Top Advisor Podcast

“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 e...

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 Podc...

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: Be a purveyor of great information in this area. Your clients will appreciate this added value.   Be a role model of someone who is...

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 typ...

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. Sandr...

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...

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 intr...

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 Re...

When it comes to building a referral only practice, you want to attract prospects and build client relationships by making two intertwined connections. You want to make a value connection and you want to make a personal connection . Both are necessary, though the mix of the two may vary from client to client. In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates is joined by Tyson Vines, Founder & Financ...

Is your marketing strategy a Triple Threat? There are three important marketing strategies that every top advisor should consider using in their effort to attract more Right-Fit Clients: A well-defined, profitable target market. A financial advisor website focused on client acquisition (not just a “digital brochure.”) A podcast that creates credibility in your target market. In this episode, Refer...

According to Forbes, “Millennials will hold five times as much wealth as they have today, and the group is anticipated to inherit over $68 trillion from their Baby Boomer parents by the year 2030. This will represent one of the greatest wealth transfers in the modern times.” There are already approximately 618,000 millennial millionaires. Millennial millionaires make up approximately 2% of the tot...

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. Deir...

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 Advi...

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 pic...

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...

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...

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 ho...

When most people think of financial advisors who work with professional athletes, they probably imagine a glamorous lifestyle of spending time with their favorite players, getting a behind-the-scenes look into professional sports, and free tickets to games. But what is it really like being a financial advisor for athletes? In this episode, Referral Coach Bill Cates sits down with Walter Stith, for...

When I heard how Joe De Sena was using his personal Facebook page to build his business (and have fun in the process) I was skeptical. Boy was I wrong. In this episode, Bill Cates is joined (for a second time) by Joe De Sena, CFP®, MBA, private wealth advisor at Siena Wealth Advisory Group, to discuss Facebook marketing for financial advisors. Joe discusses his success in using Facebook as a tool...

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...

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 se...

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 con...

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 bee...

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 t...

Stop prospecting … and let your clients prospect for you!  Creating great relationships with your clients who value the work you do and value you as a professional will open up the doors to many more in-segment clients. In this episode, Bill Cates speaks with Randy Carver CRPC®, CDFA®, President and CEO at Carver Financial Services, Inc. Randy discusses how he and his team have brought in 25 new r...