I am today?” Clearly, the answer involves leverage—not financial lever...

Here’s a short but very powerful exercise. What three words could you come up with that would set the course, give you direction, and totally excite you as you move through 2016? In my financial advisor coaching, we dig deep to get focused on the key things that will make the desired outcomes happen. This three-word exercise is one simple way to help the focusing process. In this episode, I discus...

Do you know where your new revenue will come from in 2016? When I coach financial advisors, I often find they have a goal to generate a certain amount of new assets under management. What's frequently missing, though, is a detailed breakdown of where those new assets will come from and a specific plan on how they will be generated. In this episode, I discuss how to specifically identify where your...

In addition to volatility in the financial markets, financial advisors have to worry about other threats to their business including regulations coming out of Washington and cyber attacks. Today’s guest, Skip Schweiss , keeps a close eye on all these non-market related issues and we go through the list and discuss simple steps you can take to mitigate the risks. Skip is responsible for TD Ameritra...

Four tips today about a bucket list, not settling for average, starting anew, and thinking much bigger about the impact you can make. I close with an inspirational quote that has been very meaningful to me.

Hey, welcome to my first Friday Podcast. Today, I share five ideas and tools that will help you plan better, market better, and get more profitable results from your seminars and events.  For free access to the tools and links I mention in today's show, visit www.belayadvisor.com/fridaypodcast    

Have you planned as effectively for the transfer of your business as you have for the financial lives of your clients? In part II in our series on succession planning, (see part I here with Tim Kochis), my guest Jay Hummel continues the conversation and we discuss the operational and financial details of making a smooth transition. Jay, along with Tim Kochis and Eric Hehman, is the co-author of a...

Succession planning is a critical yet woefully neglected business necessity that could cost advisors millions of dollars if not properly handled. Today’s guest, Tim Kochis, is the co-author of a new book on succession planning titled, Success and Succession , and we dive into the details of how to effectively do it. Tim is a legendary wealth advisor who co-founded Kochis Fitz, a multi-billion doll...

Jud Bergman, the founder of Envestnet, has been at the nexus of every major trend happening in the financial services industry for the past 15 years. As a serial acquirer, Jud and his team have built an industry behemoth. With recent acquisitions including Yodlee for big data and analytics (pending), FinanceLogix for financial planning, and Upside for robo advisor–coupled with its many existing bu...

In this fourth and final episode in the millennial advisor series, we discuss an area that was not addressed with our previous guests. The other guests were all running their own independent RIAs and generally targeting other young professionals with non-traditional business and pricing models. But what about millennial advisors who are pursuing a traditional career within a well-established RIA?...

Today’s guest, millennial Alan Moore, started out working for a traditional RIA firm, then started his own “location independent” RIA while concurrently developing other entrepreneurial sources of income. Alan and I discuss how millennial advisors think, act and make money differently than traditional financial advisors and what that means for the future of the financial advisory profession.  Trad...