The Elite Financial Advisor Podcast With Sten Morgan

Mike Scovel, managing partner of New York Life’s Dallas operation, has spent nearly three decades developing financial advisors. He explores why failure fuels greatness, how baseball champions took the most risks, and why recurring income raises an advisor’s floor. They also discuss authentic hiring, effective prospecting, creating vision in solitude, and escaping the mid-career comfort trap.

Meredith Jones, an SPHR-certified HR strategist and founder of Sera Business Advisors, explores why people are the real product in professional-services firms. They discuss recruiting as sales, building structure without becoming “corporate,” coaching future leaders, knowing when fractional or dedicated HR support is needed, and why business owners delay asking for help.

Adam Knorr, CEO of Take Action Copy and co-founder of InfluenceLab, brings journalism and financial wholesaling experience to LinkedIn strategy. He explores why advisors should commit for 90 days, how niche positioning and consistency shape visibility, and why conversational DMs can outperform posts. They also compare LinkedIn with YouTube, decode silent readers, and discuss spotting generic content agencies.

Chuck Downs, founder of Epic Success Coaching and former Northwestern Mutual managing director, explores the inner game of elite performance. He discusses how inherited stories shape behavior, the role of neuroplasticity in rewiring fear and doubt, and why success can amplify insecurity. They also explore advisor magnetism, emotional awareness, visualization, curiosity, compassion, and the connection between personal growth and business leadership.

Dr. Jordan Hutchison, VP of Technology and Operations at RFG Advisory, is a behavioral finance expert and industry veteran who has worked as an advisor, coach, educator, and fintech builder. He explores how technology can create “time well spent,” why financial planning must evolve continuously, and why great advisors need both technical mastery and clear communication. He also challenges action bias and urges advisors to build businesses that fit their strengths.

Wes Young, founder of a planning firm for business owners and affluent families, and Gavin Filasek, co-founder of Highland Wealth, explore how advisors can stop chasing prospects and start creating demand. They discuss 90-day family plans, fee-based models, pricing, memorable answers to “what do you do?”, referral-friendly processes, and weekly scorecards that turn prospecting into a disciplined growth system.

Larry Shumbres, founder and CEO of Archive Intel, brings deep experience from IBM, Wall Street, and fintech to explore the shift from SEO to AEO. They discuss how advisors can become more visible in AI-driven searches, why specific positioning matters, using Claude for marketing, and turning compliance into a launchpad for text, WhatsApp, TikTok, Reddit, and other modern client channels.

What happens when financial advisors stop selling products and start selling a process? Sten Morgan traces his shift from insurance and AUM-based advice to clear, scalable planning. He explores the seven pillars of a complete plan, a simple red-to-green scoring system, smarter pricing models, and how technology can make advice more understandable, efficient, and actionable.

In this episode of the Elite Financial Advisor Podcast, Sten Morgan, CFP®, ChFC®, sits down with Tim White, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of wealth.com, to make the case that estate and tax planning is the biggest untapped growth opportunity in the advisory business.Tim shares how he and his co-founders sold their fraud-prevention fintech to LexisNexis for $500 million, then built wealth.com after living through a broken, pen-and-paper estate planning referral themselves. He explains how the platform's AI reads existing plans in minutes, generates state-specific documents across all 50 states, and now folds in tax - the peanut butter and chocolate of a connected plan.They get practical about why estate planning deepens client relationships and unlocks the next generation, how advisors can deliver a comprehensive experience without becoming experts, and why "I'm too busy to evaluate new tools" is a warning sign, not a badge of honor.As Tim puts it: "It's about giving time back. It's not taking time away."In This EpisodeEstate planning is the biggest untapped growth opportunity, and the fastest way to a deeper, stickier client relationship.You do not have to become the expert. The right technology puts the equivalent of 500 analysts behind every advisor.Estate conversations surface held-away assets and unlock the next generation - real AUM and real wealth-transfer opportunities.Compliance is no longer the barrier; the barrier is change. "Too busy to evaluate new tools" is a red flag.Done right, technology gives time back instead of taking it away, so advisors can have the conversations that matter.Episode Timestamps00:00 - Introduction: how do advisors get attention differently?01:00 - From a fintech fraud startup to a $500M exit02:30 - Buying wealth.com (and the domain story)04:40 - Why legal first, then tax05:30 - "Ester": AI that read estate plans before ChatGPT existed07:15 - Shipping a product instead of chasing perfection08:30 - The shift from "I know a guy" to comprehensive planning09:20 - Why estate planning is becoming a tech-stack requirement11:00 - Adding value with efficiency: you do not have to be the expert13:40 - Reading existing plans in minutes, not hours17:20 - What wealth.com actually is: documents, reports, attorney network19:15 - Proactive intelligence: the plan that updates itself20:00 - Estate planning as a prospecting tool and AUM unlock21:40 - Pricing: the license and how advisors monetize it23:00 - Is AI a threat to estate attorneys? Why it is complementary24:50 - Why advisors are slow to adopt, and how to fix it27:00 - Giving time back, not taking it awayGet the Free Episode Companion Guide:Want the cheat sheet for this episode? We turned the biggest ideas into a one-page companion guide - the estate planning growth path, key takeaways, and three action steps.Grab your free copy here:https://gobeelite.com/elite-advisor-podcast-companion-page?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_249_tim_whiteFree Resources for Financial Advisors:Want to become a more elite advisor? Get our free course on how to become an Elite Advisor, plus training videos that show you how to whiteboard ideas with clients using real examples.Get the free resources here:https://gobeelite.com/elite-advisor-path-resources?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_249_tim_whiteGet the Free Book: Value First ProspectingMost advisors were trained to sell first and hope trust shows up later. Value First Prospecting shows you how to create demand, lead with ideas, and turn first meetings into strategy conversations instead of sales meetings. You can claim a free copy of Sten Morgan's book, Value First Prospecting. Just cover shipping.Get the book here:https://gobeelite.com/free-book?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_249_tim_whiteAttend Elite Advisor Live:Elite Advisor Live is our in-person training where advisors get the reps, feedback, and proven system to start charging for advice and clearly communicate their value.Learn more about Elite Advisor Live here:https://www.eliteadvisorlive.com?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_249_tim_whiteJoin Elite+:Elite+ is for advisors who are done dabbling and ready to become Elite. Inside Elite+, you get proximity, accountability, real-time coaching, and a complete operating system to help you remove resistance and grow at a higher level.Join Elite+ here:https://eadvisornetwork.com/join-ean?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_249_tim_whiteConnect With Elite Advisor NetworkWebsite: https://www.eliteadvisornetwork.com?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_249_tim_whitePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-elite-financial-advisor-podcast-with-sten-morgan/id1601321140LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elite-advisor-networkYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EliteAdvisorNetworkSubscribeSubscribe for more conversations, training, and practical ideas to help financial advisors reject average and become elite.#EliteAdvisorNetwork #FinancialAdvisor #StenMorgan #FinancialPlanning #EstatePlanning #TaxPlanning #AdvisorGrowth

In this episode of the Elite Financial Advisor Podcast, Sten Morgan, CFP®, ChFC®, sits down with two of the most thoughtful voices in the profession - Carl Richards, CFP®, creator of the Sketch Guy column and founder of The Society of Advice, and Steve Sanduski, CFP®, founder of Belay Advisor and host of the Between Now and Success podcast - to war-game how financial advice will change over the next ten years.They dig into the two layers of every advisory practice: the execution layer that AI is rapidly automating, and the human layer it cannot touch. As the technical work becomes table stakes, the floor for what counts as a great advisor rises, and Carl and Steve make the case that the future advisor has to be bilingual: fluent in money and fluent in humans.They also get practical about where the business is headed - whether AUM and commission comp survive, why clients pay for trust and outcomes rather than process, and how a young advisor can intentionally build the craft of curiosity instead of waiting for life to humble them.As Carl puts it: "AI is not a threat. It is a reminder of the deeply human work we do."In This EpisodeEvery practice has two layers: the execution layer AI is automating, and the human layer it cannot. The human layer is where advisors win.The floor is rising. A great financial plan is becoming table stakes; the EQ to sit with clients in their hardest moments is the real edge.Be bilingual. Major in money and major in humans. The messy intersection of the two is where the value lives.Greet clients at the "presenting problem" with empathy, then watch for the "crunchy bits" that open the door to deeper work.The way you get paid tells a story. If any part of it is something you would not be comfortable explaining to a client's face, change it.Episode Timestamps00:00 - Introduction: sailing, motorcycles, and catching up04:30 - The war game: what should advisors be ready for?05:45 - Carl: the deeply human craft AI is pointing us back to09:00 - Steve: the execution layer versus the human layer11:00 - Will AI actually increase an advisor's capacity?13:00 - Advice to the next generation of advisors16:00 - Be bilingual: major in money and major in humans19:00 - Why life planning is a small market at any given moment20:30 - Greet clients at the presenting problem23:30 - Will AUM and insurance comp survive?29:00 - Carl: the way you get paid tells a story31:20 - From stockbrokers to goal-based planning35:00 - Process versus outcome in the age of AI38:40 - You cannot market trust, you can only build it43:30 - A practical path to the craft of curiosity48:00 - What has these two most excited right nowGet the Free Episode Companion Guide:Want the cheat sheet for this episode? We turned the biggest ideas into a one-page companion guide - the two layers of an advisory practice, key takeaways, and three action steps.Grab your free copy here:https://gobeelite.com/elite-advisor-podcast-companion-page?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_248_richards_sanduskiFree Resources for Financial Advisors:Want to become a more elite advisor? Get our free course on how to become an Elite Advisor, plus training videos that show you how to whiteboard ideas with clients using real examples.Get the free resources here:https://gobeelite.com/elite-advisor-path-resources?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_248_richards_sanduskiGet the Free Book: Value First ProspectingMost advisors were trained to sell first and hope trust shows up later. Value First Prospecting shows you how to create demand, lead with ideas, and turn first meetings into strategy conversations instead of sales meetings. You can claim a free copy of Sten Morgan's book, Value First Prospecting. Just cover shipping.Get the book here:https://gobeelite.com/free-book?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_248_richards_sanduskiAttend Elite Advisor Live:Elite Advisor Live is our in-person training where advisors get the reps, feedback, and proven system to start charging for advice and clearly communicate their value.Learn more about Elite Advisor Live here:https://www.eliteadvisorlive.com?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_248_richards_sanduskiJoin Elite+:Elite+ is for advisors who are done dabbling and ready to become Elite. Inside Elite+, you get proximity, accountability, real-time coaching, and a complete operating system to help you remove resistance and grow at a higher level.Join Elite+ here:https://eadvisornetwork.com/join-ean?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_248_richards_sanduskiConnect With Elite Advisor NetworkWebsite: https://www.eliteadvisornetwork.com?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep_248_richards_sanduskiPodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-elite-financial-advisor-podcast-with-sten-morgan/id1601321140LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elite-advisor-networkYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EliteAdvisorNetworkSubscribeSubscribe for more conversations, training, and practical ideas to help financial advisors reject average and become elite.#EliteAdvisorNetwork #FinancialAdvisor #StenMorgan #FinancialPlanning #AdvisorGrowth #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfAdvice