SigMa Podcast: Recent Episodes
Shawn Sigler & Josh Martin
Are you ready to have a dynamic conversation about what it takes to succeed as a financial professional in today’s world? Then listen up, because it’s time for the SigMa Podcast. And we’re going to give you SUMthing to think about…
Your hosts are Josh Martin & Shawn Sigler, senior vice presidents at Financial Independence Group, with nearly 40 years of combined experience helping advisors discover successful paths to marketing and running their practices.
Our goal is to empower, equip, engage… and yeah, entertain you a little along the way, featuring insightful interviews with the top advisors and professionals in the financial industry.
Get in touch with us if you'd like to be a guest or have any questions by emailing Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com or Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com.
The job market looks a bit different than it did a few years ago and many advisors are struggling to find talented employees. To help us navigate the hiring process we have invited Lori Miller onto the show. She is the VP of Talent Solutions at FIG, where she assists her clients in the best hiring and retention practices. The market is competitive right now but it's not always the highest paying job that will attract the best employees.
About Lori Miller:
Lori has over 20 years of recruiting experience but has found her passion in finance. At FIG's Talent Solutions she matches clients with the potential employees they need to grow their business.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-miller-952b399b
Key Moments:
1:50 – Introducing Lori
4:22 – Her role at FIG
7:46 – New hiring trends
10:38 – Communicating to potential employees
12:12 – Flexibility as employers
13:13 – Sign-on bonuses & making offers
16:03 – The interview process
18:55 – How long does it take to find employees?
20:35 – An ideal client for Lori
25:00 – Employee retention strategies
33:14 – What makes talent solutions different
37:34 – Final comments from Lori
Contact:
FIG Talent Solutions: https://www.figmarketing.com/#!/TalentSolutions figsymposium.com
There is no doubt that business owners have hectic schedules and work tirelessly to maintain what they have created. However, it is vital to take a step back and create an exit plan for the business that you have put all of your effort into. Dave Hostetler sits down with us today to discuss how he helps financial advisors put together an exit plan and some steps you should take now if you want to reitre in the near future.
About Dave Hostetler:
Dave is the Vice President Of Strategic Development at FIG. Over his career, Dave has coached over 400 advisors and their teams. He enjoys being a resource for financial professionals and has a passion for helping them grow their business through his strong service ethic.
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2Soc5En
Dave's Article: https://bit.ly/3j5ZsJc
Key Moments:
1:21 - Dave’s Background
3:28 - What Kind Of Coaching Did Dave Do?
4:45 - Common Topics That Are Brought Up
6:23 - Is Remote Work Still Popular?
7:17 - Finding Talent
10:26 - Current Environment For Succession & Exit Planning
11:56 - Why Is The Demand So High?
15:42 - If An Advisor Is Looking To Retire In The Near Future, Where Do They Start?
21:55 - Making Your Business More Valuable
25:41 - How Often Should You Update The Data?
27:57 - What Is Surge?
32:26 - Who Is An Ideal Client?
33:26 - Next Continuity/Succession Planning Program
35:52 - Final Thoughts
Contact:
The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com
Josh's Email: Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com
Shawn's Email: Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com
There is no word, or phrase to encompass how much our lives were impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Life as we knew it was completely thrown out the window and we had to pivot and adjust to a more virtual world. But within the chaos, some exciting new developments were born. We invite Monica Breeding to the show to discuss how digital marketing took off since the pandemic and some tips on how to effectively use this area of marketing for your practice.
About Monica Breeding:
Monica is the Senior Vice President of Advisor Marketing at Financial Independence Group. With over eight years in the industry, she helps bring new and innovative ideas to marketing, as well as interpret market trends to make the best decisions for FIG.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-breeding-30160b47/
Key Moments:
1:27 - Monica’s Role At FIG
4:30 - How Digital Marketing Has Evolved
10:19 - Different Ways To Market Online
16:33 - Changes Since 2020
17:48 - Creating Facebook Ads
20:54 - Tracking Your Marketing Initiatives
24:35 - Perfecting Your Webinars
29:19 - Ways To Get Registration Numbers Up
33:31 - Having A Nurturing Process In Place Helps The Success Rate Of The Webinars
35:43 - The Advantages Of Live Events
38:12 - Measuring Results With Live Events
40:36 - What Monica Has Observed In The Live Event Landscape
44:52 - Using An Integrated Approach
Contact:
The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com
Josh's Email: Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com
Shawn's Email: Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com
In this show, Shawn and Josh sit down with Kamila Elliott to discuss her recent selection as the Chair-Elect of the Certified Financial Planner Board. They also talk about fiduciary rules and roles, industry debates and solutions, as well as the future of CFP designations and education.
About Kamila Elliott:
Kamila Elliott has over two decades of experience in financial planning and investment assistance. Elliott has recently been named the chair-elect of the Certified Financial Planners Board, becoming the first female African American to serve in the position.
CFP Website: https://www.cfp.net/about-cfp-board/board-of-directors/kamila-elliott
Key Moments:
2:01 - Insight Into What Kamila Is Working On Right Now
4:13 - Kamila Shares Her Past Experience Leading To Her Current Position Today
8:40 - Why Kamila Believes The Financial Knowledge She Shares Is Important To Make Known To All Consumers
11:28 - Kamila Discusses Her Upcoming Role As Chair-Elect For The Board Of Certified Financial Planners
13:40 - How The CFP Certification Is Different
18:02 - The Evolution Of The Education For CFP, And Where It’s Going Next
19:57 - Advice For Someone On The Fence About Getting Their CFP Designation
25:34 - Between Fee-based And Fee Only, Which Is In The Best Interest Of The Client?
26:17 - What’s On The Horizon For CFP’s Marketing Efforts In 2020 And Beyond
Contact:
The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com
Josh's Email: Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com
Shawn's Email: Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com
Taxes have been a hot topic in the industry, especially with a new presidential administration that has talked about raising the current tax rates. It’s imperative to be proactive in our financial planning and that’s why we bring in David McKnight to today’s show. David talks to us about his Power Of Zero marketing program and how they may be able to help you improve your practice when it comes to the subject of taxes and leads.
About David McKnight:
David is a bestselling author, known most notably for writing The Power Of Zero. Many financial professionals loved this book and its principles, so David has launched his own Power Of Zero program. This program aims to train advisors with the Power Of Zero methods and help them execute them correctly to better serve their clients.
Insurance News Article: https://bit.ly/3k1GFgv
David's Website: https://www.powerofzero.com/
David's Podcast: https://www.powerofzero.com/podcast/
Email: david@powerofzero.com
Quick Hits:
2:52 - What’s The Power Of Zero (POZ)?
5:12 - What’s Different In Tax-Free Income for Life?
7:28 - Outlining Other Opportunities
9:10 - Where To Get The Book?
9:47 - The Automated Prospect Journey
16:15 - Consulting With A Client That’s On The Fence
23:27 - Successful Advisors Using The POZ Paradigm
29:29 - Why David Built POZ To What It Is Today
31:31 - Closing Thoughts
Contact:
The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com
Josh's Email: Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com
Shawn's Email: Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com
Recently, there was a change to section 7702 that will have a major impact on life insurance products for 2021. Today we invite an expert in this field, Bobby Samuelson. We talk to Bobby about why the change to 7702 had to happen and what changes we should expect to happen this year.
About Bobby Samuelson:
Bobby is the President of Life Innovators, an independent product development firm that creates and helps distribute life insurance products. Bobby also runs The Life Product Review Blog. On this platform, he analyzes and reviews different life insurance products and he also shares his current thoughts on the industry.
Section 7702 Article: https://bit.ly/3ad7QQV
Quick Hits:
2:22 - What Is 7702?
6:49 - How These Changes Impact DIfferent Products
10:44 - Is This A Positive Change For The Industry?
12:43 - How Soon Will Companies Need To Start Following These Rules?
15:43 - How Should A Financial Advisor Adapt To These Changes?
19:44 - Using Life Insurance For A High Death Benefit
21:17 - Whole Life Policies
25:00 - Product Development
28:01 - New Products On The Way
29:21 - What’s Down The Line For The Life Product Review Blog?
Contact:
The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com
Josh's Email: Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com
Shawn's Email: Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com
Shawn & Josh are looking forward to bringing you this recent interview between best-selling author Kindra Hall and Financial Independence Group's Tom Lamendola. Shawn & Josh will first preview what to expect on the show before turning over the microphone where you'll hear Tom and Kindra discuss why stories are so important in business today. They'll also explore why financial professionals can benefit from video storytelling on their websites and share tips on how advisors can tell their "Value Story".
About Kindra Hall:
Kindra is the Chief Storyteller Officer at Success Magazine. She's an entrepreneur and the best-selling author of the book "Stories That Stick."
Website: https://kindrahall.com/
Book: https://www.storiesthatstick.com/
Success Magazine: https://www.success.com/
Quick Hits:
0:44 - Josh and Shawn set up Kindra's interview.
4:28 - How Kindra became a national champion storyteller.
6:32 - Kindra underscores how important "The Founder's Story" is for every company.
10:03 - How advisors can leverage their "Value Story".
16:21 - Tips for advisors who want to integrate video marketing into their practices.
20:42 - Is video marketing an expectation now?
22:45 - Kindra shares some ideas for entrepreneurs who are just starting their business journey.
27:12 - Tom asks Kindra to outline what she personally would look for in a financial professional.
32:51 - Josh and Shawn recap the interview and give you SUMthing to think about.
Contact:
The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com
Josh's Email: Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com
Shawn's Email: Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com
Shawn & Josh are pleased to feature a recent interview between renowned financial planning professional Michael Kitces and Financial Independence Group's Tom Lamendola on this episode. Shawn & Josh will provide their perspective on some of the key takeaways in the interview that ranges several topics from Michael's viewpoint on the messaging as it pertains to the retirement dilemma in the US to delving into the best practices for financial professionals to fish for new clients. You'll also hear discussion about what financial professionals and investors alike should focus on in today's fast-changing financial world.
About Michael Kitces:
Michael is the Publisher, Editor-In-Chief, and Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com. He's also the head of planning and strategy at Buckingham Wealth Partners and the co-founder of several additional ventures in the financial services space. He's also the host of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast.
Website: kitces.com
Michael's Podcast: kitces.com/podcast/
Episode 210 of Michael's Podcast: http://bit.ly/3bZjd1D
Quick Hits:
0:44 - Shawn and Josh give a preview of the interview and some background on the episode's guest, Michael Kitces.
4:10 - What's behind the "Kitces Blue"?
7:19- Michael reflects on how marketing for financial professionals has changed during the Coronavirus pandemic.
12:33 - Should you try to be everywhere you possibly can from a marketing perspective?
18:45 - Is there a nationwide retirement dilemma facing us today?
28:17 - Michael looks back at an old 60 Minutes segment that painted an inaccurate picture of the financial services industry and what it takes to be prepared for retirement, and the lessons that can be learned from that today.
34:12 - Shawn and Josh recap the interview and give their final thoughts.
Contact:
The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com
Josh's Email: Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com
Shawn's Email: Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com
It's time for the first episode of the SigMa Podcast with Shawn Sigler and Josh Martin of Financial Independence Group. On this episode you'll get to meet Josh & Shawn, learn a little about how they got into the financial industry, the goals behind hosting the SigMa podcast and what to expect going forward.
Quick Hits:
1:20 - Shawn’s Background
9:45 - Josh’s Background
13:28 - Josh Shares A Client's Story That Had A Profound Impact On Him
20:38 - Implementing The Lessons Learned For The Next Client
26:27 - Why It's Important To Define Your Process
30:50 - What Is SigMa All About?
33:06 - What To Expect On Future Podcasts
Contact:
Josh's Email: Josh.Martin@figmarketing.com
Shawn's Email: Shawn.Sigler@figmarketing.com