The Model FA: Recent Episodes

David DeCelle

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle sits down with Matthew Halloran, Chief Evangelist at Zocks, for a conversation that goes way beyond financial advisor technology.

Matthew shares his journey from therapist, to life coach at Carson, to building Proudmouth, to helping advisors reclaim their time and use it more intentionally. The conversation covers persistence, personal growth, client experience, organic growth, niche marketing, and why the best advisory firms are not just focused on more AUM, but on helping more people.

David and Matthew also dig into how advisors can use freed-up time from technology and AI to create better client events, deepen relationships, uncover opportunities inside their existing book of business, and build a practice that supports a better life.

If you are a financial advisor looking to grow with more intention, create stronger client relationships, and rethink how you spend your time, this episode is for you.

In this episode, David and Matthew discuss: • Matthew's path from therapy to financial services coaching • Why advisors need support beyond practice management • The role of persistence, resilience, and asking for help • How client events can become a powerful organic growth strategy • Why advisors should create "return on moments" for clients • The importance of choosing a hyper-focused niche • Why marketing often takes 18–24 months before momentum compounds • How AI and integrated technology can uncover opportunities inside your existing client base • Why growth should be framed around helping more people, not just adding more assets • How better listening can improve client relationships and personal relationships

When advisors get time back, the goal should not be to simply fill that time with more busywork. The opportunity is to reinvest that time into deeper client relationships, better experiences, more focused growth, and a better life outside the business.

#ModelFAPodcast #FinancialAdvisorMarketing #AdvisorGrowth #ClientExperience #OrganicGrowth #FinancialAdvisors #PracticeManagement #AIForAdvisors #DavidDeCelle #MatthewHalloran

Connect with Matthew Halloran: LinkedIn: Search Matthew Halloran Book: Shut the F Up and Listen TEDx Talk: Search "Matt Halloran TEDx" Zox: Zocks.io

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this Part 2 conversation, David DeCelle, CEO of ModelFA, sits back down with Daniel Gourvitch of Mercer Advisors to dig into the brass tacks of organic growth for financial advisors and RIAs.

Building on Part 1's focus on mindset and firm design, this episode is all about execution.

Daniel shares stories from Mercer's experience serving family office clients, creative professionals, and other specialized segments, while David brings data and examples from his work helping advisory firms build intentional growth systems.

Key Topics Covered ✅ Why growth is an outcome, not a single tactic

✅ The hierarchy: Know yourself → Know who you serve → Build around that

✅ The 2 "must-have" and 1 "nice-to-have" boxes for choosing a niche

✅ How Mercer helps advisors find what lights them up and build around it

✅ The role of process in organic growth

✅ The referral gap

✅ David's three simple referral processes

✅ Daniel's three mindset & behavior shifts for referrals:

✅ Why sharing your real life (family, milestones, etc.) deepens loyalty and forgiveness when mistakes happen

✅ Marketing & branding for advisors:

✅ Education-first marketing:

✅ Authenticity & community impact:

If you're tired of "accidental growth" and want a more predictable, values-aligned way to grow your firm, this episode is for you.

#FinancialAdvisor #OrganicGrowth #RIAGrowth #WealthManagement #AdvisorMarketing #ModelFAPodcast #MercerAdvisors

Connect with Daniel:

  • Email: dgourvitch@merceradvisors.com
  • Website: https://www.merceradvisors.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-gourvitch-59562b5/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Most financial advisory firms say they want organic growth. But very few are honest about what it actually takes to create it.

In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle is joined by Daniel Gourvitch, President of Mercer Advisors, for a deep conversation on why organic growth in the RIA and wealth management space is so difficult, what firms often misunderstand about growth, and why client impact has to come before business metrics.

Daniel shares his journey from McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock to Mercer Advisors, and explains how Mercer built a growth engine rooted in fiduciary advice, integrated planning, client experience, and long-term consistency.

The conversation explores why AUM can be a misleading growth metric, why many firms mistake market appreciation for actual growth, and why organic growth is not a single activity. It is the outcome of many connected systems working together over time.

David and Daniel also discuss referrals, client trust, advisor specialization, the difference between serving clients and finding new families, and why firms need to think structurally about growth instead of chasing disconnected marketing tactics.

In This Episode ✅ Why organic growth is an outcome, not an activity ✅ How Mercer Advisors thinks about serving families, not just growing AUM ✅ Why many advisory firms believe they are growing when they may only be benefiting from market growth ✅ The difference between AUM growth and true revenue growth ✅ Why firms struggle to build repeatable organic growth systems ✅ How client experience drives referrals and long-term firm health ✅ Why growth requires patience, consistency, and connected execution ✅ How Mercer separates client service and client development roles ✅ Why advisor personality matters when building a growth model ✅ How Model FA's Advisor DNA framework fits into the organic growth conversation

If you are a financial advisor, RIA founder, or wealth management leader trying to grow beyond market performance, referrals by accident, or M&A alone, this episode will challenge how you think about organic growth.

#FinancialAdvisor #OrganicGrowth #RIAGrowth #WealthManagement #AdvisorMarketing #ModelFAPodcast #MercerAdvisors

Connect with Daniel:

Email: dgourvitch@merceradvisors.com Website: https://www.merceradvisors.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-gourvitch-59562b5/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team: President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA podcast, host David DeCelle sits down with Taylor Schulte, CFP and founder of Define Financial, to explore the journey from unplanned entry into financial advising to building a thriving, $300M AUM retirement planning firm. Taylor shares how sales experience shaped his early career, the lessons learned navigating marketing challenges, and the strategic decisions behind his podcast and YouTube content. The discussion emphasizes consistent content creation, understanding audience dynamics, and leveraging community to grow both client relationships and business impact. In this episode: • Organic Beginnings, Structured Growth: Taylor candidly shares how he "stumbled into" financial advising and turned early challenges into a disciplined approach to client acquisition and marketing. • Sales Experience as Foundation: Early exposure to sales, whether at Morgan Stanley or other firms, provides skills that underpin successful client relationships and advisory growth. • Building a Marketing Funnel: Defining the ideal client, simplifying the funnel, and aligning podcast, email, and video strategies are key to generating meaningful leads. • Podcasting as a Middle-of-Funnel Tool: Stay Wealthy Retirement Show functions as a trust-building platform for an engaged, warm audience, converting listeners into clients through clarity and explicit calls to action. • YouTube for a Cold Audience: Long-form video enables reach beyond the warm podcast audience, but success depends on algorithmic understanding, consistency, and patience; each platform demands a different approach. • Consistency and Metrics Matter: Regular content, short- and long-form video, and monitoring engagement help translate effort into measurable business outcomes over time. • Audience Clarity Is Critical: Growth requires understanding who listens, who converts, and which content moves prospects through the funnel efficiently. • Strategic Restructuring Pays Off: Pausing growth to optimize internal processes, systems, and team alignment ensures scalable revenue growth from $2M to $10M and beyond. • Community Amplifies Impact: Engagement with peers via AGC (now part of WealthTender) reinforces accountability, collaboration, and professional development. • Books and Balance: Taylor draws insights and inspiration from fiction (Dark Matter) and non-fiction (Golf Architecture for Normal People), underscoring the importance of personal enrichment alongside professional growth. Taylor's story is a strong reminder that advisor growth is not about doing every marketing tactic at once, but about understanding your audience, building the right funnel, and staying consistent long enough for trust to compound. If you're a financial advisor looking to sharpen your marketing, improve client engagement, and create content that actually supports business growth, this episode is well worth your time. #FinancialAdvisor #MarketingStrategy #Podcasting #YouTubeMarketing #ClientEngagement #RetirementPlanning #FinancialAdvisorJourney #ContentCreation #AudienceBuilding #DefineFinancial #ModelFA #AdvisorGrowth #SalesExperience #WealthManagement Connect with Taylor Schulte: Website: definefinancial.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taylorschulte

--- About the Model FA Podcast The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA podcast, host David DeCelle talks with Brad Johnson, co-founder of Triad Partners, about his non-linear entry into financial services and the profound internal work required to shift from top producer to effective CEO. Brad explains why financial advisory remains fundamentally a relationship business, how Triad redefines "success" as simultaneous business growth and life fulfillment ("Do Business. Do Life."), and why emotional stability and self-management are strategic leadership assets. The episode explores both operational and psyche-focused dimensions of entrepreneurial leadership for advisors committed to building firms that matter.

In this episode: • Accidental Beginnings, Intentional Leadership: Brad candidly breaks down how a chance entry into finance evolved into a purpose-driven career and why hard work and reflection matter more than luck. • The Industry Is Evolving, but Relationships Still Win: Despite tech and platform shifts, trust and human connection remain the core currency of financial advice. • CEO Mindset vs. Advisor Mindset: Many advisors struggle because their training geared them toward production… not strategic leadership. Taking ownership of vision and operations is non-negotiable to scale. • Hiring for Complementarity, Not Cloning: Teams built by copying the founder seldom break through growth ceilings; complementary talent unlocks meaningfully different outcomes. • Culture as Talent Magnet: At Triad, culture is both a strategic asset and a retention tool. Talent stays where purpose and community thrive. • "Do Business. Do Life." Isn't a Slogan, It's a Strategy: Integrating business ambitions with personal life reduces burnout and enhances clarity about what success truly means. • Time Can't Be Bought Back: Wealth accumulation loses value without intentional life design; success tastes hollow when advisors trade years for dollars. • Emotional Mastery as Competitive Edge: Leadership requires calmness under pressure. Brad doesn't shy away from tough truths: therapy, self-work, and emotional regulation are leadership tools, not vulnerabilities. • Wealth Doesn't Guarantee Happiness: High revenue doesn't equal fulfillment. Many successful advisors quietly struggle. Awareness and growth practices make the difference. • Community and Growth Go Hand in Hand: Triad's experiences and shared member network create accountability and collective momentum for advisors scaling with purpose. • Practical Advice for Aspiring Founders: Build vision early, define personal and business priorities, and evaluate success on both professional and personal axes.

#FinancialAdvisor #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #WealthManagement #BusinessCulture #RIA #PersonalGrowth #AdvisorLeadership #CEO #TriadPartners #DBDL #PracticeManagement #LifeIntegration #EmotionalStability

Connect with Brad Johnson: Website: bradleyjohnson.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradjohnsondbdl

--- About the Model FA Podcast The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle sits down with Jeremy Houser, VP & Senior Advisor Development Consultant at Simplicity Group and host of the Advisor Mentorship Podcast.

They break down what actually holds advisors back from scaling—why delegation is the real unlock, how a simple time audit exposes hidden leaks, and what to do right now to stay relevant to the next generation as trillions change hands. You'll also hear practical guidance on building a digital footprint (without sounding like AI), why LinkedIn is still a blue-ocean channel for advisors, and how to keep heirs engaged without turning your calendar into chaos.

✅ What you'll learn:

  • 🎯 The #1 scaling problem advisors refuse to face (and how to fix it)
  • ⏱️ How to run a time audit that reveals what to delegate first
  • 🩺 The "doctor's office" analogy for protecting your time (screening + process)
  • 🧬 How to stay relevant to heirs before the wealth transfer happens
  • 🌊 Why authenticity wins in a "sea of sameness" content world

🤝 Connect with Jeremy:

  • 🎙️ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ZqShr9Q246sEh9KH22q3M
  • ✉️ Email: jeremy.houser@simplicitygroup.com
  • 🌐 Website: https://www.simplicitygroup.com/
  • 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyhouser/

👍 If you want more conversations like this—strategy, systems, growth, and what's actually working—subscribe and drop a question in the comments.

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA podcast, host David DeCelle spoke with Allen Darby, CEO and founder of Allaris Acquisitions, to discuss the evolution of the wealth management M&A landscape. Allen, an industry veteran who completed nine acquisitions as an RIA owner, provided insights on the surge in buyers and the changing mindset of sellers over the last four to five years. He detailed Allaris Acquisitions' shift from a traditional auction model to a compatibility-focused approach designed to save time and ensure a cultural fit for sellers. The conversation also covered the impact of rising interest rates on deal focus, the dynamics of "Franken-firms" created by aggressive aggregators, and a deep-dive on the potential disruptive power of AI on advisory businesses and valuations.

In this episode:

• Wealth Management M&A has fundamentally changed, with a surge of credible buyers and "through the roof" capital availability over the last four years.

• RIA Sellers are more sophisticated, realizing that independence after a sale exists on a "spectrum of autonomy" instead of a binary loss of control.

• Rising rates are forcing M&A Buyers to intensely focus on Organic Growth, with many now filtering out firms below a 5–7% net new asset growth rate.

• The traditional "financial auction" model is being replaced by a compatibility-focused approach that ranks partners by objective factors like fee model and tech stack to ensure a better cultural fit.

• Sellers must weigh "business lift" against autonomy, as highly acquisitive "Franken-firms" often lead to a "bumpier ride" with operational chaos due to less integration.

• AI's Impact on Valuations: AI is predicted to automate many RIA roles—potentially eliminating staff within 6–12 months—which will increase profitability and may make highly scalable, high-margin practices more valuable.

• The Biggest Disruptor is the threat AI poses to the Advisor Moat of "guidance," as the value of "knowledge" approaches zero and LLMs become more empathetic.

• This looming AI disruption and the potential for "uberization" of the industry may encourage RIA owners to accelerate their sale timeline within the next three to five years.

#RIAMergers #FinancialAdvisor #WealthManagement #AllarisAcquisitions #ModelFA #RIAAcquisitions #FinancialPlanning #OrganicGrowth #FinancialServices #AITrends #FinancialTechnology #PrivateEquity #BusinessStrategy #M&A #SuccessionPlanning

Connect with Allen Darby and Allaris Acquisitions:

  • Website: AllarisAcquisitions.com
  • Email: Allen.Darby@AllarisAcquisitions.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA podcast, host David DeCelle spoke with Jennifer des Groseilliers, CEO of The Mather Group, to discuss her career journey, the firm's growth strategy, and its distinct business philosophy. Jennifer detailed her transition from practicing law to becoming a financial advisor, moving through the broker-dealer world to ultimately embrace the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) structure. The conversation explored The Mather Group's holistic service platform, which includes in-house tax and investment construction, its two-part M&A integration approach, and how their core value of "Unreasonable Hospitality" drives success metrics like high client retention and referrals.In this episode:

• The RIA Model is a Growth Area: Jennifer des Groseilliers' move from the broker-dealer world highlights the perceived stability and future of the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) model.

• Embrace Holistic Wealth Management: The Mather Group's success with $15B in AUM/A is built on a comprehensive platform that integrates financial planning, in-house tax services, investment management, and a family office approach. This "all-in-one" model offers greater efficiency and coordination for clients.

• M&A Success Hinges on Culture: For firms pursuing growth via mergers and acquisitions, the primary focus ("heavy lifting") should be on ensuring cultural alignment, not just operational synergy.

• Define Success by "Unreasonable Hospitality": High client retention and referral rates can be achieved by moving beyond basic service to align a client's financial goals with their personal values, creating a truly exceptional experience.

• Strategic Growth is Dual-Track: The firm demonstrates that expansion can be effectively achieved through both organic client acquisition and strategic M&A.

• Team Structure and Governance Matter: Utilizing a team-based service model and having an advisory council composed of equity owners are effective mechanisms for ensuring service consistency and internal goal alignment.

• Advice for Women in Finance: Aspiring women professionals should seek out firms that demonstrably align with their personal values and provide a genuinely supportive working environment.

#RIAMergers #FinancialAdvisor #WealthManagement #TheMatherGroup #ModelFA #RIAAcquisitions #FinancialPlanning #UnreasonableHospitality #BusinessStrategy #WomenInFinance #SuccessionPlanning #OrganicGrowth #TaxServices

Connect with Jennifer des Groseilliers and The Mather Group:

  • Website: TheMatherGroup.com
  • Email: info@TheMatherGroup.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Learn how Forms Logic, a cloud-based fintech platform built exclusively for financial services firms, is revolutionizing client onboarding, account opening, and advisor transitions. In this episode of the Model FA podcast, CEO David DeCelle interviews Joel Friedman, the Chief Operating Officer of Forms Logic, who shares his 25 years of experience in wealth tech.

Discover how the Navigator product eliminates paper-oriented, manual processes and single-handedly ensures single data entry and the use of the most updated, correct forms, dramatically reducing Not In Good Order (NIGO) rates from up to 50% down to the low single digits. Joel also details how the Migrator product streamlines advisor transitions, turning a typically 60- to 90-day process into a three-to-four-week preparation period, which is critical because "time kills deals" and means assets are deployed faster to generate income. Forms Logic is focused on streamlining front and back office operations for broker-dealers, RIAs, and wealth managers to free up capacity for organic growth.

In this episode:

• Meet the Expert: Joel Friedman, a long-time expert (25 years!) in the technology used by financial companies, especially known for his 20+ years at Docupace.

• The Solution: A tool called "Forms Logic Navigator" that solves the huge problem of too much paperwork in wealth management.

• The Problem: Opening new client accounts is slow and full of mistakes because people have to manually fill out and check forms, often typing the same information (like a name) over and over.

• The "Magic" of Single Entry: Forms Logic's Navigator lets you enter a client's information just once, and it automatically fills out all the necessary forms.

• Fewer Mistakes: The system drastically cuts down on forms that are "Not In Good Order" (NIGO)—meaning they're incomplete or incorrect—from a very high 30-50% down to almost none.

• Easy Advisor Moves (Migrator): Forms Logic's Migrator makes it much faster and simpler for financial advisors to switch firms and bring all their clients with them, cutting a 60-90 day process down to just a few weeks.

• Why Quickness Pays Off: Moving assets faster means they start earning money sooner, which boosts income and keeps clients happier.

• Complete Workflow Automation: The platform handles everything from the forms the advisor fills out (front office) to the processing and checking done by the company (back office), creating a seamless, streamlined process.

• The Main Advantage: By automating and simplifying operations, the firm and its advisors have more time and energy to focus on finding new clients and growing the business.

#FinancialServicesTechnology #WealthManagementSolutions #AdviserTechnology #FormsAutomation #FintechInnovation #BusinessEfficiency #ClientOnboardingSolutions #AdvisorTransitions #FintechForAdvisors #FormsLogic #WealthTech #NIGOSolutions

Connect with Joel Friedman / Forms Logic:

  • Website: formslogic.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In Episode 202 of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle sits down with Arnulf Hsu, CEO & Founder of GReminders, to break down what "end-to-end meeting management" actually looks like for financial advisors—from automated scheduling and reminders, to pre-meeting briefs, AI note-taking, workflows, and post-meeting follow-ups. Arnulf shares his journey as a serial SaaS entrepreneur and explains why wealth management became the ideal vertical for automation—especially as "note takers" became table stakes. You'll also hear what advisors struggle with most (change management + compliance), why deep native integrations matter, and where AI meeting tech is going next (document intelligence, KPI insights, and profitability analytics).

What You'll Learn 00:00 – Intro + guest welcome (Street Cred connection) 02:05 – Arnulf's background: enterprise SaaS exits + why wealth tech 06:40 – Why wealth management is "ripe" for innovation 09:10 – Why GReminders picked wealth as a vertical (focus + integrations) 13:10 – What GReminders does: end-to-end meeting management 18:40 – Automated scheduling + team meetings (ops time-saver) 23:10 – Pre-meeting briefs + pulling context across systems 28:10 – AI note-taker + action items + draft follow-up emails 33:40 – Adoption: change management + why back-office AI wins 39:10 – Compliance, security, and archiving/journaling expectations 44:05 – Roadmap: document intelligence + more native integrations 49:10 – KPI/profitability analytics + coaching advisors to improve 55:20 – Final takeaways + where to learn more If review season scheduling is crushing your team, or your meeting prep and follow-up are inconsistent, this episode is a blueprint for how advisors are gaining back months of capacity. Connect with Arnuff:

Website: https://www.greminders.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnulfhsu/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team: President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle sits down with two fast-rising UK advisors, Sam Luke and Lawrence Bearman, to unpack how they're using LinkedIn intentionally and consistently to build real brand authority and drive booked appointments.

They break down what worked early (a lot of outbound messaging), what changed everything (consistent posting), and why boosting top-performing posts can turn "pretty good" organic traction into a serious appointment engine—especially when your content speaks directly to a niche's real pain points (Amazon/AWS professionals and high-performing lawyers).

What you'll learn * How Sam and Lawrence got started in advice and found their niches * The "messaging-first" phase vs. the moment posting finally clicked * What types of content actually resonate on LinkedIn (and why "viral" isn't always the goal) * Why boosting posts can be a no-brainer after you prove the message works organically * The role of peer collaboration, accountability, and getting help from specialists to shorten the learning curve

Connect with Sam:

Website: https://www.westminster-wealth.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-luke-191331213/

Connect with Lawrence:

Website: https://www.westminster-wealth.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/westminster-wealth-management/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Louis Diamond (CEO of Diamond Consultants) joins David DeCelle to break down what really drives advisor transitions—and how top teams evaluate moves to independence, new platforms, or M&A opportunities. Louis shares the "consultative recruiting" model his firm has built over nearly 30 years, why freedom, flexibility, and control are the three core forces behind most breakaway decisions, and what a realistic timeline looks like from exploration to execution.

You'll also hear how Diamond Consultants structures compensation (including a refundable retainer approach), what their 7-step consulting framework looks like, and how advisors can avoid getting overwhelmed when independence opens up a "toy box" of tech, compliance, and infrastructure decisions.

What You'll Learn * The difference between traditional recruiting vs recruitment consulting * Why most advisor pain points trace back to Freedom, Flexibility, and Control * How Diamond Consultants helps advisors compare 3–7 best-fit destinations (wirehouse, IBD, RIA, aggregators, etc.) * How fees work: firm-paid recruiting model + when a refundable retainer comes into play * A realistic view of the transition timeline: 6–12 months is common, longer for breakaways * How many breakaway teams simplify tech decisions by plugging into existing RIA platforms

#FinancialAdvisor #RIA #AdvisorTransition #BreakawayAdvisor #WealthManagement #ModelFA #DiamondConsultants #MergersAndAcquisitions #SuccessionPlanning #AdvisorGrowth

Connect with Louis:

Website: https://www.diamond-consultants.com/team/louis-diamond/ LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisdiamond Email: ldiamond@diamond-consultants.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode, David DeCelle, CEO of Model FA, sits down with Chris King, Founder & CEO of Eaglebrook Advisors, to unpack how financial advisors can intelligently and compliantly introduce Bitcoin and digital assets into their clients' portfolios.

This is the conversation every forward-thinking advisor should hear.

🔑 Key Takeaways

  • From Thesis to Action – How Chris went from a PwC case study on taxing Bitcoin in 2014 to building a fintech platform now used by 90+ RIAs managing over $2T in assets.
  • Tax Alpha through Automation – Why Eaglebrook's daily automated tax-loss harvesting gives clients unmatched tax advantages — and why Bitcoin's "no wash-sale rule" makes it a goldmine for advisors.
  • Beyond ETFs: Owning the Real Thing – The difference between "paper Bitcoin" ETFs and directly owning the asset through qualified custody.
  • Advisor Advantage – How integrating crypto into wealth planning helps RIAs:
  • Increase AUM with held-away crypto transfers
  • Deliver tangible tax savings
  • Strengthen client trust with institutional-grade custody
  • Dispelling Myths – Why high-net-worth investors (not just young techies) are driving Bitcoin adoption in advisor-managed portfolios.
  • The Road Ahead – How Eaglebrook plans to scale to broker-dealer and wirehouse markets, expand into staking and yield strategies, and redefine how advisors approach digital assets.

🧠 Who Should Watch

RIAs exploring crypto for client portfolios

Financial planners looking to differentiate with tax-efficient strategies

Advisors curious about the future of digital assets in regulated wealth management

🔗 Resources & Mentions

Eaglebrook Advisors: https://eaglebrookadvisors.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this inspiring episode, host David DeCelle sits down with ModelFA's newest team member, Joseph Pietrocini, Chief Growth Officer. Joseph shares his entrepreneurial journey, from launching a lawn care business in sixth grade to building a digital marketing agency in college, and how his faith and vision have shaped his career. Discover how Joseph's passion for innovation and impact led him to ModelFA, where he's helping drive the next wave of AI-powered tools and automations for financial advisors. Hear about his big goals, including his commitment to generosity and making a difference in his community, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the exciting projects on the horizon for ModelFA. Whether you're an advisor, entrepreneur, or just love a good story about growth and purpose, this episode is packed with insights, laughs, and motivation. Plus, find out where you can follow Joseph's journey online!

Connect with Joseph: Email: Joseph@modelfa.com Website: modelfa.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephpietrocini/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Today we go inside of the mind of Model FA's Chief Marketing Officer, Graham Gardner, as he shares his path from OG Model FA employee to Partner at Model FA. In this episode, Graham discusses his role, the significance of strategic marketing, and how he helps clients build lasting relationships.

Key Takeaways:

  • From Gaming to Marketing: Graham's unique transition from running a gaming server to becoming a marketing expert.
  • Fractional CMO Role: Insights into how Graham serves as a fractional CMO, providing deep, strategic marketing support to multiple clients.
  • Long-Form Content Strategy: The importance of creating core content that can be repurposed across various platforms to build authority.
  • Building Relationships: How focusing on meaningful client relationships can drive success in financial services marketing.

Connect with Graham: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theonlinemarketer/ Email: Graham@modelfa.com #MarketingJourney #ModelFA #GrahamGardner #Podcast

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, host David DeCelle sits down with Michael Barasso, Director of Business Development at United Financial Planning Group and founder of Wealthline.

Michael shares his journey from software sales to joining and transforming his family's wealth management firm, and how he leveraged technology and process improvements to drive explosive growth. Discover how United FPG doubled their lead flow, harnessed the power of client reviews, and implemented innovative solutions like dynamic client questionnaires and an AI-powered receptionist.

Michael also unveils Wealthline's suite of tools designed to help advisory firms streamline operations, capture more leads, and reclaim valuable time. Whether you're a financial advisor, business owner, or tech enthusiast, this episode is packed with actionable insights on scaling your business and embracing AI-driven solutions.

Key Topics Covered:

  1. Michael's transition from software sales to wealth management
  2. The evolution and growth of United Financial Planning Group
  3. How client reviews transformed their sales process and lead generation
  4. Building a high-converting, SEO-optimized website
  5. Streamlining client onboarding with dynamic questionnaires
  6. The story behind Wealthline's AI receptionist and Engage platform
  7. Tackling email overload with AI-powered inbox management
  8. Actionable advice for advisors on leveraging technology and AI

Action Items from the Episode:

Connect with Michael Barasso on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbarrasso/

Check out the Wealthline website at wealthline.ai and fill out the form for a free call analysis

Explore Wealthline's AI receptionist and email management features

Links Mentioned:

Wealthline: https://wealthline.ai

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you'd love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this inspiring episode of the Model FA Podcast, host David DeCelle sits down with award-winning financial advisor, author, and female advocate Cary Carbonaro. Cary shares her remarkable journey from learning about money at her father’s side to becoming a leading voice for women in wealth management. Discover how Cary built her brand, the importance of marketing in financial services, and why women are poised to control the majority of the nation’s wealth in the coming years. Cary opens up about the challenges she faced in a male-dominated industry, her passion for empowering women—both as clients and professionals—and the lessons from her bestselling book, "Women in Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune." Key Topics Covered:

  • Cary’s early influences and career path in finance
  • Building a personal brand and client base through marketing and PR
  • The critical role of women in the future of wealth management
  • Overcoming adversity and advocating for change in the industry
  • Actionable tips for advisors to connect with and serve female clients
  • Highlights from "Women in Wealth" and the coming $30 trillion wealth transfer

Connect with Cary Carbonaro:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carycarbonarocfp/ Book: "Women in Wealth" (Wiley Publishing) – Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent booksellers

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Welcome to Model FA Episode 194! David DeCelle sits down with Chris King, CEO of Eagle Brook Advisors, to dive deep into the evolving world of crypto in financial planning. Chris shares his journey from early Bitcoin research in college to building Eagle Brook, a leading digital asset platform for RIAs. Discover how Eagle Brook empowers advisors with automated tax loss harvesting, direct Bitcoin ownership, and seamless integration with major reporting platforms.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Chris King’s backstory and what inspired him to launch Eagle Brook Advisors
  • The unique value proposition of Eagle Brook for RIAs and their clients
  • How automated tax loss harvesting works and why it’s a game-changer for Bitcoin investors
  • The importance of direct Bitcoin ownership versus ETFs and retail platforms
  • How Eagle Brook ensures institutional-grade security and compliance
  • Trends in crypto allocations among high-net-worth clients and advisors
  • The educational resources Eagle Brook provides to empower advisors
  • What’s next for Eagle Brook, including product roadmap and market expansion

Whether you’re a financial advisor curious about crypto or an investor seeking smarter ways to manage digital assets, this episode is packed with actionable insights and real-world examples

Connect with Chris:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherking7/

Website: https://eaglebrook.com/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, host David DeCelle welcomes Andrea Schlapia, a certified EOS Implementer and founder of Ironstone Business Coaching. Andrea shares her extensive experience in the financial industry and her journey from advisor to coach, ultimately embracing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to help advisory firms achieve clarity, accountability, and growth. Key Topics Covered:

  • Andrea’s background and the evolution of Ironstone Business Coaching
  • What EOS is and why it matters for advisory firms of all sizes
  • The six key components of EOS: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction
  • How EOS helps firms manage complexity, avoid “idea overload,” and create organizational health
  • The importance of getting leadership teams aligned and communicating the vision throughout the company
  • Practical steps for implementing EOS, including the 90-minute overview, Focus Day, and quarterly/annual sessions
  • Real-world case studies of firms that have transformed using EOS
  • The value of structure and discipline in creating freedom and work-life balance
  • Recommended resources: “Traction” and “What the Heck is EOS?” by Gino Wickman

Connect with Andrea Schlapia:

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aschlapia/
  • Email: andrea@ironstonehq.com
  • Ironstone Business Coaching: ironstonehq.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode, David sits down with Matt Mossbarger, co-founder of WealthFeed, to discuss innovative strategies for financial advisors to find and engage potential clients.

In This Episode:

0:00 - Introduction to Matt Mossbarger 1:00 - Matt's background in wealth management 2:30 - Origins of Wealth Feed 4:26 - Building the tech team 7:39 - Catalyst events for prospecting 11:55 - Effective outreach strategies 16:29 - Multi-channel marketing approaches 18:55 - Handwritten note strategies 23:42 - Importance of social media content 26:11 - Platform integrations

Special Offer: 20% off WealthFeed annual subscription (contact Matt directly) Connect with Matt: Email: matt@wealthfeed.com Website: wealthfeed.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

View Details

David DeCelle interviews Steven Woods, CEO of Sterling Shire, about his journey and the firm's innovative approach to the financial industry. Steven shares his background, including dropping out of high school, joining Wall Street, and founding Sterling Shire. The firm aims to revolutionize the industry by offering advisors a 100% payout model, eliminating back-end revenue streams, and automating compliance processes. Woods highlights the "advice on demand" model, where clients pay only for successful recommendations.

In This Episode: 0:00 - Introduction 0:04 - Guest Background 5:00 - Wall Street Beginnings 10:25 - Industry Problems & Opportunities 17:50 - Unique Client Engagement Model 26:09 - Building a World-Class Leadership Team 28:12 - Impact of "Moneyball" Book

Connect with Steven: Website: sterlingshire.com Email: Available on website #FinancialServices #Investing #WealthManagement #Entrepreneurship

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Stand by Model FAs! Today I am sitting down with Jason L Smith, founder of JL Smith and Prosperity Capital Advisors, to chat about his journey in the financial industry. Jason shares his early aspirations, setbacks, and eventual success in holistic wealth management. He discusses the evolution of his financial planning process, the "bucket plan," and its impact on clients.

Jason also explains the "tax trilogy" of services: tax planning, tax management, and tax preparation. He emphasizes the importance of documenting processes, building a strong team, and differentiating through tax services. David highlights the success of merging tax practices with financial planning, citing a client who grew assets from $160 million to over $800 million.

In this episode:

  1. The Holistic Wealth Management Approach
  2. The Bucket Plan: Time-Segmented Financial Planning
  3. Tax Trilogy: A Strategic Financial Framework
  4. Team and Process: Scaling Your Financial Practice
  5. Client-Centric Wealth Creation

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Connect with Jason:

  • Website: https://www.jlsmithgroup.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-l-smith-cep%C2%AE-bpc-b998ab14/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

View Details

In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle sits down with Andree Mohr, President at Integrated Partners, to discuss how advisors can double their business through intentional partnerships with CPAs. With over $21 billion in AUM, 212 advisors, and 200 CPA partners, Integrated Partners has mastered the art of aligning tax professionals and financial advisors to serve high-net-worth clients with deeper, more integrated planning.

Andree shares how personalized introductions, regular CPA meetings, and clear expectations can unlock growth and referrals. From systemizing partnerships to shifting CPAs from tax prep to tax planning, this episode is full of practical insights for any advisor looking to grow.

🎯 Topics Covered:

  • The secret to doubling your advisory business with the right CPA relationships
  • How Integrated Partners matches advisors with vetted CPA partners
  • What advisors must do to be referral-worthy
  • Transitioning CPAs from tax prep to planning conversations
  • The leadership lessons from Trillion Dollar Coach that apply to firm growth

📚 Book Recommendation: Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell

Connect with Andree Mohr Email: andree.mohr@integrated-partners.com Website: https://integrated-partners.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andree-peterson

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In this episode, we sit down with Steve Tenney, CEO of Grandview and Company, to explore his remarkable journey from Morgan Stanley Asset Management to launching his own RIA and ultimately coaching firm owners. Steve shares lessons from four decades in the industry, including how to standardize processes, delegate wisely, and unlock sustainable growth.

Key Topics Covered:

  • Steve’s early career path through London, Boston, and New Hampshire
  • Founding an RIA with Dynasty Financial Partners
  • Why Steve pivoted from client work to coaching other RIA owners
  • The real bottlenecks in RIA growth: customization and inefficiency
  • Delegating with intention and playing to your strengths
  • Why managing energy is as important as managing time
  • The mindset shift that helps advisors fall back in love with their work

Whether you’re an RIA owner looking to scale or a solo advisor feeling stretched too thin, this episode offers practical strategies to streamline operations and build a business that runs with (not on) you.

===

Connect with Steve:

  • Email: steve@grandviewandco.com
  • Website: https://grandviewandco.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steventenney/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

View Details

This week, David is joined by Nick Davies, a coach aiming to serve 100,000 advisors in three years. They discuss the importance of masterminds for advisors, emphasizing the need for a relationship-centric approach. Nick shares his journey from banking to coaching, highlighting the significance of people and relationships. They explore the structure of masterminds, recommending a cadence of bi-weekly hour-long meetings for groups of 4-7. Nick also introduces a tool that integrates with CRM systems to help advisors build deeper client relationships through automated prompts and email templates.

In this episode:

  • Nick Davies, from Seven Figure Advisor, discusses his ambitious goal of serving 100,000 advisors in three years
  • The power of masterminds is explored, highlighting how peer groups can drive business growth and personal development
  • A deep dive into relationship-centric business approaches, emphasizing the importance of human connections over purely transactional interactions
  • An introduction to a new AI tool designed to help advisors proactively maintain and deepen client relationships
  • Nick shares insights from his diverse background, from banking in London to coaching financial advisors, and the key lessons learned about motivation and business success

Connect with Nick:

  • Learn more at https://7-figureadvisor.com/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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This week David DeCelle, CEO of ModelFA, interviews Sarah Ecklein, owner of Trust and Honor, about her journey from cooking to becoming a professional fiduciary. Sarah discusses her work in end-of-life care, serving as a conservator, trustee, and agent for clients, particularly in complex cases that corporate trustees may avoid. She highlights the importance of proactive estate planning, noting that only one in three Americans have an estate plan. Sarah emphasizes the need for clear communication and understanding of estate documents, and shares her efforts to educate the public through her podcast, "The Legacy of Love."

In this episode:

  1. Only 1 in 3 people in the United States have an estate plan
  2. Acts as a neutral third party for trust administration, conservatorship, and decision-making
  3. Move from a place of fear to a place of love when considering estate planning
  4. Changing family structures increase estate planning challenges
  5. Estate planning is not just about after-death distribution

Connect with Sarah:

  • Learn more at https://www.trustandhonor.co/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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What’s your firm really worth—and how do you unlock that value?

In this episode, David DeCelle sits down with Scott Leak, CFP® and CEPA, Senior Consultant at FP Transitions, one of the most trusted firms in the advisory M&A and valuation space. With over 17,000 valuations under their belt and 100+ M&A deals last year alone, FP Transitions has a unique vantage point on what makes firms valuable—and what holds them back.

Scott shares his journey from a 22-year run at TD Ameritrade to helping advisors navigate valuations, succession planning, and equity strategies at FP Transitions. Whether you're thinking about selling, merging, or simply growing smarter, this episode is packed with guidance you won’t hear at your typical industry event.

🔑 What You’ll Learn: * Why “valuation” is more than just a revenue multiple (and what buyers really look for) * How to structure equity swaps, partial sales, and synthetic equity to keep upside without giving it all away * The KPIs that actually move the needle on firm value—and which ones are vanity metrics * Why administrative relief is driving more advisors to explore partnerships and acquisitions * The top deal killers in M&A (and how to avoid them before they tank your deal)

📈 For Advisors Who Are: * Curious about their firm’s value today and how to increase it over time * Exploring mergers, acquisitions, or partnerships to offload operational headaches * Thinking about exit planning but not ready to fully step away * Looking for real-world benchmarks and strategic next steps from a firm that’s seen it all

Connect with Scott:

  • Learn more at FPTransitions.com
  • Connect with Scott Leak on LinkedIn
  • Want to talk about valuation or growth strategy? David can introduce you.

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode, David DeCelle, CEO of ModelFA, sits down with Matthew Awai of Advisor Tech Partners to explore how financial advisors can streamline operations, automate tasks, and reclaim valuable time in their business. Matthew shares his journey from working at a broker-dealer to co-founding Advisor Tech Partners, and dives into real-world automation examples that are saving firms up to 10 hours per week—just in scheduling. Whether you're a solo advisor or part of an enterprise team, this conversation offers insights into tools like Zapier, Wealthbox, and AI agents that can modernize your firm’s workflows.

🧠 Key Topics Covered

  • Matthew's path from broker-dealer to tech entrepreneur
  • Common operational challenges for solo and enterprise advisors
  • Automation solutions using CRM tools and Zapier
  • Real examples: follow-up emails, workflow triggers, and data syncs
  • The role of AI agents and SOPs in scaling a firm
  • Why documenting processes is crucial for growth
  • Tools discussed: Wealthbox, Zapier, scribe.how, AI workflows

✅ Action Items

  • 🔗 Check out Advisor Tech Partners’ YouTube Channel for tutorials and automation tips
  • 📅 Book a discovery call with Advisor Tech Partners to explore how automation can help your firm
  • 📘 Read The E-Myth by Michael Gerber to better understand the value of systems and delegation
  • ✍️ Try scribe.how to start documenting your SOPs automatically

Connect with Matthew:

  • Email: matthew@advisortechpartners.com
  • Website: https://www.advisortechpartners.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-awai/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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This week on the Model FA Podcast, David interviews Jacob Miller, co-founder of Opto Investments, about bridging the gap between private markets and the wealth community. Opto focuses on providing better technology and alignment of incentives for RIA firms, offering custom funds and automated subdocs. They work with clients ranging from $500 million to tens of billions, emphasizing long-term strategies and high-quality private market investments. Jacob shares his background at Bridgewater Associates and the inception of Opto, highlighting the importance of trust, education, and differentiation in the RIA space. He also discusses the impact of books like "God Emperor of Dune" and "Letters from a Stoic" on his approach to business and life.

We cover:

  1. Technology-Driven Differentiation
  2. Next-Generation Wealth Engagement
  3. Private Markets Reimagined
  4. Human-Centric Financial Advice
  5. Strategic Alignment and Transparency

Connect with Jacob:

  • Email: jacob@optoinvest.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-m-08b32967/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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What's up Model FAs?! This week David interviews Ed Kuresman from Mai Capital Management about his career journey. Ed started in finance during the tech bubble, interned at Madison Financial Advisors, and grew the firm from $20 million to over $1 billion in assets. During this period Ed emphasized the importance of client referrals, a positive culture, and strategic partnerships. In 2024, Madison joined Mai, adding operational expertise and expanding to 33 people. During this episode, Ed highlighted the significance of long-term planning and the impact of Phil Knight's "Shoe Dog" on his approach to business. He also discussed handling market volatility by focusing on financial planning and client education.

Connect with Ed:

  • Email: ed.kuresman@mai.capital
  • Website: https://mai.capital/team/edward-kuresman/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-kuresman-cfa-7646931/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

MAI compliance signed off on the recording, with one ask; in the podcast description can you include the following disclosure language: MAI Capital Management, LLC (“MAI”) is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The opinions and analyses expressed herein are subject to change at any time. Any suggestions contained herein are general, and do not take into account an individual’s or entity’s specific circumstances or applicable governing law, which may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and be subject to change.

Distribution hereof does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, investment or other professional advice. Recipients should consult their professional advisors prior to acting on the information set forth herein.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle is joined by Dr. Joshua Wilson, a behavioral finance expert with a PhD and a background in advisory, to discuss his journey and insights within the financial services industry. He emphasizes the importance of understanding subconscious decision-making in client relationships and the need for advisors to integrate behavioral finance principles beyond just education. Dr. Wilson highlights the significance of pre-client conversations and the emotional connection with clients. He also discusses the impact of AI on the industry, suggesting it will raise the bar for advisors, necessitating a focus on human elements and emotional intelligence. Dr. Wilson recommends the book "The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness" by Tim Keller for its exploration of gospel humility and self-worth.

In this episode:

  1. Introduction and Guest Background
  2. Motivation Behind Pursuing a PhD
  3. Behavioral Finance Philosophy
  4. Client Connection Strategies
  5. Center of Influence (COI) Relationship Management
  6. Technology and Future of Wealth Management
  7. Career Advice for Young Professionals
  8. Personal Development and Recommended Reading
  9. Conclusion and Contact Information

Connect with Dr. Wilson:

  • Email: joshua@drjoshuawilson.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureproofhq/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Today we are joined by Matt Middleton, CEO of Future Proof, a media and events company aiming to modernize the wealth and investment management industry. Matt shares his journey from humble beginnings to founding Future Proof, emphasizing the importance of networking and personal connections. He discusses the company's unique approach, including casual attire, shorter sessions, and innovative networking technology. Future Proof has grown significantly, with attendance increasing from 1,600 in 2022 to nearly 2,700 in 2023. Matt envisions Future Proof as a transformative force in the financial services ecosystem, aiming to change industry perceptions and foster meaningful connections.

Connect with Matt:

  • Email: matt@futureproofhq.com
  • Website: https://futureproofhq.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureproofhq/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Stand by Model FA’s! In this episode, Joanne Bradford (Chief Money Officer at Domain Money) reveals the future of personal finance, challenging traditional wealth management paradigms! Don't miss this game-changing conversation about money, technology, and personal empowerment! 🚀

Key Takeaways:

  • Why most people between 35-45 desperately need a comprehensive financial plan
  • How technology is transforming financial advice
  • The shocking truth about unmanaged personal finances
  • Strategies for taking control of your financial future

Connect with Joanne:

  • Website: https://www.domainmoney.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/domainmoney/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Check it out! Host David DeCelle interviews Craig Butler, Chief Growth Officer at Tru Independence, about business development and sales strategies. Tru Independence, which recently merged with Sanctuary Wealth, manages $45 billion in assets with 120 advisors. Craig emphasizes the importance of differentiating in a crowded market, offering comprehensive business services including compliance, marketing, and technology support. He highlights the need for advisors to transition from practices to businesses, suggesting tools like EOS and business valuations to assess and improve operations. Craig also recommends Donald Miller's "Building a StoryBrand" for effective client engagement.

Connect with Craig:

  • Website: https://www.tru-ind.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tru-independence/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA podcast, David DeCelle, CEO of ModelFA, interviews Jonathan Foster, President and CEO of Angeles Wealth Management, a national wealth management firm serving ultra-high-net-worth families. Angeles Wealth Management has grown from $250 million in 2017 to $2 billion in 2022. Jonathan shares his journey from Institutional Equity sales trader to founding his own firm and later joining Angeles. He discusses their unique business model, which aligns interests with clients by charging performance fees for alternative investments, leading to a 50% revenue increase in 2024. Jonathan emphasizes the importance of client selection, education, and legacy planning in their client experience.

Connect with Jonathan:

  • Website: https://www.angelesinvestments.com/private-wealth
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrfoster,https://www.linkedin.com/company/angeles-investments/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Buckle up Model FAs! In this episode David sits down with Phil Weiss to discuss the critical importance of talking to your clients about Life Planning. Phil shares his 3 favorite questions that will change your life as he and David discuss discovering your potential and the nuances of financial planning from overcoming college debt to planning for financial freedom through the late stages of life.

Connect with Phil:

  • Email: philweiss@apprisewealth.com
  • Website: https://apprisewealth.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-weiss/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode, David is joined by Gary Sirak is an experienced financial advisor who has been in the industry for 45 years. He wrote a book called "How to Retire and Not Die" based on his experiences seeing clients struggle with retirement. The key themes of the book are purpose, passion, and having a plan for retirement. Gary emphasizes the importance of retirees finding meaningful activities and not just sitting around, as that can lead to health issues. He shares examples of clients who have thrived in retirement by staying active and engaged.

In this episode:

  1. Having a plan for retirement is crucial - retirees need to have purpose, passion, and a plan, not just sit around.
  2. Transitioning to retirement gradually by working part-time can help people adjust and figure out their new routine.
  3. Staying engaged, whether through travel, volunteering, or other hobbies, helps retirees avoid withering away.
  4. Spouses need to be on the same page about retirement plans and activities to avoid conflicts.

Connect with Gary:

  • Website: https://garysirak.com/contact-us/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA podcast, David DeCelle is joined by Amir Noor, CFP®, EA to discuss his journey in the financial industry. Amir started at 16, working his way up from life insurance paperwork to becoming a licensed advisor. He transitioned to a fee-only firm, offering a $400/month subscription model, which grew to over 50 clients in two years. Amir emphasizes the importance of building personal connections and providing genuine financial advice. He discusses his pricing strategy, which evolved from a subscription to a payment plan, and his approach to client acquisition, including networking and public speaking. Amir also highlights the importance of specialization in the financial industry.

In this episode:

  • Amir Noor's early career starting at 16 in the financial industry
  • Transitioning from commission-based to fee-only financial planning
  • Amir's subscription-based business model and client acquisition strategies
  • The importance of building personal connections and being authentic in networking
  • Amir's approach to pricing and service model for clients
  • Selective referrals and vetting professional relationships
  • Amir's perspective on the different types of financial advisors and the impact of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"

Connect with Amir:

  • Email: amir@unitedfpg.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirnoor/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this week's episode of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle interviews Joe Jordan, a renowned behavioral finance expert and author of "Living a Life of Significance," which has sold over 150,000 copies in five languages. Joe shares his journey from starting in financial services while still in college to his modern day roles and ventures. He emphasizes the importance of purpose-driven retirement planning, highlighting the need for financial advisors to evolve into life wealth coaches. Joe discusses the impact of technology, regulation, and demographics on the industry and stresses the necessity of human connection in financial services. He also touches on the global population decline and its implications for economic growth.

In this episode:

  • Introduction to Joe Jordan's background and achievements in financial services
  • Joe's journey from college into various industry roles, and insights on the evolution of the business
  • The importance of "retiring towards something" and helping clients plan for their "third act"
  • The role of AI in enhancing advisor efficiency to focus on more human-centric client relationships
  • Overcoming the fear of rejection through processes, prospecting, and building confidence
  • Demographic shifts and their impact on the future of financial services

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA podcast, David DeCelle is joined by Paul McManus, a best-selling author and financial services expert, about the benefits of writing short books for financial advisors. Paul explains that writing a book helps advisors position themselves as educators rather than salespeople, shortening sales cycles and building trust. He describes a six-week process for creating short books, emphasizing the importance of storytelling and focusing on the target audience's problems and solutions. They also discuss the cost-effective benefits of publishing on Amazon, including the ability to print on demand and achieve bestseller status through strategic promotions.

Connect with Paul McManus:

  • Email: paul@moreclientsmorefun.com
  • Website: https://www.theshortbookformula.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgmcmanus/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA podcast, David DeCelle is joined by Angela York and Elyse Stoner, co-founders of Event Advisors, to explore the art of creating unique and memorable events that not only drive business but also help deepen relationships. They share their expert insights on how events can be leveraged as powerful tools for growth, connection, and brand-building. Whether you're looking to enhance your business or foster stronger connections with clients and partners, this conversation is packed with actionable ideas and strategies. Tune in for valuable tips and inspiration!

Check out these resources:

  • Client Insight Questions for Event Success - https://subscribepage.io/DnBmvA
  • Website - www.event-advisors.net
  • Email - hello@event-advisors.net
  • LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/event-advisors1/?viewAsMember=true
  • The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip and Dan Heath - https://www.amazon.com/Power-Moments-Certain-Experiences-Extraordinary/dp/1501147765/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.y3676Wa5g9vwLyoJWzPwKyBeigKSR05uGHQyUbWahPfYWVqKwSAYiZ9GUKNrj2JVYi31dhO410Tsp5wo5ConcggW6Tydc9dnRqwt-uRgPYFAvqUcxdiOhCReYlxkpwnm_My5VtIbCquhukJA64FyaFxxh5iEmbCpm2JCidNvxSxPwYrFOSV6kpTBKEMAU1JIZs12lXM32MHIDnqrymMNl2sdQdx0HN4NaVxQZxezp_Y.eQda5kZxjAyU5javYOtxfZK_Ap6BdNvbBul2_Qcj9CY&dib_tag=se&hvadid=241605057005&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9031537&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=6803604307846816881&hvtargid=kwd-325068544030&hydadcr=20338_10163971&keywords=power+of+moments&qid=1738270511&sr=8-1

Connect with Angela York:

  • Website: https://www.Event-Advisors.net
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelayork/

Connect with Elyse:

  • Website: https://www.Event-Advisors.net
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elyse-adler-stoner/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

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In this episode, David DeCelle, the CEO of ModelFA, sits down with Rick Burgess, from Forms Logic. Rick shares his unique journey, from his time in the Marines to his experiences as a financial advisor, wholesaler, and serial entrepreneur.

Rick explains how Forms Logic, a data company that is revolutionizing the way the financial industry handles paperwork and data management. He provides insights into the challenges and inefficiencies in the industry, and how their platform is helping advisors, RIAs, and firms streamline their processes.

Key Takeaways:

  • Rick's unconventional career path and how it shaped his entrepreneurial mindset
  • The importance of data-driven solutions in the financial industry
  • Practical use cases of Forms Logic's platform for advisors, RIAs, and firms of all sizes
  • Strategies for handling acquisitions and mergers efficiently using technology
  • Rick's love for Stephen King's "It" and how it helps him unplug from the technical aspects of his work

This episode is a must-listen for anyone in the financial industry looking to improve their data management, streamline their operations, and stay ahead of the curve.

Connect with Rick:

  • Website: https://www.formslogic.com/
  • Email: rick@primestc.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsalive/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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This month’s special episode of the Model FA podcast is another edition of the DDG - where David, Dan and Graham come together to mind meld about the Exchange (skool.com/exchange) and this month’s episode is all about business development, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and relationship building in client interactions. The conversation also touches on technical difficulties faced during the podcast, team dynamics, and the significance of engaging conversations in a business context. The hosts share insights on how to effectively build trust and likability with clients while maintaining those relationships over time. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the importance of effective communication, networking, and the human element in business relationships. They discuss strategies for building rapport, leveraging referrals, and maintaining a personal touch in an increasingly digital world. We emphasize the significance of confidence and genuine curiosity in fostering meaningful connections and driving business growth.

Key Takeaways:

  • Authenticity is key in business development efforts.
  • Building relationships requires intentional conversations.
  • Technical difficulties can impact team dynamics during meetings.
  • Engaging conversations are essential for client relationships.
  • Collecting client reviews is crucial for business success.
  • Trust is easier to gain than to maintain in relationships.
  • A real person behind business efforts makes a difference.
  • Challenging ideas in discussions can enhance podcast quality.
  • Effective communication skills are vital for networking. People enjoy talking about themselves, which can enhance networking.
  • Being genuinely interested in others makes you more likable.
  • Identifying key individuals before networking events can lead to meaningful connections.
  • Asking questions and being curious can lead to reciprocal conversations.
  • Referrals are strengthened by reinforcing positive experiences with clients.
  • The human element is crucial in a world leaning towards automation.
  • Personalized communication can significantly improve client relationships.
  • Confidence is built through consistent actions and small promises kept.
  • Effective networking requires a focus on building relationships, not just seeking prospects.
  • Maintaining a human touch in marketing can differentiate you from competitors.

Connect with Dan:

  • Website: https://www.fa.exchange
  • Email: dallison@bchlife.com

Connect with Graham:

  • Website: https://www.fa.exchange

  • Email: graham@modelfa.com

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theonlinemarketer/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode, David DeCelle, CEO of ModelFA, sits down with Jason Mirabella, founder of Deliver Advice. Jason shares his 25-year career journey in the financial services industry, discussing his transition to the RIA space and his experience as Chief Platform Officer and COO at WealthSource Partners, a $2.1-2.3 billion RIA. He explains the importance of moving from an advisor-centric mindset to an enterprise mindset when building scalable advisory firms.

Jason introduces the "blocks" methodology of Deliver Advice, which focuses on nine key areas of an enterprise-level business, including strategy, platform, client experience, and culture. He emphasizes the need for a shared philosophy and framework to create cohesive outcomes for firms.

The conversation also covers the challenges of organic growth and M&A in the industry, including the concept of "Franken Firms" and the risks associated with advisor-dependent businesses. Jason provides actionable steps for larger firms to address these issues, such as focusing on strategic planning and alignment.

Key Takeaways:

Jason's career journey and evolution from an analyst to an enterprise-level consultant

The importance of moving from an advisor-centric to an enterprise mindset

Deliver Advice's "blocks" methodology for building scalable advisory firms

Addressing the challenges of organic growth and M&A in the industry

Actionable steps for larger firms to improve organizational health and culture

Connect with Jason:

  • Website: https://www.DeliverAdvice.com
  • Email: Jason@DeliverAdvice.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmirabella/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, host David DeCelle sits down with David Newson, the founder and CEO of XNW Digital, to explore his remarkable journey into the financial planning industry. From his unexpected start in the shoe department at Nordstrom to his foray into the world of behavioral healthcare, Newson's path has been anything but conventional.

Key Moments:

  • 0:01:49 - Newson's journey from Nordstrom to the financial planning industry
  • 0:10:00 - Newson's experiences in the behavioral healthcare space and the personal challenges he faced
  • 0:25:00 - Newson's insights on the importance of professional marketing language in the financial industry
  • 0:32:38 - Newson's approach to evaluating a firm's marketing team and their ability to handle leads
  • 0:49:03 - Newson's recommendation of the book "The Creative Act" by Rick Rubin and its impact on his understanding of creativity

Tune in to hear Newson's unique perspective on the intersection of marketing, compliance, and growth in the financial planning industry. This episode is a must-listen for any firm looking to elevate their marketing efforts and drive sustainable growth.

Connect with David:

Email: david@xnwdigital.comWebsite: https://xnwdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/newson/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this exciting episode of the Model FA Podcast, co-founders David DeCelle, Graham Gardner, and Dan Allison share fresh insights and actionable strategies straight from their thriving membership platform, The Exchange. Each month, they highlight key posts, discussions, and breakthroughs from within the community that offer high-value advice to financial advisors looking to grow and scale their practices. This episode is no exception as they dive deep into topics that matter most to advisors: refining your client segmentation process, the art of building a second-chair advisor role, and actionable tips for reaching your 2025 business goals. Whether you’re looking to streamline your client experience, automate key areas of your business, or sharpen your marketing strategies, this episode offers a treasure trove of ideas and tools to help you elevate your practice. Get ready for a fun, insightful, and engaging conversation packed with practical takeaways you won’t want to miss!

Key Highlights: 1. Client Segmentation with Adam Swerdlow

* Adam’s new approach to client segmentation goes beyond just revenue. He uses a point system considering revenue, referral potential, wealth trajectory, service time, and client engagement. This method helps identify A, B, and C clients based on both qualitative and quantitative factors.
* If you're a member of the Exchange, search for “Client Segmentation” by Adam Swerdlow for more details and a downloadable Google doc.
* Key Takeaway: Evaluate your clients holistically—not just by the revenue they generate, but by their potential to refer new business and the energy they bring to your practice.

  1. Hiring a Second Chair Advisor

    • A second-chair advisor can help advisors offload lower-value clients while maintaining service to your top-tier clients. This approach can help you scale your practice without losing relationships or revenue.
    • Key Takeaway: Hiring a second chair advisor early on can make transitions smoother as you prepare to step back from day-to-day operations. It’s a long-term play that ensures business continuity and client satisfaction.

    • Michael Kitsis and the Power of Referral Strategies

    • Paul McManus helps advisors become authors. He was recently featured on Michael Kitsis' podcast, and his calendar is already full for January.

    • For advisors thinking about authoring a book, Paul’s services can help bring your ideas to life and make you a bestseller.
    • Key Takeaway: Networking with industry influencers, like Michael Kitsis, can significantly elevate your business and exposure.

    • Automation and Operational Efficiency

    • Ariel from Sphinx Automation and Jason Mirabella from Deliver Advice are contributing new courses and monthly calls on improving operational efficiency and automating business functions.

    • Key Takeaway: Efficient automation can save valuable time and allow advisors to focus on high-impact activities.

    • Google Reviews and Testimonial Strategies

    • Building and systematizing a Google review program is crucial for advisors looking to enhance their online presence. Michael Kitsis discusses this in his podcast.

    • Key Takeaway: Set up automation for requesting reviews, integrate them into your CRM, and ensure you aren’t bombarding clients who’ve already given a review.

    • January Webinar on Google Reviews

    • Save the Date: On January 23rd, at 12 PM ET, join David DeCelle and Andrew Johnson for a webinar on how to leverage testimonials and Google reviews for your practice. Register here (available before the event).

    • VIP Mastermind and Member Highlights

    • Congrats to Melody Brady, Joe Moss, and David Daley for reaching Level 6 in the Exchange. These members will participate in the first VIP mastermind, where Dan, Graham, and David will help them refine their business strategies.

    • Key Takeaway: Engaging and contributing to the community can unlock opportunities for deeper business development through personal coaching.

    • Setting Strategic Goals for 2025

    • Graham shares a framework for setting strategic goals for 2025 using the SMART methodology (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Repeatable, Time-bound).

    • Key Takeaway: Focus on 1-3 key goals for each area of your business, then work backwards to develop tactics that will move the needle. Avoid getting caught up in tactical noise.

    • Sports Moment

    • Graham shares his excitement about his Washington Commanders making the playoffs, and David (with his Tampa Bay background) provides a humorous take on sports fandom.

Useful Links: * Join The Exchange: skool.com/exchange * Webinar Registration (January 23rd, 12 PM ET): Register here

Tune in for more valuable content like this each month on the Model FA Podcast!

Connect with Dan:

  • Website: https://www.fa.exchange
  • Email: dallison@bchlife.com

Connect with Graham:

  • Website: https://www.fa.exchange
  • Email: graham@modelfa.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theonlinemarketer/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the ModelFA Podcast, David DeCelle is rejoined by Kristin Harad, a business and marketing coach for RIA leaders and independent financial advisors. Kristin shares tactical advice on content creation, leveraging LinkedIn, improving prospect follow-up, and enhancing client engagement to drive referrals.

Key Moments:

[1:37] Kristin emphasizes the importance of content marketing as the foundation of an advisor's marketing plan.

[2:55] Kristin and David discuss the various content mediums advisors can utilize and the importance of finding a sustainable approach.

[6:12] Kristin provides tips on optimizing a LinkedIn profile, including the headshot, background photo, and headline.

[15:45] David and Kristin explore strategies for effective prospect follow-up, including providing value-added content and using specific language to encourage responses.

[33:39] Kristin recommends the book "All It Takes Is a Goal" by John Acuff and shares how it has impacted her approach to goal-setting.

Be sure to subscribe to the ModelFA Podcast for more insights and strategies to help grow your financial planning practice.

Connect with Kristin:

  • Website: https://fulladvisorcoaching.com
  • Email: kristin@kristinharad.com
  • LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kristinharad

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode we are joined by Gerry Spitzer, a founding partner of Questor Capital Partners. Gerry shares his career journey from Binghamton University to Price Waterhouse, Merrill Lynch, UBS, and finally to independence. He discusses the benefits and challenges of going independent, emphasizing the importance of due diligence and choosing the right platform. Gerry highlights the value of the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation and the success of their team, which now manages $875 million in assets. They also explore the complexities of helping business owners plan for life after their companies, including succession planning and leveraging ESOPs. In this episode:

0:01:10 Gerry Spitzer's career journey - Started in accounting, moved to computer sales, then joined Merrill Lynch training program despite high failure rate. Formed a long-term partnership with a colleague from the training program.

0:04:49 Transitioning to independence - Discussed benefits and challenges of working at large brokerages vs. the independent space. Emphasized the importance of due diligence when choosing an independent platform.

0:13:14 Building a team and client base - Described current business with 7 team members and $875M in assets. Serve a mix of clients including business owners, corporate executives, and those inheriting wealth.

0:15:26 Challenges and opportunities in exit planning - Highlighted importance of succession planning for business owners. Shared examples of different exit planning approaches like ESOP transactions.

0:25:23 Navigating the transition process - Discussed resistance from business owners and strategies to overcome it, including building a strong professional team.

0:35:39 Impact of exit planning on clients - Emphasized the referrals and positive outcomes from successful exit planning engagements. Importance of educating centers of influence.

0:39:11 Final thoughts and future goals - Excited about the independent space and opportunities to continue serving high-quality clients.

Connect with Gerry:

  • Website: www.questarcap.com
  • Email: gerry@questarcap.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerry-spitzer-cpwa%C2%AE-cepa%C2%AE-2472895/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the ModelFA podcast, host David DeCelle sits down with Ritik Malhotra, the founder and CEO of Savvy Wealth. Ritik shares his impressive entrepreneurial journey, from building internet businesses as a teenager to founding successful startups in cloud storage and fintech.

The conversation digs into Ritik's inspiration behind starting Savvy Wealth - his experience working with financial advisors and identifying the industry's need for modernization and technology-driven solutions. Ritik explains how Savvy Wealth's purpose-built AI-powered platform is empowering advisors to increase efficiency, scale their businesses, and spend more time focused on client relationships.

Key insights from the discussion include:

How AI is currently impacting the financial advisory industry, from automating compliance and marketing tasks to freeing up advisor time

Examples of advisors seeing 50% time savings on quarterly reviews and 80% reductions in content creation time

Ritik's emphasis on using AI to augment advisors, not replace them, and the importance of the human advisor-client relationship

Savvy Wealth's approach to constantly gathering feedback from advisors to improve their platform and address pain points

Ritik also shares the influential book "Founders at Work" by Jessica Livingston, which inspired him in his entrepreneurial journey.

This episode provides valuable insights for financial advisors looking to leverage technology and AI to enhance their practices and better serve their clients. Be sure to visit Savvy Wealth's website and follow them on LinkedIn to learn more about their innovative solutions.

Connect with Ritik:

  • Website: https://www.savvywealth.com
  • Email: ritik@savvywealth.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritikmalhotra/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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What does a pilot’s license at 16, a career in journalism, and a passion for financial advisor marketing have in common? They’re all part of Jonathan Musgrave’s remarkable journey. In this episode of The Model FA Podcast, Jonathan, founder and CEO of Steep Digital Marketing, opens up about his unconventional career path and how it shaped his approach to helping financial advisors thrive. Check out these key moments: 0:01:25 - Jonathan describes his goal out of college as becoming "unemployable"

0:02:25 - Early ambition to become a pilot and get his pilot's license at age 16

0:03:25 - Jonathan shifts to journalism after the pilot market becomes flooded post-9/11

0:04:25 - First job out of college was at a wholesale company as their marketing director

0:07:25 - His transition from print to digital marketing and starting Steep Digital in 2017

0:10:25 - Challenges and lessons learned from his wholesale business experience

0:14:25 - How COVID-19 led to a shift from live events to webinars for Steep Digital

0:19:25 - The "Psychology of Retirement" film and its success in attracting audiences

0:27:25 - Effective call to action used at the film events

0:34:25 - Impact of Cameron Herold's book "Vivid Vision" on his approach to leadership and vision setting

0:41:25 - Jonathan provides information on how to connect with Steep Digital and get a free copy of the film Connect with Jonathan:

  • Website: https://www.steepdigital.com
  • Email: jonathan@steepdigital.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steep-digital-marketing

About the Model FA Podcast The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams. Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered. Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode, Christopher Tan, CEO of Providend, Southeast Asia's first and Singapore's sole fee-only comprehensive wealth advisory firm, shares his journey from a humble background to becoming a financial advisor. He tells the story of how he transitioned from engineering to the army, then to pharmaceutical sales and eventually to financial services. Despite initial industry resistance, Providend has grown to manage over $1 billion for 900 households, with a team of 55. Tan emphasized the importance of aligning financial advice with clients' life goals and credited the "hedgehog concept" from Jim Collins' "Good to Great" for guiding Providend's strategy.

Check out these key moments:

0:02:06 Christopher Tan introduces himself as the CEO of Providend, Southeast Asia's first and Singapore's sole fee-only comprehensive wealth advisory firm.

0:07:13 Christopher discusses how his time in the army instilled confidence, discipline, and a sense of pride in his work that he carried into his business career.

0:14:31 He shares how a client's feedback made him realize he was selling products rather than providing true financial planning advice, leading him to leave the insurance industry.

0:22:42 Christopher recounts the initial industry backlash and personal attacks he faced when launching Providend's fee-only model, including threatening letters.

0:40:02 Christopher emphasizes Providend's focus on helping clients achieve their life goals, not just managing their money, as a key driver of the firm's success.

0:51:40 Christopher explains how the "hedgehog concept" from the book "Good to Great" has shaped Providend's corporate strategy and mission.

Connect with Christopher:

  • Website: https://www.providend.com
  • Email: chris_tan@providend.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-tan-19336a/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle sits down with Abby Salameh, Chief Growth Officer at RFG Advisory. Abby shares her fascinating career journey, from starting in institutional sales at Sanford Bernstein to launching the first financial advisor newspaper, Investment News.

Abby discusses her transition into growing large RIA firms like Fusion Advisor Network and Hightower Advisors, and the key lessons she's learned about advisor growth and operational efficiency.

Check out these key moments:

0:06:35 Abby's early career path and how she "happenstanced" into financial services

0:12:35 Abby's move from publishing into the custodial side at TD Waterhouse

0:15:35 Abby's experience growing Fusion Advisor Network, Private Advisor Group, and Hightower

0:24:04 Abby's approach to helping advisors identify where they spend their time and energy

0:31:07 Abby's focus on culture and selectivity in who RFG brings onto their platform

0:36:32 How RFG balances automated content with custom, advisor-branded content

This episode is full of insights for any financial advisor looking to grow their practice in a sustainable way. Tune in to hear Abby's unique perspective from her diverse background in the industry.

Connect with Abby:

  • Website: https://www.rfgadvisory.com
  • Email: asalameh@rfgadvisory.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbysalameh/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Exchange on Skool.com to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the ModelFA podcast, host David sits down with Craig Robson, the Founding Principal and Managing Director of Regent Peak Wealth Advisors. Craig shares his fascinating journey from a 25-year career at Merrill Lynch to launching his own independent RIA firm, Regent Peak Wealth Advisors. The conversation delves into the challenges and opportunities of transitioning to the independent space, the firm's unique approach to client engagement, and the importance of building a strong culture and team. In this episode:

0:01:20 Craig's experience at Merrill Lynch and the benefits of larger firms for training new advisors

0:04:30 The founding of Regent Peak Wealth Advisors and the firm's focus on serving wealth creators

0:10:51 The importance of having a resource strategy and leveraging external partners in the early stages

0:15:04 Regent Peak's growth strategy, including the consulting agreement model and proactive marketing efforts

0:27:34 The significance of the "10,000 hours" concept and the importance of focusing on core competencies

0:53:28 Craig's recommended book, "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell, and the impact it has had on his perspective

Connect with Craig:

  • Website: https://www.regentpeakwealth.com
  • Email: crobson@regentpeakwealth.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/regent-peak-wealth-advisors/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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On this special episode, Graham Gardner hosts the podcast and interviews David DeCelle and Dan Allison to talk strategies for advisors to grow their practices in 2024. They emphasize the importance of identifying one's strengths and niches, leveraging technology for automation, and outsourcing non-core tasks. They advise on creating personalized content to build authority and maintain client relationships. The conversation highlights the need for intentional marketing, such as scheduling follow-up meetings and providing value-added content to prospects and COIs. They stress the importance of simplicity in communication and the value of long-term, consistent efforts over quick fixes.

Join the most connected place for advisors online. Check out the Exchange and visit FA.Exchange In this episode:

Identify strengths to automate, delegate and hire for weaknesses

Scheduling natural follow-up meetings with prospects

The art of personalized monthly content for prospects

Gathering client feedback, adjust events and communications

Connect with Dan:

  • Website: https://www.fa.exchange
  • Email: dallison@bchlife.com

Connect with Graham:

  • Website: https://www.fa.exchange
  • Email: graham@modelfa.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theonlinemarketer/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode I am joined by John O'Connell, CEO of the Oasis Group to discuss ownership, data security, and predictive analytics for wealth managers. He emphasized the importance of relatable technology communication and shared real-life case studies, such as integrating technology stacks and enhancing efficiency. John highlighted the significance of data warehouses and data lakes, explaining their roles in storing and analyzing data. He also discussed AI's potential to augment, not replace, advisors, recommending prompt engineering and note-taking AI tools. John recommended "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "The Magic of Thinking Big" for building relationships and business success.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

0:00:07 - The role of a CEO is to invest in the business and ensure it remains an ongoing concern.

0:00:28 - Introduction of John O'Connell, founder and CEO of the Oasis Group.

0:01:47 - Oasis Group's four main services: data capture, data security, data ownership, and predictive analytics.

0:04:10 - John O'Connell's background, starting as a programmer at Merrill Lynch and transitioning to sales and consulting roles.

0:07:38 - Importance of making technology relatable to non-technical advisors.

0:20:26 - Considerations for advisors regarding data warehouses and data lakes.

0:30:15 - Practical applications of AI in financial services, including note-taking and prompt engineering.

0:44:45 - Book recommendations: "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie and "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David Schwartz.

0:51:27 - Closing remarks and information about The Oasis Group's resources.

Connect with John:

Website: https://www.theoasisgrp.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnokoconnell/

Email: john@theoasisgrp.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Today we welcome the return of Michael Hannah, a successful financial advisor and co-founder of Azura Wealth Advisors, to discuss his journey from trading derivatives to wealth management. He emphasized the importance of treating clients' money as if it were his own and building long-term relationships through empathy and expertise. Michael shared strategies for engaging busy clients, such as consistent follow-ups and unique experiences like hosting a private sushi chef at home. He highlighted the value of positioning clients as the heroes of their financial journey while advisors act as guides. Michael also discussed the significance of sharing personal interests and experiences to deepen client relationships.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

0:00:07 - Michael Hanna joins us to Discuss the importance of handling clients' finances with care and expertise to build long-standing relationships.

0:01:21 - Background, including initial experience in futures and options trading, and transition into private wealth management and financial planning.

0:05:07 - Treating clients' money as if it were your own, and the importance of empathy in financial planning.

0:07:08 - The challenge of separating work life from personal life and the importance of being emotionally available for family.

0:09:31 - A mentor's advice on the importance of shutting off work at the end of the day to avoid burnout.

0:11:31 - Helping clients save enough to ensure a brighter financial future and the ability to enjoy retirement.

0:14:35 - Positioning the advisor as a guide, rather than a hero, in the client's financial journey.

0:18:01 - Strategies for helping busy clients prioritize financial planning, including consistency, persistence, and understanding their priorities.

0:27:29 - Michael shares the example of hosting a private sushi chef at his home for clients, which deepened their connection and led to new opportunities.

0:35:58 - The broader impact of financial planning on clients' lives and goals, and the importance of helping them achieve financial freedom.

0:37:35 - Power of shared experiences in building strong client relationships.

Connect with Michael:

  • Website: https://www.azurawealth.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelwhanna
  • Email: mhanna@azurawealth.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the ModelFA Podcast, David sits down with Stevyn Guinnip, a health expert for financial advisors. They discuss the importance of prioritizing health and wellness in achieving overall success, and how advisors can balance their professional and personal lives. Stevyn shares her personal journey and the lessons she's learned about the long-term impact of stress, sleep, and nutrition on health and well-being. The conversation also covers the benefits of proactive healthcare, the impact of personal health on professional success, and simple habits that can lead to better health. Listeners will walk away with actionable tips and strategies to improve their own health and wellness, and ultimately, their overall quality of life.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

0:00 - 1:24: Introduction to the episode and guest Stevyn Guinnip

1:24 - 2:01: Stevyn's background and connection to the financial industry

2:01 - 3:49: Discussion on the different definitions of success and the importance of balancing business, health, family, and personal well-being

3:49 - 8:47: Stevyn's personal journey and the pivotal moment when her father turned down a promotion to prioritize his family and health

8:47 - 15:36: Stevyn's experience with a health crisis and the lessons she learned about the long-term impact of stress, sleep, and nutrition on health and well-being

15:36 - 21:28: The importance of proactive healthcare, the impact of personal health on professional success, and the gradual decline in men's testosterone levels

21:28 - 26:53: Simple habits for better health, including drinking water, walking, and weight training, and the benefits of incorporating these habits into daily routines

26:53 - 32:07: The power of saying "yes" and starting small, and the recommendation of the book "Outlive" by Dr. Peter Attia

32:07 - 37:12: Stevyn's upcoming book "How To Grow Wealthy" and the importance of prevention and self-care in achieving overall success

Connect with Stevyn:

  • Website: www.growwellthy.com
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevyn-guinnip/
  • Email: stevyn@growwellthy.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, Tammy Lee joins David to discuss how she helps financial advisors scale their businesses as a fractional COO. Through her work, Tammy acts as the operations expert so advisors don't have to be. She rolls up her sleeves to get into the weeds with their staff. Tammy focuses on developing people and building capacity. She works closely with teams to streamline processes and custodian relationships.

By reallocating team members' time based on their strengths, Tammy helps firms increase engagement and productivity. She shares how coaching junior advisors is important for their career progression. Tammy also ensures a smooth transition when she finishes a project by finding a replacement.

This episode provides insight into Tammy's fractional COO services and how she helps advisors solve operational problems. You'll learn about the impact she makes unlocking hidden potential in workplaces. If you want to scale your RIA more efficiently, don't miss this look inside Tammy's consulting approach.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:30 Tammy Lee's background and journey to becoming a financial advisor

0:06:30 Starting her consulting business to help other advisors scale their businesses

0:11:03 How Tammy helps firms as an operations expert

0:13:29 Common problems Tammy encounters in firms

0:15:35 Empowering advisors and CEOs through coaching

0:17:30 Unlocking hidden potential with Adam Grant's book

0:19:58 Transitioning out of firms to help more people

0:21:34 Book recommendation: Hidden Potential by Adam Grant

0:23:06 Ensuring a smooth transition when leaving firms

0:26:02 Importance of coaching and developing junior advisors

0:28:45 Goal of helping as many firms as possible

Connect with Tammy:

  • Website: https://www.riasie.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammy-lee-cfp%C2%AE-27b4432/
  • Email: tammy@riasie.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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David is joined by Eric Stein to discuss the role of fractional CMOs in supporting financial advisors, and explore the differences between fractional CIO offerings and TAMP solutions. Eric highlights the importance of having a dedicated marketing professional to help advisors navigate the ever-changing marketing landscape. This episode emphasizes the importance of customized investment solutions and outsourcing investment management for financial advisors, highlighting the advantages of adding depth to a firm, providing more resources, and increasing client confidence.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

Eric Stein's career path from college to asset management firm.

Career paths, subway experiences, and meeting business partner Mario Nardone.

Customized investment solutions for financial advisors.

Outsourcing investment management to a third-party CIO.

Investment management for smaller firms.

CMO and OSA roles for financial advisors.

Connect with Eric:

Website: https://www.eastbayis.com

Email: eric@eastbayis.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Strap in Model FA’s, this is a powerful episode! Efficiency savant Libby Greiwe joins David to discuss productivity strategies for busy financial advisors. Libby shares tips for creating standard operating procedures, managing time through model weeks, and balancing business ownership with family responsibilities. She shares practical techniques for running advisory practices more efficiently while maintaining a sustainable work-life balance. This episode provides actionable takeaways advisors can implement immediately to save time and streamline their business operations.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

[0:00-5:00] Introduction and background on Libby's journey from engineering to financial planning and building an efficient practice model.

[5:00-11:25] Discussion on balancing time spent growing a business with the quality of clients and relationships. Debating the importance of initial exposure versus long-term sustainability.

[11:25-18:00] Libby shares insights on balancing motherhood with business ownership, including assessing priorities and building structure for full presence in both roles.

[18:00-23:50] Top challenges for advisors like lack of standard operating procedures and time management. Libby emphasizes the importance of process documentation.

[23:50-28:30] Personalized productivity strategies including compartmentalizing days, avoiding distractions, and customizing schedules over time.

[28:30-34:10] Tips for creating margin in schedules, dedicating time to strategic thinking as a business owner instead of just working in the business.

[34:10-41:00] Importance of templatizing tasks to avoid duplication of work and examples of applying this to emails.

[41:00-46:45] Discussion of book "Built to Sell" and applying lessons to productize services for scalability and an exit strategy.

Connect with Libby:

Website: https://www.theefficientadvisor.com/

Email: efficientadvisor@gmail.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In episode 152 of the Model FA Podcast, David is joined by Nick Meyer and Nate Hoskin to discuss content marketing and brand sponsorships in the financial services industry. They share their experience creating educational content on TikTok and Instagram, emphasizing the importance of long-form content and chopping it up for social media use. This episode focuses on their experiences in leveraging social media platforms to build their personal brands and businesses, and share their approaches to creating valuable content and optimizing social media strategies for financial advisors, including compliance, brand deals, virtual networking, and high-quality content.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

00:00 - Transitioning from financial advisors to content creators and insights on compliance and brand partnerships.

36:11 - Strategies for content creation such as podcasting vs short videos and batch recording.

46:51 - Building a financial advisor practice during COVID through social media and video content.

1:02:36 - Optimizing social media campaigns through educational content targeting ideal clients.

1:10:16 - Tips for scripting, filming, and editing short videos authentically for different platforms.

1:28:22 - Using a satisfaction guarantee in financial planning to improve services.

Connect with Nick:

Website: https://n2contentmarketing.com

Email: nick@n2contentmarketing.com

Connect with Nate:

Website: https://n2contentmarketing.com

Email: nate@n2contentmarketing.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In the latest episode of the Model FA Podcast, Trevor Scotto shares how he grew his financial planning firm from $30M to $500M AUM through strategic mergers and acquisitions. He details leveraging personal connections to partner with a tax practice, and how adopting technology helped convert those clients. Trevor also reflects on finding purpose and work-life balance after his father's cancer diagnosis. In this interview, he discusses integrating tax planning into comprehensive client services and applying negotiation skills from Chris Voss's MasterClass to grow his business.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • 00:00 Welcome to the Mic: Trevor Scotto
  • 02:15 Unpacking Trevor's Early Career and Inspirations
  • 04:30 Striking the Perfect Balance: Work and Family Life
  • 06:30 Entrepreneurial Spirit: The Genesis of Trevor's Firm
  • 08:15 Networking Mastery: Connecting with Titans of the Industry
  • 10:15 The Search for the Ideal Tax Practice Partner
  • 12:30 The Art of the Deal: Navigating a Successful Merger
  • 14:30 Scaling from $160M to $500M in AUM
  • 16:30 Tax Planning: A Critical Tool for Wealth Maximization
  • 18:30 Breaking New Ground with Schwab's Platform Integration
  • 20:30 Secrets to Sustaining Strong Client Relationships
  • 22:30 Trevor's Top Book Picks for Success and Inspiration

Connect with Trevor:

  • Website: https://www.ffgwealth.com
  • Email: tscotto@ffgwealth.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In episode 150 of the Model FA Podcast, Kristin Harad joins David to discuss the challenges of scaling second-generation advisory firms, emphasizing the importance of regularly assessing and updating business strategies. They also highlighted the need to connect advisors with service providers, embrace an abundance mindset, and document and coach the next generation to replicate success. In another conversation segment, David and Kristin discuss marketing strategies for financial advisors, emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive approach that includes various tactics to build a strong brand and attract potential clients. They also highlight the need to focus on long-term growth, prioritize sustainability, and continuously improve marketing strategies. Finally, Kristin and David discussed the paradox of choice in the business advice industry and its impact on decision-making, emphasizing the importance of simplifying marketing strategies by eliminating choice and focusing on a few key areas.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • 0:00:00 Introduction - David welcomes Kristin Harad
  • 0:02:06 Background - Kristin shares journey in finance industry
  • 0:09:44 Advisor needs - Top issues clients seek help with clarity
  • 0:11:06 Second generation - Challenges for new leadership
  • 0:13:32 Marketing budget - How to set and track spending
  • 0:16:45 Client gesture story - Thoughtful gift builds connection
  • 0:21:46 Consistency importance - Strategies require patience over time
  • 0:25:30 Simplify choices book - Focus on few key efforts
  • 0:31:10 Relationships grow business - Podcast leads to referrals
  • 0:35:15 Commit fully marketing - Give strategies time for results

Connect with Kristin:

  • Website: https://fulladvisorcoaching.com
  • Email: kristin@fulladvisorcoaching.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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David interviews Tyson Ray, the CEO of Form Wealth Advisors, about his journey in financial planning and his book The Total Relationship. Tyson shares how he started investing at a young age and bought his first firm at age 24. He emphasizes the importance of understanding clients' lives beyond finances through the "total relationship" approach. Tyson discusses implementing life plans, wealth plans, and care plans for each client. He also stresses the value of building trust through empathy and personalized service over traditional sales tactics.

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • (0:02) Wealth management and providing meaningful value with Tyson Ray.
  • (1:15) Entrepreneurship, investing, and personal growth.
  • (5:53) Estate planning and prioritizing clients' interests.
  • (11:26) Building a team for a successful financial planning business.
  • (18:20) Finding the right people for a business venture.
  • (20:13) Financial planning, coaching, and client service.
  • (24:27) Building client relationships through empathy and personal connections.
  • (29:29) Personalized financial planning and branding.
  • (35:03) Financial planning and life goals with an advisor.
  • (40:28) Financial planning, funding, and monitoring for clients.
  • (45:30) Branding, marketing, and idolatry in financial planning.
  • (52:27) The value of a relationship book and leaving reviews.

Connect with Tyson:

  • Website: https://www.totalrelationship.com
  • Email: tyson.ray@formwealth.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm. Securities through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA / SIPC. Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. FORM Wealth Advisors is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services. Raymond James and its advisors do not provide tax advice. Podcast guest is Tyson Ray, CEO, Founding Partner, Senior Wealth Advisor at FORM Wealth Advisors. FORM Wealth Advisors is located at 431 Geneva National Ave S, Lake Geneva, WI, 53147; 262-686-3005.

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In this episode Eric Negron shares his journey as an entrepreneur and advisor in the industry. He discusses how he structures his time and manages multiple businesses. Eric emphasizes the importance of mindset, character, and activity in achieving success. He recommends collaboration over competition and building a supportive board of mentors. Eric encourages listeners to ask for help and contribute value to others on their personal development journey.

“Ask for help. There's always a book you could read. Somebody that you can talk to and in today's day and age, a YouTube video you could watch or podcast you could listen to. So please ask for help." - Eric Negron

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Entrepreneurship, ADHD, and mentorship in the advisor space. (0:10)
  • Building a successful financial services business and managing multiple entities. (4:03)
  • Time management and empowering team members. (9:13)
  • Work-life balance and efficient email management. (15:52)
  • Developing a financial advisor's mindset, heart set, and skill set. (23:50)
  • Business success and mindset. (28:34)
  • The benefits of collaboration over competition in the financial industry. (36:31)
  • Building relationships, mentorship, and personal growth. (40:15)

Connect with Eric:

  • Website: https://forefrontan.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericjnegron/

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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In this episode we are joined by Joe Moss to discuss leveraging online communities. Joe enjoys using the Skool platform to create simple yet effective communities for advisors. David suggests advisors could offer community-based courses to complement subscription services. Joe sees potential for advisors to work with multiple clients at once in a group setting. Overall, their discussion focuses on innovative ways for advisors to grow their businesses through community building.

“With a traditional funnel, you've got the top of the funnel, middle of funnel, bottom of funnel, and then the client out the bottom. But a group funnel is where all of your different platforms, all of the ways you're doing marketing, you funnel people towards a free community.” - Joe Moss

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Building a community for financial advisors and showcasing top tech platforms. (0:10)
  • Leveraging a subscription model and downselling for financial advisors. (14:57)
  • Using LinkedIn data to connect with industry peers and gain exposure. (21:05)
  • Building an audience and network. (26:55)
  • Tim Ferriss' book "Tribe of Mentors" and its insights on success and goal-setting. (34:21)

Connect with Joe:

  • Website: https://www.skool.com/proadvisorsuite
  • Email: joe@proadvisorsuite.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Arielle Minicozzi-Figueroa is the founder and co-owner of Sphynx Automation, a virtual CTO firm that helps financial advisors gain efficiency and maximize their client impact using technology and automation. In addition to her work with Sphynx, Arielle is a partner and financial planner at Modern Money Advisor, where she focuses on working with young, female professionals. Arielle resides in sunny Arizona with her husband (and business partner) Mark Figueroa, and their cat (the namesake of Sphynx), Nigel.

Arielle Minicozzi joins us to discuss how her company Sphynx Automation helps financial advisors automate tasks like onboarding new clients and gathering documentation. Automating routine work frees up time for advisors to focus on building relationships. Arielle discusses tools like AI transcription, Zapier automations, and pre-populating forms. Compliance considerations with AI were raised. David offered coaching and free automations through Sphynx for advisors who contact him. Overall the discussion focused on leveraging technology to improve efficiency and client experiences.

“There are some things that a human just does better than a computer. But there are a lot of things, data entry for example, that computers will do better and faster than a human.” - Arielle Minicozzi

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Leveraging technology for financial advisors with Ariel Mina. (0:10)
  • Automating business tasks for financial advisors. (5:11)
  • Automation's impact on business operations and employee roles. (10:21)
  • Automation in financial planning and its impact on time and energy. (13:36)
  • Improving client experience and onboarding process. (20:59)
  • Streamlining onboarding process for financial planning clients. (25:04)
  • AI integration in financial advisor practices. (30:25)
  • AI note-taking, compliance, and time management in business meetings. (35:38)
  • Automation and coaching for financial advisors. (44:53)

Connect with Arielle:

  • Website: https://www.sphynxautomation.com
  • Email: team@sphynxautomation.com

Shout out to YCharts!

Download your copy of their ETF research and don’t forget, get 15% off your initial YCharts Professional subscription when you start your free YCharts trial and tell them I sent you (new customers only).

White Paper Landing Page: https://go.ycharts.com/the-best-performing-etfs-of-2023?utm_source=Model+FA

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Eric Simonson is the CEO of Abundo and in charge of driving our mission of providing high-quality, conflict-free financial planning to everyone. In addition to managing the team, he works with a small but amazing group of clients and helps them work towards their financial and travel goals. Eric is a passionate foodie and enjoys meditation. He is also an avid traveler and loves exploring new destinations. Eric is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Eric Simonson joins us to share the story about starting his own firm, Abundo Wealth, after 12 years at another firm. He shares how in just 4 years, he grew his firm to over 650 clients through referrals and by providing affordable financial planning. Eric Discusses how he uses technology to scale while keeping costs low and providing a great client experience. Eric also shares how he helps clients maximize credit card rewards and travel benefits as part of their financial plans.

“We really doubled our focus to figure out okay, how can tech support the adviser relationship and help us scale help us keep our costs low, to allow the advisors to really shine” - Eric Simonson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Starting a financial planning firm and scaling it quickly.
  • Growing a financial planning business through client referrals and advisor partnerships.
  • Marketing and referrals for a financial advisor.
  • Financial planning subscription model and client retention.
  • Client communication and value addition.
  • Leveraging credit card points in financial planning.
  • Leveraging technology and entrepreneurial spirit in financial planning.
  • Client reviews, scaling, and focus with a financial planning firm.
  • Career opportunities in wealth management.

Connect with Eric:

  • Website: https://www.abundowealth.com
  • Email: Eric@abundowealth.com.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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MFA 144 - SN - Stop Living in Fear: 3 Ways Advisors Can Take Risks Without Failure with John Prendergast

John Prendergast, Founder & CEO of Blueleaf and Co-host of the Augmented Advisor Podcast joins us for episode 144 of the Model FA Podcast! John Prendergast, founder and CEO of Blueleaf joins us to discuss how advisors can engage clients through 52 personalized touch points per year without being annoying. John explains how Blueleaf's technology helps automate interactions to free up time for human moments. We chat about striking a balance between service and experience models. John stresses facing fears like asking for feedback to innovate. David shares a story of getting 15 glowing reviews overnight. Throughout, they emphasize treating AI like an intern to enhance workflows without replacing human judgment. Overall, the episode provides insights into deepening client relationships through frequent personalized engagement.

"I think you're creating an opportunity for a lot of small touchpoints, with your clients that start to educate them about their money, and the way it changes over time.” - John Prendergast

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Introducing John Prendergast, founder and CEO fo Blueleaf
  • Client engagement and AI in financial advising.
  • The importance of experience in financial planning.
  • Personalized financial updates and their impact on client trust.
  • Personalized financial planning and automation.
  • Personalizing client interactions for financial advisors.
  • Client reviews and their impact on financial advisors.
  • Overcoming fear and innovating in business and financial services.
  • Taking bold actions, learning from failures, and deepening client relationships.
  • AI use in financial advisor marketing and content generation.
  • Storytelling and AI in advisor-client interactions.

This episode is sponsored by our friends at YCharts. Save the date for January 25th because YCharts will be hosting a must-attend webinar covering economic forecasts, key industry shifts, and potential market drivers that financial advisors should be aware of in 2024. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, you’ll leave this webinar with actionable strategies for leveraging YCharts tools to not only navigate but succeed in the changing market dynamics. Register now to secure your spot and get 15% off your initial YCharts Professional subscription when you start your free YCharts trial and tell them I sent you (new customers only).”

Webinar Registration Link: https://ycharts.zoom.us/webinar/register/7917042231712/WN_92f-BawaS428Cs9TlHYBvg

Connect with John:

  • Website: https://www.blueleaf.com
  • Email: john@blueleaf.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Today we are joined by Kristen Luke, the President of Kaleido Creative Studio and Author of "Uncomparable: The Financial Advisor's Guide to Standing Out Through Niche Marketing".

In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, we are joined by Kristen Luke to discuss effective marketing strategies for financial advisors. We emphasize the importance of finding a niche, understanding where clients spend their time, and creating content in multiple formats to meet client needs. Advisors are encouraged to start with one consistent marketing activity and build their expertise over time by regularly producing high-value content. We stress treating marketing as an ecosystem rather than a funnel, with the goal of becoming a trusted resource in one's industry niche.

“I put less emphasis on social media than I think a lot of people do. It is a good way to keep your name out there once you're connected to people. But you know, if I wanted to bring in clients quickly, I would focus on, how do I leverage other people's networks to get in front of them?” - Kristen Luke

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Marketing strategies for a specific niche.
  • Marketing strategies for advisors with limited time.
  • Content creation for financial advisors.
  • Marketing strategies for financial advisors.
  • Positioning oneself as an expert in a niche through content creation and marketing strategies.

Connect with Kristen:

  • Website: https://onniche.com/
  • Email: kristen@kaleidocreative.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Michael Lecours, CFP® is a Co-Founder of fpPathfinder. He is also a financial advisor and planner at the Wealth Strategies Team. Michael began his career in advertising where he worked to develop marketing strategies for insurance companies, banks, credit unions, RIAs and hedge funds. Now, he leverages his background in advertising to distill complex financial planning concepts into straightforward strategies, apply behavioral finance concepts to the planning process and injects a disciplined approach to all facets of the client experience. In this episode of the Model FA Podcast, Michael Lecours joins us to discuss common client engagement challenges. We explore how to simplify the advice delivery process and keep clients engaged over time through check-ins. Michael describes how FP Pathfinder started as sketches he created and grew into a business helping thousands of advisors. Advisors learn different ways to segment clients and focus on one task at a time to avoid overwhelming them. Interactive checklists now allow advisors to gather client information digitally before meetings to better address their needs. This discussion provides advisors with ideas on maintaining relationships and continuously demonstrating value.

"It's one thing to come up with the financial plan. But how do you deliver the plan? How do you get that client to not just take the recommendation and agree to it, but then follow through and actually do it?" - Michael Lecours

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Engaging clients through FP Pathfinder.
  • Creating a flowchart for financial advisors to streamline client conversations.
  • Balancing financial planning and business growth.
  • Improving client engagement in financial planning through four key areas.
  • Simplifying financial planning for clients.
  • Personalized financial planning and client engagement.
  • Adding value to low-maintenance clients in financial planning.
  • Using checklists for client reviews in financial planning.
  • Creating financial planning checklists and flowcharts for various audiences.
  • Business planning and book recommendations.
  • The importance of think time for financial advisors.

This episode is sponsored by our friends at YCharts. YCharts has a special gift for you just in time for the holiday season – their final research piece of the year, "The Top 23 Charts of 2023”! Dive into a curated slide deck that captures the essence of the year gone by – from the highs to the lows that defined the financial landscape. With featured market and economic storylines and key visuals from industry thought leaders, consider this comprehensive tool as your ticket to elevating your year-end communication with clients and prospects. Make an impact and showcase your value by clicking the link in the show notes to secure a copy of "The Top 23 Charts of 2023" deck. Remember, get 15% off your initial YCharts Professional subscription when you start your free YCharts trial and tell them I sent you (new customers only).

Link: https://go.ycharts.com/the-top-23-charts-of-2023?utm_source=Model+FA

Connect with Michael:

  • Website: https://fppathfinder.com/
  • Email: mike@fpPathfinder.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Meet Josh Kosnick - provider, recruiter, teacher and leader. He is the Type-A alpha male that loves to compete, drink bourbon and smoke cigars; however, Josh never shies away from sharing his vulnerable side. He’s passionate about men’s mental health – healing, talking about emotions, supporting each other – and will continue to advocate for this. His faith drives him to persevere through pain and suffering because he knows, on the other side of those struggles is everything he has dreamed of and everything he was born to be. Josh Kosnick shares how he prioritizes his schedule like a college athlete to lead a well-rounded life through fitness, relationships, mind, and soul. He discusses implementing EOS to scale his firm and how vulnerability is the ultimate display of strength for men. Josh also tells the story of dropping out of college and becoming a financial advisor after getting a call from his future mentor while working at Best Buy. He shares information about his new mastermind focused on breaking down walls between advisors and creating collaboration in the industry. “You just hit on exactly why I always tried to recruit as many college athletes as possible, or former college athletes, because they had to prioritize their days so much more than the regular student“- Josh Kosnick This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Leadership, mental health, and personal growth.
  • Vulnerability and masculinity.
  • Leading a healthy lifestyle through fitness, relationships, mind, and body.
  • Fitness journey and personal growth.
  • Maintaining a well-rounded life while being a business owner and parent.
  • Prioritizing fitness, relationships, mind, and body for a healthy lifestyle.
  • Leadership and management in the financial services industry.
  • Systems implementation in a business setting.
  • Implementing EOS in businesses for growth and exit value.
  • The impact of "Think and Grow Rich" and its chapters
  • Career path, perseverance, and mentorship in the financial industry.

Our Favorite Quotes: "I want to help others that I coached lead or influence or even in our conversation today, someone that I may never meet, is listening to you and I today, I want you to know, that being an alpha being vulnerability is the ultimate, the pinnacle of strength as a man." - Josh Kosnick "I flipped the mindset, I have to be physically fit, I have to be mentally fit to show up to be my best for my wife, for my kids, for everyone, I coach for everyone, I influence, for every business owner that I go in to help." - Josh Kosnick Connect with Josh:

  • Website: https://www.joshkosnick.com
  • Email: josh@joshkosnick.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Brooklyn Brock is a 3rd generation financial advisor and founder of Ellevate Advisors LLC, a fee-only RIA, specializing in Financial Planning and Exit Coaching for advisors themselves. Throughout her career, she found advisors rarely do retirement planning for themselves like they do for their clients, which drove her to launch her own RIA to serve advisors exclusively. Brooklyn travels across the nation as a speaker, sharing her passion for helping advisors themselves.

Brooklyn Brock joins David to discuss the importance of advisors getting their own financial planning help from an unbiased third party. She shares how she works with advisors through the exit planning and financial planning process, helping them craft a vision for their life after business ownership. David and Brooklyn also explore scenarios like acquiring another firm or buying into an existing firm, highlighting the value of having independent guidance. Listeners learn that getting advice from someone other than themselves can provide peace of mind for advisors making big financial and career decisions.

“There is something about retiring with something to give you meaning and purpose in your second half, I think a lot of advisors are afraid of that, of not having that.” - Brooklyn Brock

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Leadership, entrepreneurship, and consulting experiences.
  • Exit strategies for business owners with a focus on preparation and communication.
  • Business planning and strategy.
  • Leadership, collaboration, and succession planning in business.
  • Exit planning for businesses and families.
  • Business valuation and sale strategies.
  • Financial planning and exit strategies for business owners.

Our Favorite Quotes:

"If someone's not okay with that they don't have to move forward and maybe there's a different solution out there because financial planning is one type of service that can help people through life transitions." - Brooklyn Brock

"I think my main takeaways from that story would be when you're exploring that option, and the firm says, okay, cool, here's how you do it. It's not black and white, and you have the opportunity to manufacture a deal." - David DeCelle

Connect with Brooklyn:

  • Website: https://ellevateadvisors.com
  • Email: brooklyn@ellevateadvisors.com

This episode is sponsored by our friends at YCharts. Numbers and data are one thing, but how you communicate and scale the delivery of these insights to clients is the real challenge. The reality is, people are more inclined to invest their attention and hard-earned dollars when presented with a captivating story and a skilled storyteller. YCharts empowers you by offering fully customizable tools for report and proposal generation, allowing you to expertly guide and control the narrative during client meetings. With all-in-one solutions like fundamental charts, stock and fund screeners, scenario capabilities, and more, YCharts equips you with the essential tools to showcase the strengths of your investment strategies and illustrate the value you bring to your clients. Click the link in the show notes to start your free YCharts trial, and get 15% off your initial subscription (new customers only).

Landing Page Link: https://go.ycharts.com/model-fa

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Tara Tussing Unverzagt grew up with one of the first CFPs but started her career as a computer programmer, project manager at a software company. She turned to financial planning when she got married and wanted to work from home to raise children (just like her mom had.) She started South Bay Financial Partners in 2014 after working in her mom's business for 20 years. South Bay Financial Partners serve a diverse range of individuals, couples, and multigenerational families who yearn for financial independence, peace of mind, and success. Prospects often don't know how to get started or find their next steps. SBFP's mission is to empower both individuals and families alike by helping them become knowledgeable, confident, and brave to level up and reach their goals.

This episode featured Tara Tussing Unverzagt, a financial planner who incorporates financial therapy into her practice. She discussed how understanding clients' emotional relationships with money helps her better serve them. The conversation highlights Tara's background and how she came to focus on financial therapy. David and Tara also shared personal stories and examples of how examining underlying beliefs can transform clients' financial well-being.

"We understand that money is emotional. From day one, we understand that a lot of financial planners are like, ‘I don't want to talk about that part, I just want to talk about the numbers.’” - Tara Tussing Unverzagt

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Financial planning, bicycling, and personal experiences.
  • Financial therapy and its role in personal finance.
  • Using internal family systems for financial therapy.
  • Client relationships, fees, and market volatility.
  • Financial struggles and relationships with money.
  • Financial literacy and personalized solutions.
  • Financial well-being and relationships.
  • Therapy books and their impact on personal growth.
  • Sales training and marketing strategies.

Our Favorite Quotes:

“Well, there's also another saying that there's two kinds of bicyclists, those who have had accidents and those who will have accidents. There's no way to ride a bike without having accidents.” - Tara Tussing Unverzagt

“Number one, my parents, they ended up getting divorced, and the variety of issues but what it boiled down to is, anytime they fought, it was over money, or because they were stressed about money, and they'd fight about something meaningless. Because that was like the boiling point, the tipping point. And seeing that made me stress about money.” - David DeCelle

“ I used to think that vulnerability was weakness. Now I'm realizing no, you have to be friggin brave, to be vulnerable. And to put that out there. So be brave. And that's why in the intro, we tried to help people be brave and level up, be brave, have that conversation with your cohort.” - Tara Tussing Unverzagt

"I said earlier that money issues often come from safety, which often comes from connection with other people." - Tara Tussing Unverzagt

Connect with Tara:

  • Interested in connecting with Tara? Click here: https://calendly.com/financial-coaching-team/podcast-priority-referral
  • LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/south-bay-financial-partners/
  • Website: https://southbayfinancialpartners.com/
  • Email: tara@sbfinancialpartners.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Abby Morton is the Head of Community and Culture for Elements. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Abby brings an insider’s perspective on how marketing, sales, and financial advice should converge to drive optimal results in a modern RIA.

In this episode Abby Morton from Elements joins us to discuss how the platform can be used to provide prospects with a free, quick financial assessment to give them value and incentivize continuing the advisory relationship. Abby outlines how Elements integrates easily into an advisor's existing tech stack and allows them to serve more clients in less time by simplifying the financial planning process. David shares strategies for leveraging Elements within a give-get marketing framework and subscription model to formally engage younger clients and families earlier. They also explored how large firms could benefit from Elements to justify building advisory relationships with clients below the typical minimum asset thresholds.

“Elements is a way to help advisors, help clients really understand their money in ways that they never have before.” - Abby Morton

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Introducing Abby Morton
  • Using AI to solve financial planning challenges.
  • A financial planning tool for advisors and clients.
  • Using free financial assessments to attract clients.
  • Using technology to improve financial planning and client relationships.
  • The impact of Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" book and its application in a financial services firm.

Our Favorite Quotes:

"Finances and money are the biggest stressor in American lives today." - Abby Morton

“When you think of clients, especially the new generation of clients, and with a lot of advisors now, engaging with those younger clients and more like a subscription model elements just beyond the functionality. It just looks cool." - David DeCelle

"We are that tool to give you the diagnostics, we’re kind of that initial financial checkup." - Abby Morton

"Advisors have a desktop version and a mobile interface, but in the users of it will only use the phone because we feel like that is the way that tech is going is clients want to sit down on the couch at the end of the day and interact with their advisor when they're tired, you know, they don't want to like necessarily have to go and sit down at their desktop." - Abby Morton

Connect with Abby:

  • LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/abbymorton/
  • Website: https://getelements.com
  • Email: abby.morton@getelements.com

Learn More About YCharts

“This episode is sponsored by our friends at YCharts. If you don’t already know, YCharts releases a Top 10 Visuals resource deck each quarter, packed with data and visuals to help advisors easily communicate complex investing topics with clients or prospects. YCharts is hosting a webinar on October 18th to deep dive into the deck, with topics ranging from the value of long-term investments to the art of crafting the right retirement portfolio allocation — all packaged in a convenient, editable slide deck you could easily leverage during any meeting or conversation. Click the link below to register for YCharts’ webinar and receive your own copy of the “Top 10 Visuals for Clients & Prospects” slide deck. Remember, you can get 15% off your initial subscription when you start your free YCharts trial and tell them I sent you (new customers only).

https://ycharts.zoom.us/webinar/register/8116962561853/WN_FbGphtSBRPmzoiIYPWiFgw

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Michelle Atlas-Quinn, J.D. is the Vice President of RIA Operations for AdvisorLaw. She is an Attorney licensed by the Colorado Supreme Court to practice law (active registration). She earned her Juris Doctorate from University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Michelle formerly held FINRA licenses Series 7, 63, and 24 and former Colorado life and health insurance license. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Colorado.

David and Michelle discuss the transition from working with a broker-dealer to becoming an independent registered investment advisor (RIA). Michelle shared her career journey which led her to founding the RIA division at AdvisorLaw. She discussed some of the benefits of being an RIA like lower fees, less regulatory oversight, and more freedom in marketing. However, she cautioned that as an independent advisor there is more responsibility to ensure compliance. Michelle provided tips on complying with regulations and working with a compliance partner like AdvisorLaw. Overall, the discussion focused on helping advisors understand the opportunities and responsibilities involved in making the shift to the RIA space.

"The SEC Rule is, am I doing what's in the client's best interest? Am I being careful with their money and making decisions that I think are careful." - Michelle Atlas

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Career journey and RIA services with Michelle Atlas.
  • Transitioning from broker-dealer to RIA.
  • Regulatory changes and compliance in the RIA space.
  • Marketing in the financial industry with a focus on compliance.
  • SEC compliance for financial advisors transitioning from broker-dealers to registered investment advisors.

Our Favorite Quotes:

"Anything that you collect a fee on, is Ria, anything you could collect a commission on, is a broker-dealer. And so you look at your book and you say, well, what else am I still collecting commissions on?" - Michelle Atlas

“From a marketing standpoint, in the RIA space, it's just nice that you can market your business more in alignment with the way that businesses are marketed today.” - David DeCelle

"So there are some challenges, but I think 85-90% of most people's books these days, if you look at them, are fee based, because they are using managed money." - Michelle Atlas

"FINRA derives their jurisdiction from the SEC. So instead of having three regulators, and if you're doing insurance, maybe four, you're down to three." - Michelle Atlas

Connect with Michelle:

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleatlas/
  • Website: https://advisorlawllc.com/
  • Email: matlas@advisorlawyer.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Mark Willis, CFP® is a man on a mission to help you think differently about your money, your economy and your future. Mark is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, a three-time #1 Best Selling Author and the owner of Lake Growth Financial Services, a financial firm in Chicago, Illinois. As co-host of the Not Your Average Financial Podcast™, he shares some of his strategies for investing in real estate, paying for college without going broke, and creating an income in retirement you will not outlive. Mark works with people who want to grow their wealth in ways that are safe and predictable, to become their own source of financing, and create tax-free income in retirement.

On episode 136 of the Model FA Podcast David and Mark emphasize the importance of treating oneself as a key investment and examine the one-size-fits-all approach of recommending generic investment options like target date funds to entrepreneurs. They discuss the pitfalls of "shiny object syndrome" as Mark introduces the idea of "iki-gai," a Japanese concept for finding one's reason for being, as a tool to align passion, skill, and market demand.

“Conflict at its root is just unexpressed expectation. So go deep before you get into proposing and strategies and recommendations, figure out what their expectations are.” - Mark Willis

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

Mark's introduction.

Strategies to get to seven figures.

Mark’s philosophy on target market and how to position yourself.

Power of podcasting.

Leveraging the power of content.

How conflict can build relationships.

Our Favorite Quotes:

“Guesting on someone else's show is brain dead simple, because you just get on and you have a conversation with someone who loves to chat with you, and you hopefully enjoy chatting with him. The power there is, you're getting in front of your target audience, you're having a one on one long form discussion with people who might just do business with you.” - Mark Willis

Connect with Mark:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LakeGrowth/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklakegrowth/

Website: https://lakegrowth.com/

Email: thanks@lakegrowth.com

Learn More About YCharts

This episode is sponsored by our friends at YCharts. Exciting times at YCharts — they just announced their latest product enhancement called Proposals. YCharts Proposals is a game-changing capability, empowering wealth management professionals with the prowess to craft captivating narratives, effectively conveying their investment strategies that help win new business. But that's not all – mark your calendars for September 22nd because YCharts will be hosting a webinar to unveil Proposals and show off its full potential. You’ll learn how to whip up reports that don't just highlight the value of your investment strategies but also cater to your clients' unique financial needs. Click the this link to register for YCharts’ webinar if you want to learn more about Proposals, and get 15% off your initial subscription when you start your free YCharts trial (new customers only). Register: https://ycharts.zoom.us/webinar/register/5916933495668/WN_OD3x5xyzQ7qWTrtGDChLFA

About the Model FA Podcast:

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

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Eric Brotman is the CEO of BFG Financial Advisors, President of Brotman Consulting Group, LLC, Host of "Don't Retire...Graduate!" podcast, and author of three books on personal finance including "Don't Retire...Graduate! - Building a Path to Financial Freedom and Retirement at Any Age"

On episode 135 of the "MODEL FA PODCAST," the spotlight is on Eric, the CEO of BFG Financial Advisors and author of "Don't Retire Graduate." The episode delves deep into the crucial role of company culture, mission statements, and the power of advisory boards in shaping businesses. As the conversation progresses, Eric emphasizes the value of building authority and influence through authentic podcasting, robust networking, and mastermind groups. The episode further underscores the significance of early exit strategy planning, collaboration over competition in the financial industry, and the potential of strategic alliances. Wrapping up, Eric discusses the indispensable nature of reading, recommending seminal books that provide foundational knowledge for financial advisors.

“I think it's incredibly important to be authentic. The key to podcasting is to be yourself, to be vulnerable, to be authentic and to be fallible. And then if you're relatable in that way people will seek you out.” - Eric Brotman

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Culture Culture Culture Culture.
  • How often should you review your mission statement?
  • The importance of building authority and influence.
  • Two paths to build influence.
  • The power of being yourself.
  • The importance of having a succession plan.
  • The importance of having an exit strategy.
  • Strategic alliances and how they work.
  • The importance of having a reading list.

Our Favorite Quotes:

“One of the things I loved when I was an advisor is the culture of joint work. And being able to learn from other folks, either in my office or throughout the countr; people who had different specializations.” - David DeCelle

“I believe in collaboration over competition, I think our industry is one that's has the benefit of radical abundance. There are so many opportunities, so many people and families and businesses need our help. There's a shortage of financial advisors and an even bigger shortage of good ones.” - Eric Brotman

“Culture, culture, culture, if you add people to your organization, not just clients, but particularly employees, or other advisors, the Fit has to be really, really perfect.” - Eric Brotman

Connect with Eric:

  • Connect on Twitter
  • Connect on LinkedIn
  • Website: https://www.brotmanconsultinggroup.com
  • Email: ebrotman@bfgfa.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Trent Dudenhoeffer (Duden-hoff-er) is a CFP® practitioner. He started his career as a financial planner at LPL Financial but left in 2021 to join Watchdog Capital where he is focused on the convergence of bitcoin and traditional finance.

Isaiah Douglass is a MBA, CFP®, CEPA. He specializes in working with veterinarians and dentists due to a personal relationship that started with finding how I could help him be successful in his career.

In this episode David is joined by Trent and Isaiah to unravel the fascinating world of bitcoin and cryptocurrency, discussing everything from their personal journeys into the space, to the broader implications for the financial industry. This engaging conversation touches on the distinctions between bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the impact of regulation, and the potential future of digital assets.

“I do believe you have a fiduciary responsibility to, at the very least, educate yourself and form an educated opinion on crypto. And based on that opinion, decide whether or not to discuss crypto with your clients” - David DeCelle

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • The difference between crypto and bitcoin specifically.
  • What makes bitcoin unpredictable and crypto very unpredictable?
  • What makes bitcoin different from other cryptocurrencies?
  • What makes bitcoin different from other cryptocurrencies?
  • Does regulation play a role?
  • Bitcoin is not an asset only for politicians.
  • The size of the total addressable market.
  • How does this fit into the financial plan?
  • Fiduciaries have been given the okay to largely ignore bitcoin.
  • Fiduciary responsibility to educate clients.
  • Books that have had an impact.

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Everyone is drinking from a firehose, with everything else,and then add crypto on top of that. We're just trying to cut through as much noise as humanly possible to give you exactly what you need in the most efficient way. So that you can actually be knowledgeable about Bitcoin.” - Trent Dudenhoeffer
  • “A little bit of Bitcoin goes a long way. And if they're already, okay, this can ensure that if we see an event happen that maybe you don't believe ever really happens. But it does help protect the purchasing power of those individuals. I think ultimately, that's what bitcoin does.” - Isaiah Douglass
  • “That's the only way financial plans ever work is if you have a long term time horizon. So go ahead and make your jokes now. Yes, bitcoins down. Yes, I was touting it at its high at 69,000. You got me. Let's talk again in 10 years, and we'll see who's laughing at that point?” - Trent Dudenhoeffer

Connect with Isaiah:

  • https://twitter.com/IDFinancial
  • Connect on LinkedIn
  • Website: https://www.vincerewealth.com
  • Email: isaiah@veterinariansuccesspodcast.com

Connect with Trent:

  • Connect on Twitter
  • Connect on LinkedIn
  • Website: https://www.adviceonbitcoin.com
  • Email: twdudenhoeffer@gmail.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Daleele Alison is a technology professional and entrepreneur. He is the CEO and co-founder of RooksDM, a technology consulting group that helps alleviate pain points for small to midsize companies by using the right technology. Daleele has worked as a consultant, business analyst, and project manager for Fortune 500 companies to SMBs.

In this episode, David interviews DeLeele Alison, the President of RooksDM, a tech company that helps businesses streamline their processes using technology. They discuss how RooksDM assists financial advisors in improving their efficiency through automation. DeLeele shares some examples of their automation solutions, such as using online forms to collect data from clients, automating scheduling of client meetings, and using AI to extract data from documents. They also talk about the importance of standardizing document management across firms and how implementing technology can significantly impact a business's value and growth.

Broadly, we serve professional services, so any service based company, we can help service. And the main reason for that, and it kind of ties into one of our philosophies. We’re process first, technology second." - Deleele Alison

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Introductions and welcome.
  • How Deleele got into the tech space
  • Automate the non-client-facing aspects of your business.
  • Automation of calendar links.
  • Leveraging data from multiple sources.
  • Leveraging workflow automation for onboarding.
  • Automation of renaming files.
  • How do you leverage intangible assets to drive value?
  • The importance of ai and tech.
  • Traction or rocket fuel.

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • "So we can leverage some automations using email. So in that specific scenario, for example, is, hey, you're still collecting the documents and the data via email, we're just leveraging workflow behind the scenes to help route what happens once the email is received." - Deleele Alison
  • "So sometimes what we see is, and we're all guilty of this of, hey, technology can help me solve this problem. And we just throw some tech at it, and it'll be magically solved. And that's not the case." - Deleele Alison
  • "I know, at least for me, and some of the advisors I work with, the tech side of the business can be fairly overwhelming." - David DeCelle
  • "Yeah, so few different things. One simple one is leveraging online forms to collect data. So a lot of data is still being captured, may we consider it manually through email." - Deleele Alison
  • “Advisors want to impact folks. They want unlimited potential for their income, and they want independence in their calendar." - David DeCelle

Connect with Deleele Alison:

  • RooksDM Website
  • RooksDM on Facebook
  • RooksDM on Instagram
  • RooksDM on Twitter
  • Deleele Alison on LinkedIn
  • Email: daleele@rooksdm.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Joe Templin is the author of Every Day Excellence, a book that outlines the process of making daily investments toward personal improvement and development. Widely regarded as the Human Kaizen Expert, Joe is dedicated to making individuals and organizations better. He is the co-founder and President of The Intro Machine, a learning ecosystem and training environment that helps individuals build and grow an introduction-based business. Before co-founding The Intro Machine, Joe served as the Managing Director of The Unique Minds Consulting Group and was a director at Northwestern Mutual.

Joe joins me today to outline the components of the g-factor and how they determine the rate of success in life. He discusses examples of unconscious competence and the role of sleep and rest in developing the g-factor. He explains how grit, resilience, and work ethic can take any person far in life. Joe also highlights the importance of making the most out of your time, describes how people can develop their threshold for discomfort, and underscores the value of new ideas and experiences.

“The g-factor is the greatest determinant of long-range success—more important than your IQ, education, social skills, or social status.” - Joe Templin

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • The g-factor and its difference from IQ
  • Fluid intelligence
  • Verbal acuity
  • The importance of sleep
  • Synthetic thought and our capability to draw correlations
  • Making the most of your time and the value of reading or listening to a book
  • Helping clients beyond expectations
  • Intimacy’s role in the trust factor
  • Building grit and resilience in your life

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “To truly add value to the people you serve—to really elevate the client experience—you need to focus on helping them with things outside what you’re compensated to do.” - David DeCelle
  • “Having a broad spectrum of knowledge allows you to truly impact someone’s life.” - David DeCelle
  • “People who don’t expose themselves to new concepts and ideas limit their g-factor and their growth because they don’t feed their mind with new experiences they can apply in different areas.” - Joe Templin

Related Episode:

  • Becoming a Better Human Every Day with Joe Templin Part I

Connect with Joe Templin:

  • The Intro Machine
  • Everyday Excellence
  • Financial Services Daily Drip
  • Book: Every Day Excellence: A Daily Guide to Growing
  • The Intro Machine on LinkedIn
  • The Intro Machine on Facebook
  • The Intro Machine on Twitter
  • Joe Templin on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team: President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

None

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John Crane is an author, financial advisor, retirement income planner, and registered representative and financial advisor at Park Avenues Securities LLC. Before serving in the financial services industry, John held several posts at Sprint, including a Senior Government Account Executive role. In his book, The One-Number Budget, he helps readers with staying on track with a budget, simplifies the budgeting process, and explains lifetime cash flow. John holds a Master of Business Administration degree from George Mason University and received his Chartered Financial Consultant, Chartered Life Underwriter, and Retirement Income Certified Professional designations from The American College.

John joins me today to discuss The One-Number Budget and how financial advisors can help clients shift their perspectives on budgeting for retirement. He describes his background and his path to the financial services industry. He details the disadvantages of traditional budgeting. John also highlights the lifetime perspective on cash flow to keep in mind when budgeting and underscores the power of serving others as your authentic self.

“Traditional budgeting is a snapshot in time that only addresses the month, but there’s a lifetime perspective on cash flow you need to take into account.” - John Crane

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • The beginning stages of Crane Financial
  • What made John look at budgeting from a different perspective
  • How traditional budgeting elicits the feeling of scarcity from clients
  • Executing the One-Number Budget in reality
  • Why financial advisors are like psychologists
  • How John guides clients who are unsure about the One-Number Budget
  • The disadvantages of traditional budgeting
  • The 30-year earning time
  • Helping clients who have not or can’t save 20% of their income
  • Working with the One-Number Budget worksheet
  • Serving as your authentic self

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim S. Grover
  • Book: Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness by Tim S. Grover
  • One-Number Budget Worksheet

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “I’m turning 33 shortly, and it’s like I’m so young and I’ve got plenty of time; but no, I’m 3 years into my ‘true’ earning years and I need to ensure I’m planning for the last 30 years of my life.” - David DeCelle
  • “Advisors look for tips, tricks, and tactics, but often the biggest breakthroughs come when there’s a shift in mindset as opposed to using a new tool.” - David DeCelle
  • “Once I got that permission slip to be myself and focus on helping people the way I think it should be done, my business started growing quickly. I started having more fun and became more effective.” - John Crane

Connect with John Crane:

  • Crane Financial
  • Book: The One-Number Budget: Why Traditional Budgets Fail and What to Do About It
  • Crane Financial on LinkedIn
  • John Crane on LinkedIn
  • Email: John.Crane@CraneFinancial.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness (Tim Grover Winning Series)
Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable (Tim Grover Winning Series)

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Phil Bender is an awarded industry leader with more than 30 years of experience in the financial services sector. He’s processed those experiences into a growth-based program to help individuals achieve a CEO mindset. His mission-driven objective is to impact one million people through his writing, coaching programs, workshops, and public speaking.

In this conversation, Phil discusses the concept of concierge financial planning and its parallels with concierge healthcare. He explores the idea of providing a deeper relationship and a higher level of service to clients, going beyond the traditional approach of computer-generated plans. Phil emphasizes the importance of building relationships, understanding core values, and delivering exceptional service to create a unique and valuable advisor-client dynamic. The conversation also touches on the psychological barriers advisors may face when embracing a concierge approach and the benefits of expanding one's perspective on wealth and experiences.

"Concierge financial planning is a key strategy to separate yourself from the pack when prospecting or developing new clients." - Phil Bender

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What is the significance of the Sea Captain Coaching name?
  • What does a concierge doctor look like?
  • Why you have to respect the person you’re talking to.
  • You need to get out of your bubble.
  • Three reasons why people leave your firm.
  • The value of a culture that’s transferable.
  • David’s advice for those who want to achieve peak performance.

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • "Concierge financial planning is the client experience. What is the client experience you as an advisor are providing your client?" - Phil Bender
  • "Financial planning on a concierge level is putting a plan together itself, charging a fee for possibly those types of things." - Phil Bender
  • "Accountability coaching, you either have to respect the hell out of the person you're talking to." - Phil Bender
  • "Concierge financial planning is a key strategy to separate yourself from the pack when prospecting or developing new clients." - Phil Bender
  • "When an advisor can provide that level of experience to make someone feel special, it's a totally different dynamic and something that every advisor should strive for." - David DeCelle
  • "Financial advising is one of the few careers where you can still grow socioeconomically above your parents, there aren't a lot of them." - Phil Bender
  • "Go and spend a couple nights at the Ritz just to experience it, like go spend money for these experiences so that you can be exposed to what that's like." - David DeCelle

Connect with Phil Bender:

  • Sea Captain Coaching
  • Sea Captain Coaching on Facebook
  • Sea Captain Coaching on Instagram
  • Sea Captain Coaching on Twitter
  • Phil Bender on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Joseph Milano is the Managing Partner at New South Wealth Management. Joe is originally from Staten Island, NY and he moved to Charlotte, NC where he started his journey with New South Wealth Management. Joe obtained his bachelor’s degree from Villanova University where he developed and established his passion for the financial industry. Joe is excellent at educating families and business owners on innovative and personalized strategies.

Joe Milano talks about the difficult decision to transition out of Northwestern Mutual, joining AIG Financial Network, where they had the opportunity to build and expand the investment and insurance practices, and losing this job. This unexpected turn of events led him to take a year off to reconnect with friends and family. During that time, he observed flaws in the industry's models, with corporate profits taking precedence over clients and producers. In 2017-2018, they built their own model, focusing on putting clients and producers at the center.

"A lot of the shops are broken. Instead of putting the producer or the client at the center, they put corporate profits at the center." - Joe Milano

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Joe’s transition from intern to full-time rep.
  • What was it like to run his own office and shift from being an intern to a field director?
  • Joe’s first stop after Northwestern was AIG Financial Network. AIG had a very big investment practice and insurance practice.
  • What is the current status of the business in terms of human infrastructure?
  • What keeps Joe going in the business.
  • How can you stay committed and refocused?
  • Joe’s thoughts on how anyone can become a financial advisor .
  • Joe shares a story about how he’s been able to use the “back of the napkin” approach in his business.
  • The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink.

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • "When you hit a point in your career where you recognize, I want to work with high net worth people or closely held family businesses, these big career weather agencies or wirehouses aren't necessarily a fit for those individuals." - Joe Milano
  • "It's a hard pill to swallow when you start at one year old and now you're 35 years old, and this is what you've committed all your time, effort, and energy to." - Joe Milano
  • "When I transitioned out, one of the biggest things was leaving behind my friends who were like family in the office." - Joe Milano
  • "I really think that time, a lot of these home offices started to really evaluate their models and try to figure out what they were doing." - Joe Milano
  • "A lot of the shops are broken. Instead of putting the producer or the client at the center, they put corporate profits at the center." - Joe Milano
  • "We take a holistic approach, focusing on clients with insurance, investments, taxes, and legal aspects." - Joe Milano
  • "Our model ensures that each cornerstone of a client's financial plan is fully sound to achieve both short-term objectives and long-term plans." - Joe Milano
  • "We prioritize client needs and objectives without being constrained by corporate profit-driven agendas." - Joe Milano

Connect with Joe Milano:

  • New South Wealth
  • New South Wealth on Facebook
  • New South Wealth on Twitter
  • Joe Milano on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Joe Templin is the Human Kaizen Expert, dedicated to making individuals and organizations better. He is the co-founder and President of The Intro Machine, a learning ecosystem and training environment that helps individuals build and grow an introduction-based business. Before co-founding The Intro Machine, Joe served as the Managing Director of The Unique Minds Consulting Group and the CEO of the Lamp of Castle Holdings, Inc. He is also a former director at Northwestern Mutual. His book, Every Day Excellence, outlines the process of making daily investments toward personal improvement and development. In addition to his work at the Intro Machine, Joe serves as a board member of the Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region, New York.

Joe joins me today to discuss why becoming a better human translates to better business. He reveals the most important skill entrepreneurs need to have in the early stages of their business and explains his “be more, sell more” philosophy. He describes how the lessons he learned from studying martial arts have helped him become a better financial advisor and why we all need to do difficult things every day. Joe also highlights why saying “next” is an essential skill for financial advisors to learn and underscores how having an attitude of gratitude positively informs one’s ability to do good business.

“Having a more altruistic attitude, in general, translates into better production. It’s capitalistic karma: the more you help others, it reflects and comes back to you.” - Joe Templin

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What “kaizen” means and its application to human development
  • Joe’s journey from applied physics to financial services
  • How being a better human naturally builds more business
  • The relationship between commitment, consistency, and confidence
  • Five good things to do on a daily basis
  • Living with no regrets and the Stoic philosophy
  • How to be a better human every day
  • The art of goal planning, reaching for the stars, and setting and achieving big, audacious goals
  • Giving others the gift of a smile and a kind word
  • How good and bad habits compound
  • Why the word “just” puts us on a slippery, downward slope of professional pride
  • Holding yourself to the highest possible standards consistently
  • The “Trust Factor” equation

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies by Paul J. Zak
  • Book: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
  • Book: The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister
  • Life Happens

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Trust is based on the accumulation of positive experiences someone has with you.” - David DeCelle
  • “Convenience kills. Four or five times a day you need to do the harder thing; avoiding difficult things compounds.” - Joe Templin
  • “Your confidence skyrockets when you do something that you, deep down, didn’t want to do—it builds a certain level of resilience that makes you think you can do anything.” - David DeCelle

Related Content:

  • Ben Newman on Building and Seizing the Prize Fighter Day

Connect with Joe Templin:

  • The Intro Machine
  • Everyday Excellence
  • Book: Every Day Excellence: A Daily Guide to Growing
  • The Intro Machine on LinkedIn
  • The Intro Machine on Facebook
  • The Intro Machine on Twitter
  • Joe Templin on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies
The Trusted Advisor: 20th Anniversary Edition
None

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Jeremy Keil is a financial advisor at Keil Financial Planners. As a specialist in retirement planning, Jeremy is dedicated to helping people learn more—and feel more confident—about their money. He served as a financial advisor at Thrivent Financial for over 20 years before beginning his work at Keil Financial Planners and formerly served as an adjunct professor at the Wisconsin Lutheran College and the Concordia University in Wisconsin. Today, in addition to his work at Keil Financial Planners, Jeremy hosts Retirement Revealed, a podcast honored among Feedspot’s Top 25 Retirement Podcasts to Follow in 2021.

Jeremy joins me today to discuss motivational interviewing and how financial advisors can approach it. He shares his journey in the financial advisory industry and explains how he discovered motivational interviewing. He describes the mutual relationship between financial advisors and clients and details why financial advisors should have compassion and empathy for their clients. Jeremy also outlines a few key questions financial advisors can integrate into their discovery meetings and highlights how launching a podcast has benefitted him as a financial advisor.

“I thought connecting with someone was just about asking questions, but motivational interviewing teaches you that it’s about open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries.” - Jeremy Keil

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Jeremy’s background and how he began his career as a financial advisor
  • How Jeremy started building his book of business as a financial advisor
  • What motivational interviewing is
  • How financial advisors can take principles from unrelated industries
  • Basic motivational interviewing questions financial advisors can integrate into their discovery meetings
  • Rolling with resistance and supporting clients’ self-efficacy
  • Where to learn more about motivational interviewing
  • The importance of practicing and role-playing motivational interviewing
  • How financial advisors can benefit from launching a podcast
  • Jeremy’s thoughts on wealth and contentment

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy by Thomas Stanley
  • MINT | Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Lots of folks can be great advisors, but the systems they’re in might discourage them from making it in the industry.” - David DeCelle
  • “Part of motivational interviewing involves being curious about the person you’re sitting across from.” - David DeCelle
  • “You may be the expert in your field, but your clients are the experts on themselves: they know what works for them.” - Jeremy Keil

Connect with Jeremy Keil:

  • Keil Financial Planners
  • Podcast: Retirement Revealed Podcast
  • Keil Financial Planners on LinkedIn
  • Jeremy Keil on LinkedIn
  • Jeremy Keil on Facebook

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy

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Jarid Beck is the co-founder and Managing Director of Risk Management Advisors, a national firm specializing in the design, implementation, and management of self-insured plans and captive insurance companies. A career specialist in alternative management strategies with a diverse background in insurance, Jarid delivers technical insurance solutions to clients in a wide variety of industries including construction, real estate, staffing, manufacturing, trucking, and finance. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of California, an Associate of Captive Insurance designation from the International Center for Captive Insurance Education, and a Construction Risk Insurance Specialist designation from the International Risk Management Institute.

Jarid joins me today to discuss captive insurance companies and how they can be a great means to serve business owners. He explains how business owners can utilize the captive insurance methodology and process within their companies. He outlines the benefits of captive insurance, especially toward risk management. Jarid also warns against the abuse of captive insurance, explains the work involved in creating captive insurance companies, and highlights how advisors can open the conversation about captive insurance companies with their clients or prospects.

“Captives are a great wedge for prospecting or keeping new ideas in front of your clients. It comes to fact finding—identifying how big their companies are and how many employees they have.” - Jarid Beck

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Jarid’s background, professional journey, and how he learned about captive insurance companies
  • The business model of Risk Management Advisors
  • What captive insurance means
  • The risks captive companies typically self-insure for
  • The logistics of captive insurance and how it differs from self-insurance
  • What captive managers are and how they can help business owners with the captive insurance process
  • The benefits of creating captive insurance companies
  • Reinsurance and negotiating captives, risk, and losses
  • Tax benefits and tax treatments related to captive insurance companies
  • Risk profiles and types of business that can best benefit from captive insurance
  • How to communicate the benefits of captive insurance to business owners

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Taken Captive: The Secret to Capturing your piece of America's multi-billion dollar insurance industry by R. Wesley Sierk III
  • Book: The Invisible Bankers: Everything the Insurance Industry Never Wanted You to Know by Andrew Tobias
  • Blog: The Tail End — Wait But Why by Tim Urban

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Captive insurance companies are a risk management tool that addresses insurance and risk needs. Using it outside of its intended purpose can make things go haywire.” - Jarid Beck
  • “In captive insurance, businesses start their own insurance company that serves themselves.” - David DeCelle
  • “Opening up the conversation is as simple as asking them about captive insurance, seeing how they respond, and letting them know you’re there as their support.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Jarid Beck:

  • Risk Management Advisors
  • Risk Management Advisors on LinkedIn
  • Risk Management Advisors on Facebook
  • Risk Management Advisors on Twitter
  • Risk Management Advisors on YouTube
  • Jarid Beck on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Taken Captive: The Secret to Capturing your piece of America's multi-billion dollar insurance industry

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Mike Metzger is a certified financial planner and the founder of Lifepoint Financial Design, a financial services firm dedicated to helping clients live a more purposeful life through financial planning. Mike–a real estate investor and spouse of a realtor—believes in the potential of real estate as an asset class and is on a mission to support realtors by providing them with creative financial planning services. Before founding Lifepoint, Mike served as the Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor of UnionBanc Investment Services and as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. He attended the University of Iowa and holds a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist designation from the College of Financial Planning.

Mike joins me today to share his ideas on how financial advisors can effectively serve real estate professionals. He describes the beginnings of Lifepoint Financial Design and how he began serving real estate professionals after a career at Merrill Lynch. He explains the benefits of having a subscription-based pricing model and how financial advisors can help their realtor clients plan their cash flow through the “Profit First” method. Mike also highlights the biggest misconceptions about working with real estate professionals and underscores the power of connecting with clients on a deeper, personal level.

“Many realtors and real estate agents want to see the real you. They want to know that you’re a genuine person—that you’re someone they can connect with on their level.” - Mike Metzger

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • The power of building a brand and online presence
  • Mike’s educational background and professional journey in financial services
  • The demographics of Mike’s realtor clients
  • Understanding the three pain points of realtors and real estate agents
  • The unique challenges of working with clients from the real property industry
  • Helping realtors compartmentalize their “opportunity dollars” and plan their cash flow
  • The “Profit First” method
  • Mike’s business structure and pricing model
  • Lifepoint Financial Design’s ongoing client service model
  • Passion, profit, and how to choose a niche as a financial advisor
  • How Mike creates a casual and more enjoyable atmosphere with his clients
  • Building solid relationships with clients through social media

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything=Have Everything by Neil Pasricha
  • Book: Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “If people go to your Instagram, they would go to your meetings with their guards lowered. It solidifies the level of trust they already have with you.” - David DeCelle
  • “Realtors help people and build businesses similar to what we financial advisors do. There are so many ways in which you can connect, build, and solidify your relationship with them.” - David DeCelle
  • “Advisors who consider interacting on social media put too much thought in it. People just want to see the knowledge they’re for and that you’re a real person they can connect with.” - Mike Metzger

Connect with Mike Metzger:

  • Lifepoint Financial Design
  • Lifepoint Financial Design on LinkedIn
  • Lifepoint Financial Design on Facebook
  • Mike Metzger on LinkedIn
  • Mike Metzger on Instagram
  • Mike Metzger on Twitter
  • Email: Mike@LifepointFD.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review on whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas for future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything

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Marc Glickman is an actuary and long-term care insurance expert. He is the founder and CEO of BuddyIns, a nationwide community of long-term care insurance experts who are dedicated to helping individuals and families find the best plan to meet their care needs. Marc previously served as the Chief Sales Officer of LifeCare Assurance Company, a firm he worked with for over 11 years before founding BuddyIns in 2019. In addition to his work at BuddyIns, Marc serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for CLTC. He holds an Economics degree from Yale University and is a designated Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Marc joins me today to discuss and clarify the misconceptions about long-term care planning and insurance. He describes why long-term care services have greater inflation than other products and how financial advisors can approach a conversation with a client about policies. He discusses why financial advisors should work with long-term care specialists. He also explains how offering long-term care planning to clients can open up generational wealth planning opportunities for financial advisors and highlights why long-term care planning is one of the best business relationship-building tools for a financial advisor.

“Think of a long-term care policy as a gift to your family. I bought my policy as a gift to my wife, who was happy to know that if something happens to me, she will not feel burdened with providing care for me.” - Marc Glickman

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Marc’s background and how he began his career in long-term care planning and insurance
  • Long-term care planning and insurance and its role in a general financial plan
  • How unpaid long-term caregiving impacts families
  • The best time to talk to a client about long-term care insurance policies
  • How to talk to a client who’s not open to long-term care
  • Funding mechanisms for long-term care services and policies
  • Planning for insurance premiums with clients living on a fixed income
  • The likelihood of an individual using their long-term care policy
  • How a client can benefit from a long-term care plan if they don’t get to use it
  • How offering long-term care products can help financial advisors grow their businesses

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “When you’re properly insured, you get an insulation and a sense of fearlessness that no matter what happens, everyone around you is taken care of. It’s a rewarding feeling.” - David DeCelle
  • “Not implementing long-term care planning throughout your client relationships makes you grossly under-insured in your own book of business. Have these conversations; otherwise, it's a business risk for you in the long run.” - David DeCelle
  • “One out of two people will have an extended care event that will last up to 90 days. It’s definitely something worth planning for.” - Marc Glickman

Connect with Marc Glickman:

  • BuddyIns
  • BuddyIns Insurance Service on LinkedIn
  • BuddyIns Insurance Services on Facebook
  • BuddyIns Insurance Services on YouTube
  • Marc Glickman on LinkedIn
  • Email: Marc@BuddyIns.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

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Jennifer Hensley is a marketing strategist and the owner of Playmaker Coaching & Consulting LLC— dedicated to changing the game for referral-based business owners. By creating and implementing 90-day marketing plans with her clients, Jennifer helps them scale sustainably without the hassle or hustle. Jennifer worked with Northwestern Mutual for over 18 years before becoming the owner of Playmaker Coaching & Consulting in 2019. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor’s in Marketing and earned her Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Life Underwriter designation from The American College of Financial Services.

Jennifer joins me today to offer advice on branding for financial advisors. She outlines the SVC branding framework and discusses what factors financial advisors need to consider when creating a branding strategy. She explains how financial advisors can elevate their branding if they’re not active on social media. She also highlights how advisors can avoid getting overwhelmed when beginning marketing work for their business and underscores the value of creating a playbook for branding success.

“Start by showing up: comment on others’ content, give free resources, or add value. Starting there can make a huge difference, and you wouldn’t have to worry about how much you need to post every day.” - Jennifer Hensley

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Jennifer’s background and career at Northwestern Mutual
  • The “Strategy, Value, and Consistency” framework for branding
  • Tracking and identifying client segmentation and ideal clients
  • Jennifer’s advice for being more consistent with branding work
  • The three circles of people who will see your content
  • The importance of adding free value to other people
  • How financial advisors can elevate their branding if they’re not active on social media
  • Creating a library of content for repurposing and reusing
  • The branding minimum viable product every financial advisor needs to have

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: One Word that will Change Your Life by Dan Britton, Jimmy Page, and Jon Gorden
  • Book: The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin
  • Book: Find Your Yellow Tux: How to Be Successful by Standing Out by Jesse Cole

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “The reality is if you want people to care about your stuff, it starts by you caring about theirs. You need to interact with them first to make interaction happen.” - David DeCelle
  • “It’s important to not just put together a plan but also a plan of execution, and a plan around how you’re going to review and reassess.” - David DeCelle
  • “Being strategic, value-based, and consistent helps advisors create aim and focus, rather than just going all over the board and hoping something will work out.” - Jennifer Hensley
  • “Advisors often have a lot of ideas all the time and immediately take it all and adopt it all, at which point they struggle. Trying to make it manageable makes it more consistent.” - Jennifer Hensley

Connect with Jennifer Hensley:

  • Playmaker Coaching & Consulting
  • Email: jennifer@PlaymakerCoach.com
  • Jennifer Hensley on LinkedIn
  • Jennifer Hensley on Instagram

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too)
Find Your Yellow Tux: How to Be Successful by Standing Out
One Word that will Change Your Life

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Hiren Patel is the Head of Advisor Solutions at 55ip, a fintech company dedicated to breaking down the barriers to financial progress. By using its tax-smart investment strategy engine, 55ip helps financial advisors dramatically improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Hiren served as an Advisor Engagement Manager for SigFig from 2019 until joining the 55ip team in 2022. He served Merrill Lynch for over seven years as their Managed Solutions Specialist and Merrill Edge Performance Management VP. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Rutgers University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Fox School of Business at Temple University.

Hiren joins us today to discuss how 55ip helps financial advisors break down barriers to financial progress and scale their businesses. He outlines 55ip’s tax strategies and how they help financial advisors make shifts in their careers. He offers advice on direct indexing. Hiren also explains how fintech can help financial advisors get time back in their businesses, increase their value proposition, or transition seamlessly to the RIA space.

“It’s hard to save and stock money for the rainy day, but it’s actually the easy part of investing. The hard part is getting the money out efficiently and effectively.” - Hiren Patel

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Hiren’s background, work experience at Merrill Lynch, and journey to 55ip
  • COVID-19 and the shift of financial advisors toward the RIA channel
  • What 55ip is and how they help financial advisors create scale and efficiency
  • Tax-marked transitioning and automated tax-loss harvesting
  • Tax-marked withdrawals and demonstrating value to clients
  • Reviewing 2022’s volatile market and tax-loss harvesting
  • Why tax-loss harvesting can be challenging for financial advisors
  • How 55ip helps financial advisors address the challenges related to model customization and personalization
  • Bringing back the value of time in a financial advisor’s business
  • Direct indexing for financial advisors

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Putting together a thoughtful plan saves a considerable amount of time at execution and eliminates human error.” - David DeCelle
  • “Any time you can buy back and leverage your time, you can grow your business or increase your lifestyle.” - David DeCelle
  • “Tax harvesting is a great strategy that provides value and some additional returns in a negative market, but it needs to be done and executed effectively.” - Hiren Patel

Connect with Hiren Patel:

  • 55ip
  • Hiren Patel on LinkedIn
  • Email: info@55-ip.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

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Andrew Saksa is a media marketing and business development expert. He is the Senior Vice President for Business Development at ReminderMedia, a company dedicated to empowering clients to close more deals and retain more business. Before joining the ReminderMedia team, Andrew was the co-founder of Mypistevo.com and formerly served as the Vice President for Institutional Sales and West Coast Corporate Finance at Joseph Charles. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Strayer University.

Andrew joins me today to discuss why building strong relationships is paramount to any business’s success. He describes his professional journey from being a financial advisor to becoming a media marketing and business development expert. He offers advice on getting a client’s spouse involved in financial planning and discusses how financial advisors can engage the next generation. Andrew also explains the importance of personalizing your interactions with clients and highlights and having a service mindset.

“The nature of any successful business comes down to one thing: relationships.” - Andrew Saksa

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Andrew’s background and journey to joining ReminderMedia
  • His work at Mypistevo.com and New Hope for Kids and career as financial advisor
  • How Andrew maintains the personal connections in his life
  • Finding and serving a charity and the value of service
  • How financial advisors can get their client’s spouse involved in financial planning
  • The importance of personalizing interactions with clients
  • Generational financial planning and how financial advisors can connect with the newer generation
  • Curating content and connecting with clients on their level

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time by Ivan Farber
  • Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Book: Outwitting the Devil: The Secrets to Freedom and Success by Napoleon Hill
  • Book: The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success by Ed Mylett

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “When financial advisors have a scarcity mindset, they never get what they want.” - David DeCelle
  • “If you’re helping people in different ways outside the scope of what you’re compensated to do, you will be elevated in the minds of the people you serve.” - David DeCelle
  • “If you want to separate yourself from your competition, figure out what your top clients are into and what’s dear to their hearts. Support their initiatives and they’ll help you grow your business.” - Andrew Saksa

Connect with Andrew Saksa:

  • ReminderMedia
  • ReminderMedia on LinkedIn
  • ReminderMedia on Instagram
  • ReminderMedia on Facebook
  • ReminderMedia on Twitter
  • ReminderMedia on YouTube
  • Andrew Saksa on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century (Think and Grow Rich Series)
Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time
Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success (Official Publication of the Napoleon Hill Foundation)
The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success

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Matt Cosgriff is the Director of Wealth Management at BerganKDV, a trusted firm that offers business planning and consulting, tax, auditing and accounting, technology, and wealth management services throughout the Midwest. Matt served as an associate advisor at All Star Financial in 2011 before joining the BerganKDV team in 2014. As a wealth management leader, Matt is passionate about cultivating a team-centric environment where everyone can be successful in the service of others. Matt holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Finance from St. Olaf College and a Certified Financial Planner designation from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Matt joins me today to discuss entrepreneurial operating systems and their application to a wealth management firm. He explains how an EOS helps BerganKDV maintain cohesion, build company culture, and achieve organizational initiatives and goals. He describes strategies for managing the challenges of implementing EOS frameworks in a company. He also outlines the framework that BerganKDV uses to overcome EOS’s strategy gap and offers advice to advisors who want to roll out EOS in their organization.

“An entrepreneurial operating system is a language and framework that effectively brings clarity around how we want to accomplish whatever it is as an organization we want to achieve.” - Matt Cosgriff

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Matt’s background and career path to becoming Director of Wealth Management at BerganKDV
  • BerganKDV’s history, revenue, AUM, and sister company
  • How BerganKDV’s EOS is structured and implemented
  • EOS’s impact on accomplishing organizational goals and maintaining company culture
  • Getting employee buy-in and other challenges in implementing EOS
  • Playing to win and creating a framework to overcome EOS’s strategy gap

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Book: Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works by A.G. Lafley
  • Book: The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger
  • Harvard Business Review’s Playing to Win Toolkit

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “With a system like EOS, you can be more efficient, even with a lower number of people required to help manage the business.” - David DeCelle
  • “Simplicity doesn’t take away effectiveness.” - David DeCelle
  • “EOS allowed us to have a broader vision and maintain cohesion and alignment as an organization.” - Matt Cosgriff

Connect with Matt Cosgriff:

  • BerganKDV
  • BerganKDV on LinkedIn
  • BerganKDV on Facebook
  • BerganKDV on Twitter
  • BerganKDV on YouTube
  • Matt Cosgriff on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

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Brian Ahearn is a consultant and the Chief Influence Officer of Influence PEOPLE LLC, an organization dedicated to helping people move others into action. Having been in the business of training people for over two decades, Brian helps his clients apply the science of influence for better business results. He graduated cum laude with a degree in General Business from Miami University and holds a Cialdini Method Certified Trainer designation. He is also the author of Influence PEOPLE, The Influencer, and Persuasive Selling For Relationship-Driven Agents.

Brian joins me today to discuss the principles of influence and persuasion. He recounts his background, why he left the insurance business and his journey to becoming an expert on building influence. He discusses ideas to make it easier for people to say “yes” to a sale without being too “salesy.” He offers advice for building authority if you’re new to the industry and describes the importance of invoking genuine scarcity. Brian also outlines the eight steps of an impactful sales process and explains the importance of knowing your audience.

“Everything about my persona is either hindering or helping my cause. How we interact with people is part of persuasion.” - Brian Ahearn

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How Brian connected with Dr. Robert Cialdini
  • Dispelling the negative connotations around persuasion
  • The Aristotelian definition of persuasion
  • The principles of influence and making it easier for people to say “yes”
  • Getting people to like you through reciprocity
  • How anchoring a shared identity with others makes it easier for them to agree
  • Communicating your expertise and authority without bragging
  • Building social proof and consistency in word and deed
  • Scarcity and the fear of missing out
  • Invoking a sense of scarcity without being too “salesy”
  • Identifying “driver” and “relational” personality types and the best way to sell to them
  • Building rapport and how to humanize yourself to clients and connect with them on a deeper level

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Persuasion in the right hands can be extremely powerful and impactful.” - David DeCelle
  • “You can leverage social proof by focusing on a particular niche.” - David DeCelle
  • “When you’re in sales, you’ve got to be willing to understand the other person and somewhat conform to them.” - Brian Ahearn

Connect with Brian Ahearn:

  • Influence PEOPLE LLC
  • Book: Influence PEOPLE: Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical
  • Book: Persuasive Selling for Relationship-Driven Insurance Agents
  • Book: The Influencer
  • Influence PEOPLE LLC on LinkedIn
  • Influence PEOPLE LLC on YouTube
  • Influence PEOPLE LLC on Facebook
  • Influence PEOPLE LLC on Twitter
  • Brian Ahearn on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Edition
Influence PEOPLE: Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical
Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents
The Influencer

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David Kadavy is a designer, podcaster, and writer. He is the author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Heart Start, and Design for Hackers. He previously served as a design advisor to Timeful, an AI-powered calendar app built upon his mind management principles. In 2015, Google bought Timeful and integrated some of its features into the Google Calendar app. David has spoken in eight countries and SXSW, TEDx, The New York Public Library, The Museum of Contemporary Art, and The University of Chicago. He is the creator and host of Love Your Work, a podcast where he dives into being productive, getting things done, and breeding Black Swans as a creative.

David joins me today to discuss mind management and how financial advisors can apply it to their businesses and lives for optimum results. He differentiates between top-down and bottom-up thinkers, and why breaking down a project into its most basic parts can be overwhelming and energy-draining to some people. He shares how you can audit your energy throughout a week to unlock your creativity. He also describes his approach to goal setting for a new year and underscores the power of letting your passive genius take over.

“Find pockets of time and energy and protect them so you can get the most value possible from that mental state.” - David Kadavy

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • David’s background and journey to learning mind management
  • What mind management is and why time management is a flawed concept
  • How financial advisors can apply mind management in their businesses and lives
  • David’s “Prefrontal Mondays,” identifying your big rocks, and the value of identifying when you’re most energetic and creative
  • Different mental states for different activities and why the prefrontal cortex is adverse to creativity
  • The importance of structuring your calendar and day according to your personal needs
  • “Top-down” vs “bottom-up” thinkers and why SOPs can be intimidating
  • MBTI types and the characteristics of Perceiving and Judging types
  • The four stages of creativity and the value of giving yourself time to incubate ideas

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Being diligent with your calendar and scheduling is freeing and helps you think less during the day.” - David DeCelle
  • “Set aside particular time to proactively think through the things on your plate. Limit distractions and tackle whatever the topic is at hand.” - David DeCelle
  • “Dedicating time and space to a particular task helps parse what mental state you need for that type of task. A certain time, place, and environment will be better suited to some mental states than others.” - David Kadavy

Connect with David Kadavy:

  • David Kadavy Website
  • Book: Mind Management, Not Time Management: Productivity When Creativity Matters
  • Book: The Heart to Start: Stop Procrastinating & Start Creating
  • Book: Design for Hackers: Reverse Engineering Beauty
  • Podcast: Love Your Work
  • David Kadavy on LinkedIn
  • David Kadavy on Instagram
  • David Kadavy on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Mind Management, Not Time Management: Productivity When Creativity Matters (Getting Art Done)
Design for Hackers
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity [Paperback] [Apr 22, 2015] David Allen
The Heart to Start: Stop Procrastinating & Start Creating

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Penny Phillips is the co-founder and President of Journey Strategic Wealth, an RIA for advisors seeking independence and full-fledged practice management support. She is also the founder and CEO of Thrivos Consulting, a firm on a mission to support financial firms and advisors as they embrace change and discover new ways to thrive. Before founding Thrivos and Journey Strategic Wealth, Penny served as the Director of Practice Management at ClientWise and Vice President of Strategic Consulting at Envestnet, Inc. Penny holds a degree in Corporate Finance and Economics from Macaulay Honors College at The City University of New York.

Penny joins me today to discuss the financial advisor’s pathway to independence. She describes a financial advisor’s role in a consumer’s life and shares her observations on various trends in the financial advisory industry. She explains how the industry is dictating what success means to advisors and describes how advisors’ development becomes hindered by larger firms’ closed systems and communities. She underscores the difference between wealth managers and investment managers and highlights the mindset and belief systems people need to change to become effective financial advisors.

“The transition an advisor needs to go through to be a consultative financial planner has less to do with technical confidence and more to do with behavioral and belief shifts.” - Penny Phillips

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Penny’s background and journey to co-founding Journey Strategic Wealth
  • How the industry dictates what success means for financial advisors
  • Mindsets financial advisors need to shift to become effective wealth and investment managers
  • The difference between wealth managers and investment managers
  • How today’s generation of financial advisors differ from their predecessors
  • The pathway to becoming an independent financial advisor or an RIA
  • Different options in the RIA space
  • Penny’s predictions and forecasts for the financial advisory industry
  • How large companies tend to make young financial advisors lose their passion for financial planning
  • Why Penny thinks the solopreneur model will soon no longer work
  • How society has changed motivation and incentives
  • How financial advisors should position themselves in clients’ lives
  • The importance of building a personal brand

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Some advisors want to go independent because it’s higher revenue and comes with more autonomy. It’s also much easier to exit an independent business and sell it.” - David DeCelle
  • “Build your personal brand. Being present, meeting where they’re at, and building a relationship with them in a leveraged manner is critical.” - David DeCelle
  • “Any advisor who wants to protect themselves from being filtered out from the industry and being irrelevant needs to educate the client on the fact that investment management does not equal wealth management.” - Penny Phillips

Connect with Penny Phillips:

  • Journey Strategic Wealth
  • Journey Strategic Wealth on LinkedIn
  • Journey Strategic Wealth on Twitter
  • Penny Phillips on LinkedIn
  • Email: hello@journeysw.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)

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Simon Severino is the founder of Strategy Sprints, an organization that helps SaaS and Services companies double their revenue in 90 days. Over his 19 years in entrepreneurship, Simon has executed hundreds of go-to-market strategies with B2B teams worldwide. He is also a business strategy advisor for several organizations including the Silicon Valley Blockchain Society, the Forbes Business Council, and Consilience Ventures. Simon graduated cum laude with a Mag. phil. in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Vienna and studied Innovation of Products and Services, MIT Design Thinking, and Innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Simon joins me today to discuss how financial advisors and solopreneurs can increase their business’ “returns on life.” He explains why all business owners should build, scale, and run their companies for selling, even if they don’t want to sell in the future. He outlines his method for creating multiple revenue streams and elaborates on what a “key person” risk is. He also highlights daily, weekly, and monthly habits entrepreneurs should have to drive success in their business and underscores what it means to fall in love with a problem while not obsessing over its solution.

“Focus on creating multiple revenue streams that stack up on each other, improving brand strength, and systematizing everything. Even if you don’t want to sell your business, run it as if you want to sell.” - Simon Severino

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • “Return on life,” how it’s different from ROIs, and how people can benefit from it
  • The value of exit planning and why many people regret selling their businesses
  • How financial advisors can free up time and build more returns on life
  • Removing your “key person” risk and creating activation stages in your business
  • How to build a high-value sellable business
  • How to create multiple revenue streams and how doing so increases your business’s resilience
  • Daily, weekly, and monthly habits for every successful entrepreneur and CEO
  • The powerful habits of every successful entrepreneur and CEO
  • The importance of determining how you spend your time throughout the day
  • The four quadrants of the energy audit
  • Turning fixed costs into variable costs to increase flexibility in the business
  • How to create a resilient cost structure and cash flow

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Many people who exit their businesses regret doing so because they don’t have a well-defined plan. Ensure that you paint a clear vision of how you’re going to spend your days upon the sale of your business.” - David DeCelle
  • “Return on life isn’t just about the future, but the here and now and ensuring that you have a well-balanced life.” - David DeCelle
  • “Every excellent achiever is habitual. Anybody who has built, scaled, and sold a business with success is habit-driven.” - Simon Severino

Connect with Simon Severino:

  • Strategy Sprints
  • Book: Strategy Sprints: 12 Ways to Accelerate Growth for an Agile Business
  • Strategy Sprints on LinkedIn
  • Strategy Sprints on Instagram
  • Strategy Sprints on Facebook
  • Strategy Sprints on Twitter
  • Simon Severino on LinkedIn
  • Email: severino@strategysprints.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Strategy Sprints: 12 Ways to Accelerate Growth for an Agile Business

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Gregory Johnson is the co-founder and CEO of Rubicon Crypto, an organization that helps investors, financial advisors, and institutions bridge the gap between the digital and traditional investment worlds. Greg has over two decades of leadership experience that spans Fortune 500 companies and start-ups in crypto and digital assets, health and wellness, insurance, and financial services. In addition to his work at Rubicon, Greg is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and part of the GeoTech Action Council for the Atlantic Council GeoTech Center.

Greg joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can include cryptocurrency in their portfolio of services. He describes how major financial institutions are gearing up for the wide adoption of cryptocurrency. He explains how advisors can manage their emotions and expectations about cryptocurrency in a volatile market. He also reveals how financial advisors can evaluate the potential of a crypto project and underscores how Rubicon helps advisors begin their journey in cryptocurrency.

“All major institutional players are gearing up for what we believe to be the greatest reallocation of wealth in the history of the industry.” - Greg Johnson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Greg’s background and journey to financial services and cryptocurrency
  • Why financial advisors should think about including cryptocurrency in their client services
  • Hurdles that prevent financial advisors from adopting cryptocurrency
  • How Rubicon Cryptocurrency educates their partner RIAs and financial advisors about cryptocurrency
  • Managing emotions and expectations through a volatile market
  • Due diligence for cryptocurrency and how advisors can sift through crypto “garbage”
  • Tokenomics and evaluating the potential of a crypto project
  • Regulatory considerations and issues in cryptocurrency
  • How managing fees are split up when advisors partner with a firm like Rubicon
  • Mastery and the importance of embracing the plateaus of your life

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard
  • MIT OpenCourseWare: Blockchain and Money with Prof Gary Gensler

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Whether we’re in a bull market or a ‘crypto winter,’ people will either say ‘see, I told you,’ or switch camps along the way.” - David DeCelle
  • “Though the stock market is volatile currently, it tends to be more stable over time—more than how people perceive the crypto space.” - David DeCelle
  • “Most of the crypto and token projects out there look and feel like securities, behaving like stocks in many aspects.” - Greg Johnson

Connect with Greg Johnson:

  • Rubicon Crypto
  • Rubicon Crypto on LinkedIn
  • Greg Johnson on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

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Kevin Stansfield is an award-winning business coach, author, and keen golfer. He is the Founder and Director of ActionCOACH Solent in the UK, a company offering business coaching to small to medium-sized organizations. Their objective is to help clients clarify their dreams and goals for the future and make a plan to achieve those dreams and goals, whatever they may be. Before ActionCOACH, Kevin qualified as a Chartered Accountant, working with businesses, and helping them to grow successfully. After completing an MBA in 2006, he changed his career direction and focused more on business planning, growth and development and less on the financial aspects of business.

Kevin joins me today to discuss how ActionCOACH helps business owners and senior executives to realize their full potential and take their businesses to the next level of success. He explains the importance of working less so that you can spend more time doing what you love. Kevin highlights ideas around building a team and delegating the right way so that you don’t get overworked and ultimately burn out.

“If you want to work less, you got to be clear what work less looks like.”- Kevin Stansfield

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How Kevin benefits from ARI; a business where he gets to do business networking while playing golf.
  • Kevin’s background and he got started in business coaching.
  • Common mistakes business owners do which lead them to overwork and burnout.
  • Kevin’s simple formula to help people start building a life to better leverage their time.
  • Kevin’s one nugget of advice for success.
  • The power of the Reticular Activating System (RAS) and its relationship with your goals.
  • Finding a mentorship that can lead to achieving your time leveraging goals.
  • The benefits of following through with the advice a mentor provides.
  • The differences between working with a mentor vs. a business coach
  • Building the confidence to delegate.
  • How performing a time audit can help you assess what tasks need to be delegated.
  • The importance of taking time for self-care.
  • The commonality that people run their business as a technician and not as an entrepreneur.

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Big Dipper by Kevin Stansfield
  • Book: The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
  • Book: The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
  • Book: The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware
  • Book: How Full is your Bucket? by Tom Rath
  • Book: The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
  • Book: Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “You’ll learn more from failure than you do from success.” - David DeCelle
  • “You can work because you choose to work, …not because you have to work. – Kevin Stansfield
  • “Successful people are good problem solvers because they’ve solved their problems to get where they are.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Kevin Stansfield:

  • ActionCOACH Solent
  • ActionCOACH Solent on Facebook
  • ActionCOACH Solent of YouTube
  • ActionCOACH Solent on Twitter
  • Kevin Stansfield on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing
The Infinite Game
How Full Is Your Bucket?
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's
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Justin Fitzpatrick is the Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Income Lab, the only provider of software for true, dynamic retirement income plans that help retirees adjust to evolving economic and market conditions. Justin has over 15 years of financial services experience, leading teams in advanced financial planning and portfolio strategy, managing the development of fintech tools, and designing and executing strategies to enter new markets. He served as the Head of Private Wealth and Trust of Jackson from 2008 to 2018, when he co-founded Income Lab. Prior to Jackson, Justin served for seven years in academia, teaching at Harvard University, the University of London, UCLA, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he also received his Ph.D. in Linguistics.

Justin joins me today to discuss retirement income planning and the superpowers of retirees. He explains why he transitioned to financial services and entrepreneurship after working in academia. He breaks down the most significant gap in retirement income planning and how that gap inspired the founding of Income Lab. He also outlines common reasons adjustments are made in a retirement income plan and discusses how the Income Lab software helps advisors provide clients with a realistic view of what retirement could look like.

“An advisor who can leverage retirees’ superpower to adjust will deliver so much more value and experience than presenting their clients with the idea that they’re either going to succeed or fail.” - Justin Fitzpatrick

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Justin’s time in academia and his studies in linguistics
  • The huge gap in retirement income planning
  • How Income Lab helps advisors leverage retirees’ superpowers
  • Reasons to make adjustments in a retirement plan
  • How advisors can communicate the advantages of Income Lab tech to their clients
  • How Income Lab simulates income risk in retirement
  • Income Lab’s integration with other financial planning platforms and CRMs

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Life happens for you—it’s up to you to determine why it’s happening, how you can shift your perspective, and how you can learn and grow from it.” - David DeCelle
  • “Sometimes advisors have great experiences with clients; sometimes, not so much. But if you can stop, reflect, and learn, any scenario you find yourself in can be beneficial.” - David DeCelle
  • “Just like in their working years, people In retirement will adjust as things develop—as they learn about what world they’re actually living through.” - Justin Fitzpatrick

Connect with Justin Fitzpatrick:

  • Income Lab
  • Income Lab on LinkedIn
  • Income Lab on Facebook
  • Income Lab on Twitter
  • Income Lab on YouTube
  • Justin Fitzpatrick on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Man's Search for Meaning The Classic Tribute to Hope from the Holocaust

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Nic Nielsen is a certified financial planner and the Co-founder of Know My Plan, a firm that helps sales executives feel confident and reduce financial anxiety with a one-page financial plan. He is the author of Visual Finance, which shares illustrations of financial planning topics alongside corresponding QR codes to short videos that elaborate upon real-life financial planning applications. Before co-founding Know My Plan, Nic served as Vice President and Financial Advisor for SunTrust Investment Services. He was also a financial advisor for PNC, where he worked for over five years before joining SunTrust. Nic graduated from the University of Saint Francis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.

Nic joins me today to discuss the one-page financial plan, its contents, and its impact. He shares what made him transition to the world of finance after initially studying engineering in college and the inspiration behind the one-page financial plan. He explains what his clients think about the one-page financial plan and how content creation on LinkedIn transformed Know My Plan’s business. He also highlights how creating content shortens the sales process and underscores the power of simplifying financial plans.

“There’s no one way to do a financial plan. The best financial plan is the one that somebody can stick to and implement.” - Nic Nielsen

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Nic’s background, how he learned about investing, and his beginnings in financial planning
  • Why people transition to the independent financial advisory world
  • The origins and content of the one-page financial plan
  • How clients perceive the one-page financial plan
  • The DIEM process and how creating content transformed Nic’s business
  • The value of diversifying content and how often Nic posts on LinkedIn
  • How many leads Nic would get in the early stages of creating content
  • The power of networking on LinkedIn and why salespeople appreciate the one-page financial plan
  • Breaking the feast/famine cycle and how creating content shortens the sales process

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Social media, when executed properly, can really be a Swiss army knife for prospecting, lead flow, adding value, and staying relevant in between your reviews with clients.” - David DeCelle
  • “Salespeople are one of the biggest groups of people that will appreciate the simplicity of a one-page financial plan.” - David DeCelle
  • “The beauty of marketing is that when you put out to the world what your process is, the people you attract self-select.” - Nic Nielsen

Connect with Nic Nielsen:

  • Know My Plan
  • Email: nic@knowmyplan.com
  • Book: Visual Finance
  • Know My Plan on LinkedIn
  • Nic Nielsen on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

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Erica Pauly is a data storyteller for financial advisors and the Founder of Track That Advisor, a data analytics company that helps financial advisors bring clarity to company statistics. Before founding Track That Advisor, Erica worked as the Office Operations Manager and Marketing Director for GrowSecure Inc. Insurance and Financial Services and as the Marketing and Office Manager for the Layman Lewis Financial Group. As a data analyst and storyteller, Erica’s unique perspective and approach to data storytelling bring a fresh perspective and holistic view to financial advisory practices across the nation.

Erica joins me today to discuss the power of tracking various metrics in your financial advisory practice. She outlines the top activities financial advisors should track in their practice and shares her recommendations on costs-per-client, close rates, and average case sizes. She describes the data analytics and storytelling process and explains how Track That Advisor fills in the gap between data gathering and data analytics. She also debunks common misconceptions about data tracking and analytics and discusses the first steps financial advisors can take to start tracking their data.

“Advisors are salespeople, but owning an advisory practice means you need to put on a CEO hat—and that’s where good data and reporting can help.” - Erica Pauly

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Erica’s background and her journey to data analytics and founding Track That Advisor
  • Model FA’s energy audit and the power of making data-informed decisions
  • Creating a constellation of data points and the top five activities or metrics to track in an advisory practice
  • The value of tracking your practice’s close rate and average case size
  • Erica’s recommended benchmark for costs-per-client and ROIs
  • Why new financial advisors need to focus on referrals and building relationships with centers of influence
  • Why ROIs could be a false summit
  • Debunking myths around tracking metrics and data analytics
  • Building the habit of tracking your business’s data and how much time it takes to track data daily

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Book: What the Heck Is EOS?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS by Gino Wickman and Tom Bouwer
  • Book: Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best by Eugene H. Peterson

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Anything you can track and measure, you can manage and improve.” - David DeCelle
  • “Regardless of your industry or experience, you’re not going to close 100% of the people you meet.” - David DeCelle
  • “Data analytics shows the picture, but identifying the problems and taking action on them is where the gold is.” - Erica Pauly

Connect with Erica Pauly:

  • Track That Advisor
  • Book: Tracking Your Trek: Looking Backward to Determine Your Forward
  • Track That Advisor on LinkedIn
  • Erica Pauly on LinkedIn
  • Email: Hello@TrackThatAdvisor.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

What the Heck Is EOS?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

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James Jurica is the Director of Advisor Development at Wealth Watch Advisors, a discretionary, fee-based money management firm committed to developing and implementing financial strategies to meet the personal goals of its clients. Within Wealth Watch Advisors, James founded Taggart Wealth Management, in which he serves as the Lead Financial Advisor. Before joining Wealth Watch Advisors, James worked as a development manager at New York Life Insurance Company, where he started his career in the financial services industry as an agent. James holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

James joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can thrive in the independent space. He describes his transition from studying psychology in college to working in the financial services industry. He explains how he began his journey in the independent financial advisory space after working with New York Life Insurance Company. He also highlights the value of differentiating yourself as a financial advisor and offers advice to young people who want to work in the financial services industry after graduating from college.

“Seeing the unique ways you can work with your clients, as well as the solutions and planning opportunities in the RIA space, was extremely eye-opening; I knew it was going to be where I’d spend the rest of my career.” - James Jurica

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • James’ background and how he began his career in the financial services industry
  • How having mentors helped James manage the struggles of starting a career in financial services
  • Common issues and challenges new financial advisors face
  • What encouraged James to explore the independent financial advisory space
  • James’ advice to young people who want to get started in the independent financial advisory industry after studying in college
  • His role as Director of Advisor Development at Wealth Watch Advisors and how it’s different from his previous experiences
  • Building relationships and the value of staying relevant to your prospects’ lives
  • James’ vision for the future of his financial advisory practice

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Blend Out: From Ordinary To Irresistible: How Advisors Can Market Like the Greatest Brands in the World by Robert Sofia
  • Book: The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by John David Mann & Bob Burg
  • Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Book: The Latte Factor: Why You Don’t Have to be Rich to Live Rich by David Bach and John David Mann

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Having the appropriate mentors that can communicate their intentions for staying on top of you could be instrumental to people’s success.” - David DeCelle
  • “Advisors who have been in the business for over 20 years are still learning; you’ve got to speed up your learning curve by having conversations with different types of personalities.” - David DeCelle
  • “Ask for referrals and have your centers of influence. If you focus on building a database of names, marketing to and cultivating it for years, you may never need to prospect ever again.” - James Jurica

Connect with James Jurica:

  • Wealth Watch Advisors
  • Wealth Watch Advisors on LinkedIn
  • James Jurica on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century (Think and Grow Rich Series)
The Latte Factor: Why You Don't Have to Be Rich to Live Rich
The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea
Blend Out: From Ordinary To Irresistible: How Advisors Can Market Like The Greatest Brands In The World

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Natalie Wolfsen is the CEO of AssetMark, a WealthTech platform that empowers independent financial advisors to deliver impactful investor outcomes and grow their practices. As CEO of AssetMark, Natalie is focused on leading the company’s strategic vision, which encompasses its platform of curated investment and tech solutions, business consulting and operations support, and strategic acquisitions. Before joining AssetMark, Natalie served in several leadership roles, including Head of Marketing for First Eagle Investment Management and Head of Product Management and Development for Pershing. Natalie earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Master of Business Administration from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Natalie joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can ensure that service is at the heart of everything they do in their practice. She explains how advisors can maintain deep and meaningful relationships with their clients during unstable market conditions. She outlines the different growth paths financial advisors can follow to take the next step in their careers and offers advice on being a senior leader in an organization. Natalie also describes the financial behaviors of different generations of investors and underscores why communication is essential to a financial advisor’s success.

“Service is a choice—you choose to invest in it, you choose to be client-focused, and you have to be investing and improving all the time. A client culture means a service culture” - Natalie Wolfsen

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Natalie’s background and her journey to becoming the CEO of AssetMark
  • How to thrive in a senior leadership role
  • Why knowing a broad range of topics is essential to being a leader
  • Finding career opportunities and how to not let fear get in the way
  • How to help clients stay the course and reach their goals during a turbulent market environment
  • AssetMark’s volatility toolkit
  • The importance of communicating with clients during a bad market condition
  • Specialization and other multiple growth paths for financial advisors
  • How AssetMark is helping independent financial advisors thrive in a mass of players around them.
  • Model FA’s Energy Audit and what a client-focused service model looks like
  • The feedback marketing methodology and what it means to have a “client culture”
  • Servicing the emerging generation of investors
  • Understanding the fears and behaviors of different generations of investors

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
  • Book: Who, Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “A lot of the problems advisors face could be solved by just being a good human.” - David DeCelle
  • “Your business becomes more valuable if you’re working with multiple generations—especially with younger investors who are in the accumulation stage.” - David DeCelle
  • “It feels great to be an expert in one thing; but it’s hard to take that to the next level, because you need to lead people and teams that do more than that, and your perspective needs to be a lot broader.” - Natalie Wolfsen

Connect with Natalia Wolfsen:

  • AssetMark
  • AssetMark on LinkedIn
  • AssetMark on Facebook
  • AssetMark on Twitter
  • Natalia Wolfsen on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork
Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent

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Blake Brewer is the founder of the Legacy Letter Challenge, which helps parents create a lasting legacy beyond finances for their children and partners with financial advisors to help them become trusted partners in their clients’ lives. Blake has created a 10-step online program in the Legacy Letter Challenge to help parents create well-written, meaningful, and lasting letters that their children will cherish. Before founding the Legacy Letter Challenge, he worked for over 12 years as a campus director for the non-profit, Student Mobilization. Blake holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Arkansas.

Blake joins us today to share how his father inspired him to help parents create legacies for their children. He discusses the power of words and writing letters and explains how he helps financial advisors become trusted partners in their clients’ lives. He also highlights the importance of writing Legacy Letters and describes how it’s impacting parents and their children.

“We want to help our clients to have more than financial legacies. We want to help them pass down their virtues and invest in their children.” - Blake Brewer

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Blake’s story and why he’s passionate about helping parents create legacies for their children
  • The impact of having really good life insurance
  • The value of having a trusted financial advisor in your life
  • How the Legacy Letter Challenge has helped financial advisors
  • How the Legacy Letter Challenge program works for families and their financial advisors
  • The best time to give a Legacy Letter to children

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Take Back Your Family: From the Tyrants of Burnout, Busyness, Individualism, and the Nuclear Ideal by Jefferson Bethke

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Sometimes, I’m not the best with spoken words. I always buy a blank card and write, because it’s difficult to articulate at the moment—and you can articulate your message differently or better in writing.” - Davi DeCelle
  • “The Legacy Letter’s impact on families is priceless and invaluable.” - David DeCelle
  • “Your children will have decisions they’ll get through. You’ll want your words to influence them and have that deeper relationship—your words can provide the confidence they need to do well.” - Blake Brewer

Connect with Blake Brewer:

  • Legacy Letter Challenge
  • Legacy Letter Challenge for Model FAs
  • Legacy Letter Challenge on LinkedIn
  • Legacy Letter Challenge on Instagram
  • Legacy Letter Challenge on Facebook
  • Blake Brewer on LinkedIn
  • Blake Brewer on Instagram

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Take Back Your Family: From the Tyrants of Burnout, Busyness, Individualism, and the Nuclear Ideal

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Michael Hanna is a certified financial planner, retirement income certified professional, and an accredited estate planner. He is also an investment adviser representative at Azura Wealth Advisers LLC, a company dedicated to helping clients navigate the real financial world. Michael graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Philosophy from New York University, where he also completed his Master of Business Administration degree at the Stern School of Business. He is the author of the book, Get Your Money Right, which shares a roadmap and infrastructure—drawn from his personal experience—that can help create real and permanent wealth in readers’ lives.

Michael joins us today to discuss why financial advisors should build financial infrastructures for themselves. He explains the importance of keeping the right investing mindset during an economic downturn and keeping the end in mind when creating financial goals. He shares his thoughts on financial advisors sharing their personal financial plans and goals with their clients. Michael also highlights the value of celebrating your progress toward your financial goals and outlines the first steps advisors can take to keep their financial house in order.

“It’s important for financial advisors to care for their finances because it puts them in a position to lead by example. It’s hard to show somebody what to do with their money when you have not done it yourself with your own money.” - Michael Hanna

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Michael’s background and how he realized the importance of having a strong financial infrastructure in business
  • Why it’s important to continue making contributions to your 401k even during a market downturn
  • What it means to begin with the end in mind when creating financial infrastructures
  • Gamifying progress toward your financial goals
  • Whether financial advisors seek other advisors when making financial plans
  • How financial advisors can put themselves and their families in a better financial situation
  • The first steps to take toward getting your financial house in order

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Advisors should have an advisor. It’s always great to have a second pair of eyes, a sounding board, someone to support you or keep you on track if you’re slightly going off.” - Michael Hanna
  • “Everyone’s a great investor when doing it in hindsight, but making changes based on emotions will bite you in the butt moving forward.” - David DeCelle
  • “Clients can feel if you’re actually empathetic or if you’re blowing smoke to keep them contributing for your personal benefit.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Michael Hanna:

  • Azura Wealth
  • Book: Get Your Money Right: An Insider’s Guide to Simplified Wealth
  • Michael Hanna on LinkedIn
  • Email: MHanna@AzuraWealth.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Kitchen Confidential Updated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.)

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Dom Henderson is a coach, speaker, and certified financial planner. He is the founder of DJH Capital Management, a fee-only wealth management firm that focuses on helping individuals make bigger and better decisions with their money. He is also the founder of the Jumpstart Coaching Lab, a coaching firm that’s educating the next generation of financial professionals to serve the growing group of individuals seeking financial advice. In addition to his work at DJH Capital Management and Jumpstart Coaching Lab, Dom is the author of Assess, Address, & Adjust and the host of the Conversations for Financial Professionals podcast.

Dom joins us today to reveal the three pillars of success. He explains how video content has impacted his business and offers advice to financial advisors who are hesitant about creating content to support their business. He discusses why we need to have a framework to work with when pursuing success and why we have to fall in love with the process of becoming. Dom also highlights the importance of having a system to keep ourselves accountable and underscores the value of having people who continue to push us.

“Perspective, program, and process: you have to put those three things in place so you can have a successful journey to wherever you’re going.” - Dom Henderson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What inspired Dom to help individuals become better financial advisors
  • How creating video content on YouTube has impacted Dom’s wealth management business
  • The importance of having frameworks for success
  • The value of perspective and changing our mindsets
  • Why we need to let go of our need for retribution
  • Finding a personal and professional program to be the best version of ourselves
  • The importance of structuring a powerful morning routine
  • The power of having accountability partners and telling others our goals

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The 12-Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington
  • Book: Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Dependent on It by Chriss Voss
  • Book: Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential by Tiago Forte
  • Book: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
  • Book: The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Comparing someone’s chapter 10 to your chapter one prevents you from starting.” - David DeCelle
  • “We operate best when we have some sort of structure in our lives, but sometimes you have to switch up the routines within that structure.” - David DeCelle
  • “There’s this large portion of your hidden self that has unlimited potential that can be revealed not through introspection, but by lending yourself to accountability.” - Dom Henderson

Connect with Dom Henderson:

  • Dom Henderson Website
  • DJH Capital Management
  • Jumpstart Coaching Lab
  • Podcast: Conversations for Financial Professionals
  • Book: Assess, Address, and Adjust: A Practical Guide to Becoming Unstuck and Achieving Your Goals
  • Dom Henderson on LinkedIn
  • Dom Henderson on Instagram
  • Dom Henderson on Facebook
  • Dom Henderson on YouTube
  • Dom Henderson on TikTok
  • Email: info@djh-capital.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months
Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity [Paperback] [Apr 22, 2015] David Allen
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Cameo Roberson is a business coach and operations strategist who specializes in helping financial advisory firms avoid business management overwhelm, implement systems, and build high-performing six-figure practices. Throughout her career, Cameo has worked with leadership teams and managed over 100 client relationships. She is the founder of Atla Park Consulting, a business coaching and practice management agency that performs operational makeovers for financial advisory businesses.

Cameo joins me today to discuss the relationship between establishing a vision for your advisory firm and the success of your practice management. She describes her background and how she became passionate about improving business operations for RIAs. She explains why some advisors are not comfortable asking for referrals and shares how getting clear on ideal client avatars can help you get introductions. Cameo also highlights how advisors can look to other RIA firms for success inspiration and outlines tips on documenting standard operating procedures for your business.

“When considering practice management, look at your practice in different buckets: business strategy and planning, business development, operations optimization, technology, and people.” - Cameo Roberson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Cameo’s background and how she got started in the RIA industry
  • Why building a clear vision for your firm is essential to creating a strong practice management
  • Crafting a vision for your advisory firm and a roadmap to your business goals
  • The components of a revenue roadmap
  • The importance of being crystal clear on your ideal client avatars
  • How to make your advisory business more efficient and autonomous
  • Tackling large projects in your business and avoiding overwhelm
  • Establishing and documenting standard operating procedures for your business
  • What financial advisors should and shouldn’t automate in their advisory firms

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Rocket Fuel: The One Essential That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • App: Loom

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Whether you’re serving 12 families or 1,200 families, systems and processes are important.” - David DeCelle
  • “People are quick to search for answers on how to run their businesses, but before you can even talk about practice management, you need to figure out what your vision is: what you’re building and why you’re building it.” - David DeCelle
  • “Success leaves clues. You can always check to see what other firms are doing to be successful and use that as inspiration for your own firm.” - Cameo Roberson

Connect with Cameo Roberson:

  • Atlas Park Consulting
  • Atlas Park Consulting on Facebook
  • Atlas Park Consulting on LinkedIn
  • Atlas Park Consulting on Instagram
  • Cameo Roberson on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

View Details

Cameo Roberson is a business coach and operations strategist who specializes in helping financial advisory firms avoid business management overwhelm, implement systems, and build high-performing six-figure practices. Throughout her career, Cameo has worked with leadership teams and managed over 100 client relationships. She is the founder of Atla Park Consulting, a business coaching and practice management agency that performs operational makeovers for financial advisory businesses.

Cameo joins me today to discuss the relationship between establishing a vision for your advisory firm and the success of your practice management. She describes her background and how she became passionate about improving business operations for RIAs. She explains why some advisors are not comfortable asking for referrals and shares how getting clear on ideal client avatars can help you get introductions. Cameo also highlights how advisors can look to other RIA firms for success inspiration and outlines tips on documenting standard operating procedures for your business.

“When considering practice management, look at your practice in different buckets: business strategy and planning, business development, operations optimization, technology, and people.” - Cameo Roberson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Cameo’s background and how she got started in the RIA industry
  • Why building a clear vision for your firm is essential to creating a strong practice management
  • Crafting a vision for your advisory firm and a roadmap to your business goals
  • The components of a revenue roadmap
  • The importance of being crystal clear on your ideal client avatars
  • How to make your advisory business more efficient and autonomous
  • Tackling large projects in your business and avoiding overwhelm
  • Establishing and documenting standard operating procedures for your business
  • What financial advisors should and shouldn’t automate in their advisory firms

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Rocket Fuel: The One Essential That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • App: Loom

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Whether you’re serving 12 families or 1,200 families, systems and processes are important.” - David DeCelle
  • “People are quick to search for answers on how to run their businesses, but before you can even talk about practice management, you need to figure out what your vision is: what you’re building and why you’re building it.” - David DeCelle
  • “Success leaves clues. You can always check to see what other firms are doing to be successful and use that as inspiration for your own firm.” - Cameo Roberson

Connect with Cameo Roberson:

  • Atlas Park Consulting
  • Atlas Park Consulting on Facebook
  • Atlas Park Consulting on LinkedIn
  • Atlas Park Consulting on Instagram
  • Cameo Roberson on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

View Details

Robert Sofia is the Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Snappy Kraken. This marketing automation advertising service helps financial advisers track marketing campaigns and various business processes to expand their market share. Robert's recent accomplishments include leading his team to win the Best Places to Work in FinTech Award and Best Overall Content Marketing Company for four straight years. He is also the author of Blend Out: From Ordinary to Irresistible: How Advisors Can Market Like the Greatest Brands in the World, which divulges marketing secrets meant to disrupt the status quo and get you noticed.

Robert joins me today to describe what Snappy Kraken is, its humble beginnings, and how they help financial advisers get their brands out there. He shares his extensive experience in sales and how he joined the financial industry. He explains why he isn't fond of curated content and the extent of the marketing Snappy Kraken provides per month. He discusses how they keep content fresh regardless of their output. Robert also shares a list of books he likes to read and go back to—especially The Great CEO Within.

"If you saturate your audience with exposure to your brand, you become omnipresent." - Robert Sofia

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Robert's extensive experience in sales, including selling copy machines
  • How Robert joined the financial industry
  • Where Snappy Kraken started and the services they offer
  • How data gives them a significant advantage over the competition
  • Why Robert doesn't believe in curating content
  • The types of campaigns and topics they make every month
  • How they keep their articles and marketing fresh and timeless
  • Other forms of marketing outside of digital
  • Expanding the content of Robert's book, Blend Out
  • How to create omnipresence in marketing
  • Why Robert likes reading The Great CEO Within

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier
  • Book: The Great CEO Within: The Tactical Guide to Company Building by Matt Mochary, Alex MacCaw, and Misha Talavera
  • Book: Three Feet From Gold: Turn Your Obstacles Into Opportunities (Think and Grow Rich Series) by Sharon L. Lechter and Greg S. Reid
  • Book: Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • "You can do all the marketing you want, but if you don't have a good brand or website, visitors are going to bounce." - Robert Sofia
  • "Advisors should still create their own content." - David DeCelle
  • "If someone's going on social media, they're going there to consume content." - David DeCelle

Connect with Robert Sofia:

  • Robert Sofia Website
  • Snappy Kraken
  • Book: BLEND OUT
  • Snappy Kraken on YouTube
  • Robert Sofia on Twitter
  • Robert Sofia on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too
Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities! (Think and Grow Rich)
The Great CEO Within: The Tactical Guide to Company Building

View Details

Patrick Galvin is a coach, speaker, author, and the Founder of The Galvanizing Group, a learning and development company that helps high-performance companies and teams grow bottom-line results through cultivating relationships. In his books, The Connector’s Way and The Trusted Way, Patrick explores how businesses can grow through relationship-building techniques and trust. Patrick holds a Master of Business Administration degree in International Marketing from Thunderbird School of Global Management and graduated cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service.

Patrick joins us today to discuss building and growing businesses through strengthening relationships with clients. He explains the importance of taking the time to evaluate how you’re bringing traffic to your business. He examines developing capital and how depositing it in relationships supports further business through referrals. Patrick also highlights the value of going above and beyond to serve others without expecting anything in return and underscores the power of gratitude.

“Building your business one relationship at a time works regardless of your industry or the size of your business.” - Patrick Galvin

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Patrick’s background and launching The Galvanizing Group
  • Post-sale communications and how to stay relevant in clients’ lives
  • The seven principles of The Connector’s Way
  • Developing social capital and the value of serving others without expecting to benefit
  • Patrick’s advice on asking for introductions and referrals from clients
  • Why you might not ask for referrals as an advisor
  • The real power of going above and beyond for your clients
  • The importance of being grateful and personally expressing your gratitude to other people
  • Best practices for leveraging networking groups and service organizations to build connections

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
  • Book: The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday
  • Should Self Interest Motivate Service? | Patrick Galvin at TEDxMcMinnville

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Focus heavily on relationship building and experience and focus somewhat on marketing and advertising, so you have something to prompt people to talk about you.” - David DeCelle
  • “You can’t control when people are going to have conversations about you, but by adding value and staying relevant, you increase the likelihood of people talking about you and what you do with their friends and family.” - David DeCelle
  • “Having the mindset of looking for maximum gain in every connection you have will burn a lot of bridges: you might win the battle and the sale, but at the cost of an on-going relationship that could mean more business.” - Patrick Galvin

Connect with Patrick Galvin:

  • Patrick Galvin
  • The Galvanizing Group
  • Book: The Connector’s Way: A Story About Building Business One Relationship at a Time
  • Book: The Trusted Way: A Story About Building a Life and Business of Character
  • Email: info@galvanizinggroup.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
The Connector's Way: A Story About Building Business One Relationship at a Time (The Way Series)
Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion
The Trusted Way: A Story About Building a Life and Business of Character (The Way Series)

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Jeremy Straub is the Founder and CEO of Coastal Wealth, a financial services firm that helps clients financially prepare for different stages of life. With over two decades of experience in executive roles in Fortune 500 companies, Jeremy is regarded as a thought leader in the financial services industry. Under Jeremy’s leadership, Coastal Wealth has worked with over 100,000 clients with over $15 billion in assets serviced. In addition to his work at Coastal Wealth, Jeremy owns nine different businesses across five industries that employ over 1,500 people and generate over $100 million in revenue annually.

Jeremy joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can diversify their businesses and expand to other markets and industries. He outlines the industries he’s involved with and how he balances his time between them. He offers advice on what to consider when forming joint ventures. Jeremy also underscores why individuals need to know themselves as financial advisors and highlights how having a condensed work week can help employees and the company.

“Finding opportunities that might be in line with or compliment your existing business is a better way to decide for new business ventures.” - Jeremy Straub

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Jeremy’s background and his road to starting his own venture
  • The many businesses and industries Jeremy’s involved in
  • How Jeremy manages his time and expertise between different markets
  • The value of finding the right talent and putting them into the right roles
  • The fundamentals of diversifying and seeking new business ventures
  • Mergers and acquisitions in the financial services industry
  • Transitioning from financial advisor to business owner
  • The 90-day sprint and 4-day work week methodology

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan
  • Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t by Jim Collins
  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Book: The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington
  • Book: Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “If you’re reliant on your financial planning practice and invest in a business you know nothing about, you’re in a precarious position. Expand your base first before venturing out into industries that you don't have experience in.” - David Decelle
  • “When you’re trying to enter new ventures, don’t worry about how you’re going to do it but who’s going to help you do it.” - David DeCelle
  • “Don’t reinvent the wheel, but figure out how to make it go faster.” - Jeremy Straub

Connect with Jeremy Straub:

  • Coastal Wealth
  • Podcast: Upreneur
  • Coastal Wealth on LinkedIn
  • Coastal Wealth on Facebook
  • Coastal Wealth on Twitter
  • Jeremy Straub on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months
Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business
Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

View Details

Greg Bishop is the Founder and Managing Partner of Poterus Consulting. After several years of working in the financial services industry, Greg created Poterus Consulting as a platform where financial advisors, producer groups, and financial firms could increase their productivity exponentially. Before founding Poterus, Greg served as the Director of Business Development at Compass Total Benefit Solutions. He had also previously worked as the Chief Marketing Officer of QuietStream Financial and the Director of Practice Management at Consolidated Planning Inc. Greg holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Muskie School of Public Service, and completed his Bachelor’s in Political Science at the University of Southern Maine.

Greg joins me today to discuss the roles of vision and mission in optimizing practice management. He recounts his journey toward founding his consulting firm and outlines the seven stages of his practice management optimization program. He also describes how business owners can develop powerful visions and mission statements and underscores how accountability helps manifest a company’s vision.

“Everything starts with a vision and its crystallization. You can’t talk about marketing programs or business financials if you don’t know what the vision is.” - Greg Bishop

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Greg’s background and his journey toward starting his consulting firm
  • Why the cookie-cutter marketing strategies of large firms don’t always work
  • The importance of picking a niche and communicating it
  • Creating a client journey map
  • Why practice management optimization needs to begin with a vision
  • How to put together a vision statement for your business
  • Why Greg doesn’t spend a lot of time developing five-year plans with his clients
  • The power of visualization
  • Being accountable to manifest your business vision into reality
  • How being accountable can help with time management
  • Using Greg’s “Time Shocker” technique to manage your time and be accountable
  • How often entrepreneurs should view their business finances
  • Why business plans and marketing plans should come hand-in-hand

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Face Values: How to Read People and Adjust Your Presentation to Connect with Them in Less Than Three Minutes by Michael Lovas and Pamela Holloway

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “If you’re going to write a vision statement, don’t keep it to yourself. Sharing it with others gives them the opportunity to help you get there.” - David DeCelle
  • “Accountability is something you either love or dread and is one of the most impactful areas of your business.” - David DeCelle
  • “If the vision is the emerald city in the distance, the mission statement articulates what the paving stones are in that yellow brick road that get us there.” - Greg Bishop

Connect with Greg Bishop:

  • Poterus Consulting
  • Poterus Consulting on LinkedIn
  • Greg Bishop on LinkedIn
  • Email: greg.bishop@poterus.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Aimee Butler is a certified financial planner and the Principal at Merriman Wealth Management. Aimee has over 15 years of experience as an advisor, district manager, and regional director. She was previously the Managing Principal of Waddell & Reed, a company she worked with for more than nine years before joining Merriman in 2018. She also served as the Marketing Field Implementation Officer at Ameriprise Financial Services. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Providence College.

Frank McLaughlin has been a wealth advisor for Merriman Wealth Management since August 2013. As a certified financial planner, Frank focuses on helping his clients live fully by creating sound financial strategies. He graduated with a degree in Finance from Washington State University. Frank is an advocate of sustainable investing and is passionate about helping people overcome the emotional aspects of retirement.

Alan Hensley is a wealth advisor for Merriman Wealth Management who has over 15 years of experience in wealth management. Before joining Merriman in 2016, Alan served as a financial advisor for LPL Financial and a licensed personal banker for Wells Fargo. As a certified financial planner, Alan specializes in helping families simplify their finances and make smart choices with money. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Economics at the University of Washington.

Aimee, Frank, and Alan join me today to discuss their thoughts on using social media to build connections with prospects and clients. They share their initial reservations about using social media professionally and describe the subsequent feedback. They explain how they measure the impact they make with their posts and how they come up with ideas for social media content. They also highlight the value of repurposing and reposting social media content and underscore why you should still try to give value to prospects even if they don’t qualify as clients.

“Personal connection takes some time; social media helps build it faster.” - Alan Hensley

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What excited them about using social media for business and relationship development
  • The reservations they had about using social media for business development
  • How their existing connections reacted after they started using social media professionally
  • The learning curve involved in creating content for business development
  • Vanity metrics and how Frank measures the success of his content
  • Leading with education and how to handle conversations with prospects who don’t qualify
  • The recency bias and how to determine the subject matter of your social media content
  • Keeping a content idea notebook
  • Using social media for relationship building
  • Reposting, reusing, and repurposing content
  • The value of connecting with your centers of influence on social media platforms

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho
  • Book: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber
  • Book: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
  • Book: Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles Into Opportunities by Dan John Miller

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Social media does a great job at leaving clues. Through social media, you can share a little bit more about your personality and the things you’re into—you allow everyone to connect with you on that personal front.” - David DeCelle
  • “Be intentional and pay attention to the people you want to connect with. Notice the little things that they do, interact with them, and comment.” - Aimee Butler
  • “Write down questions you get from normal client conversations and shoot videos about those because other people and other clientele you serve will be asking the same questions.” - Frank McLaughlin

Connect with Merriman Wealth Management:

  • Merriman Wealth Management
  • Merriman Wealth Management on Facebook
  • Merriman Wealth Management on Twitter
  • Email: info@merriman.com

Connect with Aimee Butler:

  • Aimee Butler on LinkedIn
  • Aimee Butler on YouTube

Connect with Frank McLaughlin:

  • Frank McLaughlin on LinkedIn
  • Frank McLaughlin on YouTube

Connect with Alan Hensley:

  • Alan Hensley Website
  • Book: Eddie & Hoppers Explain Investing in the Sock Market
  • Book: Merriman’s Guide to Social Security and Medicare
  • Alan Hensley on LinkedIn
  • Alan Hensley on Twitter
  • Alan Hensley on YouTube
  • Alan Hensley on Facebook
  • Alan Hensley on Instagram

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities! (Think and Grow Rich)
The Alchemist - Gift Edition
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

View Details

Michael Ivanov is a motivational speaker and the Founder of Speaklife365. He is the best-selling author of The Servant with One Talent, The Traveler’s Secret, and The Mount of Olives—which combines courage, faith, and wisdom to share an inspiring tale of self-discovery. Michael is committed to helping leaders, teams, and influencers connect with their most powerful selves and create transformational change in peoples’ lives.

Michael joins us today to discuss how you can smash your fears and limitations for a fulfilling life. He explains how he began his career in public speaking despite dropping his college speech class. He explains why motivation and inspiration need to be quickly followed by action. He describes how anyone can build momentum. He also highlights the importance of taking ownership of life’s challenges and underscores the value of service to others.

“The more you train yourself to take action the minute you’re inspired, the easier it becomes for you to overcome fear, procrastination, and laziness.” - Michael Ivanov

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Michael’s background and what led him to public speaking
  • The importance of putting inspiration into action
  • Why building momentum is better than motivation
  • Taking ownership of challenges and obstacles in life
  • How your words create your world
  • The value of giving back and serving others
  • Why caring for others is the best way to market your business

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time by Ivan Farber
  • Book: The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
  • Book: A Better Way to Live: Og Mandino’s Own Personal Story of Success by Og Mandino
  • Book: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink
  • Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Motivation dissipates over time until you get that next hit, but taking that big thing in front of you and breaking it down into tiny pieces will create the momentum that’s going to move you forward.” - David DeCelle
  • “You need to be okay with being silly and weird and doing things that other people aren’t doing if you want to live a life most other people aren’t living.” - David DeCelle
  • “If you control everything that you can control and make the right decisions, the things you can’t control will take care of themselves eventually.” - Michael Ivanov

Connect with Michael Ivanov:

  • Speaklife365
  • Book: The Mount of Olives: 11 Declarations to an Extraordinary Life
  • Book: The Traveler’s Secret: Ancient Proverbs for Better Living
  • Book: The Servant with One Talent: Five Success Principles from the Greatest Parable Ever Told
  • Michael Ivanov on LinkedIn
  • Michael Ivanov on Instagram
  • Michael Ivanov on Facebook
  • Michael Ivanov on YouTube

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
Think and Grow Rich
Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time
The Greatest Salesman in the World

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Jaimie Sarah is an award-winning executive coach, marketing consultant, and the Founder of Definitely Definitely, a coaching and consulting company that helps smart, talented, service-based experts attract and retain high-caliber clients with integrity. Before founding Definitely Definitely, Jaimie served for over a decade in the marketing industry, working with companies such as Thomson Reuters, SAP, and Satelliet-UK. As a coach and consultant, Jaimie uses the Aligned Business Blueprint, a proprietary blend of executive coaching and marketing consulting that helps clients transform their lives, messaging, and offers.

Jaimie joins us today to discuss how being a good human impacts client attraction and retention. She discusses content creation strategies for financial advisors and the power of consistency. She explains how having a solid onboarding process can help retain clients and offers advice on asking for client referrals. Jaimie also discusses how connection and trust can aid in asking for client introductions and highlights what it takes to create ideal marketing content for a business.

“When people feel a heart connection with you—that you care about them on a human, heart-to-heart level—it’s rare for them to leave.” - Jaimie Sarah

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What inspired Jaimie to become a coach after more than a decade in the corporate world
  • The best ways to get attention from prospective clients
  • How long it takes for content creation to yield new clients
  • The impact of consistently creating content for marketing
  • Creating content around frequently asked questions
  • How financial advisors can improve their client retention strategy
  • The anchoring effect and mixing the “fluffy” with the “analytical” in the discovery process for prospects
  • Depositing in client relationships and strategies for asking for referrals
  • How connection and trust can aid in requesting client introductions
  • The distinction between emailing and showing up online

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence–and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk
  • Book: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
  • Book: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
  • How to Create 64 Pieces of Content in a Day

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Creating a video, a blog, an infographic makes people aware of who you are and what you do at scale; it humanizes you, helping you build relationships.” - David DeCelle
  • “You need to go above and beyond expectations while magnifying, elevating, and expanding yourself through content creation.” - David DeCelle
  • “Marketing isn’t about how you get someone in; it’s about the process of creating customer value. It’s not just about the hook.” - Jaimie Sarah

Connect with Jaimie Sarah:

  • Jaimie Sarah Website
  • Definitely Definitely on LinkedIn
  • Jaimie Sarah on LinkedIn
  • Jaimie Sarah on Instagram
  • Jaimie Sarah on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too

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Mark Colgan is a founding partner of Montage Wealth Management, a financial planning firm focused on creating strategies for saving and spending. With over 29 years of experience as a certified financial planner, Mark is passionate about orchestrating financial plans that help clients live a fulfilled life. Before founding Montage Wealth Management, Mark served as an investment consultant for McDonald Investments. Mark graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Finance.

Mark joins us today to discuss how financial planners and advisors help bereaved clients navigate difficult times. He details his journey to becoming a financial advisor and explains how business acquisitions and referrals from satisfied clients grew Mark’s firm. He describes why he’s passionate about helping bereaved clients take the next steps in their financial and personal lives. Mark also explains why death can be a difficult topic—even for financial professionals—and offers advice on how advisors can communicate to their grieving clients.

“The topic of death is a mystery to us financial planners as it is to others. Still, you can help clients avoid some missteps or uncover some opportunities they hadn’t even known about.” - Mark Colgan

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Mark’s background and how he began his career in business
  • His road to establishing himself as an independent financial advisor
  • How his business development strategies have changed since starting his firm
  • The importance of picking a niche and focusing on it
  • Why Mark is passionate about helping bereaved clients
  • When to meet with a financial advisor after bereavement
  • What inspired Mark to write Death’s Red Tape
  • How advisors can help bereaved clients prevent identity theft and other crimes

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: No Longer Awkward: Communicating with Clients Through the Toughest Times of Life by Amy Florian
  • Book: How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Showing that you care about the client is what makes them feel special.” - David DeCelle
  • “Focusing on a niche doesn’t only help your marketing and collateral—it also helps you build a scalable service model.” - David DeCelle
  • “The best way to get referrals is to overly impress your existing clients so they start bragging about you.” - Mark Colgan

Connect with Mark Colgan:

  • Montage Wealth Management
  • Book: Death’s Red Tape: Your Guide for Navigating Legal, Financial, and Personal Transitions When a Partner Dies
  • Montage Wealth Management on LinkedIn
  • Montage Wealth Management on Facebook
  • Mark Colgan on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

How to Win Friends and Influence People
No Longer Awkward: Communicating with Clients Through the Toughest Times of Life

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Ray Sclafani is the Founder and CEO of ClientWise, a business and executive coaching firm working exclusively with high-performing financial advisory teams. He is a professional certified coach who holds a Master Certification in Neuro-Linguistics. In addition to being a public speaker sought after by industry leaders, Ray is the author of You’ve Been Framed, a step-by-step guide that helps financial firms achieve profitability and sustainability. Before founding ClientWise, Ray worked at AllianceBernstein for over 20 years, serving as its Managing Director before launching his own company.

Ray joins us today to discuss the nobility of being a financial advisor. He explains how financial advisors can make an impact beyond their clients’ lives and discusses building a relationship with the next generation of clients. He reveals the questions every financial advisor should ask during their client reviews and describes the unintended consequences advisors face when they become “accidental owners.” Ray also highlights the importance of succession planning for financial advisors and underscores the power of raising powerful next-gen teams.

“When an advisor makes a difference in the life of a client, they have a multigenerational impact on that client and their family. And that ripple effect is noble.” - Ray Sclafani

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Ray’s background in asset management and his transition to the consulting business
  • The multigenerational ripple effect and the nobility of financial advisors
  • Engaging and building a relationship with the next generation of clients
  • The ‘fee on AUM’ model and the questions financial advisors should ask in client reviews
  • The ClientWise Risk Assessment and why it’s tough to segment clients based on revenue
  • The “accidental owner” and how financial advisors get into the profession
  • Succession and merger planning for financial advisors
  • How financial advisors can communicate their succession plans for clients
  • The shifts ClientWise had to make in the face of COVID-19

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Your business grows by increasing your value proposition on things you aren’t compensated to do. People are attracted when you have a vested interest in them.” - David DeCelle
  • “We need to help advisors think about the shifts taking place in the industry, what the next five years ahead look like, and how they can take advantage of the opportunities.” - Ray Sclafani
  • “Your options increase the sooner you think about succession. Doing so gives you time to raise the next generation.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Ray Sclafani:

  • ClientWise
  • Book: You’ve Been Framed: How to Reframe Your Wealth Management Business and Renew Client Relationships
  • ClientWise on LinkedIn
  • ClientWise on Instagram
  • ClientWise on Facebook
  • ClientWise on Twitter
  • Ray Sclafani on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

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Rusty Vanneman is the Chief Investment Strategist of Orion Advisor Solutions. An industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, Rusty has managed multiple mutual funds and hedge funds throughout his career. Before joining Orion, Rusty served as the President and Chief Investment Officer of CLS Investments. He was also a senior analyst at Fidelity Management and Research and previously worked for Thomson Reuters and General Electric. Rusty received his Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. In addition to his work at Orion, Rusty hosts The Weighing Machine podcast and is the author of the book, Higher Calling.

Dr. Daniel Crosby is the Chief Behavioral Officer of Orion Advisor Solutions. A psychologist and behavioral finance expert, Daniel specializes in helping organizations understand the intersection of minds and markets. Before joining Orion, Daniel served as the Chief Behavioral Officer of Brinker Capital. He was educated at Brigham Young University, where he completed his Bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in Psychology. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, Personal Benchmark, as well as The Laws of Wealth, which the Axiom Business Book Awards named the best investment book in 2017. His latest work, The Behavioral Investor, takes an in-depth look at how sociology, psychology, and neurology impact investment decision-making.

Rusty and Daniel join us today to discuss how financial advisors can connect with their clients and guide them through difficult economic conditions. They explain how they encourage their clients to continue on their investing path. They describe why it’s important for advisors to highlight their services’ features rather than their technical aspects. They also enumerate the five elements of wellness and underscore why the success of a financial advisor’s business and career relies on self-care and wellbeing.

“We have to convey to our clients that we’re partners in the journey, and our ability to get there is only as good as their ability to take the ride.” - Dr. Daniel Crosby

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How financial advisors can communicate their value proposition to their clients
  • The value of communicating technical aspects as features
  • How financial advisors can encourage their clients amid challenging economic times
  • The five elements of wellness and the role of self-care in a financial advisor’s life
  • The first thing financial advisors need to do when the markets take a downturn
  • Why everyone should explore existentialism and stoicism

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William Irvine
  • Book: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
  • Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “To have a thriving business and happy clients—whether the market is crushing it or crashing down—you need to be the best version of yourself mentally, physically, emotionally.” - David DeCelle
  • “Whatever the normal person needs to do from a self-care perspective, the financial advisor needs to do even more because of all the bullets they take.” - David DeCelle
  • “A confident advisor will create a confident investor.” - Rusty Vanneman

Connect with Orion:

  • Orion Portfolio Solutions
  • Orion Practice Management
  • Orion Advisor Tech on LinkedIn
  • Orion Advisor Tech on Twitter

Connect with Rusty Vanneman:

  • Book: Higher Calling: A Guide to Helping Investors Achieve Their Goals
  • Podcast: The Weighing Machine
  • Rusty Vanneman on LinkedIn
  • Rusty Vanneman on Twitter

Connect with Dr. Daniel Crosby:

  • Book: The Behavioral Investor
  • Book: Personal Benchmark: Integrating Behavioral Finance and Investment Management
  • Podcast: Standard Deviations
  • Daniel Crosby on LinkedIn
  • Daniel Crosby on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
The Behavioral Investor
Think and Grow Rich
Man's Search for Meaning The Classic Tribute to Hope from the Holocaust
Personal Benchmark: Integrating Behavioral Finance and Investment Management

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Justin Goodbread is an author, entrepreneur, and certified financial planner. He founded his company, Heritage Investors, in 2009 to help individuals, business owners, and retirees attain their financial goals. In 2019, Justin founded Heritage Business Advisors to help business owners realize their full potential. He later joined the WealthSource family after the company and its affiliates acquired Heritage Investors and Heritage Business Advisors in 2022. He is also the author of Your Baby’s Ugly, as well as the Amazon best-selling book, The Ultimate Sale.

Justin joins us today to discuss how to build a best-in-class company for the ultimate business sale. He shares the first time he became self-employed and his journey to founding Heritage Investors and Heritage Business Advisors. He explains what led him to partner with WealthSource and describes how joining a larger company has benefitted the Heritage brand. Justin also details his approach to writing books and underscores why entrepreneurs should start a business with the end goal in mind.

“We should build a business for the ultimate customer—the customer we’re going to transition or sell our business to in the future.” - Justin Goodbread

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Justin’s journey to the financial planning industry
  • The principles of landscaping and how they continue to guide Justin in business and entrepreneurship
  • The power of scale and collaborating with a team
  • The growth of the Heritage brand and its acquisition by WealthSource
  • What led Justin to sell the Heritage companies and partner with WealthSource
  • How joining a larger company has impacted the Heritage business
  • Justin’s current role and responsibilities at WealthSource and his vision for the future
  • What inspired Justin to write a book and other financial content
  • How creating a podcast helped Justin write a bestselling book
  • The weaknesses of the RIA industry and the benefits of building your brand

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Book: Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! By Robert Kiyosaki
  • Book: The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey
  • Book: The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Thomas Stanley

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Regardless of where you’re running your business, there are principles you need to abide by to be successful.” - David DeCelle
  • “Being able to put out valuable content and being omnipresent allow you to appeal to peoples’ various learning styles.” - David DeCelle
  • “In everything we want to do in life, we have to start with the end in mind. We have to know exactly where we want to be.” - Justin Goodbread

Connect with Justin Goodbread:

  • Financially Simple
  • Book: The Ultimate Sale: A Financially Simple Guide to Selling a Business for Maximum Profit
  • Book: Your Baby’s Ugly: Maximize the Value of Your Business or You’ll Have Nothing to Sell
  • Financially Simple on YouTube
  • Justin Goodbread on LinkedIn
  • Justin Goodbread on Instagram
  • Justin Goodbread on Facebook
  • Justin Goodbread on Twitter
  • Email: justin@financiallysimple.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
The Ultimate Sale: A Financially Simple Guide to Selling a Business for Maximum Profit
Think and Grow Rich
None

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Steve Atkinson is the Managing Director for Advisor Relations at Buckingham Strategic Partners, an investment management firm committed to creating a better wealth experience for financial advisors and clients. Steve previously worked as the Vice President of CLS Investment Firm LLC. for eight years before joining Buckingham Strategic Partners. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Banking. As Managing Director for Advisor Relations at Buckingham, Steve leads a team committed to helping financial advisors find their true passion by leveraging best practices for delivering wealth management.

Steve joins us today to discuss how financial advisors can turn themselves into admired leaders. He outlines his career progression in the financial advisory industry and explains how he encountered the concept of admired leadership. He differentiates results-oriented and follower-oriented leaders and describes why the former isn’t well respected by their followers. Steve also highlights why great leaders shine through times of crisis and underscores why leaders should always get feedback.

“Most leaders either get results or followers—admired leaders get both.” - Steve Atkinson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Steve’s beginnings in the financial advisory industry
  • What led Steve to Buckingham Strategic Partners
  • What admired leadership is and its history
  • The difference between results-oriented and follower-oriented leaders
  • Handling objections from prospects and how advisors can articulate the value of leadership to clients
  • The “UCLA style” and the characteristics that turn financial advisors into great leaders
  • The nature of markets and investing and how financial advisors can lead their team amid times of crisis
  • Why great leaders value getting feedback
  • Leadership red flags financial advisors need to avoid
  • Steve’s thoughts on turning clients into raving fans and the value of asking for help

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership by John Wooden and Steve Jamison
  • Fearless Investing Summit - Hosted by Riskalyze - Use Promo Code: ModelFA.com to save $50 on registration tickets!

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Clients are human beings—there’s a lot more going on in their lives than asset or portfolio allocation. So, start your conversations with a broad, big picture of the client.” - Steve Atkinson
  • “Leaders do a great job of setting expectations at the front end. That way, there’s less opportunity for miscommunication.” - David DeCelle
  • “Advisors, you can be a leader for your teams, you can be a leader for your clients, but you need to also be a leader for yourself. If you’re not taking care of yourself, it’s going to be tough leading others.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Steve Atkinson:

  • Buckingham Strategic Partners
  • Buckingham Strategic Partners on LinkedIn
  • Buckingham Strategic Partners on Twitter
  • Steve Atkinson on LinkedIn
  • Email: satkinson@buckinghamgroup.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership

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Wade Behlen is the Owner and Managing Director of Retirement Plans/Foundations at WealthPLAN Partners, an RIA that manages the retirement plans of over 250 companies across the country. Passionate about helping companies build “best in class” retirement plans, Wade has spent the last 15 years specializing in retirement plan advising with WealthPLAN and has been recognized as one of the Top 401k Advisors by Financial Times.

Wade joins us today to share his insights on the 401K and retirement planning industry. He describes his professional journey and explains why he switched careers from the medical field to retirement planning. He reveals the top reason advisors fail to sell retirement products and offers advice on how advisors can open conversations on retirement planning. Wade also discusses WealthPLAN’s efforts in supporting financial wellness education and outlines best practices for turning retirement plan participants into wealth management clients.

“The combination of aggressive and conservative investing works well in the 401k space, where you help business owners set the best types of plans while managing risk.” - Wade Behlen

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Wade’s career path and pivot from the medical field to the retirement industry
  • Why being both an aggressive and conservative investor helps in the 401k sector
  • The Pension Protection Act of 2006 and how the 401k space has evolved over the years
  • The importance of relationships in financial services
  • The difference between “specialists” and “dabblers”
  • How WealthPlan partners with businesses and advisors
  • How businesses and financial advisors eliminate risks by outsourcing retirement planning
  • Business development and discovering retirement planning opportunities
  • What cash balances are and how to start a conversation about retirement plans
  • Why advisors fail to sell retirement plans
  • Best practices for converting retirement plan clients into wealth management clients
  • WealthPlan’s Auto-Educate program

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  • Book: The Dream Manager: Achieve Results Beyond Your Dreams by Helping Your Employees Fulfill Theirs by Matthew Kelly
  • Fearless Investing Summit - Hosted by Riskalyze - Use Promo Code: ModelFA.com to save $50 on registration tickets!

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Whether it’s partnering with someone regarding retirement plans or offloading marketing to a different company, it all comes down to leverage so you can grow faster.” - David DeCelle
  • “Perception is reality. If I can be perceived as having a bigger team, it may edify me in the eyes of my prospects.” - David DeCelle
  • “It’s difficult to sell a retirement plan in one call. Each advisor has to find their own story and comfort zone, but you have to be bold enough to ask those initial questions.” - Wade Behlen

Connect with Wade Behlen:

  • WealthPlan Group
  • App: Auto-Educate by WealthPLAN Partners
  • WealthPlan on LinkedIn
  • WealthPlan on Twitter
  • Wade Behlen on LinkedIn
  • Email: wade@wealthplan.partners

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Edition
The Dream Manager

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Lauren is the Founder and CEO of Golden Key Partnership, an award-winning and globally recognized boutique business consulting firm. Regarded as “The Business Doctor'' by her clients, Lauren specializes in helping business owners diagnose the root cause of team and operational challenges. She uses her 4D framework to help CEOs reclaim time and avoid burnout as they scale their businesses. Before founding Golden Key Partnership, Lauren served as a clinical research associate at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Lauren joins us today to discuss diagnosing businesses and identifying the cause of burnout. She explains why she started her own business after working in the medical field. She differentiates players from worker bees and discusses how hiring more players for your team can help decrease spending and reduce burnout. Lauren also highlights why businesses need to get simpler as they grow and shares her advice on hiring the right team members for maximum impact.

“Think of your business as a body: the operations and teams are the neural network that connects to the spine of your business so all the systems communicate and move together.” - Lauren Goldstein

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Lauren’s background, career path, and what led her to become “The Business Doctor”
  • The Diagnostic Deep Dive test and how Lauren works with advisors and businesses
  • A crucial mistake advisors and business owners make when hiring and expanding their team
  • The difference between a player and a worker bee
  • How business owners get burnt out even if they have a team
  • Why businesses shouldn’t be fully automated
  • Using the Eisenhower matrix to lessen business burnout

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Power of TED by David Emerald

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “The amount of insight and advice you can receive from books, conferences, and podcasts is amazing. You can test if they work, then implement them to ultimately get paid.” - David DeCelle
  • “As an entrepreneur, don’t just look for staff members; look for entrepreneurial people who have a strategic mindset.” - David DeCelle
  • “Get absolute clarity on who you need on your team to fill the gaps. When you have that clarity of the position and how it fits in, you can spend a lot less and get a whole lot more than you ever could.” - Lauren Goldstein

Connect with Lauren Goldstein:

  • Golden Key Partnership
  • The Biz Doctor Podcast
  • Golden Key Partnership on LinkedIn
  • Golden Key Partnership on Instagram
  • Golden Key Partnership on Facebook
  • Golden Key Partnership on Twitter
  • Lauren Goldstein on LinkedIn
  • Email: lauren@goldenkeypartnership.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Power of TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic): 10th Anniversary Edition

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Chris Koon is a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual, a financial planning and wealth management company dedicated to helping businesses and families achieve financial security. Chris is a Lifetime Member of the Million Dollar Roundtable and was Top of the Table in 2021. He is also a winner of the Master Achievement Awards and has $10 million worth of career production. Through his work, Chris has served thousands of people protecting and providing for their loved ones for the past 25 years.

Chris joins us today to share his steps to building strong human connections with clients and prospects. He discusses his sobriety journey, his challenges with dyslexia and ADHD, and how he uses his vulnerability to help others. He describes how the RIA industry has pivoted from transactional selling to planning-based financial services and outlines his advice on asking for referrals. He also reveals where he draws his passion for serving his clients and outlines the steps he takes to keep himself centered and rooted in gratitude amid life’s challenges.

“We all have gifts and wounds, but I share my vulnerability in the hopes that it’ll get somebody else to share theirs in this journey of life. When they do, it’s inspiring.” - Chris Koon

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • The power of personal branding and networking
  • How Chris and I connected through social media
  • Chris’s backstory and how he worked through the biggest challenges of his life
  • Building a human connection with clients, prospects, and other people
  • How the financial advisory industry has shifted from transactional selling to wholistic financial planning
  • Creating raving fans for your business and Chris’s advice on asking for referrals
  • Where Chris’s passion for serving his clients comes from
  • Being grateful and the value of learning to center yourself

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time by Ivan Farber
  • Book: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
  • Book: Rhinoceros Success: The Secret to Charging Full Speed toward Every Opportunity by Scott Alexander

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Advisors are great with planning but sometimes fail to connect with clients as humans, first.” - David DeCelle
  • “Whenever you deal with what life throws at you, be good at two things: centering yourself and being grateful.” - David DeCelle
  • “When you’re a young advisor, you tend to talk too much. The more you can listen and ask great questions, the better it gets.” - Chris Koon

Connect with Chris Koon:

  • Chris Koon Website
  • Northwestern Mutual
  • Northwestern Mutual on LinkedIn
  • Northwestern Mutual on Instagram
  • Northwestern Mutual on Facebook
  • Northwestern Mutual on Twitter
  • Chris Koon on LinkedIn
  • Email: chris.koon@nm.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Rhinoceros Success: The Secret To Charging Full Speed Toward Every Opportunity
Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time

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Aaron Miller is the Managing Partner of the Northwestern Mutual office in Downtown Boston. With over $265 billion in assets, Northwestern Mutual is a financial planning firm dedicated to helping its clients protect their wealth and prosper. Having served both as a financial advisor and industry leader, Aaron brings a unique perspective to his work. He has spent the last 18 years of his career supporting clients, financial advisors, and leaders in achieving their visions faster. Under Aaron’s leadership, Northwestern Mutual in Boston has become one of the fastest-growing offices in the country.

Aaron joins us today to recount his career in financial services and his path to becoming a leader in the industry. He shares how he faced and handled impostor syndrome throughout his career. He outlines the most common problems financial advisors face in their careers and offers advice on overcoming them. He also explains the value of systematizing one’s prospecting process and underscores the role of intellectual humility in leadership.

“My instinct got me into leadership—but the belief of the people who were leading me got me through it.” - Aaron Miller

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Aaron’s background and journey in the financial services industry
  • The challenges and hurdles Aaron had to overcome at the beginning of his career as a financial advisor
  • Aaron’s path to leadership
  • Experiencing impostor syndrome in leadership and how Aaron dealt with it
  • Leading and coaching people who are older and more experienced
  • The importance of intellectual humility in leadership
  • The common challenges financial advisors of any experience face
  • Building a process for prospecting, marketing, and branding
  • Becoming the best at the art of saying “no”
  • The dynamics of systems, beliefs, and processes in organizations

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy by Jon Gordon
  • Podcast: At the Table

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “If both leader and follower are open-minded and willing to listen and check their egos at the door, they can learn anything from anyone.” - David DeCelle
  • “Learning to fail can speed up the learning curve.” - David DeCelle
  • “I felt as if I had to play the role of a leader, but becoming my authentic self was the time everything started to click.” - Aaron Miller

Connect with Aaron Miller:

  • Northwestern Mutual
  • Email: aaron.miller@nm.com
  • Northwestern Mutual on LinkedIn
  • Northwestern Mutual on Instagram
  • Northwestern Mutual on Facebook
  • Northwestern Mutual on Twitter
  • Aaron Miller on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy

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Mike Saunders is the President, CEO, and Authority Positioning Coach of Marketing Huddle, an organization dedicated to empowering financial professionals. By helping them build authority and expertise, Mike elevates financial professionals to become trusted financial advisors. He is the bestselling author of Authority Selling and serves as a member of the Forbes Coaches Council. Mike is also the host of the Influential Entrepreneurs podcast, where he interviews elite business leaders and experts to help his listeners elevate their businesses to the next level.

Mike joins us today to discuss how financial advisors can move from obscurity and become trusted heroes by building authority. He explains how choosing the right social media platform can help elevate your status as a financial advisor and outlines how to start building expertise through content creation. Mike also shares his advice on branding through service and highlights the value of understanding the buyer’s journey.

“Stand out from your competitors by building authority. Be an educator and advocate for your target audience’s success.” - Mike Saunders

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Establishing your brand through different social media channels
  • What it means to be omnipresent on various social media platforms
  • How advisors can begin working on publicity and choose which social media platforms to focus on
  • How platforms can help elevate your status as a financial advisor
  • Understanding the buyer’s journey and creating content
  • How to humanize yourself to your prospects and clients
  • Building authority by creating impactful content around frequently asked questions
  • The power of being a guest on podcasts
  • Mike’s advice on building your brand
  • Trust triggers and what “earned media” means
  • Optimizing your portfolio of “authority-positioning” assets

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Medium is the Message: An Inventory of Effects by Marshall McLuhan
  • Book: Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
  • Book: Shift: Digital Marketing Secrets of Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors by Jeremiah Desmarais
  • Traffic Geyser

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Social media allows you not just to increase but also to maintain your relevance to the eyes of the people you want to serve.” - David DeCelle
  • “Trust isn’t built on elapsed time alone but also on the accumulation of experiences.” - David DeCelle
  • “Build your brand by serving, teaching, and giving value.” - Mike Saunders

Connect with Mike Saunders:

  • Marketing Huddle
  • Authoritize Your Agency
  • Podcast: Influential Entrepreneurs
  • Book: AUTHORITY MARKETING FOR LAW FIRMS: How to Attract High-Value Cases in Lucrative Industries
  • Book: Authority Selling: Opening More Doors to Closing More Business
  • Book: Believing Your Why: The 7-Step “Morning Huddle” System to Finally Achieve Your Goals!
  • Book: Dental Marketing Fusion
  • Book: The P.R.I.S.M. Salvation: A 3-Step Solution to Social Media Domination for Busy Business Owners
  • Marketing Huddle on LinkedIn
  • Authority Positioning Coach on YouTube
  • Mike Saunders on LinkedIn
  • Mike Saunders on Twitter
  • Email: mike@marketinghuddle.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
Shift: Digital Marketing Secrets of Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors
The Medium is the Massage

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Brendan Frazier is the founder of Wired Planning, a platform dedicated to equipping financial advisors and planners with practical tips and insights to apply behavioral finance and master the human side of advice. Brendan has been on the prestigious Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors and is a sought after keynote speaker. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Belmont University, Brendan worked at Jackson National as a business development consultant. He then served as a regional sales consultant for Raymond James before launching Wired Planning. Brendan hosts The Human Side of Money, a podcast where he speaks with financial experts and thought leaders to explore the relationship between human behavior and money.

Brendan joins us today to discuss the human side of financial advice. He offers ideas for building relationships with clients and reveals how financial advisors can ignite behavioral changes in clients to align them with their financial goals. He defines “reverse rapport,” explains how to avoid it, and highlights the importance of building trust rather than focusing on hard-selling. Brendan also underscores the importance of uncovering a client’s values and financial “why.”

“The human side of advice is everything that you didn’t get in training, but you absolutely need to know it to best serve your clients and your business.” - Brendan Frazier

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Brendan’s background and how he started Wired Planning
  • The human side of advice and the psychology of money
  • Best practices for improving discovery and prospecting process
  • The dangers of creating “reverse rapport” and the secret to establishing trust and likeability
  • The power of asking great questions
  • Weaving the human side of advice into a presentation meeting with clients and prospects
  • Creating emotions around numbers and anchoring to a client’s “why”
  • How emotionally-connected clients can help you grow your business

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Advice That Sticks: How to Give Financial Advice that People Will Follow by Moira Somers
  • Book: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time by Ivan Farber
  • Book: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber
  • Book: The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Most advisors have a well-defined, logical service model. Adding a human component ensures that there’s a focus on client experience and emotions to drive them to action.” - David DeCelle
  • “Ask clients great questions not about their favorite football team, but about them and their financial journey.” - David DeCelle
  • “Nothing fuels behavior and increases motivation more than giving somebody the ‘why’ behind what they’re doing.” - Brendan Frazier

Connect with Brendan Frazier:

  • Wired Planning
  • Podcast: The Human Side of Money
  • Brendan Frazier on LinkedIn
  • Brendan Frazier on Twitter
  • Email: brendanfrazier@wiredplanning.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time
The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (The How To Talk Series)
Advice That Sticks: How to give financial advice that people will follow

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Mike Sorrentino is the Chief Investment Officer of Darwin Asset Management, a wealth and asset management firm. As CIO of Darwin, Mike oversees the development and implementation of investment strategies while providing regular thought leadership to financial advisors and investors. He has been a guest on CNBC, Fox Business News, and Bloomberg, while major publications and newspapers have referenced him extensively. Before working with Darwin, Mike served on the sell-side at Sanford Berstein and Barclays and worked as the CIO of a firm that oversaw $6 billion in assets. Mike received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation as well as a Series 65 license.

Mike joins us today to discuss how asset managers like Darwin Asset Management can help financial advisors grow their businesses. He recounts his journey into financial services and explains why he pivoted into the industry after studying engineering. He also highlights the factors that separate elite financial advisors from average ones and shares his market forecast in the current economic climate.

“Asset management is grossly commoditized in many ways. When you add a service component to it, it becomes a true offering.” - Mike Sorrentino

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Why Mike pivoted to the financial industry after studying engineering
  • Mike’s journey from the sales desk to the C-Suite
  • What Mike’s responsibilities and workweek look like as CIO
  • The “see one, do one, and teach one” approach to learning
  • Why financial advisors need to practice their language
  • How Darwin Asset Management works with RIAs
  • What turnkey allocation is and what separates Darwin Asset Management from other asset management firms
  • How Darwin Asset Management can help financial advisors in acquiring new clients
  • The difference between high-performing advisors and average ones
  • Mike’s market and economic forecast and thoughts on the current inflation
  • Communicating market status to your clients in times of volatility

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Sometimes, most of the pain you feel in your business can be addressed by focusing on a process and picking apart your language.” - David DeCelle
  • “When a financial advisor wants to offload their asset management, it may be because they want to spend more time building relationships and increasing revenue—other times, it’s because they don’t know the market as much.” - David DeCelle
  • “Human behavior drives markets. If you want to be a really good investor, spend more time studying human behavior than doing spreadsheets.” - Mike Sorrentino

Connect with Mike Sorrentino:

  • MikeOnMarkets
  • Darwin Asset Management
  • Darwin Asset Management on LinkedIn
  • Mike Sorrentino on LinkedIn
  • Mike Sorrentino on Twitter
  • Email: michael.sorrentino@investwithdarwin.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion

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David E. Appel is Managing Partner at Appel Insurance Advisors, LLC, a company that helps individual, family, and corporate clients worldwide obtain “People InsuranceTM”. For over 30 years, David has maintained a successful and service-oriented practice that focuses on generation-to-generation wealth transfer. He is the author of Buy Your Tomorrows Today, a book that outlines the secrets to establishing a life insurance portfolio. David is a former President of NAIFA Boston and serves as a risk advisor for the Insurance Fiduciary Network, a fiduciary dedicated to providing advice that serves clients’ best interests.

David joins us today to discuss insurance risk management and his philosophy on assessing and meeting insurance needs. He recounts how he started his career in the insurance industry and describes how Appel Insurance Advisors has grown and changed over the years. He also highlights what financial advisors need to know when dealing with risk management and life insurance products and explains why many people stop themselves from accomplishing what they want in life.

“Too many of us stop and don’t fulfill what we want to just because we think we need to do it 100% perfect. We just need to get 80% there, and that’s already more than what most people do.” - David Appel

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How David got started in the insurance industry
  • How Appel Insurance Advisors has evolved over the years
  • Creating centers of influence and building relationships as an insurance professional
  • David’s experience working with Northwestern Mutual
  • Analyzing and addressing insurance needs and David’s thoughts on advisors who come up with smaller death benefit values
  • David’s philosophy on considering total death benefit needs and including group insurance in planning
  • Why people may consider investing in insurance products despite being young and healthy
  • The Insurance Fiduciary Network and how it’s advocating for clients and financial advisors

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The 80% Approach by Dan Sullivan

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “By not putting yourself out there until you’re great, you end up not doing anything.” - David DeCelle
  • “Progress happens before perfection.” - David DeCelle
  • “Many RIAs miss out on risk management because they don’t have the confidence or background in it.” - David Appel

Connect with David Appel:

  • Appel Insurance Advisors
  • Book: Buy Your Tomorrows Today
  • Appel Insurance Advisors on Facebook
  • Appel Insurance Advisors on Twitter
  • David Appel on LinkedIn
  • David Appel on Instagram
  • Email: david@appeladvisors.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Shanna Tingom is the Co-founder of Heritage Financial Strategies, an organization dedicated to empowering clients to own their financial future. With over two decades of experience in the financial services industry, Shanna specializes in working with women entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders, as well as individuals experiencing life transitions (such as marriage or divorce). Shanna earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business from William Penn University and completed her Master’s degree in Organizational Management at the University of Phoenix. In addition to her work at Heritage, Shanna is a regular contributor to Investopedia, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, and Born2Invest. Alongside the Heritage team, Shanna also hosts Making Money Fun, a podcast that brings fun and excitement to financial and investment planning.

Shanna joins us today to discuss what it takes to become an independent financial advisor. She explains why she decided to leave her former company to start her own practice and explains how long it took her to take the leap of faith. She outlines how she launched her business, the AUM she started with, and how she eventually integrated other advisors in the organization. Shanna also discusses why it’s important for her to create a business continuity plan and highlights the value of being a financial advisor.

“We do what we do as advisors and planners because we love it and it is meaningful not only to us, but to our clients. What we do matters.” - Shanna Tingom

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Struggling to match the corporate mold and why Shanna decided to be an independent advisor
  • What made Shanna take the leap of faith to start her own company
  • How long it took Shanna to transition into her independent practice
  • Her starting AUM and what it took to scale her business to $150 million in AUM
  • Shanna’s succession and business continuity plans for Heritage Financial Strategies
  • Taking the leap of faith in times of uncertainty
  • Integrating other advisors and staff members into the organization
  • The technology tools and CRM that Heritage uses within the organization
  • What the EOS model is and utilizing tech tools to focus on client relationships
  • Shanna’s “Smile File” and the power of connecting with your “why”
  • How Shanna got through an acquisition process that went sideways

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy
  • Book: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
  • Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Have a continuity and succession plan well in advance before transition papers get signed, so you can put the dumpster fire out before you combine businesses.” - David DeCelle
  • “Listen to your gut, but don’t look over an opportunity just because it’s not perfect.” - David DeCelle
  • “The beauty of our industry is that you can reinvent yourself and do things differently at the turn of a dime to ensure you can fulfill your promises to your clients.” - Shanna Tingom

Connect with Shanna Tingom:

  • Tingom Group
  • Heritage Financial Strategies
  • Podcast: Making Money Fun
  • Heritage Financial Strategies on LinkedIn
  • Heritage Financial Strategies on Facebook
  • Heritage Financial Strategies on Twitter
  • Shanna Tingom on LinkedIn
  • Shanna Tingom on Instagram

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork
Think and Grow Rich

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Sonya Dreizler and Liv Gagnon are the Founders of Choir, the financial services industry’s first diversity certification program for conferences. Choir is focused on amplifying the voices of women, non-binary people, and people of color in the financial services industry.

Sonya Dreizler is a speaker, writer, and consultant dedicated to fostering conversations about gender and race in financial services. Her 20 years of industry experience include 14 years in traditional financial and investment roles. Before founding Solutions with Sonya and co-founding Choir, Sonya served as the President and CEO of Protected Investors of America. She completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Liv Gagnon is a media relations specialist, PR consultant, and branding expert who has helped many companies launch into the public eye. She is the founder of Portaga Creative, a brand messaging and strategic communications consultancy that serves financial companies driven by social value. After graduating from Belmont University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Liv worked with several organizations in public relations, including DVL Seigenthaler and FiComm Partners.

Sonya and Liv join me today to discuss the importance of fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in wealth management and financial services. They share their backgrounds and describe how they met and founded Choir. They explain how Choir is helping standardize representation in wealth management and financial services conferences through their pledge and certification programs. They also underscore the value of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in any industry and highlight how conference organizers and allies can contribute to the effort.

“In finance, we’ve heard a lot of the same type of voice for a long time, but, just like a choir, we can better serve the industry and the public when we hear from everybody’s voices and perspectives.” - Sonya Dreizler

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How Sonya began her career in the broker-dealer and RIA industry
  • The values Choir is founded upon as a company
  • Liv’s background and her journey to starting her own branding and PR consulting firm
  • What Choir is, its mission, and how Sonya and Liv came up with the company’s name
  • The Choir pledge and certification program for conferences
  • Changing the financial services industry’s perception of diversity and representation
  • How Choir is spreading awareness on diversity, equity, and inclusion in wealth management and financial services
  • Why industries should care about representation
  • How conference organizers can help advance the cause of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the industry
  • Where Sonya thinks conferences are heading in the next few years

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual by Luvvie Ajayi Jones
  • Book: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
  • Book: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo
  • Book: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • Book: Will by Will Smith
  • Book: Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Avoid doing something purely for the purpose of checking the box; you have to have the right intention around it.” - David DeCelle
  • “Representation is not just ‘nice to have.’ It’s good for business and moving an industry forward; it brings new perspectives that drive innovation, new technologies, new networks, and entire communities we’re looking to serve.” - Liv Gagnon
  • “It’s tough to care about something you can’t see, feel, or touch. Verbalizing your mindset is always helpful.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Choir:

  • Choir
  • Choir Voices
  • Choir on LinkedIn
  • Choir on Instagram
  • Choir on Twitter
  • Email: info@hellochoir.com

Connect with Sonya Dreizler:

  • Sonya Dreizler on LinkedIn
  • Sonya Dreizler on Instagram
  • Sonya Dreizler on Twitter

Connect with Liv Gagnon:

  • Liv Gagnon on LinkedIn
  • Liv Gagnon on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
So You Want to Talk About Race
Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist)
Will
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America

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Blair Lewis is the President of GRN Mid-Cities, an organization that specializes in executive and senior-level search in the financial services industry. With over 10 years of experience as an executive search professional, Blair leverages his vast experience in finance to help client companies acquire the right talent for strategic hiring initiatives. He is also the creator and host of Namastir, a podcast that celebrates the relentless pursuit of happiness.

Blair joins me today to discuss the process of staffing and recruiting financial advisors. He details his professional background and explains why he changed his career from wholesaling to recruiting. He describes the challenges of recruiting financial advisors. He also reveals the perfect time for independent financial advisors to recruit employees and highlights how business owners can maintain strong relationships with their executives.

“Part of building a great team is knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, and trusting that you hired the right person who’ll put the right things in place.” - Blair Lewis

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Blair’s background and how he kick started his career in the financial services industry
  • How Blair pivoted from being a wholesaler to becoming a recruiter
  • The challenges of recruiting financial advisors
  • The right time for independent financial advisors to build or expand a team
  • The first C-level executives that financial advisors typically hire when their firms grow
  • How ambition drives independent financial advisors to find success on their own
  • How the unrelenting need for control impedes a business owner’s relationship with their team
  • Why financial advisors need to appreciate their teams
  • The monetary advantages of remote working
  • Thinking outside the box and the lessons Blair learned from reading American Icon

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: American Icon: Alan Mulally and The Fight to Save Ford Motor Company by Bryce G. Hoffman
  • Book: Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business by Gino Wickman

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “There’s the visionary and the integrator—they’re different people who can't live without each other.” - David DeCelle
  • “Focus on your organization’s culture, appreciate your team, and take care of people who take care of you in the firm.” - David DeCelle
  • “So much of life is timing and chance. And with wholesaling, you’re only as good as your contacts.” - Blair Lewis

Connect with Blair Lewis:

  • GRN Mid-Cities
  • Podcast: What’s Next with Dave and Blair
  • Podcast: Namastir
  • GRN Mid-Cities on LinkedIn
  • GRN Mid-Cities on Twitter
  • Blair Lewis on LinkedIn
  • Email: blewis@grnmid-cities.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business
American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company

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Austin Peterson and Landon Mance are the Co-founders of Backbone Planning Partners, a financial services firm with offices in Las Vegas, Nevada and Phoenix, Arizona. Backbone Planning Partners helps business owners and their families transfer ownership of their businesses while focusing on a positive outcome for their employees. Austin and Lance are also the hosts of Tycoons of Small Biz, a podcast that gives business owners a platform to share their stories with the world.

Austin Peterson is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM, fiduciary advisor, and registered representative with Lincoln Financial Advisors. For over 20 years, Austin has served in the investment, insurance, and wealth management industries, working with companies such as Symetra, Crump Life Insurance Services, and LPL Financial. He completed his Master of Business Administration degree at Brigham Young University.

Landon Mance is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and a business exit consultant. Before co-founding Backbone Planning with Austin, Landon operated his business under Mance Wealth Management, which he launched in 2015. Before starting his practice, Landon served in several financial organizations, including J.P. Morgan and Waddell & Reed. He completed his degree in Business Administration at California State University-Long Beach and obtained the Certified Exit Planning Advisor designation through the Exit Planning Institute.

Austin and Landon join us today to discuss the power of leveraging podcasting as a business development tool. They describe how they developed the idea behind Tycoons of Small Biz podcast and discuss outsourcing podcast production. They outline their process for pre-screening, inviting, and interviewing podcast guests, as well as how they increase the likelihood of guests becoming financial planning clients. They also underscore how podcasting can build solid relationships and highlight the role of intention in running a podcast.

“Podcasting allows you to get to know somebody better than you ever would at a networking event or any other business development opportunities.” - Austin Peterson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How Austin connected with business owners and clients before launching the podcast
  • What intrigued him about launching a podcast to market to business owners
  • Why Landon kept pushing the idea of launching a podcast with Austin
  • Outsourcing podcast post-production and how much time Austin and Landon spend on working on their podcast
  • How to save time when preparing and recording a podcast episode
  • The outsourcing costs and ROI of running a podcast
  • Their process for inviting and interviewing podcast guests and how they increase the likelihood of the guests doing business with them
  • How many of their podcast guests later take a financial planning appointment with them
  • Pre-qualifying podcast guests and how they deal with non-ideal guests

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “A podcast is a creative and ethical way of tricking someone into hanging out with you and building a relationship with them.” - David DeCelle
  • “Following up with your podcast guests while you’re still fresh in their minds is of utmost importance: strike while the iron’s hot.” - David DeCelle
  • “Set the intention for what you’re trying to do with your podcast; your intention will change your approach.” - Landon Mance

Connect with Austin Peterson & Landon Mance:

  • Backbone Planning Partners
  • Tycoons of Small Biz Podcast
  • Backbone Planning Partners on Facebook
  • Austin Peterson on LinkedIn
  • Landon Mance on LinkedIn
  • Email: landon.mance@lfg.com

Landon Mance and Austin Peterson are registered representatives of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a legal or tax advisor regarding any legal or tax information as it relates to your personal circumstances. Securities offered through Lincoln Advisors Corp., a broker-dealer (member SIPC). Investment advisory services offered through Sagemark Consulting, a division of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a registered investment advisor. Insurance offered through Lincoln affiliates and other fine companies. Backbone Planning Partners is a marketing name for registered representatives of Lincoln Financial Advisors. CRN-4333162-021622

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Rich Bluni is a consultant and national speaker. Rich has been a Registered Nurse for nearly 30 years with experience in pediatric ICU, trauma, and ER among many other areas. Since 2007, he's been a successful healthcare consultant working with large academic centers as well as smaller organizations all over the US. Rich is an author of 3 books and a much sought after keynote speaker, having spoken in every State in the US (except for Alaska so far!) as well as a number of conferences in Canada. He's a popular social media influencer known as TheRichB, with over 1.2 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Rich is also a co-host of the Above Board Podcast with Candor Path, which is entering its second season with well over 30,000 downloads so far. Rich is a husband to an amazing wife and a dad to three incredible kids ages 23, 12 and 7.

Rich joins us today to discuss the power of connecting to our deeper purpose. He outlines the process of getting yourself unstuck from a rut and discusses when it’s effective to change routines. He explains why people become stressed when they lose connection to their “big why” and details how individuals can explore their life’s purpose. Rich also underscores the power of the meaning we put behind our actions and highlights why gratitude is an impactful antidote to burnout.

“The difference between a successful and a super successful financial advisor is going to be the ‘big why,’ the emotional connection, and the understanding of passion and heart.” - Rich Bluni

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Rich’s background and why he talks about connecting to purpose
  • Why we get into a rut and why goal-setting habits sometimes stop working
  • Personal alchemy and what to do when you’re stuck in a rut
  • The value and danger of routines
  • How much of your life should be committed to routines and when to change them
  • The difference between structure and routine
  • What separates the super successful financial planners from the “merely” successful ones
  • The causes of burnout and how to lift yourself from it
  • What a person can do to discover their purpose
  • How practicing gratitude can help avoid burnout and increase wellness
  • The power of words and how the language we use can influence burnout

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
  • Book: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • Book: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “There’s a lot of value to being routined, but, if gone unchecked, you could be routined to a fault.” - David DeCelle
  • “To get from being successful to super successful, you need to understand that constantly reminding yourself of your deeper purpose will keep you going.” - David DeCelle
  • “‘Why’ is one of the most powerful words that exist. If you understand or have a visceral, emotional, passionate connection to your ‘why,’ that’s how you can prevent burnout.” - Rich Bluni

Connect with Rich Bluni:

  • Book: Inspired Nurse
  • Book: Inspired Nurse Too
  • Book: Inspired Journal: A Companion to Inspired Nurse
  • Book: Oh No…Not More of That Fluffy Stuff!: The Power of Engagement
  • Podcast: Above Board with CandorPath
  • Rich Bluni on LinkedIn
  • Rich Bluni on Instagram
  • Rich Bluni on TikTok

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Meditations (Penguin Classics)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Clothbound Classics)
Inspired Nurse Too
Inspired Journal: A Companion to Inspired Nurse
Inspired Nurse
Oh No...Not More of That Fluffy Stuff! The Power of Engagement

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Matt Sonnen is the Founder and CEO of PFI Advisors, an organization that helps RIA owners build the infrastructure and culture they need to grow their profit. Matt—who is celebrating 25 years in the wealth management industry in 2022—began his career in the industry as a Financial Analyst in Merrill Lynch. He then progressed to Luminous Capital, where he served as the Director of Operations, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. He also worked at Focus Financial Partners, where he was the Vice President for two years. In addition to his work as the CEO of PFI Advisors, Matt is also the creator of the digital consulting platform, COO Society, and host of the COO Roundtable Podcast.

Matt joins us today to share his expertise on practice and operations management. He discusses his background and explains how eating at a sandwich shop in UCLA led him to the wealth management industry. He outlines the core operational issues financial advisors face and how Matt and his team at PFI help them. He also outlines the essential SOPs every financial advisor must have in their organizations and underscores the importance of segmenting your clients.

“Markets go up and down. While we can’t control that, we can always control our service.” - Matt Sonnen

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Matt’s background, sandwich of choice, and how he found himself landing a job in the wealth management industry
  • Operational matters that financial advisors generally struggle with
  • The value of creating a process and operations manual
  • How the process of writing a manual helps you evaluate your company’s operations
  • Foundational business standard operating procedures that every RIA must have
  • The anchoring effect and how to make a great client experience
  • The role of the onboarding process in creating an impactful client experience
  • Misconceptions on client segmentation and service offering

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
  • Book: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Solidifying from the start that clients will have an amazing experience with you makes it more likely that they’ll be willing to talk about you with others.” - David DeCelle
  • “Client segmentation is about service offering. You need to figure out what your ideal client is and how your firm is going to service them.” - Matt Sonnen
  • “For an onboarding process to turn into an onboarding experience, go from making clients feel like they made a good decision to making them feel like they can talk about it to other people.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Matt Sonnen:

  • PFI Advisors
  • Podcast: The COO Roundtable
  • PFI Advisors on LinkedIn
  • PFI Advisors on Twitter
  • Matt Sonnen on LinkedIn
  • Matt Sonnen on Twitter
  • Email: msonnen@pfiadvisors.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

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Bill Cates is the founder of Referral Coach International and the Cates Academy for Referral Marketing. He is a client acquisition expert and the author of several books, including Get More Referrals Now and Radical Relevance. For over 25 years, Bill has helped financial professionals move from incremental to exponential growth by improving communication, value, and clientele. Before founding Referral Coach International, Bill built and sold two successful book publishing companies. A sought-after public speaker, Bill is also the founder and leader of the Million Dollar Speakers Group and host of the Top Advisor Podcast.

Bill joins me today to share the secrets behind turning loyal clients into advocates for your business. He explains how public speaking engagements can help your prospecting efforts and build your influence. He discusses his philosophy on referrals and offers his best practices for soliciting business introductions from clients. Bill also highlights the importance of investing in emotional connections with clients and underscores the power of communicating values through storytelling.

“The secret sauce to creating advocates for your business is personal connection.” - Bill Cates

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Bill’s background: his pivot from the publishing industry to the financial services industry, and his introduction to professional public speaking
  • Building influence through public speaking and starting a public speaking career
  • How to connect with your audience before you speak from the stage
  • Bill’s philosophy on referrals, business introductions, and growing a referral-based business
  • The four stages of client relationships
  • How to make clients feel optimistic about working together
  • The difference between creating value connections and emotional connections
  • The “90-Day Dazzle" and how the right client onboarding process can help make your business more referable
  • The Transition Navigator and the Anchoring Effect
  • Congruency theory and the power of impressions
  • Creating the “client-centered why” and the neuroscience of relevance
  • How advisors can approach asking for introductions without being aggressive
  • Radical relevance and the value of communicating values through storytelling
  • The distinction between referrals and introductions

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets from the World’s Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers by Michael Schein
  • Book: What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story by Ben Zoldan and Michael Bosworth

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “One of the best ways to become influential is to speak. There’s something about standing up on the stage that edifies you.” - David DeCelle
  • “Depending on what they experience, your clients will view everything you do through a particular lens.” - David DeCelle
  • “We’re in the name recognition business. If you make a nice connection with someone, that’ll carry on a long way.” - Bill Cates

Connect with Bill Cates:

  • Referral Coach International
  • Top Advisor Podcast
  • Book: Radical Relevance: Sharpen Your Marketing Message - Cut Through the Noise - Win More Ideal Clients
  • Book: Get More Referrals Now!
  • Book: Don’t Keep Me a Secret!: Proven Tactics to Get Referrals and Introductions
  • Referral Coach International on LinkedIn
  • Bill Cates on LinkedIn
  • Bill Cates on YouTube
  • Bill Cates on Facebook
  • Bill Cates on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World’s Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers
Radical Relevance: Sharpen Your Marketing Message - Cut Through the Noise - Win More Ideal Clients
What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story
Don't Keep Me A Secret: Proven Tactics to Get Referrals and Introductions
Get More Referrals Now!

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Julie Littlechild is the Founder and CEO of Absolute Engagement, a company that helps financial advisors and financial advisory firms use client feedback to drive engagement and growth. Julie is committed to leading Absolute Engagement’s research and insights to help financial advisors create a differentiated client experience. She has been twice recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential People in Financial Planning. In addition to her role at Absolute Engagement, Julie is the co-host of the Becoming Referable podcast and the author of The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement.

Julie joins me today to discuss the value of collecting client feedback. She highlights the relationship between client engagement and business growth, and describes how financial advisors can use feedback from their clients to improve their businesses. She also reveals the leading reasons clients don’t make introductions for financial advisors and shares her advice on encouraging clients to make business referrals.

“Helping clients understand the problems we solve using words that they use becomes the storytelling piece that fuels their willingness to refer.” - Julie Littlechild

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Julie’s career arc and what made her interested in the financial services industry
  • Absolute Engagement’s research on investor and client expectations, experience, and referrals
  • How financial advisors can bring their clients’ voices to life
  • The relationship between deep client engagement and business growth
  • How advisors can use client feedback for business development
  • Two ways to think about client referrals and the top reasons clients don’t refer business to their financial advisor
  • Why being aggressive when asking for referrals doesn’t work most of the time
  • An effective way to ask for client referrals and the power of focusing on connectivity
  • Using content sharing and the Give-to-Get offer to build connections with prospects
  • The beauty of gathering client input and feedback

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don’t by Jim Collins

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Advisers can implement feedback to improve and elevate client experience.” - David DeCelle
  • “Aggressive ways of getting introductions can impact your relationship with clients, but if you pour love into a client, they’ll understand that referrals are not the only thing you’re after, and that you care for them as a human.” - David DeCelle
  • “If the client is at the center of your business, then their voice needs to be a part of the engagement strategies that you implement.” - Julie Littlechild

Connect with Julie Littlechild:

  • Absolute Engagement
  • The Absolute Engagement Blog
  • Podcast: Becoming Referable
  • Book: The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement: Intentionally Design a Business That Supports the Life You (Really) Want to Live
  • Absolute Engagement on LinkedIn
  • Julie Littlechild on LinkedIn
  • Julie Littlechild on Twitter
  • Email: jlittlechild@absoluteengagement.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement: Intentionally Design a Business That Supports the Life You (Really) Want to Live

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Cory Roberson is the Founder and Principal of FIN Compliance, a consortium of compliance, consulting, and business management solutions designed to help investment firms structure, maintain, and develop their internal regulatory programs. An established public speaker, Cory has delivered speeches in several engagements, including the FinTech Diaspora Forum and the ICO4Impact Virtual Summit. He is also a writer whose publications include the article, “Raising the Bar for Compliance: 10 Tips to Practice Management”—published in the Financial Planning Association’s 2014 Newsletter—and the book, From Student to Entrepreneur: Making a Transition to Business.

Cory joins us today to discuss how financial technology can ease the burden of compliance for RIAs and financial planners. He describes how he embraced tech in investment management as he built his compliance consulting business. He explains why financial planning organizations should consider collaborating with external compliance consultants — even if they already have an in-house compliance team. Cory also shares the key compliance points financial advisors need to understand when starting their own RIA.

“Financial advisors experience friction with compliance the most, but there is an intersection between tech and compliance that can ease that friction.” - David DeCelle

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Cory’s background and his journey into the compliance consulting space
  • How Cory built the client base for his first consulting business
  • The importance of moving beyond the traditional business model and becoming a multi-dimensional financial planning business
  • How tech can help financial advisors stay on top of compliance and policies
  • Why financial advisors can’t be completely reliant on tech for compliance
  • FIN Compliance’s services and how they support financial advisors with compliance and regulations
  • The most innovative financial planning business ideas Cory has seen
  • When a financial planning business should build an in-house compliance team
  • Connecting business, faith, and the Bible

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Compliance is a bear in our industry that many financial advisors run away from.” - David DeCelle
  • “Operations and compliance come hand in hand.” - Cory Roberson
  • “Tech has a huge value and we have to embrace it. But you can’t completely rely on it for everything.” - Cory Roberson

Connect with Cory Roberson:

  • FIN Compliance
  • Book: From Student to Entrepreneur: Making a Transition to Business (Don’t Play Around, Write It Down)
  • FIN Compliance on LinkedIn
  • FIN Compliance on Facebook
  • FIN Compliance on Twitter
  • Cory Roberson on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

From Student to Entrepreneur: Making a Transition to Business (Don't Play Around, Write It Down)

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Bo Howell is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Joot, a fintech organization that provides compliance tech and services for investment advisors. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Bo worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as Senior Counsel in the Division of Investment Management. He then worked in financial service organizations and legal firms such as Ultimus Fund Solutions and Strauss Troy before finally launching Joot in 2018. With his substantial legal, managerial, and business experience, Bo expertly identifies and meets his clients’ business needs with creative solutions.

Bo joins us today to discuss SEC compliance and tech for financial advisors. He describes the role of the SEC and explains how they help protect investors as well as promote capital markets. He discusses how solo financial advisors and small firms can remain compliant while honoring their revenue-generating efforts. Bo also highlights the benefits of augmenting financial advisors with fintech and shares his predictions on how tech will advance in the financial advisory industry.

“Compliance is like quality control. It lets you have confidence that your business is running smoothly, allowing you to focus on growth-related activities.” - Bo Howell

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Bo’s background and his transition from serving in the Navy to founding Joot
  • Why Bo launched Joot and how the company helps financial advisors
  • The role of the SEC and why financial advisors should view them in a positive light
  • How financial advisors can become more proactive when building a relationship with the SEC
  • How tech impacts financial advisory businesses
  • When financial advisory firms should develop their own tech
  • How financial advisory firms can meet compliance requirements without sacrificing revenue-generating activities
  • The similarities between business development and compliance

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
  • Book: Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “The SEC can seem scary, but there are humans on the other side of the name.” - David DeCelle
  • “Practice audits in advance, so it doesn’t seem like a daunting task when you get that SEC letter.” - David DeCelle
  • “Tech advancement is always scary and disruptive, but it also creates new opportunities.” - Bo Howell

Connect with Bo Howell:

  • Joot
  • Joot on LinkedIn
  • Joot on Facebook
  • Joot on Twitter
  • Bo Howell on LinkedIn
  • Email: Bo.Howell@Joot.io

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Les Miserables: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

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Jon Mauney is the General Manager at Betterment, where he also leads the Betterment for Advisors team. Betterment is an organization that empowers financial advisors to do what’s best for their client’s wealth journey. Before joining Betterment in 2013, Jon worked in data analytics and served as a Senior Consultant for IBM. At Betterment, Jon spent several years building software and leading the company’s engineering teams. Today, Jon spends his time working with financial advisors, getting their input and feedback to build Betterment products that make advisors’ businesses streamlined and efficient.

Jon joins me today to discuss client segmentation and how it can improve business economics and help financial advisors adapt to changing client demographics. He outlines the next steps financial advisors can take after segmenting clients and how they can move current clients who score low in the segmentation process. Jon also explains why advisors may take in prospects at the earlier stages of their wealth journey and underscores the importance of considering a client’s lifetime value.

“The number one rule of client segmentation is to have perimeters so you can sort prospects on their way in.” - Jon Mauney

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Jon’s career arc, from being a consultant at IBM to working in a client-facing role at Betterment
  • What client segmentation is and how it benefits financial advisors
  • The 80/20 principle and how client segmentation determines touch points with clients
  • The importance of considering lifetime value in evaluating your relationships with clients
  • Five metrics with which you can segment your clients
  • The value of automating the non-human components of your business
  • Why client segmentation needs to be done as part of a financial advisor’s onboarding process

Resources Mentioned:

  • Commas
  • Book: The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Where your clients are according to your segmentation will determine how frequently you touch base with them.” - David DeCelle
  • “The five categories you should use to segment your clients are revenue, growth potential, coachability, referrability, and likeability.” - David DeCelle
  • “Come up with a lifetime value for all your clients, rank them, and figure out what you need to do to make a change.” - Jon Mauney

Connect with Jon Mauney:

  • Betterment
  • Betterment on LinkedIn
  • Betterment on Instagram
  • Betterment on Facebook
  • Betterment on Twitter
  • Jon Mauney on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Right Stuff: Illustrated

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Bob Doyle is an Executive Coach for and the CEO of Boundless Living. Over the past 20 years, Bob has been helping people work with the Law of Attraction and transform their lives. He is best known for his role as a Law of Attraction expert and coach in the movie, The Secret. Since 1998, Bob has taught the principles of personal transformation through programs, live events, podcasts, coaching, and writing. Though still grounded in the Law of Attraction, Bob’s focus has shifted from the metaphysical aspects to the brain’s role in the process of reality creation.

Bob joins me today to discuss the process of tapping into your brain’s superpower to create your reality and transform yourself. He explains the relationship between the brain’s neuroplasticity and manifestation. He describes why it’s difficult for many people to transform their lives and discusses why the Law of Attraction doesn’t work for many people. He also shares the steps you can take toward changing your brain’s wiring and underscores the importance of being non-negotiable about the kind of person you want to become.

“We are born with this reality creation device called the brain. We can imagine things, take action, and retain information. We’re born to create something amazing.” - Bob Doyle

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What transformation personality types are and why they’re important to identify
  • Why Bob shifted his focus away from the Law of Attraction to the brain’s power to create reality
  • How the meaning that we derive from the world drives us into action
  • Rewiring your brain and what makes personal transformation happen
  • What makes personal transformation difficult and why people fail their Law of Attraction work
  • The “burn the boats” mindset and how we can support our brain’s rewiring
  • What it means to manifest on autopilot
  • How manifestation works and how the brain’s wiring impacts it
  • Why Bob thinks it’s a waste of time to convince people about the Law of Attraction
  • The first steps toward rewiring the brain and the power of visualizing your day

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Rewiring your brain is like a ski slope: fresh snow falls, covering your path, but giving you opportunities to create new ones.” - David DeCelle
  • “The more you can consume content related to the outcome you want, the more likely you are to see answers in front of you.” - David DeCelle
  • “Discomfort is normal. Embrace it, be grateful, and keep holding onto the vision.” - Bob Doyle

Connect with Bob Doyle:

  • Boundless Living
  • Bob Doyle Website
  • Transformation Personality Type (TPT) Quiz
  • Book: Wealth Beyond Reason: Mastering The Law of Attraction
  • Book: Follow Your Passion, Find Your Power: Everything You Need to Know about the Law of Attraction
  • Bob Doyle on LinkedIn
  • Bob Doyle on Instagram
  • Bob Doyle on Facebook

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Wealth Beyond Reason: Mastering The Law Of Attraction
Follow Your Passion, Find Your Power: Everything You Need to Know about the Law of Attraction

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Natalie Grassi is an Advisor Development Consultant at Simplicity Scottsdale, an organization that is revolutionizing the insurance industry. Natalie specializes in helping financial advisors reach their goals faster by guiding them in overcoming their challenges. She has created marketing plans for top performers and has coached hundreds of advisors on seminar best practices. Before joining Simplicity, Natalie worked as a Success Coach for Advisors with White Glove, a tech-enabled marketing services company.

Natalie joins me today to discuss her best practices in marketing for financial advisors. She shares her emergence in the industry and how she pivoted from being an elementary school teacher to working with financial advisors. She explains why financial advisors need to stay open and curious with their clients and reveals the factors that define (and make) the best financial advisors. She also underscores the power of using storytelling to connect with prospects and convert them into clients.

“All the little things make the biggest difference and impact the result. They create an experience for prospects and make prospects take the next step with you.” - Natalie Grassi

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Natalie’s background in the financial services industry
  • Simplicity Scottsdale’s services and how they help advisors
  • What financial advisors should consider when developing a marketing plan
  • Why advisors need to give their marketing plan and activities more time
  • What makes an effective financial advisor
  • The importance of tracking results and keeping marketing funnels full
  • Why seminars are working well — despite the pandemic
  • How financial advisors can increase their conversion rates from registration to attendance
  • Why financial advisors should invite their seminar attendees to follow them on social media
  • Converting seminar attendees into client appointments
  • The power of curiosity and storytelling

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story by Michael Bosworth and Ben Zoldan
  • Book: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
  • Book: Untamed by Glennon Doyle
  • Loom: Video Messaging for Work
  • BombBomb Video Mail

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “People like to do business with people they know, like, and trust. If they connect with you on social media, it lets them connect with you on a deeper level.” - David DeCelle
  • “Storytelling is a tool to help financial advisors increase their conversion rates.” - David DeCelle
  • “The best advisors don’t say they’ll continue what they’ve always done. They look for new ideas, recommendations, training, and other things that will help them get better.” - Natalie Grassi

Connect with Natalie Grassi:

  • Simplicity Scottsdale
  • Simplicity Scottsdale on LinkedIn
  • Simplicity Scottsdale on Facebook
  • Simplicity Scottsdale on YouTube
  • Natalie Grassi on LinkedIn
  • Email: natalie.grassi@simplicitygroup.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Untamed
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story

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Brendan Barca is a coach, speaker, and consultant specializing in helping financial advisors enter the digital age. Through his live workshops, webinars, and online courses, Brendan teaches financial advisors how to grow their businesses by modernizing their websites and embracing digital technology. In addition to his work as a consultant for financial advisors, Brendan is also Co-Founder of Brema Solutions, a firm dedicated to creating a more intentional, aware, and mindful world.

Brendan joins me today to share his advice on how financial advisors can leverage LinkedIn and other online tools to expand their businesses. He shares why and how he shifted from working in the financial services industry to starting a consultancy business. He discusses how content marketing can help prospects find financial advisors and explains why networking on LinkedIn is a gradual process. He also shares his advice for optimizing your business’s website on Google and underscores why financial advisors need to embrace the digital world.

“LinkedIn is a gradual and strategic process. It’s a slow burn: you connect, build rapport, and then ask for a meeting.” - Brendan Barca

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Why some financial advisors feel like LinkedIn doesn’t work for building business
  • How optimizing your LinkedIn profile separates you from other financial advisors
  • Using content for marketing and keeping prospects interested in you
  • The power of niching in business-building and how to position yourself as a valuable resource on LinkedIn and other networking platforms
  • How long it takes to reap the benefits of networking on LinkedIn
  • Why financial advisors need to embrace digitalization
  • Brendan’s advice for financial advisors who are hesitant about taking their businesses online
  • Online meeting best practices
  • Optimizing your Google ranking to get more prospects to your business website

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferris
  • Book: Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferris

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “People get to know you by the amount of experiences they have with you.” - David DeCelle
  • “You want to create content on LinkedIn. Even if your content doesn’t get a huge engagement, you can still repurpose it.” - Brendan Barca
  • “Advisors should create valuable content on a consistent basis on LinkedIn.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Brendan Barca:

  • Brendan Barca Solutions
  • Email: brendan@brendanbarca.com
  • Brendan Barca on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
Tools Of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

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Scott Nelson is the founder and CEO of Thrive Medicare, a fee-only financial services firm dedicated to helping clients live happy, comfortable lives by guiding them reach their financial goals. After nearly two decades of supporting advisors and their clients through Thrive Wealth Strategies, Scott built Thrive Medicare as a platform that offers training, mentorship programs, direct client support, and referral networks to assist financial advisors in the United States.

Scott joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can use Medicare as a prospecting and business development tool. He discusses how he pivoted from being a financial advisor to starting his Medicare services business and how he grew it through referrals. He describes why Medicare is a “fragmented” industry. He also explains how offering Medicare advice can build trust between a financial advisor and their client.

“Medicare is the best prospecting tool you’ll have.” - Scott Nelson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How Scott launched his Medicare business
  • Why Medicare is a fragmented industry and how it’s different from the financial advisory industry
  • How offering Medicare can benefit financial advisors
  • The “give-to-get” offer and why clients don’t look for a holistic fiduciary planner
  • How the Medicare process can give you the opportunity to present your professionalism and perform fact-finding
  • Medicare season and using Medicare as a tool to get referrals
  • Why offering Medicare as a value-add gets you more referrals as a financial advisor

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Marketing is a creative and ethical way to get someone’s attention and trick them into hanging out with you.” - David DeCelle
  • “Of a hundred people you’re asking, not all are going to sign up for Medicare—but all one hundred will ask you for advice.” - Scott Nelson
  • “Rarely will a client say, I need to find a holistic planner and address this entire thing! It’s usually a particular problem they need to work through, and it’s the adviser’s job to help them.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Scott Nelson:

  • Thrive Medicare Strategies
  • Scott Nelson on LinkedIn
  • Email: scott@Medicarebythrive.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Andrea Lopez-Schlapia is the founder and CEO of IronstoneHQ, an organization that helps financial advisory professionals design, develop, and sustain their businesses. After rising through the ranks of several global investment firms such as Dreyfus, Prudential, and Deutsche Bank, Andrea founded IronstoneHQ in 2008 to help financial advisors. She is the creator of IronstoneHQ’s Fundamental 4 scorecard and blueprint, a system she designed to help financial advisors grow purposefully, operate more efficiently, and continue their business’s legacy.

Andrea joins me today to discuss the Fundamental 4 blueprint and how organizations can leverage it for exponential growth. She explains why businesses should cast a vision through strategic planning and outlines how leaders can put those plans into action through business development. She underscores why it’s important to systematize and standardize a company’s systems and processes. Andrea also highlights why it’s critical to cultivate the human element of an organization and shares some of her strategies for developing company culture.

“Cast a wide net at the beginning of your career. Explore what you like—what becomes your sweet spot is your growth.” - Andrea Schlapia

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Andrea’s background and the catalyst behind IronstoneHQ
  • The leap from being a great financial advisor to becoming a great business owner
  • What the Fundamental 4 blueprint is and how it was created
  • How often the Fundamental 4 should be implemented in an organization
  • How to fall in love with your business again
  • Being strategic and protecting your energy by working with people who give you energy
  • The 10:3:1:Q method for casting your company’s vision
  • The importance of having a clear vision for your business and writing it down on paper
  • Picking and refining a niche and what it means to be a small giant
  • How to pick a niche when starting out
  • How to quickly build up trust with clients
  • Operational effectiveness and the power of consistency
  • Segmentation and why it’s important to document your business’s services and operations
  • The psychology of selling
  • The human element of culture-building and strategies for improving culture
  • What development days are and why you should implement them monthly

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham
  • Book: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “When you build a community, you start educating people on what you do. Then it becomes an automatic referral-generating machine.” - Andrea Schlapia
  • “Trust isn’t something that just takes time; it’s based on the accumulation of experiences.” - David DeCelle
  • “Serving your clients better starts with serving yourself and your people.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Andrea Schlapia:

  • IronstoneHQ
  • The Fundamental 4
  • IronstoneHQ on LinkedIn
  • IronstoneHQ on Instagram
  • IronstoneHQ on Facebook
  • IronstoneHQ on Twitter
  • IronstoneHQ on YouTube
  • Andrea Schlapia on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, 10th-Anniversary Edition
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business
The Checklist Manifesto

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Aaron Klein is the co-founder and CEO of Riskalyze, the organization that invented the Risk Number, empowering the world to invest fearlessly. Under Aaron’s leadership, Riskalyze has grown to serve thousands of financial advisors and has been recognized by Fast Company Magazine as one of the world’s top ten most innovative companies in finance. InvestmentNews has named Aaron one of the industry’s Top 40 Under 40 executives. In addition to his responsibilities at Riskalyze, Aaron actively performs humanitarian work. He has co-founded and serves as a board member of Hope Takes Root, an initiative to serve orphans and vulnerable kids in Ethiopia, and serves on the board of Invest in Others, an organization that supports financial advisors who give back to their communities.

Aaron joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can harness the power of storytelling to foster their connection with clients. He describes how the impetus behind Riskalyze started in a conversation between friends. He defines what the “red pill” principle is and shares the different personal routines he maintains to help him balance his time between family and business. He also discusses how clients seldom make long-term decisions, highlights how social media can be used for positive outcomes, and underscores the relationship between storytelling and good selling.

“Painting yourself as the hero instead of a guide leaves your clients as a spectator. You can’t be a successful financial advisor until the client takes an active role in the story.” - Aaron Klein

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Aaron’s backstory and why Riskalyze made a pivot to the B2B space
  • The “Apollo 13” question and how Riskalyze started as a conversation between friends
  • The “red pill” principle and the difficulty and wonder of being an entrepreneur
  • Mindsets and personal routines that help Aaron stay positive and persevere through challenges
  • Unlocking the secrets of powerful storytelling
  • How clients make short-term decisions that serve as fuel for their long-term vision
  • Using the C3 list to commit to the process of success
  • The law of diminishing returns in social media
  • Using capitalism to pull people out of poverty

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story by Michael T. Bosworth
  • Book: Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr
  • Book: Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire by Brad Stone
  • Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “There are ups and downs and ebbs and flows in the entrepreneurial journey. It’s important to have an aspect of your life that’s foundational and stable. For me, that’s my personal routine.” - David DeCelle
  • “A start-up is a process of learning. It’s about how much tenacity and drive you have to extend that learning experience long enough to get you to the other side.” - Aaron Klein
  • “Ensure that the client feels educated and empowered to make decisions that can save themselves.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Aaron Klein:

  • Riskalyze
  • Riskalyze on LinkedIn
  • Riskalyze on Facebook
  • Riskalyze on Twitter
  • Email: ak@riskalyze.com
  • Aaron Klein on LinkedIn
  • Aaron Klein on Instagram
  • Aaron Klein on Facebook
  • Aaron Klein on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story
Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
Amazon Unbound

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Eric Clarke is the Founder and CEO of Orion Advisor Solutions, an organization that helps advisory professionals operationalize their vision for success by delivering cutting-edge financial technology and investment management solutions. Eric is an advocate for fiduciary advisory professionals and has written several articles for InvestmentsNews and The Journal of Financial Planning. A highly-regarded thought leader in the industry, Eric has received various awards, including ThinkAdvisor’s IA25 in 2012 and 2019 and InvestmentNews’s Icon & Innovators Award in 2019. Before founding Orion, Eric served as the Chief Operations Officer for CLS Investments from 1999 to 2006.

Eric joins me today to discuss the four pillars financial advisors should build to set themselves apart. He shares the history of Orion and how the company was born out of Eric’s frustration with finding the right RIA technology. He describes what makes a powerful value proposition and explains why advisors should focus on creating an impactful brand experience for clients. He also highlights the power of habits and discipline, discusses the value of listening to feedback, and underscores why any business owner should think about their “why.”

“Figuring out the exact market you’re going to serve is critical to success and refining your value proposition.” - Eric Clarke

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • The founding of Orion and the challenges the company faced in the early days
  • How Orion dealt with financial advisors’ reluctance to adopt financial services technology
  • Eric’s advice for entrepreneurial advisors who want to build their own businesses
  • The importance of listening to market and client feedback
  • The power of habits and how to maintain work-life balance while growing a company
  • How financial advisors can differentiate their value proposition in the marketplace
  • The impact of building a unique brand experience
  • Niching down and why financial advisors need to identify the market they want to serve
  • What strategic alignment is
  • Different ways financial advisors can leverage technology to prospect clients
  • The Traction model and the give-to-get prospecting method

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Brand Harmony: Achieving Dynamic Results by Orchestrating Your Customer’s Total Experience by Steve Yastrow
  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Book: The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Prospect, plan, invest, and achieve. Those are the four strategic pillars advisors need to differentiate their value proposition.” - Eric Clarke
  • “Advisors can set themselves apart through the experience component of their relationship with clients.” - David DeCelle
  • “Your target market determines everything else about your business, branding, and marketing strategy.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Eric Clarke:

  • Orion Advisor Tech
  • Orion Advisor Tech on LinkedIn
  • Orion Advisor Tech on Instagram
  • Orion Advisor Tech on Facebook
  • Orion Advisor Tech on Twitter
  • Eric Clarke on LinkedIn
  • Email: eric@orion.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business
Brand Harmony: Achieving Dynamic Results by Orchestrating Your Customer's Total Experience

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Nick Bradley is the co-founder and director of The Fielding Group, a growth consultancy firm that helps founders and shareholders achieve freedom, accumulate wealth, and accelerate impact by improving business performance. Nick is a world-renowned business growth expert who works with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors on building high-value companies. Over the last decades, he has built, bought, and sold over 24 businesses with a combined valuation of $5.2 billion. Nick owns several other businesses in various industries—including education, media, and professional services—and continues to build his portfolio via acquisitions and joint ventures. Being passionate about helping other entrepreneurs grow and scale their business, Nick shares his expertise and insight by hosting Scale Up Your Business, the UK’s #1 business podcast.

Nick joins me today to discuss the eight key areas a business must master to drive exponential, predictable growth. He shares his passion for health and fitness and discusses what sports and ultramarathons have taught him about running and growing a business. He highlights the importance of taking control of your time and explains how time management can give you more freedom in business and life. He also reveals why businesses often stop growing and underscores the power of having a clear business purpose.

“Anyone can build a business that grows over time, but if you don’t know the dynamics of that growth, you can’t necessarily repeat it and create efficiency—it’s not predictable.” - Nick Bradley

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What health, fitness, and ultramarathons have taught Nick about scaling a business
  • How Nick became passionate about fitness
  • How to get out of complacency
  • The power of discipline, structure, and planning
  • Why planning your day gives you more freedom and flexibility
  • Why businesses need to have a clear purpose
  • The importance of knowing the ideal client you want to serve
  • Why businesses that don’t niche down slow their growth
  • Staying in your zone of genius and the power of cultivating an ecosystem that can help you scale
  • Miracle mornings and creating the best morning routine for you
  • The role of clarity and precision in business and life

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Book: The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington
  • Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Book: The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) by Hal Elrod
  • Book: The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board by Keith Cunningham
  • Book: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “The more you can use your schedule, the more likely you are to follow through with the goals you’ve set.” - David DeCelle
  • “Choose a group of people you want to serve. Doing so defines your marketing, service plan, and the experience that you deliver.” - David DeCelle
  • “If you don’t take control of your time, the vacuum that exists there is going to be filled by something else.” - Nick Bradley

Connect with Nick Bradley:

  • The Fielding Group
  • Scale Up Your Business Podcast
  • The Fielding Group on LinkedIn
  • The Fielding Group on Facebook
  • The Fielding Group on Twitter
  • Scale Up Your Business Facebook Community
  • Nick Bradley on LinkedIn
  • Nick Bradley on Instagram

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results
The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months
The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8am)
The Road Less Stupid
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business
Think and Grow Rich

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Luke Acree is the President of ReminderMedia, a sales and marketing company that helps businesses generate leads, develop repeat clients, and capture referrals. Luke specializes in lead generation and has helped more than a hundred thousand entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their companies. Under Luke’s leadership, ReminderMedia has earned its place in Inc’s 5,000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America for four consecutive years. Luke is passionate about teaching the principles of relationship marketing, and hosts Stay Paid, a podcast ranked among the top 30 marketing podcasts on Apple Podcasts.

Luke joins me today to discuss the keys to building a deep relationship with clients and prospects. He reveals the pain points financial advisors encounter in marketing and discusses how ReminderMedia can help them turn clients into raving fans. He defines the “FIT” and “FORWARD” marketing principles and describes how financial advisors can use different social media platforms to become more visible to their existing clients. He also underscores the rise of print in the age of digital media and highlights the value of actively engaging with others on social media platforms.

“There are three elements you need to have with your marketing to produce referrals, repeat business, and new businesses: frequency, impact, and trust.” - Luke Acree

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Luke’s background and how he started his first business, NextMark Design
  • Joining ReminderMedia and the challenges Luke faced in building and growing a business
  • The impact of enforcing and maintaining KPIs
  • Identifying “quarterly rocks” and the role of accountability in business and life
  • ReminderMedia’s services and how they help financial advisors
  • Why advisors need to add value to their clients beyond financial management and advisory
  • ReminderMedia’s print marketing strategy to promote financial advisors
  • The FIT marketing methodology and the factors that drive impact
  • The norm of reciprocity and how magazines can help build credibility for financial advisors
  • Why advisors need to build more touch points with their clients
  • How to connect with clients and prospects on a personal level on social media platforms
  • The “FORWARD” principle and the keys to cultivating relationships with clients
  • How to influence social media algorithms in your favor

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Book: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink
  • Podcast: Real Estate Rockstars
  • Podcast: SharkPreneur
  • Podcast: Marketing Genius
  • Loom Video Messaging

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “People do business with people they know, like, and trust. Relationship-building is the key to getting there.” - David DeCelle
  • “It’s amazing how a simple connection through social media can turn into an in-person interaction and collaboration.” - David DeCelle
  • “The thing that holds a client is the trust and relationship they have with you.” - Luke Acree

Connect with Luke Acree:

  • ReminderMedia
  • Podcast: Stay Paid
  • ReminderMedia on LinkedIn
  • ReminderMedia on Instagram
  • ReminderMedia on Facebook
  • ReminderMedia on Twitter
  • ReminderMedia on YouTube
  • Luke Acree on LinkedIn
  • Luke Acree on Instagram
  • Luke Acree on Facebook
  • Luke Acree on Twitter
  • Email: luke@remindermedia.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

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Will Bressman is the CEO of RIA in a Box, a leading provider of compliance and operations solutions for RIAs and investment advisors. RIA in a Box products are built by RIA advisors and developers and backed by a team of regulatory experts. Will graduated with a degree in History from Harvard University and completed his Master of Business Administration degree at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Before joining RIA in a Box in 2011, Will served in the digital media industry, working with Good Morning America and LXTV.

Will joins me today to discuss the new SEC regulations on marketing, testimonials, and endorsements. He discusses how the new rules can impact financial advisors and explains what advisors can do to remain compliant. He shares his philosophy on running the operational aspects of a business and explains why he is passionate about business operations. Will also highlights the importance of proactively strengthening an RIA firm’s cybersecurity foundation and underscores the value of making a commitment to learning.

“Our goal is to ensure that advisors get the everyday operational tools they need to focus on what matters most: the clients and the market.” - Will Bressman

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Will’s career path: from working for Good Morning America, to getting into business school, to RIA in a Box
  • The ideation stage of RIA in a Box
  • The services RIA in a Box offers and how they have evolved over the years
  • The lessons RIA in a Box learned as their range of products and services transformed
  • New SEC regulations on client testimonials and how they can impact financial advisors
  • How financial advisors can ensure their compliance with the new SEC rules on testimonials and endorsements
  • What groupthink is and how positive testimonials can encourage prospects to work with a financial advisor
  • Proactively empowering clients to stay ahead with cybersecurity issues
  • What makes an effective cybersecurity tool and why training people is the best way to strengthen a firm’s cybersecurity
  • How often cybersecurity breaches happen in independent wealth management and financial advisory firms
  • Why RIAs need to cultivate great email and IT hygiene
  • Disrupting the future by acknowledging the imperfection of the present

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: But What If We’re Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman
  • Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
  • Wealthtender

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “You need to guide people through the process. Be extremely clear and communicative about not just where resources are, but how and when to use them.” - David DeCelle
  • “Peoples’ decisions and choices are influenced by those around them. A prospect on the fence of working with you happens to see positive testimonials ― that might be the thing to make them say yes.” - David DeCelle
  • “If you want to build a great product, you need to ensure you know how to translate that to clients and how they can get a lot of value out of it.” - Will Bressman

Related Content:

  • Brian Thorp on Modernized Marketing Rules for Financial Advisors

Connect with Will Bressman:

  • RIA in a Box
  • RIA in a Box on LinkedIn
  • RIA in a Box on Facebook
  • RIA in a Box on Twitter
  • Will Bressman on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Thinking, Fast and Slow
But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past

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Kevin Lozer is the co-founder of Holistiplan, a tax planning software solution that helps financial advisors provide robust tax planning services to their clients. Kevin co-founded Holistiplan to help financial planners serve more clients that need comprehensive financial planning at all stages of life. In addition to his work with Holistiplan, he is also the founder and principal of his financial planning practice, Oakton Financial, and serves as a regional board member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

Kevin joins me today to discuss how leveraging the Holistiplan software can help financial planners and CPAs deliver more value to their clients. He shares his professional journey and how he co-founded Holistiplan after years of working in financial planning. He also explains how using Holistiplan can help financial advisors strengthen their relationships with their centers of influence and underscores the importance of educating consumers on what makes good financial planning.

“As an industry, we need to educate consumers on what good financial planning really is.” - Kevin Lozer

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Kevin’s background and why he decided to transition to the software industry after operating a financial planning practice
  • His first foray into financial planning from working in the world of corporate finance
  • The ethos, beginning stages, and evolution of Holistiplan
  • The difficulties of running a B2C organization and why Kevin and his co-founder decided to pivot into a B2B firm
  • How long Holistiplan has been in business and how many advisors they currently serve
  • The “give-to-get” method and how it creatively adds value, builds relationships, and turns prospects into clients
  • How financial advisors can leverage Holistiplan for growth
  • How Holistiplan helped increase adoption of tax planning software
  • Building partnerships with broker-dealers and other ways Holistiplan grew from zero customers to 2,000 subscribers
  • How financial advisors can leverage the Holistiplan software to deliver financial planning insights to their clients
  • How Holistiplan can help financial advisors deepen their relationship with their centers of influence and CPAs

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Ensemble Practice: A Team-Based Approach to Building a Superior Wealth Management Firm by P. Palaveev
  • Book: Disrupting for Good: Using Passion and Persistence to Create Lasting Change by Chris Field
  • Book: The Fine Green Line: My Year of Golf Adventure on the Pro-Golf Mini-Tours by John Newport

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “If your friends and peers think you’re crazy, you’re probably on the right path.” - David DeCelle
  • “Satisfied clients who have a better experience are more likely to share it.” - David DeCelle
  • “Bringing CPAs to the boat will make them feel like they’re part of the team, and the client will feel like they have a team of financial professionals.” - Kevin Lozer

Connect with Kevin Lozer:

  • Holistiplan
  • Oakton Financial
  • Holistiplan on LinkedIn
  • Holistiplan on Twitter
  • Kevin Lozer on LinkedIn
  • Email: kevin@oaktonfinancial.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Ensemble Practice: A Team-Based Approach to Building a Superior Wealth Management Firm
Disrupting for Good: Using Passion and Persistence to Create Lasting Change
The Fine Green Line: My Year of Golf Adventure on the Pro-Golf Mini-Tours

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Ron Bullis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lifeworks Advisors, a modern Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and technology firm striving to push the boundaries of wealth management. Lifeworks Advisors disrupts outdated business models and delivers personalized solutions to clients and advisors through their modern software platform. After working as a Wealth Management Advisor for almost a decade with Northwestern Mutual, Ron co-founded Lifeworks to help people simplify their financial lives, live “above the grind,” and focus on what matters most. In addition to his work with Lifeworks, Ron is also the President and Founder of The Ella Bullis Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting families impacted by premature birth and infant loss.

Ron joins me today to discuss the keys to RIA growth through a solid client acquisition process. He shares his principles for building a team and explains why leaders shouldn’t only choose team players based on the revenue they can deliver for the business. He underscores the importance of cultivating relationships with clients based on trust and emphasizes why advisors need to deliver value beyond their clients’ assets. He also highlights how social media and digital platforms can bridge the most challenging gaps financial advisors face.

“One of the keys to building a business is creating a scalable and predictable client acquisition system.” - Ron Bullis

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How Ron’s business model and mindset have evolved after coming into the RIA industry
  • Ron’s insurance philosophy and how it has shifted over time
  • Ron’s success principles and how he and his team grew Lifeworks Advisors
  • Building a scalable and predictable client acquisition system
  • Growing and scaling a business in the new normal
  • Leveraging social media platforms to grow an RIA in uncertain times
  • Designing a client acquisition system based on trust and why Ron is passionate about client experience
  • Cultivating an enterprise value that serves clients across generations
  • Leading a world-class team that adds value beyond revenue
  • The Feedback Marketing Method and the difference between fee compression and margin compression
  • How financial advisors can communicate their organization's exceptional value
  • The importance of focusing on a specific demographic
  • The role of a digital marketing platform in a sustainable client acquisition system

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
  • Book: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
  • Book: The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me by Bruce Feiler
  • The 2019 FA Insight Study of Advisory Firms: People and Pay
  • Vanilla

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “There’s something about meeting an advisor for the first time that has some level of intimidation. If you can soften that by exposing them to who you are, it’s only going to help.” - David DeCelle
  • “Advisors who don’t focus on a specific group of people get stuck on making different types of promises upfront and later realize they can’t scale it.” - David DeCelle
  • “The work advisors do is noble. We have an important role to play, whether we envision ourselves as a life coach, accountability partner, or co-pilot.” - Ron Bullis

Connect with Ron Bullis:

  • Lifeworks Advisors
  • The Future of Advice
  • Lifeworks Advisors on LinkedIn
  • Lifeworks Advisors on Instagram
  • Lifeworks Advisors on Facebook
  • Lifeworks Advisors on YouTube
  • Ron Bullis on LinkedIn
  • Email: ron@lifeworksadvisors.com

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me

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Jordan Montgomery is a performance coach, speaker, and the Founder and CEO of Montgomery Companies, a coaching and consulting organization. Jordan serves a diverse range of clients, including business executives from Fortune 500 companies, professional athletes, salespeople, and entrepreneurs. Jordan, a highly-regarded keynote speaker, has traveled the country and shared the stage with esteemed people such as NFL official Sarah Thomas, and best-selling author Ben Newman. In addition to his work as a coach and speaker, Jordan is a successful business leader who has managed top-performing sales teams in the financial services industry. He graduated with a Business degree from the University of Iowa and currently resides in Tiffin.

Jordan joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can build relationships with clients based on trust. He shares how he got into financial services and started his own consulting business. He explains why he focuses on adding value to people before asking for introductions and describes how this process helps him grow his network and business. He also highlights the power of social media and how financial advisors can leverage it to build relationships and trust with prospects and clients.

“People buy who you are, not what you do. Lead with who you are, and if people trust you, they’ll work with you and give you their business.” - Jordan Montgomery

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How Jordan got started in financial services and what prompted him to transition to consulting
  • The power of asking for help and how Jordan built a successful consulting business
  • The different ways to add value to other people
  • What psychological income is and why asking for help is beneficial to the person you’re approaching
  • The difference between being teachable and being coachable
  • How Jordan leveraged his experience in financial services to work in collegiate and pro sports, as well as sales organizations
  • The greatest reward for a person’s hard work and the best part about giving back
  • Helping people move past complacency
  • Prospecting up and using the “two camps” principle when asking for referrals and introductions
  • The exponential relationship system and the importance of adding value inside and outside of business
  • Why advisors need to increase their touchpoints with their clients
  • Using social media to add value and build trust with prospects

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Advisors need to practice patience more and do the right thing — instead of immediately going in to do sales.” - David DeCelle
  • “We’re in the relationship business first, before we’re in the financial planning business.” - Jordan Montgomery
  • “There are multiple ways you can market or brand, but the best clients come from referrals.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Jordan Montgomery:

  • Montgomery Companies
  • Montgomery Companies on Facebook
  • Montgomery Companies on YouTube
  • Jordan Montgomery on LinkedIn
  • Jordan Montgomery on Instagram
  • Jordan Montgomery on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Richard Chen is the Founder and Managing Partner of Richard L. Chen PLLC. Through his law firm, Richard provides practical legal advice to financial advisors, investment managers, and other financial institutions, helping them focus on serving their clients better. Richard completed his undergraduate degree in Government, with honors, at Harvard University and received his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. Richard is a person with blindness, but his visual disability only fuels his passion for serving others - whether it’s through motivational speaking, mentoring other people with disabilities, or providing free legal counsel to the underserved.

Richard joins me today to discuss why it’s vital for financial advisors to seek legal counsel when starting their own independent financial advisory firm. He explains the different provisions a financial advisor may need to agree with before leaving their current employer and starting their own business. He describes many strategic and legal points a financial advisor will need to consider in succession planning. He also shares his advice on running a small business for the entrepreneurial financial advisor and highlights how his faith and desire to help others have inspired him to achieve great things in life.

“It’s important to get legal counsel when navigating these transitions. Depending on where the financial advisor is coming from, transitions can require some coordination.” - Richard Chen

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Legal matters financial advisors should consider before starting an independent firm
  • Confidentiality, non-solicitation, and other legal obligations financial advisors may need to agree to before going independent
  • Why financial advisors need to enlist the help of legal counsel when starting their own business
  • What constitutes trade secrets and understanding the parameters of disclosure
  • The Broker Protocol and how non-solicitation provisions vary in different states
  • What counts for a violation of non-solicitation restrictions
  • Strategic and legal considerations for succession planning
  • The E-Myth, why it was impactful for Richard, and how to avoid getting overwhelmed as an entrepreneur
  • Where Richard found the motivation to accomplish great things despite blindness
  • Facing discrimination and proving doubters wrong
  • The importance of taking things one step at a time

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “When a financial advisor is considering a transition from the broker-dealer space to the independent space, seeking legal counsel is the first step to take.” - David DeCelle
  • “Being an entrepreneur means understanding the importance of working on the business as well as in it. Otherwise, it’s just another job.” - Richard Chen
  • “Focusing on our higher purpose makes whatever we’re going through tiny compared to what we’re called to do.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Richard Chen:

  • Richard L. Chen Website
  • Email: rich@richardlchen.com
  • Richard Chen on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

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Eddy Ricci is a Founding Partner of The Pontem Group, a consulting firm and Lead-Advisor, a wealth management collective specializing in talent acquisition and leadership development. With more than 15 years in the industry, Eddy’s niche and expertise have evolved into delivering insights, leveraging time, and offering a creative perspective to wealth management firms and practices to guide them through the process of acquiring and developing talent. In addition to helping companies build their teams, Eddy also wrote The Growth Game, a professional development book, and Miss Money Plan, a book that educates children on financial literacy.

Eddy joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can build their team. He shares his advice for evaluating appropriate candidates for the growth of a firm or practice. He explains why financial advisors should engage their existing team members in the pre-hiring and interview process and highlights the importance of testing candidates. He also underscores the value of understanding your organizational culture before recruiting a candidate and shares his favorite go-to questions that reveal a candidate’s aspirations and ideals.

“Financial advisors don’t spend enough time on talent acquisition. But there’s going to be a point when talent acquisition becomes as important as client acquisition.” - Eddy Ricci, CFP ®

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Getting the entrepreneurial itch and launching a business during a global pandemic
  • How Eddy built the confidence to take the leap and start his company
  • The right time for a financial advisor to consider hiring additional staff
  • The selection and recruitment process
  • Why financial advisors should engage their current team members in the pre-hiring process
  • Questions financial advisors need to ask their team to get their buy-in
  • Energy audit and creating a phantom organizational chart
  • Prospecting methods to find talent for financial advisors
  • Hiring for attitude and identifying non-negotiable skills
  • Why compensation should be stated in a role description
  • The importance of giving candidates assessments before deciding to hire them
  • Setting a meet-and-greet interview between a candidate and current team members
  • Eddy’s favorite go-to questions for job interviews and the two most important things candidates look for in an opportunity
  • Candidate red flags to watch out for when interviewing
  • Tips when hiring for remote-working roles
  • Scott Galloway’s disruption equation and how industries become disrupted amidst crises like a pandemic

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity by Scott Galloway
  • Book: Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional’s Guide to Growing a Practice by Alan Weiss
  • Book: The Ensemble Practice: A Team-Based Approach to Building a Superior Wealth Management Firm by Philip Palaveev

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Identify your culture — whether it’s within your business or with clients — or the culture you aspire toward.” - David DeCelle
  • “All these should be done before you’ve interviewed somebody: engaging with your current team, coming up with a role description, and creating an onboarding plan.” - Eddy Ricci, CFP ®
  • “Have a well-defined onboarding process for your clients, and they’ll continue to look for and notice amazing things.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Eddy Ricci:

  • The Pontem Group
  • Lead-Advisor
  • Email: er@lead-advisor.com
  • Email: eddy.ricci@thepontemgroup.com
  • Book: The Growth Game: A Millennial’s Guide to Professional Development and the DAD System
  • Book: Miss Money Plan: Part One: The Battle Against E-Motion
  • Eddy Ricci on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice
Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity
The Ensemble Practice: A Team-Based Approach to Building a Superior Wealth Management Firm
The Growth Game: A Millennial's Guide to Professional Development and The DAD System
Miss Money Plan: Part One: The Battle Against E-Motion (1)

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Gary Zimmerman is Managing Partner at Six Trees Capital and Founder and CEO of MaxMyInterest, an automated online solution that helps investors earn more on their cash balances. Before founding MaxMyInterest amid the global financial crisis, Gary had been an investment banker for Citigroup, where he advised funds with more than $5 trillion in assets under management as Managing Director and Global Head of Strategic Solutions for Sovereign Wealth Funds. Gary completed his degree in Economics Magna cum Laude at Harvard University and completed an executive education program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Gary joins me today to discuss how MaxMyInterest helps financial advisors and their clients earn more on their cash in the bank. He discusses how he became interested in economics and the financial industry and shares how his curiosity and propensity for problem-solving drove him to start his own company. He explains why cash is a bad asset class and how advisors can talk to their clients about cryptocurrency. He also highlights why putting profit over clients is bad for business and underscores the key characteristics that make a great financial advisor.

“Understanding human emotions and being able to hold the hands of clients to keep them steady is a key feature of a good advisor.” - Gary Zimmerman

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Gary’s background, why he switched majors from biochemistry to economics, and his beginnings in the banking industry
  • Why Gary loves working with fiduciaries and RIAs
  • How to talk to clients about cryptocurrency
  • Gary’s tips for avoiding burnout and the best part about working in the banking industry
  • The value of learning within and outside of your profession
  • Making the entrepreneurial leap and why Gary took the risk to start his own company
  • The faults in brokerage deposit solutions and the benefits of online banks
  • Classic company founder mistakes and the average amount of assets high net-worth households keep in cash
  • How MaxMyInterest evolved into an AUM growth tool for financial advisors
  • MaxMyInterest’s hub-and-spoke system and how it works
  • The exponential relationship system and how to turn clients into raving fans
  • Why Gary thinks brokerage dealers would only use MaxMyInterest when there’s competitive pressure
  • What makes the best financial advisors

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Instead of thinking of it as ‘sacrificing,’ think of it as ‘investing’ in whatever it is you’re pursuing — and know that it’s all for something.” - David DeCelle
  • “If you’re not looking out for your client’s best interest, it’s hard to see how you can be a good business in the long term.” - Gary Zimmerman
  • “Rather than being a salesperson, do your best to intentionally and thoughtfully advance the relationship.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Gary Zimmerman:

  • MaxMyInterest
  • Six Trees Capital
  • MaxMyInterest on LinkedIn
  • MaxMyInterest on Instagram
  • MaxMyInterest on Twitter
  • Gary Zimmerman on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage of Wall Street

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Charles (Chas) Boinske is a Wealth Manager and the Chief Visionary Officer of Modera Wealth Management, a company that provides thoughtful financial counsel to discerning individuals and organizations. Chas was co-founder of his own RIA, Independence Advisors, before he and his team joined Modera in 2021. As Wealth Manager at Modera, Chas helps clients develop financial plans, implement wealth management strategies, and manage investment portfolios. In his capacity as Chief Visionary Officer, Chas drives the strategic direction for the firm. Chas, whose career in the industry spans over 30 years, has become a nationally recognized and trusted resource for complex financial issues experienced by institutions and individuals with high net-worth.

Chas joins me today to discuss the power of cultivating relationships, whether it’s among a team or with clients. He shares his professional journey, including how he started his own independent firm at a time when the independent RA model was relatively unknown. He underscores how investing and reinvesting in the development of your team impacts client service and describes the role of getting support from other people. He also shares how he became interested in fly fishing, how it became an avenue for him to interact with clients, and highlights the importance of being human to establish real relationships with clients.

“You’d think you’ll have to wow people with your knowledge, but that’s already expected. What’s not expected is your ability to develop a relationship with that client.” - Chas Boinske

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Chas’ beginnings in the financial industry and how he pivoted to start Independence Advisors
  • Taking risks, and the emotions Chas felt when he made the leap to found his independent firm
  • Overcoming the fear of failure as an entrepreneur and what reassured Chas on his path
  • How getting support and constructive feedback reassured Chas that he and his company were on the right track
  • Three ways to get referrals from clients in a comfortable way
  • The peak amount of assets Independence Advisors amassed before merging with Modera
  • The challenges Chas experienced as he built his book of business
  • How investing in your team and staff can impact your service to customers
  • Traditional AUM niches and niching down a wealth management company on a passion
  • Chas’ passion for fly fishing and how it helps him build better relationships with clients
  • Why Chas never attempts to be aggressive about business when inviting clients to fly fishing
  • What a “Class A” stream is and the pleasures of fly fishing
  • The Trusted Advisor, its impact on Chas, and why other financial advisers should read it
  • The importance of connecting with clients on the human level

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford
  • Book: Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
  • Interview with David DeCelle: Paving Your Way to Financial Success | Remindermedia

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Don’t let fear rule you. Know in your heart that you want to help and fulfill that larger vision for the person you’re trying to serve.” - David DeCelle
  • “To take care of your customers, take care of your staff. The more they become designated, trained, and evolved, it upticks their confidence and allows them to help clients better.” - David DeCelle
  • “When you’re authentic about a passion like fly fishing, you don’t have to turn it into a commercial for your company. People will be interested in what you do as a profession tangentially.” - Chas Boinske

Connect with Charles Boinske:

  • Modera Wealth Management
  • The Wealth Cast
  • Email: charlesb@moderawealth.com
  • Modera Wealth Management on LinkedIn
  • Modera Wealth Management on Facebook
  • Charles Boinske on LinkedIn
  • Charles Boinske on Instagram
  • Charles Boinske on Facebook

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
The Trusted Advisor

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Shannon Spotswood is the President of RFG Advisory, a $2.7 billion platform committed to serving independent financial advisors with a warrior’s mindset and a servant’s heart. Passionate about Wall Street and the world of finance since she was 14, Shannon has spent more than two decades in the finance industry. She has served as a Portfolio Manager and Director of Long-Only Equity Strategies for Symphony Asset Management, as an Investment Banker for Volpe Brown Whelan & Co., and as a Research Analyst and Junior Trader for EGM Capital, where she started her career. In addition to passionately serving as RFG Advisory’s President, Shannon is also an entrepreneur and Partner of Busy Bees, a luxury children’s clothing brand carried in more than 100 retail stores in the country.

Shannon joins me today to discuss the importance of intentionally cultivating a great company culture. She shares her journey through the financial industry and the lessons she learned along the way. She describes how having a female mentor in a male-dominated industry impacted her career and shares her advice to other women in the financial industry. She also discusses the power of getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable and shares her call-to-arms for advocating for women in the finance industry.

“There is a real desire to promote women and foster their professional development. We need to be more intentional about it as an industry.” - Shannon Spotswood

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Shannon’s backstory and her winding path to becoming the President of RFG
  • The importance of getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable, and Shannon’s first foray into leadership and culture
  • The importance of self-care, and how Shannon pushes through the feeling of discomfort
  • The art of the “Mosaic Theory” and how research helps Shannon overcome awkward situations
  • How women can find female mentors in a male-dominated industry
  • What building a culture means to Shannon
  • What the culture looks like at RFG Advisory and the mechanics of developing company culture
  • Creating RFG 2.0 and becoming the RIA of the future
  • Cultivating emotional intelligence as a step toward growing as a leader

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Culture is something reiterated time and time again, especially when there is some discomfort on the horizon.” - David DeCelle
  • “Don’t be afraid to work hard. The skills and resilience you build from hard situations will be paid in endless dividends through a professional lifetime.” - Shannon Spotswood
  • “Culture centers the company on a single mission and determines whether decisions are aligned with that mission, vision, and values.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Shannon Spotswood:

  • RFG Advisory
  • Email: sspotswood@rfgadvisory.com
  • RFG Advisory on LinkedIn
  • RFG Advisory on YouTube
  • RFG Advisory on Facebook
  • RFG Advisory on Twitter
  • StrongHER Money on Instagram
  • Shannon Spotswood on LinkedIn
  • Shannon Spotswood on Instagram
  • Shannon Spotswood on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

You are a Badass (Deluxe Edition): How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

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Mark Maiocca is the Founder of the Core7 Networking Groups, an organization that helps real estate, mortgage, tax, and other financial professionals create exclusive networking groups to generate referrals and add value to their partners. He is the author of the Amazon best-selling book, The Core7 (formerly titled What’s Your Rate?) and the ebooks How to Create a Core7 Mastermind Group and Core7 Book of Scripts. Mark, who has been a mortgage originator for more than 20 years, has generated hundreds of referrals to Core7 partners and has closed over $1 billion in loans throughout his career.

Mark joins me today to discuss the Core7 referral introduction and referral methodology and how it can benefit financial advisors. Mark shares what led him to develop the Core7 principles and networking group, and explains how the organization is structured to benefit each member. He also highlights why it’s essential for real estate professionals to keep financial advisors in their network and underscores the crucial role that financial advisors play in caring for real estate clients.

“If you’re a financial advisor who wants to work with lenders, the number one thing you can do to better their business is to introduce their realtors to your clients.” - Mark Maiocca

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Mark’s background, his experience in the mortgage industry, and what led him to develop Core7
  • The seven professionals that make up a Core7 networking group
  • How Core7 networking groups are structured in a way that consistently generates introductions and referrals for each member
  • Key topics discussed in every Core7 meeting
  • The importance of having transparent conversations with your centers of influence
  • The number one question realtors should ask clients as a door opener to introduce a financial advisor
  • What financial advisors can do to encourage introductions and referrals from loan officers
  • Bridging the real estate silo and the financial advice silo
  • How much business the Core7 methodology has produced
  • Why it’s important that real estate loan officers introduce financial advisors to their clients

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “There are many good opportunities when you have a core group of people that you can be direct and transparent with.” - David DeCelle
  • “If you don’t refer your financial advisor, you’ll lose a client — even if you did a great job on that original loan. It’s always good to keep financial advisors in your network.” - Mark Maiocca
  • “Advisors, you need to have an open, honest, and transparent conversation with any of your centers of influence, and ask them to make introductions.” - David DeCelle

Related Content:

  • How to Re-Energize Your COI Relationships
  • Model FA Conversations: All Things COI

Connect with Mark Maiocca:

  • Core7 Networking Groups
  • Email: markm@mycore7.com
  • Book: What’s Your Rate?: How to Buy a Home and Secure Your Financial Future At The Same Time
  • Book: How to Create a Core7 Mastermind Group
  • Book: Core7 Book of Scripts
  • Core7 Networking Groups on LinkedIn
  • Mark Maiocca on LinkedIn
  • Mark Maiocca on Facebook

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century (Think and Grow Rich Series)
What's Your Rate?: How to Buy a Home and Secure Your Financial Future At The Same Time

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Michael Cohen is the Owner and President of the second-generation, family-owned and operated insurance wholesaler, The DBL Center. A one-stop back office support center for brokers & agents, the DBL Center specializes in temporary disability insurance and employee benefit plans with a special focus on temporary disability benefits in New Jersey and the Hawaiian Islands, as well as New York Disability. As President of DBL, Michael leverages his wealth of connections to provide white-glove service to insurance agent partners. Under his leadership, the company is currently serving 4,000 insurance agents in 15 states and managing $125 million in premiums.

Michael joins me today to discuss how disability and paid family policies impact businesses across states. He shares his background and experience in writing and performing stand-up comedy and the history of The DBL Center. He explains how advisors and agents can initiate a partnership with The DBL Center and describes how to use warm leads to discuss insurance products in a sales conversation with new clients. He also highlights the life lessons he learned from his father, the original founder of The DBL Center, and underscores the best way for advisors to scale their books of business.

“Too many advisors whale-hunt and go after the same thing. The best way to expand an advisor’s book of business is on something mandated by law.” - Michael Cohen

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Michael’s background, his stand-up career, and how he took over the family business
  • The importance of disability and life insurance
  • The DBL Center’s insurance niche, its history, and how Michael’s father began selling niche life insurance
  • The short-term disability law, how it applies to business owners, and states affected by it
  • Details on paid family leave and how it’s slowly becoming a federal issue across the United States
  • How insurance brokers and advisors can begin partnering with The DBL Center
  • How to talk about other insurance products and services with a new client
  • How The DBL Center helps companies save money through their service
  • Whether a majority of states will adopt policies similar to the Short-Term Disability Law
  • The Don Rickles of the insurance business and the power of using comedy as a door-opener to business

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
  • Book: Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “For someone struggling to convert a client, it’s good to establish the relationship, build trust, and follow through on promises that were made on the front-end.” - David DeCelle
  • “Persistence is what matters, especially after COVID. The goal is to keep every piece of business that brokers have intact.” - Michael Cohen
  • “When advisors work with a business owner, the lifetime value of that client is higher than most individuals. It’s a great door-opener to share your other products or services.” - David DeCelle
  • “Nickel, dimes, and quarters make dollars. It’s not what you earn but what you keep.” - Michael Cohen

Connect with Michael Cohen:

  • The DBL Center
  • Email: michael.cohen@dblcntr.com | michael.cohen@dblcenter.com
  • The DBL Center on LinkedIn
  • The DBL Center on Facebook
  • The DBL Center on Twitter
  • The DBL Center on Pinterest
  • The DBL Center on YouTube
  • Michael Cohen on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography
48 Laws of Power

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Jonathan Rogers and Nirav Batavia are Co-Managing Partners of Forum Financial Management and Co-Directors of Forum’s Investment Committee. Forum is an organization of partners and advisors with a wealth of experience in portfolio management, insurance analysis, and planning for estate, retirement, and income tax.

As Co-Managing Partner, Jonathan guides the executive team responsible for various areas, from advisor support to client services, and spearheads the firm’s growth by recruiting new partners and advisors.

In addition to his roles as Co-Managing Partner and Co-Director, Nirav also serves as the firm’s Chief Technology Officer. Nirav is also the CEO of Owl Technologies, a technology service provider that helps clients experience better and more efficient financial advisory services.

Jonathan and Nirav join me today to discuss the role of technology in developing growth strategies for RIAs. They share how Forum has grown over the years and explain why the firm has recently lowered its minimum asset requirements for clients. They describe the tension between profitability and growth — and how firms can overcome it. They also highlight how they use technology for efficiency, how FinTech companies can bridge the gap in financial advisory technology, and how firms should be set up in order to properly incentivize a new generation of advisors.

“Human connection becomes stronger when advisors can spend all their time not on paperwork but on facing clients because they have data at their fingertips.” - Nirav Batavia

“Rainmaking is the core of value creation for financial advisors. It is the ability to get someone to refer a person over to you. It is what builds a business.” - Jonathan Rogers

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What Forum is and how they have grown since 2006
  • The ‘three legs to the stool’ approach and the source of Forum’s growth
  • Why Forum emphasizes holistic financial planning
  • What financial HENRYs are and why Forum wants them
  • The natural tension in business between today’s profitability and the ability to grow in the future
  • Solving for the lack of profitability in the early years
  • The value of working with entrepreneurial advisors
  • Leveraging technology for efficiency with an eye to drive down the cost of working with clients
  • Why the future of RIAs will see a “bionic” advisor and how it’s different from a “robo” advisor
  • What the financial services industry can learn from Silicon Valley
  • Developing proactive automation and how AI technology can build a stronger connection between financial advisors and clients
  • The importance of open APIs, and what technology companies can do to create seamless tech for the financial services industry
  • Walled gardens and the stumbling blocks to using advisor technology
  • Bridging the distinction between workflow and workflow automation

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham
  • Book: Lock In: A Novel of the Near Future by John Scalzi
  • Book: Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business by Gino Wickman and Mark Winters
  • Book: The Wretched of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “When advisors aren’t incentivized for rainmaking, the veterans in the firm get richer but bring in less revenue from a percentage perspective.” - David DeCelle
  • “In many firms, rainmaking is awarded a monetary bonus. That’s where the disconnect in the industry happens, because that simply isn’t rewarding enough.” - Jonathan Rogers
  • “Anything an advisor does repetitively that doesn’t use their financial and planning expertise should be automated.” - Nirav Batavia
  • “If you allow others to outgrow you, it incentivizes you to continue working hard, helping more people, and bringing in more revenue.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Forum Financial Management:

  • Website
  • Forum Financial Management on LinkedIn
  • Forum Financial Management on Facebook
  • Forum Financial Management on Twitter
  • Forum Financial Management on Vimeo

Connect with Jonathan Rogers:

  • Email: jrogers@forumfin.com
  • Jonathan Rogers on LinkedIn

Connect with Nirav Batavia:

  • Email: nbatavia@forumfin.com
  • Nirav Batavia on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business
Lock In: A Novel of the Near Future (Lock In, 1)
The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
The Wretched of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood Book 1)

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Allen Darby is the founder and CEO of Alaris Acquisitions, a buyer advisory service that helps wealth management firms navigate the complexities of the mergers & acquisition process. Before founding Alaris, Allen launched a firm that pioneered helping accounting organizations move into the wealth management business. In 1999, Allen sold that business to First Global Inc. and subsequently established a wealth management firm which he grew by completing nine mergers and acquisitions transactions. To further focus his expertise on M&A, Allen sold his second business and joined United Capital in 2009, where he sourced and closed 27 transactions that represented approximately 40% of United Capital’s final sale valuation. Today at Alaris, Allen helps local, regional, and national wealth management firms who seek to grow their companies through acquisition.

Allen joins me today to discuss how partnering with other wealth management firms can help financial advisors grow their business to the next level. He describes how the M&A market has evolved throughout his career. He explains how advisors can evaluate potential partners and buyers and highlights three key areas they should consider before entering a partnership. He also discusses three critical things that motivate people to partner with other organizations and underscores the mindset that advisors should adopt when entering into a partnership.

“The industry is grouped at different asset levels. Firms in the half a billion dollar range are two to three-partner firms that made investments into their infrastructure.” - Allen Darby

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Allen’s background and how he pivoted from studying biology in college to starting his career in financial services
  • How the M&A space has changed over the years
  • The autonomy trade-off involved in partnering with another firm
  • Different acquisition models and how they’re designed to produce specific economic outcomes
  • The monetary drivers of transactions and the three things that motivate businesses to partner with other organizations
  • Partnership opportunities and the qualities business owners should look for in potential partners
  • How partnering with another firm addresses succession issues
  • The “buyer-adviser” model and how it helps Alaris Acquisitions generate a profit
  • At what AUM level should financial advisors start considering a partnership with a larger firm
  • The smallest and largest AUMs Allen has transacted
  • How wealth management firms can move from the hundred-million mark in AUM to a billion dollars
  • The boogeyman and how the fear of losing control prevents advisors from partnering with other firms

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: The Screwtape Letters, by C.S Lewis

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “While there’s organic and market-driven growth, many firms grow through roll-up strategies.” - David DeCelle
  • “Ask yourself whether you’re willing to do the work it takes to move from your level to the next or if you’re better off partnering with someone who’s already built that infrastructure.” - Allen Darby
  • “If you’ve built a business that has at some point taken over your life, any firm that acquires you will centralize all of the things that weigh you down.” - Allen Darby
  • “Try to identify what you want your life to be like on the other side, because all of the different acquirers that exist have a unique model oriented around autonomy.” - Allen Darby
  • “Level of autonomy, economic model, and drive: getting clear on these things can get you through selecting a partner faster.” - Allen Darby

Connect with Allen Darby:

  • Alaris Acquisitions
  • Email: Allen.Darby@AlarisAcquisitions.com
  • Alaris Acquisitions on LinkedIn
  • Allen Darby on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Screwtype Letters

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Will Richardson is a 7-figure entrepreneur, business and sales mentor, and podcaster who has been a financial advisor since 2008. After graduating from the School of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi with a degree in Marketing, Will started his professional career selling knives for Cutco, an experience that landed him a job (and taught him how to work) in the financial services industry. Will hosts the Crusheration Podcast, where he shares the lessons he learned from his years of experience as an advisor — and inspirational life lessons for the benefit of people both inside and outside of the financial services industry.

Will joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can connect with people, both potential clients and fellow advisors, through creating video and podcast content. He highlights the value of sharing ideas and explains the formula for creating engaging content. He also describes the impact advisors make whenever they embrace imperfection, and underscores the importance of being unique in creating content and when asking for client referrals and introductions.

“The techniques advisors are taught don’t feel authentic. Be unique in the way you ask for client introductions, in the way you are, and in your common interest with others.” - Will Richardson

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What selling Cutco knives taught Will about working in the financial services industry
  • What inspired Will to create content for other advisors and how it changed things for him
  • How perfectionism stops many people from sharing their ideas and content
  • Why Will’s podcast and video content aren’t necessarily about financial planning
  • The factors that hold people back from asking for referrals and what financial advisors can do to ask for introductions confidently
  • How Will uses LinkedIn to build a list of prospects and the importance of approaching clients with authenticity
  • The difference between connections and creativity and the importance of finding different degrees of connectivity
  • Conversation strategies when making an introductory call
  • Will’s advice for financial advisors who are reluctant to ask for introductions
  • How Will came up with the “Too busy crushing it” slogan and why it has become his mantra
  • The importance of rethinking beliefs and how impostor syndrome can be a good thing
  • The importance of listening and understanding on a deeper level, and why changing your mind doesn’t make you “wrong”
  • Specializing and niching for specific kinds of clients

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Sometimes asking for referrals may feel too aggressive, but you deserve to be introduced to the client’s peers based on the work that you did.” - David DeCelle
  • “Don’t worry about perfection. People connect with us when we’re not perfect, for imperfection makes us human.” - Will Richardson
  • “You are unique and you have something to say; your life experience is different from any other person’s.” - Will Richardson

Connect with Will Richardson:

  • The Crusheration Podcast
  • Will Richardson on LinkedIn
  • Will Richardson on Instagram

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

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Best-selling author Ben Newman is a highly-regarded Performance and Mental Conditioning Coach. Ben has worked with a diverse range of clients, from Fortune 500 companies, business executives, entrepreneurs to professional athletes in sports leagues and organizations such as the NFL and NBA. In addition to his work as a coach, Ben is also a powerful and engaging storyteller whose service as a keynote speaker has gained international recognition. Ben has shared the stage with other renowned speakers and athletes - such as Jerry Rice, Jon Gordon, and Ken Blanchard - and has authored several books, including Own Your Success and Leave Your Legacy, that help people uncover their potential.

His highly anticipated book, Uncommon Leadership, is scheduled for release in 2021.

Ben joins me today to discuss how to work through one day at a time towards success. He reveals the number one mistake advisors make that hinders them from true success, and describes how the financial advisory business is driven by consistency of behavior. He explains what a “Prize Fighter” day is, how you can create one, and how it can help you bring more balance to your life. He also defines what the “unrequired” mindset is, explains how it can help you become a high performer, and underscores the power of consistent action in achieving your dreams.

“A ‘Prize Fighter’ day breaks up your decisions that are 100% in your control personally, professionally, and when servicing others.” - Ben Newman

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • The power of putting hard work and consistent actions behind visions and dreams
  • The seduction of success and how to avoid its temptations
  • The importance of being meticulous in designing your work and why we need to work on our goals one day at a time
  • Building a ‘Prize Fighter Day,’ the psychology behind it, and how it helps bring balance to your day
  • The three types of decisions behind a Prize Fighter Day
  • Why you need to do something for somebody without expecting anything in return
  • How to guarantee you’ll follow through on your goals and meet the minimum standard of your success
  • The “unrequired” mindset and how it turns people into high performers

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “There are so many productivity lists out there, like the C3 or power list. None of these lists are right or wrong; it’s a matter of picking one that works for you.” - David DeCelle
  • “No matter what your dreams are, they are possible when you believe in yourself and put in consistent action. Your story has an alignment of vision and action.” - Ben Newman
  • “If you wake up in the morning and know what’s on your list but haven’t mapped it out, the likelihood you’ll follow through on that is small. Make sure to plan the night before.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Ben Newman:

  • Ben Newman website
  • Email: bnewman@bennewman.net
  • Book: Uncommon Leadership: 11 Ways the Greatest Leaders Lead
  • Book: Leave Your Legacy: The Power to Unleash Your Greatness
  • Book: Own Your Success: The Power to Choose Greatness and Make Every Day Victorious
  • Ben Newman on LinkedIn
  • Ben Newman on Instagram
  • Ben Newman on Facebook
  • Ben Newman on Twitter
  • Ben Newman on YouTube
  • Text BURN to 314 274 6522 to get a course on building a Prize Fighter Day

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
Own YOUR Success: The Power to Choose Greatness and Make Every Day Victorious
Leave YOUR Legacy: The Power to Unleash Your Greatness

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Chris Kerckhoff is the CEO of Plancorp, a fee-only RIA firm. Chris first joined the company as an intern right out of college in 1997. Through hard work and a passion for ensuring the quality of their client experience, Chris advanced through the ranks over the years and was named President in 2010. The company has experienced tremendous growth under his watch, scaling from $1 billion to $5 billion in assets under management. Chris believes in helping people live their best lives and has led Plancorp to serve as financial advocates for over 1,300 families, businesses, and institutions. Chris has also been instrumental in launching Plancorp’s sister company, BrightPlan, a financial wellness solution for fiduciary excellence.

Chris joins me today to share his journey from being an intern to becoming the CEO of Plancorp. He explains the importance of asking great questions and why leadership is about looking for people you can count on. He describes how he used to create an inauthentic “work version” of himself when interacting with clients and how embracing authenticity has supported his success. He also discusses the complex financial situations employees face and underscores the importance of connecting with your clients’ humanity.

“Humans are relationship-driven species; as an advisor, everything is about the relationship you build with clients and becoming a trusted advocate for them.” - Chris Kerckhoff

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Chris’s 24-year-long career with the firm, from intern to CEO
  • How his dedication to ensure amazing client experiences helped him get to the CEO role
  • Common characteristics of rising financial advisor stars
  • Plancorp’s true team approach and its vision for the future
  • How to turn clients into raving fans
  • Why Chris doesn’t think the approach to a financial crisis should be 100% digital
  • The financial stress many employees feel and how BrightPlan is addressing it
  • The transparency and honesty issues the financial management industry faces
  • How advisors can become more transparent with their clients by cultivating relationships
  • How becoming authentic with his clients contributed to Chris’s success in the firm
  • The relationship between transparency and an advisor’s faith in their value proposition

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
  • Book: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
  • Book: The Snowball System: How to Win More Businesses and Turn Clients into Raving Fans by Mo Bunnell
  • Book: The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company by Jack Stack
  • Book: On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life by John O’Leary

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Some people don’t get the attention they need because they don’t fit advisors’ business models. Treat humans as humans regardless of the assets they may or may not have.” - David DeCelle
  • “Provide an amazing client experience and they’ll spread the word. You’ll have raving fan-clients who are going to give out your name more often.” - Chris Kerckhoff
  • “When you build relationships with clients, the less important the fees become and the more comfortable you feel with transparency because you know you’ve won the relationship.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Chris Kerckhoff:

  • Plancorp
  • Email: chris@plancorp.com
  • Plancorp on LinkedIn
  • Plancorp on Facebook
  • Plancorp on YouTube
  • Chris Kerckhoff on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life
The Snowball System: How to Win More Business and Turn Clients into Raving Fans
Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition
The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company

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Jonathan Pack is the Director of Strategic Partnerships and founder of the Partner Channel at Yext. Following his first job out of college selling knives door-to-door, Jon spent the next decade doing comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York while working on Comedy Central’s web development, video production, and comedy writing. In a moment of career malaise and creative fatigue, he decided to return to sales and joined Yext, which at the time was a tiny start-up where he sold over the phone to small businesses. Jon has spent the last 10 years at Yext, where he also founded the Partner Channel, Yext’s agency reseller program that helps agencies increase their clients’ visibility in online listings and searches. Since the launch of the Partner Channel, Yext has gone public and grown to thousands of employees globally.

Jon joins me today to share the principles and advice that advisors can implement in their own sales process. He defines what a “mutual plan” is and shares a powerful tool to effectively manage a sales conversation, from pitch to closing. He underscores the role that digital presence plays in an advisor’s business success, describes what Yext is, and how this platform can help advisors and other businesses increase their visibility online. He also discusses his process for prospecting and qualifying clients — and highlights the importance of bringing authenticity into sales conversations.

“Be authentic. Staying in harmony with yourself and ensuring that you’re putting out your true self is important in having great sales relationships.” - Jonathan Pack

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Jon’s background and how his career in comedy informs his sales process
  • The role of authenticity in sales conversations and processes
  • The window of prospecting and how Jon uses the LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify good prospects
  • The impact of customization and adding a personal touch to cold emails and prospecting
  • The great mystery of overqualified and underqualified prospects
  • How to make a great follow-up to sales pitches
  • Dissecting the incredible intentionality in Jon’s follow-up email
  • What a “mutual plan” is and why it’s an effective way to manage a sales conversation from pitch to closing
  • The importance of digital presence and searchability for advisors
  • Why businesses need to update their information on directories occasionally
  • The reason businesses need to add rich content (like photos) on online listings and directories

Resources Mentioned:

  • Book: Watership Down by Richard Adams
  • Book: The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Don’t sell by being “salesy” but by simply advancing relationships and making relational deposits along the way.” - David DeCelle
  • “The demonstration of your due diligence is as important as your value proposition.” - Jonathan Pack
  • “If you’re not listed in online directories, clients whom you’re meant to serve won’t find you.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Jonathan Pack:

  • Yext
  • Email: jpack@yext.com
  • Yext on LinkedIn
  • Yext on Instagram
  • Yext on Facebook
  • Yext on Twitter
  • Yext on YouTube
  • Jonathan Pack on LinkedIn
  • Jonathan Pack on Instagram

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage
Watership Down

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Matthew Marcoux and John Kennedy are the Co-Founders of CandorPath Financial and Certified Financial Planners. Matthew has been serving clients for the past 19 years and is an Enrolled Agent who specializes in tax planning and investment. John is driven by a passion to help others. While pursuing his education at the University of Central Florida, John decided he was going to align his passion and profession by immersing himself in the world of financial planning.

In 2018, John and Matthew left their previous company and founded CandorPath Financial, a fee-based ensemble wealth management practice serving clients in their accumulation years. While Matthew focuses on the retirement plans for the business, John guides others towards their vision for financial success. John and Matthew have different skill sets and strengths that support one another, but together, they have learned the value of teamwork and collaboration in successfully serving other people.

John and Matthew join me today to discuss what led them to co-found CandorPath and the most significant challenges they faced after starting the company. We discuss the different kinds of wealth management practices and the uniqueness of an ensemble practice. They explain why they chose to implement an ensemble approach and how they transitioned from the silo work culture to the ensemble approach. They also underscore how leveraging social media to connect and communicate impacted their relationships with existing clients.

“In an ensemble, you have to know whether you can trust and work with somebody and that you can fit together despite having different strengths.” - John Kennedy

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What “solo” and “silo” practices are
  • What makes an “ensemble” type of practice unique
  • Why business partners should take the Enneagram test and other personality assessments
  • The challenges of transitioning from a silo work culture to an ensemble
  • Why John and Matthew hired a coach right after co-founding CandorPath
  • Training clients to be comfortable with the idea of working with an ensemble of advisors
  • The value of outsourcing and why John and Matthew decided to hire a virtual assistant
  • Evaluating what tasks need to be automated, delegated, or deleted
  • The importance of energy audits and creating ideal client relationships
  • The difference between running a business and running a financial practice
  • The power of using social media as means of communication to reach existing clients
  • How creating social media content assists in qualifying the ideal client
  • How applying the ideas of Traction impacted the growth of CandorPath
  • Key lessons from the book Rocket Fuel, and why every business should have a visionary and an integrator

Resources Mentioned:

  • Enneagram Test
  • Ensemble Practice: A Team-Based Approach to Building a Superior Wealth Management Firm by P. Palaveev
  • Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business by Gino Wickman
  • The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Anything that is in your zone of competence or zone of incompetence should be automated, delegated, or deleted.” - David DeCelle
  • “Conforming may be a short-term pain for long-term success but it’s truly about working together to achieve common goals for the client.” - John Kennedy
  • “Clients love the personal stuff. They’re like family and want to see what we’re like outside of the business environment as financial advisors.” - Matthew Marcoux
  • “To comfortably hire someone, you need to know what it is that you want to do with the time that person will free up.” David DeCelle

Connect with John Kennedy:

  • Email: john@candorpath.com
  • John Kennedy on LinkedIn
  • John Kennedy on Instagram

Connect with Matthew Marcoux:

  • Email: matt@candorpath.com
  • Matthew Marcoux on LinkedIn

Connect with CandorPath Financial:

  • CandorPath Financial
  • Email: info@candorpath.com
  • CandorPath Financial on LinkedIn
  • CandorPath Financial on Facebook
  • CandorPath Financial on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Dream Manager
Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business
The Ensemble Practice: A Team-Based Approach to Building a Superior Wealth Management Firm
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

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As a response to the gap in referrals he saw financial advisors experience across the industry, Dan Allison created a powerful but easy-to-implement method that turns clients into advocates for their advisors. That was the origin of Feedback Marketing Group, through which Dan has been sharing his method and helping advisors gain more referrals while executing effective insurance planning over the last 18 years. As one of the foremost public speakers in the industry, Dan has worked with many prominent financial services firms, including TD Ameritrade and Northwestern Mutual. Today, Feedback Marketing is part of Model FA. In addition to the work he does with Model FA, Dan also serves as President and Managing Partner for Brokers Clearing House, an organization that supports clients in insurance and risk management planning.

Dan joins me today to share his background and experiences as a public speaker and to discuss how he began his career as a consultant for financial advisors. He describes what it’s like to be an introverted extrovert and highlights why public speakers need to do marketing for themselves. Dan also describes how he developed his affinity for grit, hard work, and entrepreneurship through the influence of his parents, who were entrepreneurs themselves, and explains what inspired him to start Feedback Marketing.

“If you can be a good public speaker, you’re a rare animal. It’s not an easy way to make a good living, but once you get credibility, you can be a business.” - Dan Allison

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Dan’s background and how he learned entrepreneurship from his parents
  • Why Dan hesitated to sell his first company and what made him eventually decide to sell it
  • What prompted Dan to create Feedback Marketing
  • How Dan was introduced to the financial services industry
  • The biggest corporate client Dan served through Feedback Marketing
  • Dan’s career as a speaker and the amount of talks he has done in a typical year
  • What it’s like to be an introverted extrovert
  • My first keynote gig and how Dan and I met each other
  • Missed opportunities in Dan’s public speaker career and three things every public speaker should do
  • Dan’s experiences with the impostor syndrome
  • How to deal with the impostor syndrome using a “praise folder”

Resources Mentioned:

  • Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
  • The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber
  • The Power of Simplicity: A Management Guide to Cutting Through the Nonsense and Doing Things Right by Jack Trout

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “A lot of advisors focus on getting referrals, but there is more value in the feedback clients give you.” - David DeCelle
  • “Every time you give a speech to 500 people, your next speech is in that audience.” - Dan Allison
  • “The more you focus on the law of large numbers and averages, the more likely you are to get business.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Dan Allison:

  • Brokers Clearing House
  • Book: Feedback Marketing: How to Duplicate Clients, Attract Prospects, and Create Advocates...Without Talking by Dan Allison
  • Email: dan@modelfa.com
  • Dan Allison on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Feedback Marketing How to Duplicate Clients, Attract Prospects, and Create Advocates... Without Talking
The E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
The Power Of Simplicity: A Management Guide to Cutting Through the Nonsense and Doing Things Right

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Matt Regan is the President of Wealthcare Capital Management, a tech-enabled RIA helping financial advisors maximize the value of their practices. By developing strategies that create personalized and compelling client experiences, Matt and his team empower advisors to become intentional about the service they deliver. Matt has over two decades of experience in the financial services industry, having served as COO of Wescott Financial Advisory Group, a strategic and operational consultant for Splendid Splinter, and the Co-Founder and Managing Partner for WR Hambrecht + Co. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Toronto - University of St. Michael’s College and his Master’s degree in History from Villanova University. Matt currently resides in Philadelphia, PA with his wife and three children.

Matt joins me today to share his journey from teaching school-age special needs children to starting his career in financial services — and how learning to listen and admitting he doesn’t have all the answers has helped him become successful. We discuss what goals-based planning is and why listening and asking questions is at the heart of a successful holistic, goals-based plan. Matt explains how goals-based planning is different from other financial planning strategies and why market performance is less important than your likelihood of achieving your goals. We discuss how Matt’s company grew by over 33% in assets over the last 13 months, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the pandemic has impacted the financial advisory industry as a whole. We also discuss the importance of creating a great client service model, how to build your independent practice to scale, and why financial planners and advisors need to create a practice with a standardized approach to succession.

“Advisors have come to the conclusion that the value that they provide isn’t in talking about things like standard deviation and market returns. It’s in holistic, goals-based planning, and that’s all about listening and admitting that you don’t have all the answers.” - Matt Regan

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Matt’s career journey from teaching special needs students to working in the financial services industry
  • How Wealthcare Capital Management helps financial advisors maximize the value of their practice
  • The impact of actively listening to your clients and asking questions
  • Why listening to your clients and admitting you don’t have all the answers is the heart of holistic, goals-based planning
  • How goals-based financial planning differs from financial planning strategies
  • Why market performance is irrelevant for goals-based financial planning
  • How Matt’s company acquired over $1 billion in assets over the last 13 months, despite the economic downturn due to COVID-19
  • How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the financial advisory industry
  • Why now is the time to ask your clients for referrals
  • Why Matt is so passionate about helping independent financial advisors
  • Creating true enterprise value on your independent practice
  • Understanding what a great client service model is and why it’s important
  • The benefits of specializing your financial advisory services and how to do it
  • Why Matt believes less than 20% of financial advisors actually have a succession plan of their own in place, and why it’s vital to create one

Resources Mentioned:

  • Midnight’s Children: A Novel (Modern Library 100 Best Novels) by Salman Rushdie
  • Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time by Ivan Farber
  • S4 EP04 (Part 1) | The Art and Skill of Conversation: The Blueprint for Memorable Conversations
  • S4 Ep05 | The Art and Skill of Conversation (Part 2): Asking the Right Questions to Understand Your Prospective Client’s Needs

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “If part of your mission as a firm is to serve clients and help them get to their goals, well, realistically, you can’t serve the hundreds of millions of people in this country on your own. So if you develop something that can empower other folks to be innovative as well, it’s part of perpetuating that mission.” - David DeCelle
  • “Market performance is irrelevant. It’s how you’re doing with regards to the likelihood of you achieving the goals that matter to you and your plan.” - Matt Regan
  • “Whether you’re working with advisors or you’re working with individual investors, they’re all people. If they feel like they are heard and that you're approaching them with exactly what they were asking for, there’s no real ‘selling’ that’s going on. It’s more filling a particular need that you help them identify.” - David DeCelle

Connect with Matt Regan:

  • Wealthcare Capital Management
  • Email: mregan@wealthcarecapital.com
  • Wealthcare Capital Management on LinkedIn
  • Wealthcare Capital Management on Facebook
  • Wealthcare Capital Management on Twitter
  • Matt Regan on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time
Midnight's Children: A Novel (Modern Library 100 Best Novels)

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Undertaker-turned-leadership strategist for Fortune 1000 companies, Mark Panciera is the CEO of The Pacific Institute, a global consultancy organization that delivers bespoke solutions that drive performance. Mark is an accomplished business owner, community leader, and entrepreneur. He draws wisdom from over 20 years of experience in The Pacific Institute to educate leaders on the power of their mindset to ignite their thinking, align their teams, and embrace change. A distinguished speaker and executive, Mark’s professional insights are often sought by different media organizations, such as the ABC, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.

Mark joins me today to discuss why negative self-beliefs are like blindspots that prevent us from seizing life’s opportunities. He reveals the three dimensions of our thoughts and explains how we can work with them to create more effective self-affirmations. He shares his experience with impostor syndrome and describes how he overcame it. He also discusses the best way to maintain a habit, shares a few daily practices to build self-confidence, and highlights how the most impactful, meaningful changes we can make in the world begins with changing ourselves.

“When you hack your mind in a habitualized manner, you add new software to your hardware, creating this neuroplasticity that ensures your affirmations come true.” - Mark Panciera

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Mark’s journey from being a director of funeral services to CEO of The Pacific Institute
  • How to change the beliefs we have about ourselves
  • Mark’s struggles with the impostor syndrome
  • The role of affirmation in reframing negative self-talk and creating positive thoughts
  • The three dimensions of thinking and how to cultivate affirmations as a habit
  • My journaling, affirmation, and gratitude habit and how I create triggers to help me be more consistent
  • How maintaining an affirmation habit improved different areas of my life
  • The Reticular Activating System and how it helps us discern value
  • The relationship between the Reticular Activating System and positive self-affirmations
  • Why affirmations are a practice and a few ways to exercise it
  • How to maintain your energy levels when reaching for your goals
  • The horizon beyond the horizon and the importance of being cognizant of the goals you’re setting
  • The power of making your bed every day
  • How to remove bad habits
  • Daily practices that build self-confidence
  • Creating efficacy in our lives and why we need to prioritize taking care of ourselves

Resources Mentioned:

  • Breathing Life Into People: The View from an Undertaker’s Chair | Mark Panciera | TEDxYoungCirclePark
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Medical Medium Celery Juice: The Most Powerful Medicine of Our Time Healing Millions Worldwide by Anthony William
  • Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear
  • The Five Minute Journal: A Happier You in 5 Minutes a Day
  • Admiral McRaven Addresses the University of Texas at Austin Class of 2014

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Changing your beliefs begins with an awareness of something that you might be missing.” - Mark Panciera
  • “All meaningful, lasting change starts within ourselves. We need to start believing in ourselves despite all odds.” - Mark Panciera

Connect with Mark Panciera:

  • The Pacific Institute
  • Email: mpanciera@thepacificinstitute.com
  • The Pacific Institute on LinkedIn
  • The Pacific Institute on Facebook
  • The Pacific Institute on Twitter
  • Mark Panciera on LinkedIn
  • Mark Panciera on Instagram
  • Mark Panciera on Facebook
  • Mark Panciera on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Intelligent Change: The Five Minute Journal - Original Daily Gratitude Journal for Happiness, Mindfulness, and Reflection - Daily Affirmations with Simple Guided Format - Undated Life Planner
Medical Medium Celery Juice: The Most Powerful Medicine of Our Time Healing Millions Worldwide
Think and Grow Rich

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Jeremy Burger is the CEO of Merriman Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisory firm of motivated people that combine technical expertise with compassion and empathy. Merriman was in a period of rapid growth when Jeremy joined the company in November 2007 as a Wealth Advisor. Two months into his new post in the firm, the global financial crisis of 2007 occurred, and Jeremy was at risk of getting laid off. By showcasing his willingness to help the company weather the storm, not only did Jeremy retain his position, he became Director of Advisory Services in July 2014 and CEO in January 2017. Today, Jeremy’s mind for innovation and improvement persists, ensuring that Merriman attracts, retains, and empowers advisors, so they can empower their clients to Live Fully.

Jeremy joins me today to discuss how his willingness to improve different aspects of Merriman helped him avoid getting laid off during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. He describes how Merriman’s Associate Advisor program helps the company address the talent shortage in the financial services industry. He shares the lessons he learned from his favorite book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and explains what it taught him about refining their service offering. He also underscores the value of cultivating diversity in an organization’s teams and highlights the impact of encouraging financial advisors to find and enhance skills they’re passionate about.

“Good ideas can come from anywhere. Encourage and support people to experiment and you’ll see results you wouldn’t have thought about.” - Jeremy Burger

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How Jeremy avoided getting laid off during the 2007-2008 financial crisis
  • The value of saying ‘yes’ to opportunities even if they’re not personally enjoyable
  • What the FITFO philosophy means and Jeremy’s advice for financial advisors who want to rise to the occasion
  • What Merriman’s Associate Advisor program is, how it develops advisors’ skill sets, and why it’s critical to the organization’s growth
  • Addressing the financial industry’s war on talent through effective training
  • The Advisor DNA Assessment and the value of creating diversity in the financial services and wealth management industry
  • Why business leaders need to seek feedback from their companies
  • Lessons from What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
  • The importance of empowering advisors to flourish with their own ideas
  • The impact of allowing people to pursue a career while focusing on their passion
  • The power of encouraging advisors to experiment and innovate

Resources Mentioned:

  • What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “When you try new things and never fail, that means you’ve never really stepped out of your comfort zone to innovate something new.” - Jeremy Burger
  • “Empower advisors to figure out what they’re passionate about and create opportunities that align their skill sets with what the company needs.” - Jeremy Burger

Connect with Jeremy Burger:

  • Merriman
  • Merriman on Twitter
  • Jeremy Burger on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful

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Brad Swineheart is the Vice President for Channel Marketing and Business Development for White Glove, a marketing company that helps financial advisors succeed in their careers. Like White Glove, Brad is dedicated to providing advisors with successful marketing methods that generate prospects and clients. He is driven to uncover the best industry strategies today and discover how successful advisors grow their practices. Brad also hosts the podcast Be Advised - Leading with Value, where he draws from his and his guests’ wealth of experience to help financial advisors realize their fullest potential.

Brad joins me today to discuss how financial advisors can cultivate their online presence and maximize the opportunities of the virtual world. He shares webinar best practices, including how financial advisors can build a connection with their webinar audiences. He defines what a “captive market” is, differentiates it from a “niche,” and reveals why financial advisors need to focus on growing a captive market through building content and credibility. He also explains why financial advisors should aim to be a guide rather than a hero for their clients and underscores the importance of being human in an online world.

“The virtual handshake happens when your prospect decides whether you’re worth talking to and try to find out everything about you even before they pick up the phone.” - Brad Swineheart

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Brad’s journey from sales management to White Glove VP of Business Development
  • His advice to his younger self on entrepreneurship
  • Maximizing the opportunities in today’s virtual world
  • How financial advisors can build their online brand and presence
  • The importance of adapting to the post-COVID world
  • Why advisors need to avoid being the financial heroes or money rockstars
  • The financial advisor’s ideal client and how financial knowledge has become like Amazon
  • How figuring out where your passions are can help ease some hesitations on posting online and creating content
  • What a captive market is and why you need to focus on cultivating it
  • The difference between a captive audience and a niche
  • The value of building an online presence from a place of gratitude and appreciation

Resources Mentioned:

  • Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk
  • The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
  • Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
  • How to Make 64 Pieces of Content in a Day
  • Loom
  • BombBomb

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Be human, be likeable, and be stalkable in webinars, and you’ll be ahead of the game in comparison to when you’re in in-person events.” - Brad Swineheart
  • “Everyone has a social sphere they can influence. To be able to market to that group, you need credibility, value, content.” - Brad Swineheart

Connect with Brad Swineheart:

  • White Glove
  • Be Advised - Leading with Value Podcast
  • Email: brad.swineheart@whiteglove.com
  • White Glove on LinkedIn
  • White Glove on Instagram
  • White Glove on Facebook
  • White Glove on Twitter
  • Brad Swineheart on LinkedIn
  • Brad Swineheart on Facebook

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
Survivor: A Novel

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Manish Khatta is the President and Chief Investment Officer of the investment management & strategy firm Potomac Fund Management. Manish initially wanted to become a sports agent, but after working at Potomac while waiting for law school to start, he immediately fell in love with the industry. He began his career with the company by programming the initial work on Potomac’s mechanical trading systems. A true math geek and quant, Manish worked his way up to his current position, creating and refining trading strategies built on mathematical computations and number crunching along the way.

Manish joins me today to discuss how Potomac doubled its assets in six months under his watch, without a salesperson or wholesaler. He describes his journey in Potomac and its condition from a branding perspective before they implemented his marketing initiatives. He shares his ideas on accessing and integrating technology platforms in an organization’s operations and the importance of being patient and committed when creating content. He also reveals why the only thing that matters more than a client is your employees and emphasizes the importance of sharing your story through content.

“If you are yourself and put yourself out there, you’ll have clients who’ll resonate with you. If you’re proud of what you do and what you offer, go out there and tell your story.” - Manish Khatta

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Manish’s career journey from intern to President and CIO
  • The best time for financial advisors to onboard FinTech into their organization
  • Potomac’s brandless history and the importance of developing a company brand
  • The benefits of creating content and why content creation needs to be a commitment
  • Cultivating the patience to create content and build an online presence
  • Weaving a spider web of content that catches prospects
  • Delivering happiness to clients and how to build trust with customers
  • Why business owners need to focus on taking care of their employees and making them happy
  • How to go from being a boss to being a leader and avoid employee turnover
  • The value of outsourcing tasks
  • The importance of standing by what you’re passionate about and believing in what you do

Resources Mentioned:

  • Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
  • The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “No one wants to be sold something. Instead, add value: if you do, everything will come back tenfold.” - Manish Khatta
  • “To make your clients happy, there’s nothing else you can do other than doubling down on making your employees happy.” - Manish Khatta

Connect with Manish Khatta:

  • Potomac
  • Email: mkhatta@potomacfund.com
  • Potomac on LinkedIn
  • Potomac on Instagram
  • Potomac on Facebook
  • Potomac on Twitter
  • Manish Khatta on LinkedIn
  • Manish Khatta on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

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Dr. Travis Parry is the author of the international bestselling book Achieving Balance and founder of the Make Time Institute, a platform he created to help financial professionals and business owners achieve work-life balance. He is also the founder and business consultant for the Family Financial Institute. Travis began his career as a financial advisor in 2002, but life-changing circumstances led him to pivot into the personal development industry. Here, Travis theorized that personal development should come from marital relationships. To fine-tune this theory, Travis sought and obtained a Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Phoenix and a Ph.D. in Family & Human Development at Utah State University. Today, Travis coaches financial advisors and entrepreneurs through the Make Time Method to support them in achieving their life and business goals.

Travis joins me today to discuss how financial professionals and business owners can build a meaningful and balanced life. He describes control as a defense mechanism and explains how a person can learn to let go of control and delegate tasks to others. He reveals the biggest myths that hold us back from truly achieving work-life balance. He also emphasizes the role of assessing values and priorities in living a meaningful life and underscores the need to involve spouses and families in supporting an entrepreneur’s success.

“Work-life balance isn’t just ‘work’ and ‘life.’ It’s ten areas of life, or maybe even more, that makes up who we are: we’re the same person with different goals and priorities in each area.” - Travis Parry

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How reevaluating priorities can bring equilibrium and balance in work and life
  • The impact of tracking time and where we spend it
  • The equalizing nature of time and how wisely investing it helps us achieve our goals
  • The power of delegating tasks effectively and creating an ideal calendar
  • Learning how to let go of control and the benefits of delegating work
  • Identifying the fears that encourage our tendencies to control
  • The myths of work-life balance
  • How identifying values and priorities helped people navigate 2020
  • The importance of setting clear boundaries when working from home and how to do it
  • How to avoid the productive workaholic trap
  • Why spouses and families need to be involved
  • How to create a meaningful and purposeful life

Resources Mentioned:

  • Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan
  • Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Living life on purpose is more than just time management. It’s also about balancing to help achieve personal and business goals.” - Travis Parry
  • “Achieving balance isn’t only about doing it on our own through personal development. We also need to involve our family, spouse, and business partners.” - Travis Parry

Connect with Travis Parry:

  • Travis Parry Website
  • Make Time Podcast
  • Email: travis@travisparry.com
  • Book: Achieving Balance
  • Travis Parry on LinkedIn
  • Travis Parry on Facebook

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork
Man's Search for Meaning The Classic Tribute to Hope from the Holocaust

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David Meltzer is a business coach, sports & technology executive, and founder of the global sports and entertainment agency, Sports 1 Marketing. He is a three-time international bestselling author, the executive producer of Entrepreneur’s #1 digital business show, Elevator Pitch, and a Top 100 Business coach. He is also the former CEO of Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment, the firm that inspired the movie, Jerry Maguire. But beyond his roles as founder and executive, David’s mission is to serve humanity by empowering one billion people to be happy. This is a mission he realizes by creating platforms to help educate and mentor people from all walks of life - from C-Suite executives to college students. To this end, David has created David Meltzer Enterprises, through which he also facilitates free weekly training sessions, as well as The Playbook Podcast, where he shares his insights on achieving success in life and business.

David joins me today to discuss the role gratitude plays in creating lasting abundance and happiness in our lives. He reveals the underlying lessons of gratitude and the factors that fuel consistency. He explains what inspired his maxim, “make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun!” and describes what it was like to live a life of scarcity early on in his career. He also discusses how focusing on lack hinders us from getting what we want in life, emphasizes how asking for what we want can help direct us toward success, and underscores our connection with infinite abundance.

“To enjoy the consistent and persistent pursuit of your potential, you have to change your perspective through gratitude. Define the light, the love, and the lesson that you have.” - David Meltzer

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • David’s impact on my life and how he taught me about gratitude and happiness
  • Why you need to define true happiness for yourself
  • David’s gratitude challenge and the relationship between consistency and gratitude
  • Evolving David’s mission statement and the impact of simplifying an idea
  • Underlying the power of gratitude is the lesson of consistency
  • The hidden messages in water, why I say nice things to my plants, and the importance of seeking people with open minds
  • The three worlds of abundance and how we unconsciously hinder ourselves with limiting beliefs
  • How the human mind cannot fathom the infinity of time, infinity of space, infinity of money and the problem with the internet
  • The difference between sponsors and power sponsors
  • Affecting the mathematical equation of luck and the power of asking for what we want

Resources Mentioned:

  • The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “What you pay attention to plus what you give intention to equals the coincidences of your life.” - David Meltzer
  • “You are connected to abundance - to more-than-enough for everything and everyone. Ask for bigger, brighter, better, and more than you can ever imagine.” - David Meltzer
  • “Ask for what you want - you will rapidly affect the mathematical equation of luck.” - David Meltzer

Connect with David Meltzer:

  • David Meltzer
  • David Meltzer Training
  • The Playbook Podcast
  • EMAIL: david@dmeltzer.com
  • BOOK: Connected to Goodness
  • BOOK: Compassionate Capitalism
  • BOOK: Be Unstoppable
  • David Meltzer on LinkedIn
  • David Meltzer on Instagram
  • David Meltzer on Facebook
  • David Meltzer on Twitter
  • David Meltzer on YouTube
  • David Meltzer on TikTok

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century (Think and Grow Rich Series)
The Hidden Messages in Water
Compassionate Capitalism: Journey To The Soul of Business
Be Unstoppable: How to Create the Life You Love
Connected to Goodness: Manifest Everything You Desire in Business and Life

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Brian Thorp is an angel investor and the founder and CEO of Wealthtender, an online marketplace driven to help people connect with the best financial advisors and educators for their specific needs. With over 25 years in the financial services industry, Brian applies his experience, expertise, and passion to help others build meaningful and enjoyable lives and gain financial freedom. He believes everyone deserves trustworthy advice about money matters, no matter their income or stage of life. Brian graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Finance and currently serves on the Advisory Board for U-Nest, a mobile app designed to help parents and family members save and invest in their children’s educational future.

Brian joins me today to discuss the new SEC rules on Modernized Marketing and soliciting and leveraging reviews from your advisory clients. We discuss how client reviews can impact a customer’s decision to work with you and how sharing those reviews on your website can positively impact your SEO. Brian shares his predictions on when the SEC’s Modernized Marketing Rules will take effect and the opportunities that present themselves for financial advisors once the rule is official. We discuss how this new rule will prove to be a game-changer for the industry as a whole, especially niche-specific advisors. We also discuss how you can begin preparing your firm for the new Modernized Marketing rule, even before it takes effect — and the possible ramifications of not pursuing client reviews.

“It is a trust-based industry, and there’s no better opportunity for people to gain comfort and an understanding of a potential advisor that they’re working with than hearing it from somebody they know and respect..” - Brian Thorp

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Brian’s journey into the financial services industry
  • How Wealthtender can be a beneficial resource for financial advisors
  • How reviews and feedback impact the buyer’s decision (as well as SEO)
  • How the SEC rules regarding modernized marketing have shifted over the years
  • When we can expect the SEC’s adoption of the Modernized Marketing Rule to take effect
  • How the new Modernized Marketing rule will impact the financial advisory industry
  • How to prepare your advisory firm for the adoption of the Modernized Marketing rule
  • Acceptable review formats according to the new rule
  • The pros and cons of using review platforms like Yelp and Google
  • The potential ramifications of not pursuing online ratings and reviews

Resources Mentioned:

  • Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Advisors need to be prepared for this new world. They certainly do not need to pursue online ratings and reviews, but do need to be prepared and thoughtful to understand the ramifications if they choose not to go down this path.” - Brian Thorp
  • “It’s that third-party endorsement that naturally can become very valuable.” - Brian Thorp

Connect with Brian Thorp:

  • Wealthtender
  • Email: brian@wealthtender.com
  • Wealthtender on LinkedIn
  • Wealthtender on Instagram
  • Wealthtender on Facebook
  • Wealthtender on Twitter
  • Brian Thorp on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

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Dan Solin is the President of Evidence Based Advisor Marketing and Solin Strategic, LLC. He helps advisors around the world connect with their ideal clients through evidence-based marketing solutions, website development, content strategy, and sales coaching services. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the Smartest series of books, a collection of investment, financial planning, and wealth-building books that have been endorsed by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Vanguard’s founder, John Bogle. His latest book, Ask: How To Relate To Anyone, helps readers understand the psychology and neuroscience behind creating deep, meaningful connections with anyone. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Dan regularly conducts workshops and presentations to advisors and advisory firms throughout North America.

Dan joins me today to discuss the lessons he’s learned while researching the psychology and neuroscience behind building relationships and meaningful connections with others. We discuss how creating meaningful business relationships is more about being authentic and building the ‘know, like, and trust’ factor and less about sharing analytical data and processes. Dan shares tips and strategies you can use to truly connect with your prospective clients. We discuss some of the common misconceptions advisors often have about why someone might hire them and why it’s crucial to emphasise your likability over your expertise in your branding and marketing. We highlight the differences between cognitive trust and effective trust. We also discuss why your response time is critical to converting leads into clients, why most decisions are rooted in our emotions, and the importance of letting go of trying to control the flow and agenda of your sales meetings and, instead, leading them with the intention of getting to know your client better.

“We do business with people we like. If we like people, we trust them. If we trust them, we hire them.” - Dan Solin

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • Dan’s definition of evidence-based advisors
  • Strategies for deeply connecting with your ideal clients
  • Common misconceptions around the hiring process and the decisions a potential client makes
  • Putting emphasis on likability over expertise in your brand messaging and marketing strategies
  • How conversations over personal passions, interests, and hobbies create unique bonds
  • Why Dan believes many advisors hesitate to ‘put themselves out there’ to be relatable
  • Leaning into being vulnerable, authentic, and showing genuine interest in your client’s passions and hobbies
  • Understanding the difference between ‘cognitive trust’ and ‘effective trust’
  • The ‘Moment of Seduction’ principle of sales and how your response time impacts your ability to convert a client
  • The value of leading your initial sales calls with personal interest questions and letting go of trying to control the meeting flow and agenda

Resources Mentioned:

  • The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
  • What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “The orientation of every touch-point, including websites, should be: ‘How do I present myself as more likable?’ That should be the goal.” - Dan Solin
  • “The whole point is not as much being vulnerable as just having no agenda.” - Dan Solin
  • “A very dangerous thing in life is to make assumptions.” - Dan Solin

Connect with Dan Solin:

  • Dan Solin’s Website
  • Evidence Based Advisor Marketing
  • Email: dansolin@ebadvisormarketing.com
  • Book: The Smartest series
  • Book: Ask: How to Relate to Anyone
  • Dan Solin on LinkedIn
  • Dan Solin on Facebook
  • Dan Solin on Twitter

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

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Brad Wales on Transitioning to the RIA Model

Brad Wales is the Founder of Transition To RIA, a consulting firm focused exclusively on helping financial advisors transition and adopt the RIA model. He helps advisors understand the intricacies of RIA - from understanding the “how” and “why” to transitioning their practice successfully. With nearly two decades of industry experience, including direct RIA-related roles in compliance, finance, and business development, Brad has amassed a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help financial advisors learn how to benefit from and implement the RIA model. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of West Florida and has served well-known financial advisory firms throughout the Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida regions.

Brad joins me today to share why he decided to transition his career from working in the corporate world to launching his own consulting firm. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of transitioning to the RIA model, how his company helps advisors smoothly transition, and why the RIA model may not be suitable for all financial advisors. We discuss the importance of leaning into your strengths and understanding your weaknesses before deciding which RIA path you want to take. We discuss the legal challenges many advisors face when trying to transition their clients to an RIA model and why some of your current clients may not make the transition with you. We also highlight the importance of shifting your mindset from working as a financial advisor to becoming a media company that happens to offer financial advisory services and how it can impact your success as an independent Registered Investment Advisor.

“You have the flexibility to choose, on your own, who you want to work with.” - Brad Wales

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • What inspired Brad to pivot his career to become an entrepreneur
  • Why many financial advisors decide to transition to the RIA model
  • How Brad’s company helps advisors make the transition to RIA
  • Why the RIA model may not be suitable for everyone
  • The three primary paths many advisors take when transitioning into the RIA model
  • Understanding your strengths and weaknesses before deciding to transition your practice
  • Fee-only vs. fee-based models and determining which model is right for you
  • Setting realistic expectations regarding the number of clients that will be willing to move to the RIA model with you
  • Legal challenges often involved in transitioning clients to the RIA model and the process for working through most of these challenges
  • Identifying the vendors your RIA practice should partner with
  • Shifting your mindset to be successful
  • Brad’s favorite business-related books and how they impacted his life
  • Common mistakes many advisors make when transitioning to the RIA model

Resources Mentioned:

  • Video: Q18 - Will I keep 100% of my clients if I start my own RIA?
  • Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence - and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk
  • The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman
  • The Art Of The Deal by Donald J. Trump

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “The first couple ‘innings of the game’ is simply education.” - Brad Wales
  • “It’s not a ‘firm problem,’ it’s a structural problem. As long as you’re at a firm with thousands of advisors, you start falling into some of these traps of where you get lumped in and it is going to confine you.” - Brad Wales

Connect with Brad Wales:

  • Transition to RIA
  • Email: brad@transitiontoria.com
  • Transition to RIA on LinkedIn
  • Transition to RIA on Twitter
  • Brad Wales on LinkedIn

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution
Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too
Trump: The Art of the Deal

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Kirk Lowe is the Founder and CEO of ProudMouth, an influence accelerator on a mission to “free the world’s experts from sales.” For over 20 years, Kirk and his business partner, Matt Halloran, have helped financial experts and advisors produce, publish, multiply, share, and boost their thought leadership. Kirk and his team are shifting the way experts approach marketing. He is a frequent contributor to Nasdaq, the featured expert on the Top Advisor Marketing Podcast, and the co-host of the BeYourOwnLoud podcast. Kirk regularly speaks and writes on topics related to building authority, becoming a micro-influencer, marketing, and podcasting.

Kirk joins me today to discuss how to effectively create a content marketing strategy that builds your credibility and authority as an expert. We discuss the concept of ‘brand depth,’ what it means, and how you can use your content to prove your deep understanding and expertise of the industry you serve. We discuss Kirk’s journey into the world of podcasting and what inspired him and his business partner to launch the ProudMouth brand. We discuss how you can use your content to attract new clients and the importance of staying consistent with your content marketing efforts. We also discuss organic strategies you can use to accelerate your content marketing results, why a small podcast audience can be just as powerful and rewarding as a large one, and how you can determine when your business is ready to hire a PR firm.

“Be patient, do the work that you know is going to make a difference, and when the time comes, that’ll all pay off.” - Kirk Lowe

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

  • How to use content marketing strategies to build your credibility and authority
  • The evolution of Kirk’s career and the inspiration behind building the ProudMouth brand
  • Turning skeptics into fans and prospects
  • What the “expertise economy” is and why it’s important
  • Creating a system and staying consistent with your content marketing strategy
  • How Kirk’s clients have benefited from content marketing and podcasting
  • Why you need to tell your audience the steps you want them to take
  • Creating a “give to get” offer and the value of smaller audiences
  • Creating the customer journey and advancing relationships through your content
  • Navigating compliance hurdles when developing a content marketing or podcasting strategy
  • How the intimacy level between blogging and podcasting differ
  • Organic strategies to accelerate your content marketing results
  • Identifying when you’re ready to partner with a PR firm
  • Kirk’s top 3 favorite business books

Resources Mentioned:

  • Three Feet from Gold: Turn your Obstacles Into Opportunities (Think and Grow Rich Series) by Sharon Lechter & Greg Reid
  • The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
  • Canva
  • The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber
  • Fix: Break The Addictions That Are Killing Brands by Rob Howard and Ryan Gill
  • The Story of Lululemon: Little Black Stretchy Pants by Chip Wilson

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “The more specificity that most experts can have when they’re marketing their business, the more you can clearly target and win-over those people,” - Kirk Lowe
  • “Find a way to enjoy what you’re talking about because your audience will probably enjoy it more, too.” - Kirk Lowe

Connect with Kirk Lowe:

  • ProudMouth
  • Influence Accelerator Academy
  • Email: kirk@proudmouth.com
  • ProudMouth on LinkedIn
  • ProudMouth on Facebook
  • ProudMouth on Twitter
  • Kirk Lowe on LinkedIn
  • Podcast: Top Advisor Marketing
  • Podcast: BeYourOwnLoud

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
The Compound Effect
Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities! (Think and Grow Rich)
Fix: Break The Addictions That Are Killing Brands
Little Black Stretchy Pants

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This is Part 2 of the conversation between our president, David DeCelle, and Ivan Farber, author of Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time.

In Part 1 of our podcast, Ivan talked about how to build rapport in a conversation and how to proactively monitor conversation engagement. In this Part 2, Ivan gives us a more concrete formula on how to bring out the specific needs of a prospective client.

In this episode, you will learn how to plan a conversation that will naturally guide prospective clients into discussing their true needs. Once you understand their needs, you’ll be able to show how your professional experience and services can help.

Ivan breaks the process into five parts in what he calls the CLEAR method... Links and resources

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

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Our president, David DeCelle, sat down to speak with Ivan Farber, a consultant and an author on a mission to give you a clear formula for conversational success.
Virtually every financial advisor has heard about (or read) "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.

However, many have walked away from that landmark book wondering about how to implement those ideas in their own conversations. Ivan's work sets out to give professionals specific, practical tools to level up their conversations — and through them, the quality of their impact and positive change.

In this Part 1 of the episode, Ivan shares tips you can use to proactively monitor conversation engagement.

What's the level of rapport?

Does the other party like what's happening?
Do they trust what's happening?

Do they like you?

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Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Our team sat down last month to talk all about Client Experience with Reese Harper, CEO of Dentist Advisors. On this show, Reese Harper joined our host Patrick Brewer to answer questions from our listeners and readers.

What does “client experience” actually mean? What should your clients see, feel, interact with?

What are the components of an effective, strategically designed client experience?

What are the first steps an advisor can take to evolve the CX into the future?

Tune in to the conversation and get ready to take notes! If you have ever struggled to build relationships that naturally grow deeper as the client’s needs change, then this conversation will help you. In a discussion facilitated by our Executive Podcast Producer Eric Lee, you will hear Patrick Brewer and our guest Reese Harper share strategies for establishing the relational depth that is required to engage in a true financial planning partnership.
Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Our team and a guest expert Phil Seibel of Collaborative Planning Group sat down last week to discuss insurance planning in a fiduciary firm. Together, they answered questions from our listeners and readers.

  • Many insurance products have a bad rep in the financial advisory space. Are there any products that just flat-out should never be sold to anyone?

  • How is the process of getting your client into an insurance policy different today vs. 20 years ago?

  • How does risk management planning best fit into a holistic financial planning engagement?

  • How important is long term care planning for advisors — and for their clients?

  • With all the buzz about “no commission insurance”, is that the optimal solution for a fiduciary? What about fee-based insurance?

  • A lot of people feel that a fiduciary should never accept a commission because commissions promote bias. What are your thoughts?

Tune in to the conversation and get ready to take notes. If you are unsure how the insurance industry is changing, how to choose the best insurance products for your clients, and whether or not commissions promote bias, you will walk away with lots of food for thought.

In a discussion facilitated by our Executive Podcast Producer Eric Lee, you will hear David DeCelle, Dan Allison, and our guest Phil Seibel discuss strategies, share personal experiences, and push against some antiquated ways of thinking about insurance planning.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with likeminded advisors and share the day-today challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Our team sat down last week to talk about All Things COI’s.
Together, they answered questions from our listeners and readers.

What am I looking for in a COI?

How do I break through the noise and stand out to a new COI — without looking like I am just fishing for new clients?

What are some of the barriers and best practices for forming an agreement that will allow both parties to move forward with enthusiasm and mutual commitment?

How does COVID impact center-of-influence partnerships?

Tune into the conversation and get ready to take notes. If you have ever struggled to connect with a COI, explain what you do, or build a relationship where they feel comfortable referring their clients to you, then you are about to get a secret weapon.

In a discussion facilitated by our Executive Podcast Producer Eric Lee, you will hear Patrick Brewer, David DeCelle, and Dan Allison share strategies for establishing mutually beneficial relationships, overcoming objections, and making an impact.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team
Model FA Creative Director and Executive Podcast Producer, Eric Lee
Model FA Founder and Podcast host, Patrick Brewer
President of Model FA, David DeCelle
Founder and President of the Feedback Marketing Group, Dan AllisonIf you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with likeminded advisors and share the day-today challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.

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Our team has been working around the clock to support advisors and serve our own wealth management clients through this pandemic. COVID-19 has brought many things to the surface, but there is one area that has demanded a tremendous amount of focus, attention, and energy. How can advisors strengthen and grow their practices in the midst of many unknowns?Our Creative Director and Executive Producer of the Model FA Podcast, Eric Lee, sat down with our podcast host and Founder, Patrick Brewer. The two were joined by President of Model FA, David DeCelle, and Dan Allison, Founder and President of the Feedback Marketing Group. Together, they spent over an hour answering questions from our listeners and readers.

What do advisors have to change immediately in order to survive?What needs to change in the next 12 months and beyond? How is the industry evolving — and what does that mean for advisors today?Tune into the conversation and get ready to take notes, because guys around this table get real. They don’t hold back as they share how they are leading their teams, what they have personally changed as a result of this pandemic, and where they think the industry is going.

*Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

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My guest today is Jim Palumbo. Jim is a veteran of the financial services industry, with more than 25 years of experience in creating and managing organizations that grow and preserve wealth.

In this conversation, Jim explores different options that are available to today’s advisors who are looking for a path to independence, and why it’s important for an advisor to begin with what his or her vision and purpose of independence is.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Jim shares his experience of creating what he calls a “Living Library” at Dynamic Advisor Solutions. It may be helpful to read an article to solve a problem, but it’s measurably better to get access to a community of professionals who have already solved that problem and looked at it from a dozen different angles.

As you think about this conversation, how are you inspired to differentiate your firm? Will you discover new partnerships, practice management systems, business development ideas, or creative and unique client experiences? Whichever area you begin with, take Jim’s advice and connect with a peer group to strengthen your practice and build the life you’ve dreamed about.

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

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David is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DPL Financial Partners, a network that connects Registered Investment Advisors and fee-based advisory channels with insurance solutions from the nation’s top carriers.

David started DPL with an idea to distribute variable annuities through RIAs and fee-only advisors. That seemed like a gamble at the time. David’s hunch proved accurate. In just two years, DPL membership achieved an RIA footprint that approached some of the largest, well-established platforms in the industry.

In this conversation, we discuss how DPL has built a turnkey, product-agnostic insurance platform for RIAs. Insurance is an important part of a holistic financial plan. David argues that advisors can — and should — use insurance products when that’s the best and most appropriate solution for their clients. However, fee-only advisors have historically had to refer their clients to outside insurance professionals because of commissions. DPL eliminated the need to do that.

Resource Links

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

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In this conversation, we discuss the Virtual Advisor System that Derek created to empower more advisors to grow their businesses in today's digital ecosystem. Derek’s own practice is location independent, and after having to figure things out for himself the hard way, he’s teaching other advisors how to tap into virtual tools and systems. This podcast episode will be especially useful for those who want to add a location-independent component to their service offering, or those who are curious about what it takes to run a 100% virtual practice.

As you think about this conversation, ask yourself these questions. Could you scale your business by outsourcing certain workflows and processes? How could you lean into virtual tools to enhance and round out the service that you deliver? And how could you add more value by shifting your “belly to belly” conversations to a virtual system?

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

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Whitney Hansen is a Millennial financial coach. After paying off $30,000 in 10 months, hacking her way to a $472 MBA, and buying her first home at 19, Whitney discovered her love for helping Millennials take control of their financial life. The recognition and acknowledgment of generational wealth gaps (that exist largely due to student debt) have been the driving force for why and how Whitney has created her Millennial coaching program.

In this conversation, we discuss why it’s important for financial advisors to embrace digital marketing in order to reach a younger audience. Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Whitney shares that it’s ok to be honest: “I don’t know everything”. This kind of authenticity can help your clients connect and trust you more.

As you think about this conversation, which “getting started” tips stand out to you the most? How do you deliver support and intrigue to your Generation Z and Millennial clients? Where are you connecting with your audience? And how are you creating an authentic and “real” brand experience that inspires clients to reach out, without being ashamed of their imperfections?

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

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In this conversation, we change things up a bit and ask Aaron to share his journey in the financial advice industry. Aaron’s career progression in financial services had him working in 3 very different wealth management and financial advisory models in quick succession. This experience of having seen the industry from different angles gave him the confidence to start Rapport Financial in January 2017 with just 4 clients.

There are so many different career paths available to advisors, and that's part of the reason why we wanted to have Aaron on the podcast. He has learned first hand the need for good mentorship — and the importance of knowing what role you want to play in this industry.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Aaron shares what he believes are the most important elements for anyone starting out in the financial advice industry. Do your research. Be a planner. Bring your discipline, hard work, and intention. Meet with professionals, ask them questions, and get a mentor to give you direct feedback.

Resource Links

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

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My guest today is Jody Padar, CEO and Principal of the New Vision CPA Group, a public accounting firm based in the Chicago area.

In this conversation, Jody talks about what it would take for advisors and CPAs to live a more balanced life and to run profitable firms — without working 80+ hours a week.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Jody explains that optimizing the technical side of tax accounting doesn’t just benefit the client. It also sets CPAs up to spend more time working through their client’s holistic financial needs.

As you think about this conversation, where does AI fit into the evolution of your practice? How are you preparing to keep up with client expectations for quicker, more integrated service? Share your thoughts in the Model FA Community — and learn how the Model FA Accelerator can help you take your firm to the next level of organic growth.

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

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My guest today is Joseph (Joe) Anthony.

Joe is the President of Gregory FCA Communications, a full-service, strategically integrated public relations firm. Gregory FCA Communications has been active in the financial space since 2002. The firm offers “tech-enabled PR” including online, data-backed, and social media programs.

In this conversation, we dive into the impact and influence that PR and marketing can have on the success of a financial firm. Joe sees PR as a powerful tool for building trust. By using an intentional PR strategy, advisors can communicate their expertise, share thought leadership, and even enhance their client experience.

As you think about this conversation, remember that PR can be the sizzle — but you still need the steak. In order to take advantage of Joe’s advice, you need an effective PR strategy. Who are you trying to attract — and what story do you plan to tell them? You will also need to invest time and money into generating great content, whether for your own website or for publishing elsewhere.

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

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In this conversation, we discuss that a great advisory practice is, at its core, a behavioral coaching practice. Daniel reflects on his 10+ years of experience in the financial services industry, and on how advisor-client engagement can bring about better outcomes through meaningful relationships and value-focused behavioral changes.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Daniel talks about the 3 E’s an advisor can work through to provide their clients with the best behavioral coaching. In Daniel’s model, Education, Environment, and Encouragement together can help clients make incremental behavioral changes and achieve their desired financial goals.

As you think about this conversation, do you see yourself engaged in behavioral coaching? Or are you unsure of how to bring these practical applications to your client experience? The tools that Daniel discusses will not only help you shift your thinking, but will also demonstrate how the behavioral coaching aspects of your practice can make a real dollar impact in your clients’ lives.

**Looking for more ideas about adding behavioral coaching to your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, the industry’s first Silicon Valley-style accelerator and coaching program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

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Connect with The Model FA**

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My guest today is Dominique Molina. Dominique is the co-founder and President of the American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches. As the driving force and visionary behind the San Diego-based company, she set out to change the way tax professionals approach tax planning. She created an elite network of tax professionals including CPAs, EAs, attorneys and financial service providers who are trained to help their clients proactively plan and implement tax strategies that can rescue thousands of dollars in wasted tax. Dominique is also a published author of two books on taxation.

In this conversation, we discuss advanced tax reduction. Dominique shares some of the best ways financial advisors can provide proactive planning to help solve the challenges of America’s taxpayers. Advisors bring a world of opportunity and awareness of the danger in the world for their clients, and when it comes to tax planning there is a need for renewed professionalism that is client focused. Dominique shares about the major difference in automated tax planning vs. advisor led is the client needs and the judgement of the professional advisor. The advisor’s judgement is the added value to the expertise that is brought to the table and it truly is the competitive advantage to make you the trusted advisor.

Looking for more ideas about creating value for your financial advice practice? Join the Model FA advisor community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm.

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My guest today is Ryan Shanks. Ryan has over 19 years of experience in financial services. He is the Founder & CEO of FA Match, a digital career management platform for financial advisors. He is also the CEO of Finetooth Consulting, which provides transition consulting, outsourced recruiting and succession planning to financial advisors within the United States.

In this conversation, we discuss how the advisor is always the product of the firm. Advisors bring enterprise value to the firm. As an advisor, if you don’t know your value you may be more passive in your career than you should be. Ryan shares about why asking the question, “What is your purpose and what do you want to be doing in this business?” is an important step in knowing if your current firm is the right place for you.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Ryan talks about advisors being hired for the wrong role. Ryan mentions that it is a two part issue, the firm needing to fill a seat, but not knowing the advisors strengths beyond their credentials. He encourages the firm to understand the strengths of the advisor to align them in the best fit role at the firm. Firms also need to be open to the new perspective the younger generation can bring the firm.

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My guest today is Jason Wenk. Jason is a fintech executive, writer, self-proclaimed math geek, and investment systems developer. He has been working within the financial advise world for over 19 years and has witnessed how underserved the everyday investor is again and again. This motivated Jason to create several successful companies that provide an avenue “to do more good in the world.” Most recently, he founded Altruist to build a fully-digital brokerage platform with commission-free trading. “Altruist is on a mission to make investing fair for everyone, allowing real people to earn more while paying less.”

In this conversation, we do things a little differently than our past episodes and Jason shares with us the story of who he is and how he has built several successful companies, all while flying under the radar in the finance network. We discuss how the old way of doing business is coming to an end, and that Jason can see a potential for millions of people in need of advice gaining access to quality client care, while keeping it reasonably priced. We talk about the current systems being non accessible to the blue collar worker, and Jason asks the question, “Are you wanting to help people or are you wanting to only help RICH people?”

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My guest today is Josh Patrick. Josh is a Certified Financial Planner®, a Certified Financial Transitionist®, a Chartered Financial Consultant®, a Chartered Life Underwriter®, a serial entrepreneur, a writer, reader, and a thinker. Josh Patrick is a contributor to The New York Times’ You’re the Boss blog, as well as the author of Stage 2 blog Creating Value.

Josh’s main focus in life is helping private business owners create extraordinary value with their businesses and their lives. He draws on rich life experiences during his almost forty years of working with his favorite people, private business owners, to help them create great outcomes. On his podcast (called “The Sustainable Business”), Josh Patrick interviews thought leaders from many industries to help you think about your business twenty, thirty, or even more years into the future.

In this conversation, we discuss how your firm fits into the future of the financial services industry. I have enjoyed this conversation. The wealth management industry is about as dysfunctional as an industry could be, and without its ridiculous margins most people in this business would fail. Josh Patrick makes a case for niche marketing, and looks forward into the future with ideas on how to make your business sustainable in an industry that’s likely to become even more regulated.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Josh breaks down the importance of mind-mapping to define the kinds of clients you should be working with. It’s a simple exercise that you can do on a piece of paper right as you listen to the podcast, and it might turn out to be the most valuable thing you’ve done for your business this year. Do you have the mindset that you can’t afford to not service somebody? Or do you have the mindset that you can’t afford to service somebody? How would your capacity grow if you were able to know which clients you should be serving? I hope you will find many practical ideas to try.

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My guest today is Bill Winterberg. Bill is founder and president of FPPad.com and a respected personality in the financial planning industry. Bill is probably the only fintech vlogger in the United States (see his YouTube channel here) and is widely recognized as an independent authority on the subject of technology in financial services.

In this conversation, we discuss the importance of using video blogging for financial advisors to showcase their expertise and value to both clients and prospects. When you take a concept and show it in a video, using authentic communication that isn’t blog-speak, you supercharge your ability to connect with your audience. Bill provides an objective and unbiased perspective of technology trends in the industry. He is generous with tips for all advisors who want to grow a practice with using video blogging.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Bill explains why most advisors have an aversion to video, and what you can do to get over it. Are you afraid of being on camera? How could your clients benefit from you showing them something on video (as opposed to writing a lengthy email)? You will love all the practical ideas shared in this episode. I hope it inspires you to shoot a video today!

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My guest today is Emily Binder. Emily is an entrepreneur, marketing strategist, and founder of Beetle Moment Marketing, a voice-first consultancy based in Austin, Texas. Applying over a decade of experience in running successful marketing initiatives from startups to Fortune 500 brands, Emily helps her clients advance their brands by capitalizing on new technology.

Marketing practices change fast. Voice technology is emerging as the next component of successful marketing strategies. From voice-first SEO to capturing the content-distribution market with smart speakers, advisors have an opportunity to make headway and connect with their clients now.

In this conversation, we discuss how financial advisors and planners can use their greatest tool, their voice. In her work, Emily focuses on voice technology including AI and voice assistants, branded audio content, and social media. In this episode, Emily helps advisors explore the possibilities of connecting with clients through using voice-activated tools like Alexa and Google Home through flash briefings and podcasts. In order to do that, you need to differentiate your brand — and to tell a compelling story that’s concise, informative, and easy to access.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Emily invites our listeners to not be left behind the advance of voice technology. She compares it to the move from desktop to mobile. As clients shift away from typing, tapping, and swiping to use voice-activated searches for information, you will want your firm to show up at the top of the search results.

If you’d like to get more tips and ideas from Emily, you can subscribe to her weekly podcast,Beetle Moment Marketing, and to her daily Alexa Flash briefing called Voice Marketing - Daily Beetle Moment. Both are excellent resources for financial advisors to build a practice that’s relevant and irresistible to clients.

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My guest today is Brittney Castro. Brittney is the founder and CEO of Financially Wise Inc., a Los Angeles-based financial planning firm. After years of working in corporate financial planning, Brittney realized she wanted to work with clients the same way she talks about money with her friends — in a fun, personal, compassionate, relatable, and nonjudgmental way. Today, Financially Wise provides a broad range of services, including fee-only financial planning, online money courses, financial wellness workshops, speaking engagements, and brand partnerships.

Brittney Castro is a Certified Financial Planner™, Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC), Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS), entrepreneur, and speaker. After founding Financially Wise in 2013, Brittney was recognized as the 6th INVESTOPEDIA Top Influential Financial Advisors in 2017 and one of the 22 "Women To Watch" by InvestmentNews in 2018.

But chances are, you have heard of Brittney Catsro because she has cracked the code on content marketing for financial advisors.

In this conversation, we discuss the importance of building a brand and creating original content to attract new clients. Brittney shares with you the tangible steps you can use to define how to position the unique aspects of your financial planning offering, and what you need to know to begin creating content — even if you don’t think of yourself as a content marketer.

Don’t miss one of my favorite moments, when Brittney encourages financial planners who want to be successful to “roll with the times”. Do you experience resistance to changes in the market? Are you unsure how to market your practice? Brittney offers specific steps to try and encouragement for those who are just getting started.

Looking for more ideas about content marketing for financial advisors? Join the Model FA advisor community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm.

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My guest today is Joe Messinger. Joe started his own fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firm, Capstone Wealth Partners, in 2009 after struggling at large national financial service firm to find and provide good financial advice — especially in the area of college planning. Joe is a leading authority on college planning resources and late-stage college funding. He frequently speaks to organizations such as the FPA, NAPFA, ACP and XY Planning Network, as well as parent groups across the country.

In this conversation, we discuss Joe’s College Pre-Approval™ system, a revolutionary approach to providing expert college planning advice in a client-centric and comprehensive way. With Capstone College Partners (a resource for financial advisors who want to learn more about helping families with college planning) and College Aid Pro™, Joe is on a mission to educate and empower other financial advisors to raise the bar in college funding advice — and to help end the student loan crisis, one family at a time.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Joe explains the burden that rests on the shoulders of clients and potential clients who are planning their children’s college future. Many of the service models that are alive and well in the financial industry today have no room for his type of advice. Have you said “No” to college planning for your clients’ children? What hurdles have kept you from adding this service in your practice? We hope you will find some practical ideas to try — and feel more comfortable with offering college planning resources and advice to your clients in the future.

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My guest today is Greg Rollett. Greg is an Emmy® Award-Winning Producer, Best-Selling Author, and media expert. Greg works with business owners from all over the world to create personality-driven online video and TV shows that generate more leads and sales for their business.Greg Rollett is the host of Ambitious Adventures, a travel reality show for entrepreneurs that you can find on Amazon Prime, Entrepreneur.com, and Facebook Watch.

Video marketing for financial advisors can be intimidating. In this conversation, we discuss how advisors and planners can become a media personality. Greg breaks down the specific steps you can use to create short (“snackable”) videos to build that critical “know, like, and trust factor” — every day, on every major social platform. This is a tremendous opportunity for advisors to reach their audience, and it can be done even if you have never had a video presence before.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Greg breaks down the video strategy for a 1-1.5 minute video to build client engagement. I know that you will find Greg’s practical ideas on video marketing for financial advisors to be both useful and definitely do-able. And remember to check out the free video planner offered to our listeners to help you get started!

Looking for more ideas about video marketing for financial advisors? Join the Model FA advisor community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm.

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The main purpose of Model FA is to support financial advisors as they grow sustainable businesses, increase their visibility, and change their clients’ lives. Model FA is a community built by advisors, for advisors.

Together, we work to remove financial anxiety from the world. Join the Model FA advisor community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm. Please rate and review the podcast, we value your feedback and look forward to creating content that is high quality and helpful to you.

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My guest today is our lead coach at Model FA, Dominique Henderson. Dom is the Founder at DJH Capital Management, an RIA based in Cedar Hill, TX. He is also Head of Client Experience at Brewer Consulting. Dom runs a thriving YouTube channel where he covers personal financial planning topics (and occasionally guest-stars his family).

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on The Model FA to talk about the coaching arm of our firm. We believe coaching is essential to raising the bar on the firm’s level of success. Having experienced the benefits of coaching on both the giving and the receiving side, Dom dives deep into how the right coaching program can become the bridge between an idea and its physical incarnation as a thriving financial advice firm.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Dom challenges the listener to self-check if what he or she is looking to build would be best done on their own — or as a part of a bigger team. “If you are not coachable, what does it really say about your practice of selling advice to clients or would be clients?” We hope you will find some practical ideas to try — and walk away inspired.

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My guest today is Eric Lee. Eric is the Creative Director behind The Model FA, the man with a wealth of out-of-the-box ideas to disrupt and elevate marketing for the financial services industry. When Eric is not helping advisors re-imagine the future of their firm, he can be found in the kitchen preparing a world-class meal for friends, or working as a cast member in a local theatre production.
In this episode, we discuss how advisors can establish trust by simplifying visual elements in their branding to tell their story and target their ideal audience. 

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My guest today is Adrian Salamunovic, author of the best-selling book Free PR, mentor, investor, and our PR guru. Adrian is a co-founder of CanvasPop, DNA11, and PopKey, and an advisor to entrepreneurs. If you are curious about using media for growth hacking, public relations, and strategic partnerships, this is an episode for you!
In this episode, we discuss how advisors can distinguish themselves and stand out in a sea of noise and look-alike financial advice firms. Adrian shares several tactical steps you can use to get in front of the right journalists, at the right time, with the right angle — and get PR traction quickly.

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My guest today is Carl Richards. He is a Certified Financial PlannerTM, the creator of The Behavior Gap, and has been the Sketch Guy columnist for the New York Times since 2010. Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. His sketches 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 (Portfolio/Penguin).
In this conversation, we discuss how to establish trust in an industry with a lot of bad actors, and how to make certain you’re on track to be, what Carl calls, “A real financial advisor”... You’ll walk away with practical steps to rediscover the humanity in our industry — and learn how to be an advocate for your clients’ needs.

Looking for more ideas about authentic communication? Join the Model FA advisor community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm.

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The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money
The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money

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In this Part 2 of our conversation with Michael Kitces, we discuss the evolving methods and strategies for marketing your firm. Michael is a financial planner, commentator, speaker, blogger at Nerd’s Eye View, and educator.

In this episode, we discuss how this business is a human to human business, that "you can take your personal self out of the brand if you really want to, because you're concerned about being too personal brand centric, but you can't take the human out of the brand." We need to understand that in the current marketplace clients are looking for "real stuff" and how your firm having a niche can help you better build and scale a business that is authentic and successful.

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My guest today is Michael Kitces of The Nerd’s Eye View. Michael is a lifelong learner with a passion for sharing what he’s learned with others. Michael is a financial planner, commentator, speaker, blogger, and educator. He holds multiple certifications and designations, including MSFS, MTAX, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, and CASL.

Our conversation with Michael covered so much ground that we decided to split it into two separate episodes.

In this Part 1, we discuss client acquisitions cost, and the steps an advisor can take to measure how much money he or she should be willing to pay for a client given the lifetime value of that client. We also discuss the importance of aligning your client experience and service level with your fees to ensure that you practice remains sustainable.
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My guests today are Eric and Kali Robergo. Eric and Kali are the founders of Beyond Your Hammock, a fee-only financial planning firm; and Creative Advisor Marketing, a company that helps financial advisors use compelling content to communicate their value.

In this episode, Eric and Kali explain how knowing who you do not want to work with, and how you’d like someone to view their money, can help you determine and clarify your ideal audience. They also discuss strategies for using client location and content driven referrals, and how to best use your content in marketing your business.

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My guest today is Stephanie Bogan. Stephanie she is the CEO and Founder of Educe Inc. and Limitless Advisor, an organization that helps advisors create wildly successful businesses — and a life they love.

In Stephanie’s typical manner, the conversation gets deep quickly as we jump into the big questions. What does the future look like for the Fiduciary Advisor? What does Artificial Intelligence mean for this industry — and how might it expose the importance of human connection?

Stephanie also shares what she has learned about success through the lens of scientific research, and why understanding your mindset and belief systems will increase your lifestyle gains, positively impact your client relationships, and boost your success.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Stephanie talks about the importance of reframing, and how this powerful practice can take your view of sales from “smarmy” to being of service to others. We hope you will find some practical ideas to try — and walk away inspired.

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Today’s conversation is with Barry LaValley. Barry is the President of The Retirement Lifestyle Center, an organization that helps “pretirees”, their financial advisers, their coaches, and other professionals they work with better understand the non-financial aspects of retirement. Barry is also a global speaker, a coach, and a true model of what being a “modern elder” looks like.

In this episode, we dive deep into client experience. Barry shares some effective communication strategies and expands on the five areas where a Fiduciary Advisor can add life-changing value to clients. We talk about the impact of women in the world of finance, and what makes retirement needs of women different.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Barry shares his belief that a good advisor of the future is going to be more like a coach. How are you preparing yourself to be a coach — and training your team to do the same? We hope you will find some practical ideas to try — and walk away inspired.

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