Elementality for Financial Advisors | Elements Financial Vitals System™

The financial planning industry is flourishing and that growth affects even the smallest RIA firm. Should you hold tight or expand? It’s a question without an easy answer. Reese’s guest on this episode of the Elementality podcast, Stephanie Bogan, knows growth. In her words, “if you can get to $500,000 in revenue, you can do anything.” On the show they discuss why finding small success can lead to greater achievements—and what you need to do to clear those first hurdles to growth.

While advisors are good at providing advice, it’s difficult to get all the data needed to formulate that advice. It’s an issue that rests as much on clients as it does their advisors. So how do you get the precise details you need? On this episode of the Elementality podcast, Chad and Reese discuss why collecting good data is difficult—and why it is so important. Technology may be able to fix the problem, but hear why advisors are often surprised to find out what device could offer the best solution.

Daniel Hannoush, CEO of Pandowealth, had a problem. His niche firm was growing so fast they didn’t even need to market their services. At the very top of his high-growth dilemma was the need for a process that could help solve several issues. For the first time on the Elementality podcast, Reese interviews an Elements client. You’ll relate to Daniel’s real-world problems as he explains why the solution he chose has helped solve his firm’s plan tracking, client communications, and personnel issues.

Your small business’ growth is based on bringing in more clients. That may seem obvious, but many small firms stall by not thinking through their early hires, too often duplicating skills that don’t fuel growth. On this episode of the Elementality podcast, Chad and Reese look at some of the roadblocks to growing a financial planning firm—paying close attention to creating scale in your offering. Find out why, when they hire, advisors should carefully consider whether to create more capacity, or more volume.

Recently, many new industry ideas and innovations have centered around business models and pricing. And as the advisor landscape continues to shift, it’s important that you keep an open mind about these changes. On this Elementality podcast, Kate Holmes, a CFP® Women’s Initiative council member, is Reese’s special guest. Kate talks about her role on the council, about the industry’s global growth, and then offers her insights about how to think about pricing as you establish your value with clients.

Are you too focused on fees? Many advisors offer planning but struggle to figure out how to charge for it. They spend too much energy trying to find the right pricing model and not enough focus establishing their value proposition. On this episode of the Elementality podcast, Chad and Reese look at the pros and cons of the different fee models used by fiduciaries. Their discussion then shifts to why, before worrying about fees, advisors should be more concerned about finding what sets their services apart.

“There’s only one thing you ever sell a client on, it’s their dream of freedom.” This is just one bit of the wisdom George Kinder shares as Reese’s special guest on this episode of the Elementality podcast. Called the Father of the Life Planning movement, George has helped transform financial advice over his 50-year career. While in recent decades fiduciary financial planning has gained a great deal of momentum, listen to the advice of a life-long fiduciary on how you should be counseling your clients.

With financial planning, technical skills are the minimum job requirement. Learning to do functional jobs like data gathering, analysis, and preparing the financial plan are essential. Solving client financial anxieties is more difficult, which can leave you feeling like you aren’t bringing enough value to the client. On this Elementality podcast, Reese and Chad point out that what clients are really seeking is for their advisor to be able to balance both the functional and emotional jobs they require.

Find out why the concept of work/life balance may be a myth. With so many areas of your life that need attention, is equilibrium really possible? On this episode of the Elementality podcast, Reese interviews Dr. Travis Parry, coach, author, influencer, and noted speaker on achieving balance in your life—and if it’s even possible. When you gain better focus on your priorities it will help you feel balanced, but Reese and Travis explain why really enjoying your life is a matter of choosing your priorities.

As advisors, we need to balance the functional jobs and emotional jobs of financial planning to build effective client relationships. Our tendency is to center these jobs around regularly scheduled client meetings. On this Elementality, Reese and Chad explain why identifying and working on functional jobs outside of meetings allows you to focus on important client emotional financial anxieties during meetings. When you give more attention to a client’s emotional needs you start building greater trust.