Today’s guest is the CEO of Graham Strategy, a marketing consulting firm that helps financial advisors craft relevant marketing messages to reach their target clientele. Gail Graham has had a fascinating career spanning a wide range of advisory businesses, and she has held a similar marketing role as she moved from the private wealth division of PNC Bank to Fidelity’s Private Client Group, and later to her position as Chief Marketing Officer for United Capital. The experience she has gained over the years means she truly understands what it takes to successfully market an intangible like financial planning services.
In this episode, we talk in depth about how to more effectively communicate financial planning and its value, as well as why financial advisors need to get clear about who their ideal client is. We also discuss why it’s absolutely essential to focus in order to find the right marketing messages that really resonate and Gail’s process for finding and refining your own value proposition.
For show notes and more visit https://www.kitces.com/48
Today’s guest is the Director of Operations for Sequoia Financial Group, a hybrid RIA that manages more than $3.7 billion and spans four office locations. Shaun Kapusinski started out in the industry over fifteen years ago as a financial advisor selling life insurance, but made a shift early in his career to the operations side of the business. Since then, he has been able to grow his career by following an operations career track instead of the more traditional paths.
In this episode, we talk about the organizational structure of his mega advisory firm, how they split apart a division of shared services, and why the firm is looking to make a shift to Salesforce Financial Services Cloud for their next stage of growth. We also talk about Shaun’s own unique career path, as well as why he believes that getting an MBA may be more valuable for those in the operations side.
Tune in to hear Shaun’s valuable insight as he shares what he has learned throughout his impressive career.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/47
Today’s guest, Susan Bradley, is the founder of Sudden Money Institute, which trains financial advisors to work with clients who experience an abrupt increase in their finances. These so-called “sudden money transitions” can come from a personal injury settlement, an inheritance, a divorce settlement, or any other swift influx of money, and they require a unique skill set from advisors.
That’s why Sudden Money Institute trains advisors through a designation program called The CeFT (Certified Financial Transitionist). In this episode, we talk in depth about why advisors need to understand how to help clients through sudden money transitions, the requirements and benefits of earning a CeFT, how Sudden Money Institute facilitates productive conversations with clients, and more.
For show notes and more visit https://www.kitces.com/46
Today’s guest is Rebecca Pomering, the Chief Practice Officer of Moss Adams, a mega accounting firm with more than $600 million in revenue and 2,800 employees, as well as a wealth management division with more than $2.1 billion in assets under management. After starting in the financial advisor consulting division at the age of 23, Rebecca took over the firm’s wealth advisors by the time she turned 30—right before the 2008 financial crisis—and has since nearly tripled the size of the firm.
Rebecca’s fascinating personal career spans consulting, leadership, and executive roles, and today you’ll hear the lessons she learned along the way. Listen in to hear how she managed to grow a wealth management firm within an established accounting firm, changes she had to make to keep Moss Adams on track during the market crash, her advice for young advisors, and so much more.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/45