Challenge Accepted! I spoke with 3 clients in the last couple of days… These folks have all been with me for a while… They know how it works. They’ve seen the case studies. Been on calls with peers that are scaling. They decided they are next. Here is how we are going to accomplish this together. Whether your goal is 10M, 20M, 50M, or even 100M+…Or however you think about your goals. Right now is the time to be planning and setting your goals for 2024… So when the ball drops, the glasses clink, the kisses are over… You are ready! Are you ready? If not, let’s get fit for the new year before everyone else vs waking up on Jan 1 and easing into the year. Let’s do some reverse goal setting. So if your trying to add $50M next year, this is one way to do it (not the only way). Let’s first break it down by quarter: $50M/4 = $12.5M/Quarter Now by month: $12.5M/3 = $4.16M/Month We could have just done it by month to begin with but sometimes we need 90 day windows and sometimes 30 day windows to work in. This means we need roughly $4M/month in new AUM…Ok…pretty simple. To get to the $4M let’s focus on people with $2M or more in assets. So we only need 2 new clients/month. To get that, we will need to talk to about 20 people per month or less…but let’s hedge and say it’s 20. So… 20/4 = 5 appointments per week with people that have $2M+. Out of 20 appointments you need 2. Time needed for first calls = 5 hours per week Time needed for second calls = 2 hours per week Time needed for closing = 1 hour per week SO…about 8 hours per week…plenty of time to still go golfing or fishing or time with the FAM. To get these 20 appointments, you can literally buy them…it will cost $400 or so for each one. Let’s break that down. $400 cost per appointment * 20 appointments = $8,000/month to get $4M AUM or $40K new recurring revenue per year with a LTV (Client Life Time Value) of $400,000+… Repeat 12X = $50M “But I want to do $100M” “But I want to do $20M” This is the RX (prescription) for $50M, but this can be Scaled up or down to fit you and your goals...just like Crossfit.

Let’s look at some numbers... According to a 2022 study by Cerulli Associates... The average financial advisor brings in $1.9 million in new AUM per year. Lower than what most people think. So…to get to $100M in assets…we are talking 52 years. Also from the study: “The top 25% of advisors bring in more than $5.2 million in new AUM per year. "The bottom 25% of advisors bring in less than $600,000 in new AUM per year.” So...the top 25% will get to $100M in about 19 years. Having worked with over 1,300 advisors and firms worldwide… I have witnessed clients go from $10M to $120M in a little over a year. And a few more: $5M to $110M in 3 years $30M to $50M in 1 year. $100M to $200M in 2 years. $15M to $75M in 1 year. And some that quietly add $20M per year after year…and still have plenty of time with their families. Our biggest clients do a lot more than that. Yet… When I jump on calls with people and they ask how we are "different" from all the other options in the industry… I simply point to my client’s ADV which spells it out in black and white. If you're the kind of person who's not content with average... This is something that I've noticed. There are lots of ABOVE-average skill advisors and firms that are AVERAGE or below in new client acquisition. Here are some other observations: If you are buying leads, this often produces average results…even if they are guaranteed, average is still average. I Spoke with an advisor the other day who brought in $7M in AUM over the course of 3 years… let’s break that down and see where it lands on the scales. $7M / 3years = $2.33M/year…Average+. Here is where it stings a lil bit…they spent $72K to do that…that’s a bit more than $10K per $1M AUM acquired. AND…it’s going to take 42 years to get to $100M. Or another advisor who spent $25K and brought in $5M in 3 months…using one of my Trust Stacking Systems. That’s $5K/$1M AUM gathered…About average for cost of acquisition but far above when factoring time frame…

Just spoke with one of our agency clients running our virtual Trust Stacking appointment system... He casually shared he has brought in about $5M since getting started a few months ago...That's pretty good. He is on track to add $20M+ per year...I think they can do about $30M-$40M/year with the current team...It's just 1 advisor and someone helping with back-office stuff. Some feedback I noticed was he could optimize his sales process a little more...but it's not broken, just not optimized yet...I believe a couple of small adjustments in sales process will drive the additional opportunity...nothing more. Also has someone with $24M who wants his help so that will skew the numbers if he takes it on. Anyway...just thought it was cool and worth sharing...as you can imagine...you are very unlikely to hear these stories directly from our clients...because...they like to keep some anonymity and keep what is working from the prying copy-cat eyes of this industry. As one of my clients once said about our work...we are one of the best-kept growth secrets in the wealth management industry (they added $100M in 18 months from our work)... AND we still are THAT "secret" for the few who allow us to tweak their businesses for maximum velocity and profit without scaling the amount of time they have to spend working on their business. If you would like to see about getting this type of help... shoot me an email: markf@castorabbott.com

Want to win without having to be the best 100% of the time? Want to win without having to be a slave to the social media feed? Most advisors and business owners I know try to differentiate themselves by talking about how they are “better than” their competition or by becoming content slaves. Here are some examples: — “I’m a fiduciary…my competitors aren’t.” (RIAs love this one) — “I’m a fee-only advisor...my competitors sell products on commission.” — “I offer personalized planning…my competitors plug you into an algorithm.” The problem with “better than” marketing is that it's an arms race. You’ll run out of time, money, and energy trying to stay ahead. Consider this: 👉 According to Kitces Research, 35% of advisors produced financial plans with at least 13 topics in 2020. 👉 By 2022, that number had risen to 54% BUT... Those advisors reported LOWER 😬 take-home incomes than advisors producing less comprehensive plans. That’s the trap 🪤 of “better than” marketing. You must constantly do more just to keep up, and it usually doesn’t pay off. Solution: Talk about why you’re different, not why you’re better. It works because it’s about positioning, not production. Examples of “different” marketing: — “I help doctors, lawyers, and other high-income service professionals place 30% of their portfolio in alternative investments so they can...” — “I help small business owners uncover tax savings they’ve been missing…here’s how.” — “I believe direct indexing is the best way to improve investment returns while managing risk…here’s why.” With “different” marketing, you typically talk about 3 things: 1. Who you help (focusing on certain niches) 2. Specific problems you solve (the more relatable to your ideal client, the better) 3. Your process for solving them (bonus points if it’s different or unusual) If you want to see just how effective this is in terms of $$$, take a look at these funnel results I posted last week.

Hey Folks...we just released a new website template inside of Apollos.io. The new template is fully integrated with workflows, website chat with AI auto responder to book appointments from your website for you, and a whole bunch more. Watch the video to see how easy it is to customize it. Here is the live demo site: https://goapollos.com/sea-coast ALSO....If there is a website out there that you really like and wish you could have one like it...Without having to pay $5K-$10K for it... The website shared with the most likes will get built as a new fully customizable template... Post the link in the comments section to the website you really like.

Happy to report some results from client campaigns we are running from the last 7 days...One of these campaigns went through three different iterations to get it dialed in...Most of the others hit right out of the gate...both scenarios are pretty normal...either way, when they get dialed in...This is a growth machine. If anyone wants one of these machines and you want it before the end of the year or at the very least ready to rock in Q1...we have 1 spot left for this month...and just a few more for the rest of the year.

Winning campaigns combined with good products and services create fortunes. In this video, I go through the DNA of Million-dollar producing campaigns. Watch the video. I have 2 spots this month...DM me if you would like one. Jump into the training to DIY it.

There are some bad sales habits that might be costing you BIG MONEY. I call this one: Leading the Witness If you find yourself leading the witness in your sales conversations…then imagine you hearing me say…like a voice in the back of your head: “Objection…Leading” And your prospect who ultimately is the Judge saying…”Sustained” Many sales trainers have espoused this mechanism and it's still alive and well today, killing deal after deal… What is leading the witness, and do you wield this deal-killing sword? Let's find out. Do you ask questions that suggest an answer in the question itself? Do you ask questions in such a way as to elicit a “yes” or “no” response? Do you know the answer to the question you are asking? That is leading the witness…Do you see that I just led you with those questions? There is a place for leading questions but most people in sales roles don't use them when they should...AND use them when they shouldn't. When it comes to consultative selling…if we disconnect the brain of our prospect from the process of transformation…then we can find that we have great conversations but very little conversion. For example: Do you have a written financial plan? Do you have a written estate plan? Do you have a this or that? “Objection: Leading” Your prospect the Judge: “Sustained” This line of questioning doesn’t require much thought from the professional or from the prospect. We see this behavior in salespeople who want to talk about their SHTUFF as soon as they can. We also see this with the salesperson who is seeking approval from the prospect or believes that the sooner they can talk about their stuff, the more likely the prospect will sign on… Insert leading the witness questions…because it’s a really easy way to gain approval from the prospect and feel like you understand the prospect and they understand you. But…seeking approval from the prospect rarely leads to conversion. Ya see… Our goal is that we have both good conversations and transformational ones.

This is an amazing time to be an advisor/firm leader focused on growth because there are so many ways to get new clients these days. Here is where we see advisors and firms winning: 1. In-person seminars (yes, they still work...this used to be the only way to get clients on-demand but they aren't anymore...lots more options now) 2. LinkedIn DM's 3. Paid ad funnels 4. SEO and a good content strategy 5. Email marketing 6. Buying leads 7. Social media marketing (organic) 8. Referrals and center of influence marketing All of these work off of one simple core principle...offer something of value to a target market, allow that market to self-identify/self-select into the offer. Then offer more help if they want it. Big idea. Give away the information, have folks pay for the implementation. - This works surprisingly well, regardless of tactic. If you are wanting more help than just information...hit me up in chat or in the comments... I'd be happy to lay out a marketing and growth plan for ya...1-1...No cost.

Hello all - I'm curious if webinars or VSL's are working better these days for FA's on FB. I recently re-entered WM working with retirees & pre-retirees who want risk mitigation strategies and no longer want to ride it out.

Want to avoid sounding like every other advisor or firm? Start here: What special ingredient delivers the outcome your clients want? Marketers call that your “unique mechanism.” If you can’t articulate your “unique mechanism,” you won’t get new clients online—no matter how good you are. There is an attached worksheet below that gives you some examples... A unique mechanism is what gives your prospects hope that this time, with your offer, things will be different for them—even if other things they’ve tried let them down. It gives them a reason to believe. So…what’s different about your approach? If you actually do something rare—like investing in clamshell futures—by all means highlight it. But for most of you, a unique mechanism means putting a new spin on something a lot of other advisors are doing. Here are two current examples from clients who we built campaigns for and developed their unique mechanisms for them: —Client 1 uses direct indexing with his clients. This isn’t a well-known strategy so it was an easy win — an immediate differentiator and we crafted a compelling funnel around it. It's getting $1M+ appointments for $100-$200 depending on the week. After all, who wouldn’t want to take the S&P 500, then make it better? —Client 2 doesn’t do anything fancy or “unique.” They are just good at their job and have a well-defined target niche. The unique mechanism we came up with for them? ❌ Retirement plan —> ✅Income plan As in, “You don’t need a retirement plan. You need an income plan.” If you rolled your eyes at that one, GOOD. Their funnel is absolutely killing it right now. “Unique mechanisms” don’t have to be ground-breaking or uncommon. They just have to give prospects a new lens to look at what you do. But it’s easier said than done. Even I will admit: Identifying and articulating a compelling unique mechanism is one of the most challenging marketing tasks for advisors/firms AND professional marketers in this highly regulated industry.

I want to share an important lesson with you that I was discussing with a long-time client. Been working together for 5+ years…that’s almost as long as we have been in business. He brings in about $200K/month in income...so in this industry…that’s pretty good. Anyways, we were discussing new projects and new initiatives and the comment he made was “I don’t know if it will be successful.” Everyone faces this dilemma when trying something new or different or learning something new. Here are 2 frameworks that work together to help you navigate this because without these tools…it’s far to easy to be your own echo chamber and never get anywhere. Framework #1. Understand that to get from where you are to where you want to be requires new skills. The path to learning these new skills and succeeding involves a process some call the hierarchy of competence. Here is what it is and how it works. (See slide #1) In stage one…(Unconscious incompetence) you don’t know what you don’t know. Stage two…(Conscious incompetence) you know what you don’t know. Stage three. (Conscious competence) You know what you know. Stage four. (Unconscious Competence) Mastery… Most people do not ascend the pyramid…here is why: Framework #2. Why do people get trapped in an endless loop of chasing shiny objects…this applies to some of you here. (See slide #2 and #3) As you start to learn a skill….you have optimism that it will work for you because you have seen it work for others. But you don’t know what you don’t know so while your excitement is high, you don’t really have the skills yet…so as you start to execute, the skills you believed you had just developed, you experience failure because with any new skill, there are also meta-skills you need to learn. This often leads to an emotional crash of feeling let down or it’s too hard or something doesn’t work, or any number of other self-defeating mechanisms. And this shows up in people’s language patterns too like: “if this works….”

The latest newsletter templates have been released.... New ones are published monthly and this latest batch is FIRE. I know there are other options out there for content...but none of it is even close to what we have here. These are part of the monthly Apollos subscription and are designed to engage your list, generate appointments, and can be used as blogs, and social media posts. Watch the video for an overview. If you want them and a new batch every month...and the archive of past emails which are also really good...DM me...it's super easy. The subscription is $299/month and includes a software platform to send them out and a lot more.

This was just from one client running a VSL along with our Apollos follow-up system...have a bunch more campaigns putting qualified prospects on the calendar for advisors: A few more results: Client A: 6 Strategy Calls for $387 TOTAL in the past 7 days - $65 per call Client B: 16 Strategy Calls for $1,692 Total in the past 14 days - $105 per call Client C: 4 Strategy Calls for $689 in the past 7 days - $172 per call Client D: Cancelled our monthly check-in and asked that we not touch the campaigns because the results were on 🔥...actually was double booked with a prospect during our check-in. The average AUM for each prospect across all of these clients is $1.8M Thank you for allowing my team to help you with this stuff... We have 2 spots left where we do it all...after that, we will be at capacity for the foreseeable future.. If interested in a campaign that books qualified appointments on your calendar with the clients you want to work with... DM me...

Check this out: In the 2022 Report by Michael Kitces titled How Financial Planners Actually Market Their Services… The research concluded: “The most efficient marketing tactics are not always the most popular… Search Engine Optimization (SEO), for example, ranked first of all tactics in terms of the highest return in new client revenue versus the cost to implement, yet SEO was deployed by just 29% of practices. Drip marketing, the second-most efficient tactic, was used by only 20% of practices.” THAT MEANS that it beats referrals, networking, seminars, and centers of influence. The opportunity is wide open too… 29% of firms use SEO and it has the highest ROI out of any client acquisition activity. 20% of firms use drip marketing and it has the second-highest ROI of any client acquisition activity. So…DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY!. For now…let’s talk SEO. I am not going to talk technically about SEO… I am not going to talk about meta tags, hrefs, backlinks, long tail keywords, keyword density or any of that stuff. I recently received an article from a well-known startup platform in the fintech space that was 3,000+ words and read like an “SEO How-To Guide” for web developers. The problem? There are 2 big ones. ☝️It was sent to, and intended for financial advisors, planners, and firm leaders. Here is what I know… Most people spend far too much time chasing down shiny objects, trying to figure them out… It will take you too long, and cost you too much to figure out. ✌️When Google changes it's algorithm, it will be back to the drawing board if you DIY it. This is inevitable, Google has had 15 major core updates over the last 11 years, and several thousand minor updates yearly. Key takeaway, DO NOT DIY your SEO, unless you are an SEO specialist. You might say the same thing to the DIY Retirees out there…Same idea. To make SEO work for your firm and increase your traffic, leads, appointments, and new clients in your local market without you doing anything.

Spencer Write crushing with his sales process (watch the collab call 8/22)....100% conversions...Keep it up. 4 out of 4 of his last conversation from LI DMs...Now...Increase that volume...don't get discouraged as those percentages drop with more scale...that is normal. Also, every time someone gets value from this training...I am so grateful it has helped... So Spencer...thank you for the kind words... In other news, we have been planning and building some amazing new things for everyone here...will be announcing soon in September!

Hey @Mark Ford & @Don Crider , in a conversation with a client, these numbers came up in the early stages of a campaign: We have 1 opt-in and have spent $577.98. Is this about right etc..? what should we be expecting? Cost per link click is 3.52 and click through rate is 1.34%. cost per 1000 impressions is $47.05. how are we doing? What are your thoughts?

Hi All, so I have been on Vanguards for about 9 months now. I must admit, I've been very slow to getting things done on my end - and I've missed countless collaboration calls. I haven't gotten any leads from marketing yet, but I did want to say this... The lessons I've learned here have changed my practice FOREVER. While I haven't gotten any leads DIRECTLY from campaigns (and this is 100% my fault), I have gotten over a dozen high quality referrals from CPA's, Attorneys, and existing clients - all because of how I talk about my business. I am having people reach out to me now because they see me as the expert. I've narrowed down my market so much that when I talk to people, I constantly here "wow, I feel like you're reading my mind," or "I have like 2 people you need to talk to." So this is great. I do plan to finish the classroom homework, I'll make it to the collaboration calls but frankly i've been so busy with new business and summer activities that I've actually had to take a step back. All this to say, if you're worried about whether the marketing will work or not - don't worry because if you do the homework and do everything they tell you to do - it will work. One way or the other, it will. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I've had something come up the last two weeks and haven't been able to join the ads/campaign call on Thursdays. Just tried right now but wasn't let in. Is there anyone I can talk to about my ad rejection? I've looked into but can't figure out what is wrong.

HI EVERYONE! I was late joining the ads and campaign call and was not let in. Is there someone I can talk to about our facebook ads? @Mark Ford @Matt Zahorec @Leah Ford

Hi all, working on the LinkedIn section...is anyone willing to share what message you are using to contact people in your niche? I have traditionally found messages I have received to come across like spam. Thanks in advance!

I would like to build a simple website much like the Castor Abbott one (This is a compliment). What is the best website builder to pull this off? Thank you in advance.

@Simon Joseph I put this together for ya...but figured it would also help other folks on how we use this AI thing to help us get stuff done...there is a link to the google doc I mentioned in the video, attached to the video.

@Sam Rodriguez ringing the bell for ya! Watch the clip to understand how this industry veteran changed his sales process to win new clients... 3 minutes of GOLD. Thanks, Sam for sharing this with us on the call Tuesday.

Hi All, My broker dealer and RIA doesn't have a system in place to do subscription fees. Are there any 3rd party providers that work with B/D's or RIA's and can do this? Currently, my clients would have to sign an ACH form each month if I wanted to do a monthly subscription.

Hi There, in the VSL, in the section where I introduce myself, is their value in me highlighting my credentials? Part of me says no, because nobody really cares, but part of me says yes because I studied for a really long time to get my MBA and CFA. What is everyone else's experience?

Has anyone in here dealt with how a CalPERS supplement plan interacts with Medicare Part B premiums?

Are you leading your clients into the future...or are you being dragged there by them?

This might be a silly question but is there a business plan templet that you guys utilize? @Mark Ford unless I am over seeing it with the links you guys have provided.

Which one is recommended in the training? I'm too much of a novice to tell the difference other than cost.