Top Advisor Marketing Podcast

Emotional intelligence includes the ability to spend most of your client meetings listening – not talking. If that sounds like a tall order, consider this:  Emotional intelligence is a muscle that you can train. In this episode, Matt Halloran talks to Carl Richards, a decade-long columnist for The New York Times and creator and author of “The Behavioral Gap,” about ways to practice emotional intelligence to help you connect with and educate your clients. Carl also shares how he finds the “crunchy bits” to inspire emotionally resonant content, and his advice for any advisor who’s still “the best-kept secret” in their area.   Carl discusses: His trick for helping people solve their problems while barely saying a word  Two rules he used to drastically reduce how much he was talking during client meetings How to narrow down the unique problem you’re interested in solving for your audience The exact steps he would take, as an advisor, to accelerate his influence and grow his business And more Resources:  Sketch Guy – The New York Times Orion Advisor Solutions FiCommPartners.com “The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money” by Carl Richards “The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money”  by Carl Richards Connect with Carl Richards: The Society of Advice LinkedIn: Carl Richards Twitter: @behaviorgap BehaviorGap.com Connect with ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About Carl Richards: Carl Richards is a Certified Financial Planner™ and creator of the Sketch Guy column, which appeared weekly for a decade in The New York Times. Carl has also been featured on Marketplace Money, Oprah.com, and Forbes.com. In addition, Carl has become a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences and visual learning events around the world. Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. His sketches also serve as the foundation for his two books, The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money and The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money.

Are your marketing strategies failing to produce the results you want? Are you worried you’re wasting time and money on things that aren’t growing your business? In this episode, Matt Halloran talks to Mary Kate Gulick from Carson Group Wealth Management. They unpack the most prominent marketing mistakes advisors are making – and what to do instead to drive new business and meet your goals. Mary Kate discusses: How to avoid the most common pitfalls advisors face with marketing How to find out which of your marketing strategies are and aren’t reaching your target audience (e.g., do you really need to be spending 6 hours writing newsletters?) How to start reusing and recycling your content across social platforms Where to go and who to contact for less expensive and more effective alternatives to your current marketing strategies And more Resources:  “The Financial Advisor’s Guide To Effective Marketing” from Carson Group Jolt Conference Website Connect with Mary Kate Gulick: LinkedIn: Mary Kate Gulick Twitter: @MaryKateGulick CarsonGroup.com Connect with ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About Mary Kate Gulick: Mary Kate Gulick is an award-winning marketing veteran, creative leader, content marketing pioneer, Amazon bestselling author, and WealthManagement.com’s 2022 CMO of the year.  After years of providing game-changing creative ideas, leadership, and marketing strategy for award-winning ad agencies, Mary Kate joined IBM to lead their employment brand offering. From there, long-time client TD Ameritrade tapped her to head up brand, creative, and digital marketing for the Institutional business, where she developed a keen understanding of the needs of RIAs and independent advisors while building the company’s award-winning content marketing program and category-leading digital presence. Now at Carson, Mary Kate heads up advisor marketing, driving lead generation, sales enablement, field marketing, and business growth.

If you’re like the advisors we know, you enjoy continuing education because it equips you to help more people. But you don’t love the time-consuming admin work that often comes with it. Or sitting through courses you don’t find valuable.  What if you could satisfy your continuing education requirements on your own terms, and with less time required?  In this episode, Matt Halloran has a thought-provoking discussion with John Waldron, Founder of Learnedly. They talk about more fulfilling ways to learn (unless you prefer pre-recorded webinars?), how the continuing education landscape is changing, and ways to help your clients spot the red flags of bad finfluencer advice. John discusses: Why the current landscape of continuing education in Canada’s financial services industry is so fragmented – and how this impacts advisors How to help clients recognize and dodge click-hungry finfluencers Ideas for completing your requirements faster, so you can get back to serving your clients Other continuous education options that put you in a better learning environment (because you’re doing something fulfilling!) And more Resources:  Learnedly.com Connect with John Waldron: LinkedIn: John Waldron LinkedIn: Learnedly Connect with ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About John Waldron: John Waldron is the founder of Learnedly, a digital training platform for Canadian financial professionals. With more than 20 years of experience in financial services, John has worked in the banking, securities, and investment fund sectors, as well as Canada’s largest training provider for financial professionals.  Over the course of John’s career, he has earned several designations, including the CFP®, FMA, CIM, and CIWM. John is the author of Wealth Ed: Money Management for Ontario Teachers and served as an advisor to the Ontario Ministry of Education to integrate financial literacy into Ontario’s school curriculum. 

If you are not jumping out of bed energized every week by the work you’re doing as an advisor, chances are your time is being misallocated. Tons of advisors develop burnout or a lack of motivation in their work at some point in their career, and our guest is here to put an end to that feeling using the power of proper time allocation. In this episode, Matt Halloran talks to Shannon Spotswood, President at RFG Advisory, about the importance of developing a positive mindset around time allocation and its ability to completely transform the fulfillment you feel in your role as an advisor. Shannon discusses: How to become “obsessed with the highest and best use of your time” Reasons why you need to clearly define how you will feel most fulfilled and inspired in your work (and the risk you run when you don’t do this) How to find and work with clients who align with your interests so you can stay inspired and develop your niche Why advisors resist spending time doing personal activities with clients and how to stop feeling guilty when you decide to do this (for the sake of your business!) And more Resources:  Schwab Examines the Pain Points of Financial Pros  Accenture Study – Wealth management: The new state of advice Michael Kitces’s “Fintech Map” Connect with Shannon Spotswood: LinkedIn: Shannon Spotswood LinkedIn: RFG Advisory Connect with ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About Shannon Spotswood: Shannon Spotswood is a 25+ year industry veteran in financial services with an outstanding reputation built on leadership roles in professional management, investment banking, hedge fund management, and business development.  Joining RFG Advisory in 2015, Shannon recognized the opportunity to combine her entrepreneurial experience with her passion to build an innovative, Advisor-focused RIA of the future. At RFG Advisory, Shannon of RFG 2.0, a fully integrated platform for independent Financial Advisors and the implementation of strategic initiatives contributing to advisor success.

While many businesses are passed down or built with inherited money, that’s not the case for what Andrew McIntosh calls the 1st Gen Entrepreneur. First-generation entrepreneurs face more unique challenges like gaining influence, building a good reputation — and, of course, earning sales.  In this episode, Matt Halloran talks to Andrew McIntosh, the founder of 1st Gen Entrepreneurs, about what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur without having the luxury of a fancy (and expensive) business coach.  Andrew discusses: How 1st Gen Entrepreneurs provides business owners, like you, with invaluable advice without the premium price of a business coach How being a CEO or any leader doesn’t mean you need to be the smartest in the room (and why you shouldn’t want to be the smartest in the room) The community of advisors and leaders he’s gathered on 1st Gen Entrepreneurs and the resources they’re providing How to know if hiring the more expensive & experienced candidate is the right call for your business And more Resources:  PodRocket Influence Academy (Enroll for FREE) 1st Gen Entrepreneurs Top Advisor Marketing Podcast: How to Differentiate Yourself from the Sea of Sameness With Andrea Lopez-Schlapia (Ep. 397) Circlo.so | Your Community, Your Branding Connect with Andrew McIntosh: LinkedIn: Andrew McIntosh LinkedIn: 1st Gen Entrepreneurs Connect with ProudMouth: Do you want to podcast? Book a call with Matt Halloran to get started! ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About Andrew McIntosh: Andrew McIntosh is a serial entrepreneur who was the first in his family to start a business, or as he calls it, a 1st Generation Entrepreneur. Since Andrew grew up without any formal training/education on what it takes to properly grow a business, he always felt as though he had to learn everything the hard way, and that the road to success was filled with uncertainty and indecision. This is why Andrew started 1st Gen Entrepreneurs, to provide new entrepreneurs like you with all the mentorship you could ever need. Andrew has founded an online support community built specifically for 1st Generation Entrepreneurs, where you can get all the help, support & guidance you need to grow your business successfully.

As much as some advisors hate to hear it, the age of the hard sell is over. Your prospects want a relationship, not a sales pitch. It’s time to change how you present yourself online. In this episode, Matt Halloran talks to Samantha Russell and Susan Theder from FMG Suite about how to stop coming off as salesy and start showing up as a genuine person your prospects want to know. Samantha and Susan also predict the role that ChatGPT will play in content marketing for most advisors.  Samantha and Susan discuss: How to eliminate your bravado online and start speaking in your clients’ language How to get clients to recognize their need for your services, without having to directly sell to them ChatGPT prompts to help you write fun posts that connect to business (and without sound self-serving) Why the “three-piece suit” approach (being super professional) doesn’t work when sharing content — and how to find your digital comfort zone And more Resources:  Vidyard – Screen Record, Share & Track BombBomb Video Email Loom: Async Video Messaging for Work  Holistaplan.com Connect with FMG Suite: FMG Suite LinkedIn: FMG Suite marketing@fmgsuite.com Connect with Samantha Russell: LinkedIn: Samantha C. Russell Twitter: @SamanthaTwenty Connect with Susan Theder: LinkedIn: Susan Theder Connect with ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About Samantha Russell: Samantha Russell helps financial advisors create digital marketing strategies that produce exponential growth through channels such as content marketing, SEO, website development, social media, and video. A prolific speaker and content contributor, over 10,000 financial professionals have heard Samantha speak at industry conferences and even more have read her educational content in the pages of well-known industry publications. Samantha is Investment News 40 Under 40 award winner, a ThinkAdvisor Luminary, and a WealthManagement.com “10 to Watch”. She was part of the original five-person team that launched Twenty Over Ten and now serves as Chief Evangelist at FMG. There is nothing Samantha finds more inspiring than being able to empower advisors to market themselves effectively, and she gets a thrill from each message received from those financial advisors who are enjoying returns on their marketing investments. About Susan Theder: Susan Theder is the Chief Marketing and Experience Officer at FMG Suite and a member of the company’s Senior Leadership Team. Susan places an emphasis on the importance of customer-focused strategies that leverage data and technology to deliver personalized and customized experiences that WOW.  She has a passion for helping financial professionals grow and market their businesses and is an active supporter of women and diversity initiatives. She was named CMO of the year by WealthManagement.com in 2019 and a Women to Watch by Investment News in 2019.  Susan currently serves on the Board of Directors for SMARSH and ComplySci, both leading SaaS/RegTech companies serving the financial services industry. 

As an advisor, you guide clients to do the right things with their money and mindset. And it’s no coincidence that the ones who listen have the most optimized wealth.  Imagine you applied this exact same expertise to become more influential in your market… In this episode, Matt Halloran and Kirk Lowe flip the script. They show you how to look in the mirror and take your own advice as an advisor. Matt and Kirk have some fun sharing examples of commonly used financial adages that, when applied to running a business, will make massive shifts in your influence trajectory.  Matt and Kirk discuss: How to build marketing equity that creates Marketing Momentum over time How diversification in marketing creates greater value for your audience Every reason to work with a marketing specialist (vs. generalist) The dangers of falling behind on sharing your thought leadership and Return on Influence And more Resources:  Bill Cates (Referral Coach) Lazetta Rainey Braxton Jacqueline Campbell Connect With ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: Kirk Lowe Twitter: Kirk Lowe LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth

Imagine you could hop into a time machine and go forward 5-10 years in the financial services industry. What do you think you’d see? In this episode, Tim Welsh, CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy, joins Matt Halloran to predict major upcoming marketing and tech trends for advisors to pay attention to. Where is the industry headed? Are advisors becoming content creators? Will all of advisors’ different tools and software ever truly  “talk to each other with integration”? Tim’s best predictions await you in this conversation.  Tim discusses: How decentralization will evolve in the next five years Whether “becoming content creators” is inevitable for advisors How to demonstrate your expertise, even if content creation feels intimidating How significant amounts of private equity and venture capital coming into financial services might impact the industry in 10 years The advantages of being a free agent in the industry And more Connect With Tim Welsh: Nexus Strategy Twitter: Tim Welsh Connect With ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About Our Guest: Timothy D. Welsh, CFP® is President, CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy, LLC, a leading consulting firm to the wealth management industry. Nexus Strategy’s primary focus is working with leading organizations to best market their products, services and technology to the independent advisor community.  Tim is frequently quoted in the wealth management media on a wide range of business management and industry topics. He is the author of a number of industry white papers, a regular columnist for RIABiz, ThinkAdvisor, and wealthmanagement.com, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events. 

If you’re like the advisors we know, you want to meet more of the right clients. But how? By increasing your influence and referrals.  In this episode, Matt Halloran talks to Bill Cates, a ProudMouth client & vetted expert in our PodRocket Influence Academy. As a referral coach, Bill has helped 250,000+ professionals and business owners experience exponential business growth by multiplying their best clients. Now, he’s sharing four proven ways to increase your influence and referrals – so you can become your ideal clients’ obvious choice. You’re about to hear success stories of advisors who are earning new business using these four techniques. The real reason sharing your “why story” wins new clients (plus, the story that attracted $1.5M in AUM within a week) How to come up with your “why story,” even if you’re nervous about getting personal Real 90-day programs that are accelerating advisors’ referrability (it doesn’t have to take six months to become referable!) Why niche-focused advisors wish they’d niched out sooner And more Resources:  Top Advisor Marketing Podcast: You Can Make Financial Planning Easy and Fun for Clients –– Here’s How! With Reese Harper (Ep. 394) Top Advisor Podcast Top Advisor Marketing Podcast: Stop Being “Just My Parent’s Advisor”: Start Connecting With the Next Generation With Julie Johnson (Ep. 411) Top Advisor Podcast: How to Build a Referral Only Practice on a Powerful Story with Tyson Vines  Top Advisor Podcast: Use The 90-Day Dazzle for Client Onboarding and Win Referrals Fast with Bryan Sweet, CLU, ChFC Top Advisor Podcast: Financial Advisor New Client Onboarding Process: How to Deliver a “Wow” Experience with Rod Gibbings, CFP® Top Advisor Podcast: How a Business Friendship Can Turn a Loyal Client into an Advocate with Lester Matlock, CFP®, CRPC®, APMA® Top Advisor Podcast: 3 Strategies that Built a Multi-Million Dollar Firm with Todd Gillingham, JD, CFP®, ChFC, CLU Top Advisor Podcast: The Benefits of Narrow Target Markets for Financial Advisors with Adam Cmejla, CFP® “Why story” example: Dennis O’Keefe Niche example – Harley-Davidson: Jeremy Keil Niche example – Big Tech: Don Hilario Niche example – Closely held, family-owned construction companies:Todd McDonald Bill Cates’ PodRocket Influence Academy course: 8 Steps to Becoming Super Referable to Your Ideal Client (Enroll in Intermediate or Advanced to access) Exponential Growth Guide Connect With Bill Cates: Referral Coach LinkedIn: Bill Cates Connect With ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About Our Guest: Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE, is the President of Referral Coach International and the author of “Get More Referrals Now,” “Beyond Referrals,” and “Radical Relevance.” He is also the founder of The Cates Academy for Relationship Marketing™. For over 25 years, Bill has helped financial professionals move from incremental growth to exponential growth by communicating more compelling value and multiplying their best clients. Thousands of financial advisors are using Bill’s Relationship Marketing System™ to enhance client engagement, create more effective personal introductions, and communicate more relevant and compelling value. 

Between 65-70% of young inheritors leave their parents’ advisors because that advisor made little or no effort to engage with them.  What holds advisors back? Not knowing how to connect and build relationships with the younger generation. In this episode, Matt Halloran is joined by Julie Johnson, president and CEO of XY Communication. Leading with empathy and decades of experience, Julie shares two proven ways to start marketing to the next generation, even if you feel reluctant to discuss the wealth transfer process with your clients. She also reveals eye-opening stats about what advisors stand to lose by not having good relationships with women. Take this as your ultimate inspiration to become a safe space for all clients.  Julie discusses: Why it’s in your best interest to leave your comfort zone and become more emotionally engaged with clients and prospects How to flip your perspective when the thought of discussing wealth transfer feels depressing or complicated What it takes to prove to Gen Z that you’re genuine and caring (because the younger generations are great BS sniffers!)  What you can start doing now to encourage kids to show up with their parents to meetings And more Resources:  Top Advisor Marketing Podcast: Dying Kindness: Help Clients Be Kinder to Those They’ll Leave Behind With Cianna Stewart (Ep. 384) How To Give Clients Life-Changing Advice at the Exact Right Times With Cassie Jackson (Ep. 407) Financial Planning Association CFP Board Connect With Julie Johnson: julie@xycommunication.com XY Communication LinkedIn: Julie Johnson Connect With ProudMouth: ProudMouth LinkedIn: Matt Halloran Twitter: Matt Halloran LinkedIn: ProudMouth Facebook: ProudMouth Twitter: ProudMouth YouTube: ProudMouth About Our Guest: Julie Johnson started her career in 1996 as a rookie with Smith Barney in Denver. By 2007, she and her team managed over $1B in AUM. They moved their team and every client, including pensions, foundations, 401k’s, family offices and ultra HNW individuals, to UBS in the fall of 2007, and then came 2008…..   Julie was named SVP with UBS, her team received Barron’s top advisor and top team awards during her tenure. On multiple occasions, she was invited to speak at national conferences and consult on practice management, sales and business development as well as relationship management.   In 2016, Julie received her Behavioral Finance Certification and began her career as a full-time certified coach, consultant, public speaker, and author. She is engaged to coach management, advisors and teams, and speak at such esteemed national conferences as Barron’s and Fidelity, as well as several regional conferences, both in person and virtually with FPA, Forbes, Morgan Stanley, Wealth Management, UBS, Ameriprise, BNY Mellon, just to name a few.