Tag Archives: Practice Management

Timely and Timeless Best Practices with Chris Jeppesen (Ep. 50)

Advisor, Education, Finance, Financial, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the fast-paced and ever-evolving world of financial advising, get ready to discover timely and timeless strategies that help you achieve professional contrast and create enduring value for clients.

In this 50th-episode special, Duncan MacPherson is back with co-author of The Blue Square Method, Chris Jeppesen, Chief of Advisory Practices at First Trust. Gleaning from their life experiences and the success stories of high-performing advisors, they share valuable best practices to achieve long-term growth.

They discuss:

  • Why more and more advisors are finding personal rejuvenation in their work
  • The upcoming retirement wave in the industry and the opportunities it presents
  • A process-driven approach to exhibiting empathy and personalization 
  • How AI is revolutionizing financial services
  • The power of testimonials in building trust and attracting clients
  • And more

Resources:

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About Our Guests:

Chris Jeppesen is the head of advisory practices at First Trust, a firm known not only for its robust investment product line which includes UITs, ETFs, SMAs, and VAs (to name a few) but also for its commitment to the growth of financial advisors. First Trust has dedicated many years to finding (and investing in) creative ways to help financial advisors grow their practices. Chris’ goal over the last 18 years has been to give financial advisors the tools to develop an efficient business model focused on building long-term client trust and loyalty. Chris is also the co-author of The Advisor Playbook and The Blue Square Method.

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Embracing the C-Suite with Max and Lucas Winthrop (Ep. 49)

Embracing the C-Suite with Max and Lucas Winthrop (Ep. 49)

Advisor, Education, Finance, Financial, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

For years, financial advisors saw themselves as brokers, being mostly transactional and product-driven.

Today, advisors wear many hats. It’s no longer just a book of business, but an actual business!

In this episode, Duncan MacPherson joins Max Winthrop, CEO, and Lucas Winthrop, COO, of Winthrop Wealth and long-time clients of Pareto Systems. They emphasize the importance of embracing a C-suite approach to streamline core business functions and deliver a consistent and elevated client experience.

They discuss:

  • How to build effective functional teams with high functional accountability
  • How key C-suite positions can be refined and optimized for an advisory practice
  • The need for a philosophical alignment across the firm, which spills over to clients and strategic partners
  • Strategies for creating a process-driven and well-integrated business structure
  • And more

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Connect With Max Winthrop:

Connect With Lucas Winthrop:

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About Our Guests:

Max Winthrop is the Chief Executive Officer at Winthrop Wealth. Max has consistently challenged the industry norms for wealth management providers, investing in creating a team-based wealth management experience that is complemented by a cutting-edge technology platform. He has over ten years of experience in the financial services and investment management industry. He is responsible for setting the firm’s strategy, broadening the service offering, and constantly working to enhance the client experience.

Max spearheaded the creation of the Winthrop Wealth Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) in 2017, implementing a partnership structure, a scalable technology infrastructure, and built out an experienced team of professionals. Since the creation of the new RIA, Winthrop Wealth has grown its asset base of regulatory advisory assets, won numerous employer awards, and was recently named to the INC 5000 (2021) list of fastest growing private companies.

Max’s prior work experience with a Fortune 500 Financial Organization equipped him with a leadership/management skillset. He also spent time as an investment analyst structuring large, institutional, Regulation D private placements.

Max believes that the industry needs an injection of youth and is working towards extending services, previously reserved for only wealthy individuals, to the younger millennial generation.

Lucas Winthrop is the Chief Operating Officer at Winthrop Wealth, where he collaborates with the leadership team to shape the firm’s strategic direction and plan. He plays a crucial role in focusing and marshaling firm resources to see the firm’s vision come to fruition. Winthrop Wealth’s current strategic plan includes initiatives related to building exceptional teams, implementing innovative solutions, and designing streamlined processes and structures to help drive scalable, positive outcomes. With over a decade of experience in financial services, Lucas is determined to disrupt outdated industry practices and usher in a new era of possibilities by focusing not on what has been but instead asking what could be.

To drive business optimization and strong business performance outcomes, Lucas focuses on anchoring and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation that is ready to disrupt outdated industry practices or take advantage of disruption. Since launching the RIA alongside his brother Max in 2017, Winthrop has achieved remarkable success, including securing a coveted position on the esteemed INCE 5000 (2021) list of the fastest-growing private companies. Before joining Winthrop Wealth, Lucas was co-founder and CFO of a non-profit organization, and co-founded a music entertainment company.

Lucas’s obsession is to find out what interests and drives those around him and to unlock their utmost potential. With a profound love for the financial services industry, he enjoys connecting with his industry peers and assisting them in optimizing their businesses.

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Make Your Clients The Voice With Steve Phillips (Ep. 48)

Advisor, Education, Finance, Financial, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Have you ever stepped into your clients’ shoes to see your business from their point of view? Understanding how they perceive your value is key to building lasting relationships.

In this episode, Duncan MacPherson engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Steve Phillips, Chief Practice Management and Development Officer at USA Financial and a consultant at Pareto Systems. Together, they explore strategies for effectively articulating your value proposition and turning clients into enthusiastic advocates.

They discuss:

  • Three golden questions to ask your existing clients
  • The path from endorsements to introductions (i.e., quality referrals)
  • How “client advisory councils” and “ideal client meetings” can rejuvenate your relationships and generate valuable feedback
  • Powerful ways to position (not pitch!) your value to clients
  • And more

Resources:

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About Our Guest:

Steve Phillips is the Chief Practice Management and Development Officer, joining USA Financial in 2019. He leads the coaching and consulting team working with USA Financial advisors to increase the enterprise value of their firms through tailored ongoing and evolving practice management initiatives. In addition to Steve’s integral role within the coaching team, he works with the sales team to develop strong and productive partner relationships with advisors. This interconnective approach between coaching and sales strategically elevates the overall client experience provided.

Steve Phillips is also a Pareto Certified Practice Management Consultant at Pareto Systems. He has spent over 25 years in the financial services industry as a speaker, trainer, and educator working with advisors, product development firms, and carriers.

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The Total Relationship: The Best Value-Add Advisors Can Offer with Tyson Ray (Ep. 40)

Advisor, Education, Finance, Financial, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

The biggest value-add advisors offer to their clients does not lie in the rates of return or complex financial reports. It lies in the advisor-client relationship!

In this episode, Duncan MacPherson speaks with Tyson Ray, CFP®, CExP®, CIMA®, founding partner at FORM Wealth Advisors, about the concept of Total Relationship and how it can help you grow your business organically — while maintaining a sense of purpose.

They discuss:

  • Why relationship-based growth might be better than growing through acquisitions
  • Areas where financial advisors add significantly greater value than AI coaching
  • Strategies to improve relationship management (For example, Up or Down™ by Tyson)
  • What it means to create true wealth for clients
  • And more

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About Our Guest:

Tyson Ray first learned about investing and the stock market during an economics class in his sophomore year at Badger High School, and at 16 years old, he decided to invest $100 into two different mutual funds. This was his first step on a path he continues to traverse today: using financial strategy to help make people’s lives better.

Over the past 25+ years, Tyson has sought to expand his knowledge and expertise through Yale School of Management, Investment Management Theory & Practice, CIMA Certification Registration Education Program, including obtaining the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) Certification and through the College for Financial Planning for the CFP® Certification, including obtaining CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Certification. Tyson received his Certification in Business Exit Planning to better help entrepreneurs and business owners transition to selling their life’s work.

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How to Maximize Your Life’s Work with Sherri Palle (Ep. 39)

Advisor, Education, Finance, Financial, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are you 10 years or less from selling your practice?

If so, now is the time to start thinking about your succession plan so you can maximize your life’s work (i.e., your business valuation).

In this episode, Duncan MacPherson speaks with Sherri Palle, business consultant and coach at Pareto Systems, about how business owners can effectively plan their eventual exit and capitalize on their life’s work.

They discuss:

  • Factors that help you maximize your enterprise value
  • The best place to start planning your exit if you haven’t thought about it yet
  • How to ensure your legacy is intact long after your exit
  • The importance of having a contingency plan (with real-world examples)
  • Key considerations about WHO will take over your business (and WHEN)
  • And more

Resources:

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About Our Guest:

Sherri Palle, Pareto Systems Business Consultant and Coach, is known for her high-energy calls which provide motivation, enthusiasm, and thought provoking ‘aha moments’ – making these calls something the entire team looks forward to. Sherri began working as a Business Coach at Pareto Systems in 2005 where she worked with financial advisory teams all over North America and continues to work as a Pareto Coach today. In 2014 she co-founded Mindset Consulting allowing her to work extensively with an exclusive group of advisory teams. During her 16 years of coaching, she’s had the opportunity to develop and deliver customized training programs for several reputable, successful financial firms throughout North America.

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Achieving Professional Scarcity and Professional Contrast with Steve Phillips (Ep. 38)

Advisor, Education, Finance, Financial, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

Creating professional contrast and scarcity, improving referability, alleviating loyalty fatigue…These are all key pieces of the bigger puzzle: How to grow your practice to the next level?

In this episode, Duncan MacPherson speaks with Steve Phillips, chief practice management officer at USA Financial and a business consultant at Pareto Systems. They share best practices and timeless principles to help advisors build profound client relationships that lead to advocacy.

They discuss:

  • The importance of combining technological aids with the “human touch”
  • Shoot Your Trailer: an effective strategy to articulate your value to prospective clients
  • How to improve the quality of your referrals (in other words, duplicate your best clients)
  • How to deepen your client relationships amidst volatile markets
  • Why small gestures can go a long way in improving your overall client experience
  • And more

Resources:

Connect With Duncan:

Connect With Steve:

Promotions:

About Our Guest:

Steve Phillips is the Chief Practice Management Officer at USA Financial. He is a longtime friend and partner of Duncan MacPherson and the entire Pareto Systems team, having first engaged with Pareto as a client in 2010. With over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry as a speaker, team leader and passionate educator, Steve was an early adopter of the processes around practice management, business refinement and client acquisition. It was a natural next step for Steve to become a Pareto Certified Practice Management Consultant, and part of the Pareto Coaches Network.

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Enough Coasting. Now’s the Time To Climb! With Chris Jeppesen (Ep. 33)

Enough Coasting. Now’s the Time To Climb! With Chris Jeppesen (Ep. 33)

Advisor, Education, Finance, Financial, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

The financial services industry has experienced colossal changes over the last decade. Today, advisors are on a collision course with commoditization like never before!

As a result, coasting is not an option moving forward. It’s either climbing or fading to irrelevance.

In this episode, Duncan MacPherson speaks with Chris Jeppesen, chief of advisory practices at First Trust, on why advisors need to shift their mindset and focus more on relationship and practice management to grow their business.

They discuss:

  • Insights into The Blue Square Method (and how it differs from The Advisor Playbook)
  • How to identify and address early symptoms of loyal fatigue in clients
  • How to effectively engage your team in a profound gap analysis
  • Four ways to be “always on” and fulfill your clients’ unmet needs
  • What elite, forward-looking professionals are doing to achieve scalable growth
  • And more

Resources:

Connect With Duncan:

Connect With Chris:

Promotions:

About Our Guest:

Chris Jeppesen is the head of advisory practices at First Trust, a firm known not only for its robust investment product line which includes UITs, ETFs, SMAs, and VAs (to name a few) but also for its commitment to the growth of financial advisors. First Trust has dedicated many years to finding (and investing in) creative ways to help financial advisors grow their practices. Chris’ goal over the last 18 years has been to give financial advisors the tools to develop an efficient business model focused on building long-term client trust and loyalty. Chris is also the co-author of The Advisor Playbook.

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The Art and Science of Practice Management With Kevin Bishopp (Ep. 32)

The Art and Science of Practice Management With Kevin Bishopp (Ep. 32)

Advisor, Education, Finance, Financial, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

Taking your practice management to the next level, nurturing your organizational culture, and improving client experiences might require switching your mindset from advisor to CEO.

In this episode, Duncan MacPherson speaks with Kevin Bishopp, Vice President and Performance Coach for the Advisor Consulting Group at First Trust, about the art and science of practice management — including several actionable ideas for financial advisors.

They discuss:

  • What stops advisors from dissociating from clients who are not a good fit
  • The impact of professional scarcity on advisor branding
  • The difference between client service and client experience (and how to balance them)
  • The HOW and WHY of nurturing a cohesive organizational culture
  • And more

Resources:

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Connect With Kevin:

Promotions:

About Our Guest:

Kevin Bishopp is a Vice President and Performance Coach for the Advisor Consulting Group at First Trust. His focus is the best practices and mission-critical strategies that propel professionals/firms to be truly unique within the industry. His insights into key metrics, resource allocation, team structure, marketing and client acquisition equip professionals/firms to make high-quality strategic decisions that can generate dynamic results. Prior to joining First Trust, Kevin spent 12 years with Russell Investments, where he held positions as Director of Practice Management, RIA

Channel Head and Business Development Director. In those roles, he focused on coaching, content creation, sales management, national account management, and business development. Before joining Russell Investments, Kevin spent 5 years as a wealth manager for The Bishopp Group LLC, a family-owned wealth management practice. In 1994, he started his career in financial services as an associate for Principal Financial Group. Kevin holds an MBA from the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and a BA in Finance from Eastern Washington University.

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