Managing Your Practice Building Trust Beyond Referrals: Testimonials and AI Search
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Jul 24, 2026 Brian Thorp, founder and CEO of Wealthtender with two decades in asset management, talks about how prospects now research advisors online. He covers online reviews, compliance shifts from the SEC Marketing Rule, AI-driven search behavior, schema and SEO signals, and practical steps to become discoverable and trusted where people are searching.
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Referral Is Only The Starting Line
- A referral is often only the start because prospects immediately go online to verify an advisor.
- Brian Thorp cites that the first meeting increasingly happens before the advisor is even in the room, as prospects compare firms online.
WealthTender Built Like ZocDoc For Advisors
- Brian compared WealthTender to ZocDoc and Avvo as a familiar model for trust professions.
- He launched WealthTender in 2019 to bring searchable reviews and specialization visibility to financial advisors.
Start Building Reviews Before Everyone Else
- Do not wait for full industry adoption; start building an online review presence now.
- Brian notes early adopters moved first after the SEC marketing rule and adoption has accelerated five years later.