Ep 089: The Truth About Advisor Marketing And The Scalable Delivery Of Financial Advice with Ric Edelman

09/11/18 • 101 min

My guest today has built one of the largest successful advisory businesses in the country. Ric Edelman is the founder and executive chairman of Edelman Financial Services, a mega-independent RIA with more than $22 billion in AUM, with 165 advisors serving 36,000 clients across 43 office locations from coast to coast. After starting out like any other financial advisor—selling mutual funds in the 1980s as an individual advisor—Ric has spent the last thirty years ultimately building a marketing machine that brought in a whopping 45,000 prospects to his firm last year alone. In this episode, Ric shares how he grew and scaled Edelman Financial over time, as well as how his marketing of the firm has evolved over the years. Listen in to hear why he considers it the firm’s job to bring in new clients (and the role of advisors to simply service those clients), how he would do things differently if he were starting fresh today, and advice for advisors who are thinking about or actively building a practice from scratch.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/89

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/89

Previous Episode

Ep 088: Learning A More Genuine Sales Conversation Approach To Better Turn Prospects Into Clients with Nancy Bleeke

Today we’re going to talk about a topic that makes many financial advisors cringe: sales. But despite the negative reaction many people within the industry have to this topic, my guest today is here to explain why “sales” actually isn’t a dirty word. Nancy Bleeke is the founder of Sales Pro Insider, a training platform for financial advisors that teaches how to better turn prospects into actual clients, and she’s here today to share how to take a comfortable and ethical approach to selling that really works. In this episode, Nancy shares her somewhat nontraditional sales training approach that simply focuses on having a structure to conversations with prospects to ultimately help them make a decision or take an action at the end. Listen in to hear her expert advice for how to talk to both prospects and clients using the WIIFTTM structure—which is both focusing on what’s in it for them and a five-step conversation process—the big mistakes many financial advisors make that scare away potential clients, and what it takes to increase both your comfort level and the comfort level of your prospects when it comes to selling.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/88

Next Episode

Ep 090: Scaling An Advisory Firm Beyond Yourself By Systematizing The Soft Skills with Julie Murphy

My guest today has not only had a unique journey into the financial planning world, but she also brings a very different approach and perspective to the field. Julie Murphy is the founder and Chief Visionary Officer of JMC Wealth Management, a dual-registered advisory firm that serves more than 200 clients with $200 million of AUM—on top of generating nearly $300,000 a year in recurring planning fees. With financial conversations that are heavily focused around the intersections of money, our emotions, and our energy flow, Julie’s firm offers a distinctive focus on financial healing.

In this episode, Julie shares how was able to accelerate her success and growth by doing what she calls “letting her freak flag fly” and simply being her authentic self. Listen in to hear how she’s allowing clients who are interested in what she has to offer to be drawn to her (rather than trying to advertise out to them), how she transitioned into doing only the things that make her happy in her business, and what she says is a critical component for people to be successful.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/90