Ep 360: Growing To 100+ Clients With $100M+ AUM With Intentionality To Leave Time For Family With Suzanne Powell
Nov 21, 2023
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Suzanne Powell, Senior Financial Advisor, discusses her strategy of concentrating meetings into two 3-month periods each year to leave time for family. She efficiently manages SmartAsset leads with automation, amassing nearly $70M in new assets. Suzanne shares her approach to client meetings, preparation, and using technology to save time. She emphasizes the value of local presence and personal touch, and offers advice for younger advisors and defining success.
Suzanne Powell has developed a unique approach to client meetings, clustering them in two 3-month periods each year to leave more time for her family.
Suzanne leverages technology to streamline and enhance her client meetings, utilizing a retractable TV monitor and digitizing financial plans in real-time.
By customizing her lead generation strategy with SmartAsset and adapting her lead flow based on her availability, Suzanne has successfully grown her practice to oversee $110 million in assets for nearly 150 client households.
Deep dives
Suzanne Powell's Intentional Approach to Client Meetings
Suzanne Powell, a senior financial advisor at Meridian Wealth Management, has developed a unique approach to client meetings that allows her to work intensively for six months of the year and spend the remaining six months with her family. She clusters client and prospect meetings in the fall and spring, leveraging her time efficiently. Suzanne has also automated her responses to smart asset leads, allowing her to convert a high percentage of leads into clients without needing to be immediately available. Through targeted lead generation and customized meeting schedules, Suzanne has grown her practice to oversee approximately $110 million in assets for nearly 150 client households.
Efficient Meeting Structure and Technology Utilization
Suzanne structures her weekly meeting schedule to handle five to six meetings a day during the busy seasons, cutting off meetings at around 58 minutes to ensure efficient time management. She leverages technology, including a large retractable television monitor next to her desk, to present and adjust client financial plans in real-time during the meetings. By digitizing and updating plans in the meeting, Suzanne ensures that clients have access to accurate and relevant information. Suzanne's standardized meeting agenda, combined with her technology utilization, creates a streamlined and effective client meeting experience.
Balancing Client Growth and Personal Time
Suzanne has been able to generate significant client growth by customizing her lead generation strategy with smart asset and adapting her lead flow based on her availability during the surge meeting seasons. She strategically schedules prospect meetings on Saturdays and Sundays, allowing her to meet with clients who have different scheduling preferences. Suzanne acknowledges that her surge meeting approach may not allow for extensive prospecting during those periods but still successfully manages to convert prospects into clients through efficient automation and personalized communication.
Balancing Work and Personal Life
Suzanne values spending time with her family and has intentionally structured her meeting schedule to create balance between work and personal life. With a time-off approach during the summer and specific blocks of client meetings, Suzanne ensures that she has time to enjoy trips and family moments during her non-working periods. By organizing her schedule and automating certain tasks, Suzanne has achieved a work-life balance that allows her to focus on both professional and personal priorities.
Automated Follow-up System
The podcast episode discusses the implementation of an automated follow-up system using the agency zoom platform. The system ensures immediate responses to leads by sending personalized emails and text messages to potential clients. It also includes the option to schedule introductory calls and provides flexibility for in-person or virtual meetings. The automation significantly increases response rates and enhances the perception of authenticity when compared to traditional email communication.
Smart Asset and Lead Generation
The episode highlights the effectiveness of using Smart Asset to generate leads. The financial advisor shares their positive experience using Smart Asset to target specific zip codes and gain prospective clients. The lead flow from Smart Asset is manageable and consistently converts at a high rate. By leveraging the platform, the advisor has experienced significant growth in their assets under management (AUM) and is able to serve a wider client base.
Suzanne Powell is a Senior Financial Advisor that oversees approximately $110 million in assets under management for nearly 150 households at Meridian Wealth Management, an RIA based out of Kentucky. Suzanne stands out for her strategic scheduling, amassing over $100M in AUM by concentrating client and prospect meetings into two 3-month periods each year, enabling her to dedicate the rest of the year to family. She minimizes time on prospecting by efficiently managing a continuous stream of SmartAsset leads with a highly automated response system.
Listen in as Suzanne shares her expertise on driving client growth by managing SmartAsset's lead-generation service, setting up effective communication automations, and strategically targeting leads to amass nearly $70M in new assets. We also discuss how she balances a packed schedule of client meetings with preparation and follow-up tasks, using technology to efficiently present financial plans to save time, her method for nurturing long-term client relationships, and her philosophy on integrating work with quality family life now, rather than waiting for retirement.