Do Business. Do Life. — The Financial Advisor Podcast — DBDL 144: Triad Member: The Playbook That Took Reliance Financial Partners from $35M to $100M Per Year with Dana Dunkelberger
A few years ago, Triad members Dana and Tyler Dunkelberger were gathering $35M in new assets with a four-person team. And like most advisors, when growth started ramping up, they kept their foot on the gas.
They ran 100+ dinner seminars a year, added clients as fast as they could, and tried to solve capacity issues by adding more advisors to the team.
But the harder they pushed, the more obvious it became — their model couldn’t keep up. They were growing, but it was completely unsustainable. They were building a service nightmare that was slowly swallowing their time, their energy, and their quality of life.
Fast forward to today, and not only has their firm tripled growth, pacing for $100M in new assets, but they now have a 17-person team, clearly defined roles, and a model that actually scales.
Dana is here today to walk through the steps they took, the hires they made, and the mindset shifts that turned an unsustainable business into one that scales with purpose and significance.
3 of the biggest insights from Dana Dunkelberger…
#1.) Why “Stepping on the Gas” Eventually Stops Working
Dana talks about how running 100+ seminars a year filled the pipeline fast — but also created more service work than he and Tyler could ever keep up with. The harder they pushed, the more buried they became. Adding another advisor didn’t fix it either, because it just duplicated the same problem. The real issue wasn’t effort… it was the model.
#2) The Shift That Quietly Fueled Their $100M Pace
For a long time, Reliance looked like every other firm — same products, same conversations, same playbook. Then Dana and Tyler built a simple, repeatable framework that showed clients exactly how they work and what makes them different. That shift in structure and message made their meetings clearer, their value easier to understand, and became a major driver behind their growth.
#3) The One Hire That Opened the Door to $1M+ Clients
Dana didn’t realize how much he was holding the business back by trying to build all the plans himself. Bringing on a dedicated planner changed everything. The plans got better, the advisors got to stay in their lane, and higher-net-worth clients suddenly saw a firm with real depth. It was the missing piece that finally allowed the business to scale.
SHOW NOTES
https://bradleyjohnson.com/144
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DISCLOSURE
DBDL podcast episode conversations are intended to provide financial advisors with ideas, strategies, concepts and tools that could be incorporated into their business and their life. No statements made in the episode are offered as, and shall not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Financial professionals are responsible for ensuring implementation of anything discussed related to business is done so in accordance with any and all regulatory, compliance responsibilities and obligations.
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