Advertise on podcast: The Efficient Advisor: Tactical Business Advice for Financial Planners

In a world where AI is changing how financial advisors do business, one thing is becoming more valuable than ever: genuine human connection. But are you using the right words to attract your ideal clients, build trust, and stand out from the competition? In this episode, I'm joined by returning guest Derek Kinney, who shares the powerful communication strategies behind his wildly popular presentation at Future Proof. We're breaking down three critical moments that can make or break your ability to attract high-net-worth clients, along with practical scripts, questions, and small shifts in language that can make a massive difference in your business. In this episode you will learn: How to answer "What do you do?" in a way that immediately connects with your ideal clients.What to say when prospects tell you they already have an advisor or don't remember requesting information.The powerful questions to ask during prospect meetings that build trust and turn conversations into clients.How to stand out on LinkedIn by creating a memorable, authentic personal brand in an AI-driven world.From your elevator pitch to your prospect conversations to the way you show up online, the words you choose matter. Derek shares actionable strategies you can start using immediately to create stronger connections, differentiate your firm, and attract more of the clients you actually want to serve. Because at the end of the day, growing your business isn't just about what you know. It's about making people feel understood, valued, and confident that you're the right advisor for them. Find Derreck on LinkedIn HERE! Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

We have more technology, automation, AI, and digital tools than ever before—but having more ways to capture information doesn’t necessarily help us decide what deserves our attention. In this episode, I’m sharing why I still rely on a physical planner in an almost entirely digital business and the planning system that has helped me build multiple seven-figure businesses while continuing to work reduced hours. The goal isn’t to cram more into your day. It’s to get intentional about what actually matters and make consistent progress on the work that moves your business forward. In this episode you will learn: Why I believe digital is where you store information, but paper is where you decide what deserves your attention.How I narrow big annual and quarterly goals into three priorities that keep me focused on what matters most.How I use weekly and daily planning to turn big projects into specific, time-blocked action steps.Why becoming a more efficient human and learning to direct your attention should happen before adding more technology, automation, or workflows.Efficiency isn’t about squeezing 47 tasks into your day or answering emails faster so you can answer even more of them. It’s about getting the right things done. Whether you use the Full Focus Planner, another planner, or a simple piece of paper, the real power is creating a system that helps you move from big goals to quarterly priorities to weekly commitments to the specific work you’re going to do today. When you decide those priorities ahead of time, you stop letting your inbox, other people’s agendas, and whatever feels urgent in the moment run your day. Check out the Full Focus Planner on Amazon HERE!  Check out the Full Focus Planner Pack on Their Website HERE!  Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

Being a financial advisor is one thing. Leading a team, managing different personalities, and holding people accountable without feeling like the bad guy? That’s a whole different skill set! In this episode, I’m joined by Julie from XY Communication to tackle some of the most frustrating (and often uncomfortable) parts of leadership. We’re talking about how to have difficult conversations, communicate expectations clearly, and create a team culture where people feel supported while still getting things done. Plus, we dig into the generational differences that can create tension between advisors, team members, and successors—and how to bridge those gaps without burning everyone out. In this episode you will learn: How to hold team members accountable without damaging relationships or creating defensiveness.Why daily team huddles and clearer delegation can eliminate frustration and missed expectations.What to say when an employee repeatedly misses deadlines or fails to meet expectations.How to navigate generational differences and communication challenges during succession planning.Whether you're struggling to have a tough conversation with an employee, feeling frustrated by your team's lack of follow-through, or navigating the growing pains of a multigenerational practice, this episode is packed with practical advice you can put to work immediately. Because great leadership isn't something you're born knowing how to do. It's a skill you can build, and better communication is a great place to start! Connect with Julie HERE!  Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

Automation doesn’t fix a bad process—it just helps you do a bad process faster. Yet too often, financial advisors jump straight to the technology: building CRM workflows, connecting Zapier, creating AI assistants, and automating email sequences before they’ve clearly defined what the process is actually supposed to accomplish. In this episode, I’m breaking down why automation should come at the end of process building, not the beginning, and the six steps you need to take before handing anything over to technology. In this episode you will learn: The difference between a collection of tasks and a deliberately designed, repeatable process.The six steps to follow before automating: do it, document it, test it, tweak it, prove it, and then automate it.How to identify unnecessary steps, friction points, unclear ownership, and broken handoffs before technology locks them in.How to determine which parts of your process need human judgment and which are actually worth automating.The goal isn’t to automate everything—it’s to build a process that consistently produces the outcome you want and then use technology to make the right parts more efficient. Before you build another workflow or AI assistant, prove the process works with real people in real life. Think it through, document it, test it, tweak it, prove it, and only then automate it. Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

When a prospect pushes back on your financial planning fee, it can be tempting to lower the price just to get them to say yes. But a fee objection doesn’t automatically mean you have a pricing problem. You might have a value communication problem, an offer problem, or you may simply need to get better at articulating the outcomes your planning creates. In this episode, I’m breaking down why I don’t believe in discounting your fees just because someone asks, how to make your value more tangible, and the language you can use to confidently navigate fee conversations with prospects. In this episode you will learn: Why discounting the same service for clients who negotiate can create an unsustainable pricing strategy.How to identify and communicate both the quantitative and qualitative value of your financial planning.What to say when a prospect tells you your fee is too expensive or directly asks for a discount.How to determine whether you have a value communication, offer, or actual pricing problem.You don’t need every prospect to say yes, and one person telling you that you’re too expensive doesn’t necessarily mean your fee is wrong. Before you discount, diagnose what’s really happening. When you can clearly articulate the outcomes your planning creates and confidently explain your value, you can stop defending your fee and let the right clients decide whether that value is worth the investment. Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

You blocked the time. You had every intention of doing the work. But somehow, when that time block arrives, email, team questions, client needs, and a dozen other things suddenly take over. If this sounds familiar, the problem might not be discipline at all. In this episode, I’m digging into the research behind why we procrastinate and sharing practical ways to turn your time blocks into time you actually use. In this episode you will learn: Why vague time blocks create friction and how getting specific makes it easier to start.How emotions like overwhelm, uncertainty, boredom, and fear can drive procrastination.Why starting small, creating transition time, and adding immediate rewards can improve follow-through.How to create an “executable time block” with an outcome, starting action, trigger, resistance plan, and finish line.Time blocking tells you where your time should go, but that alone doesn’t guarantee you’ll actually do the work. The goal is to build systems that make starting easier, even on the days when motivation and discipline aren’t showing up. Don’t just schedule the time—schedule the task and schedule the start. Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

What if you had your own personal board of directors—not for your business, but for you? A carefully chosen group of people who challenge you, encourage you, open doors, tell you the truth, and help you become the person you need to be for whatever you’re building next. In this episode, I’m joined by Eric Negron to break down exactly how to build your own personal board of directors. Eric shares the six key seats he believes we all need around our table, how to identify the right people to fill them, and how to intentionally cultivate those relationships over time. We also talk about why your board shouldn’t just be an echo chamber of people telling you what you want to hear—and why investing in yourself as a leader can have a direct impact on your business, your goals, and your life. In this episode you will learn: The six key seats to include on your personal board of directors.How to identify the right people to fill each role.Why your board needs people who will challenge you and tell you the truth.How to intentionally maintain and reevaluate your board as your goals evolve.You spend so much time thinking about the team you need to build around your business—but what about the people you need to build around you? This episode will give you a simple framework to take into your next CEO Day, identify the gaps around your table, and start intentionally building the personal board of directors you need for your next season of growth. Grab Eric's BOD Download HERE!  Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

Every process in your business creates an experience for your clients—whether you designed it intentionally or not. In this episode, Libby shares a simple CEO Day exercise to help you step into your clients’ shoes, identify the experience you actually want to create, and find opportunities to make your processes more personal, friction-free, clear, and human. You’ll walk away with a practical way to improve your client experience without adding a bunch of new touchpoints, gifts, or work to your plate. In this episode you will learn: How to define the three feelings you want clients to associate with your firm.How to audit your physical and virtual “front doors” from your client’s perspective.Four filters for making your client experience more personal, easier, clearer, and more human.How to turn your best client experience ideas into repeatable processes your team can actually execute.Your clients are already having an experience with your firm—the question is whether you intentionally designed it or it’s simply happening by default. Block an hour on your next CEO Day, grab your team, walk through your own client experience, and choose three improvements to operationalize. Systems to Scale participants and Alumni Community members can also access the new Client Experience Blueprint to take this exercise even deeper. Register for the The Advisor Tech Stack Tune-Up Event with T2M Works HERE!  Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

AI is moving fast—and for financial advisors, the conversation can’t just be about what these tools can do. It also needs to include what they can access, where your data is going, and whether what’s actually happening inside your business matches what your compliance documents say. In this episode, I’m joined by Hugh from T2M Works to unpack the concept of “shadow AI,” the hidden risks that can come with rapidly adopting new technology, and how advisors can build an AI-ready foundation without sacrificing all of the incredible efficiency these tools can create. In this episode you will learn: What “shadow AI” is and how it can quietly make its way into your business without proper visibility or governance.Why understanding what your AI can access—and the quality of the data it’s using—is critical to getting trustworthy results.How to identify gaps between your compliance policies and what your technology is actually doing behind the scenes.How a strong technology foundation can help you safely connect your existing tools and get more from the tech you’re already paying for.The goal isn’t to close the gate on AI—it’s to create a smarter path for using it. Hugh shares how advisors can establish the right governance and data foundation first, then confidently layer on AI, automation, and integrations to eliminate busywork and make their businesses more efficient. As Hugh puts it: foundation first, agent second. Register for The Advisor Tech Stack Tune Up Event with T2M Works HERE!  Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

Need a hack to finally get better at delegation—without feeling like you have to lower your standards? If you’re a financial advisor who knows you need to get more off your plate but keeps thinking, “It’s just faster if I do it myself,” this episode is for you. I’m breaking down Gary Vaynerchuk’s 15-80-5 framework, a simple approach that lets you maintain ownership of the vision without owning every step of the execution. In this episode you will learn: How the 15-80-5 framework can help you delegate projects without sacrificing quality.Why spending more time communicating your vision upfront can prevent delegation breakdowns.How stepping out of the middle 80% helps your team develop ownership, judgment, and confidence.Why “different” doesn’t necessarily mean “wrong”—and how accepting that can make you a better leader.The goal of delegation isn’t to lower your standards. It’s to build a business capable of meeting those standards without requiring your involvement in every tiny detail. The 15-80-5 framework gives you a practical way to provide clarity, give your team room to execute, and still ensure the finished product meets your expectations—so you can stop being the person everyone is waiting on. Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

Should you be charging for financial planning—and if so, how much? For many advisors, the idea of charging directly for their advice brings up a whole lot of questions (and maybe a little head trash). In this episode, I’m joined by Jacqueline Bradley and Ben from MindShift Financial Coaching to unpack what it actually looks like to move from “working for hope” to confidently charging for the value you provide. We’re talking pricing, positioning, separating planning from AUM, communicating your value, and even how to approach existing clients when you’ve been providing planning for free. In this episode you will learn: How to determine what to charge for financial planning without overcomplicating your pricing.How to clearly separate financial planning from investment management and other transactional services.How to communicate your planning charge with confidence and position the value beyond the financial plan itself.How to begin introducing planning charges to prospects and existing clients without changing your entire business model overnight.If charging for financial planning has been on your mind, this episode will give you practical language, a new way to think about your value, and some simple first steps to get started. And if you’re ready for more support, MindShift Financial Coaching offers both a self-paced Financial Planning School and a live cohort beginning October 21st. Efficient Advisor listeners can receive 10% off either option—head to the show notes or visit the Resources page at theefficientadvisor.com for all the details. If you want to learn more about Mindshift and take advantage of the 10% discount: Check it out HERE and use code: LIBBY at check out! Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

What should financial advisors charge? Too often, advisors answer that question by looking around at what everyone else is charging and picking a number that feels safe. But your clients aren’t paying for the number of hours you spend creating a financial plan or the number of meetings on your calendar.  They’re paying for the years of experience, expertise, and pattern recognition that allow you to help them make better decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and move forward with confidence. In this episode, we’re breaking down how to think differently about pricing your advice—and how to determine whether your fees actually reflect the value you create. In this episode you will learn: Why pricing based on what other advisors charge can lead you to undervalue your expertise.How to separate the one-time value of financial planning from the ongoing value you provide.Why you shouldn’t immediately lower your price when a prospect pushes back on your fee.A simple exercise to evaluate whether your current fees reflect the value you create for clients.Your clients aren’t paying for how many hours it takes you to do the work. They’re paying for what your experience, expertise, and time make possible. Take a look at the last five clients you onboarded, identify the value you created and the costly mistakes you helped them avoid, and then ask yourself one important question: Does my fee actually reflect that value? Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

We spend a lot of time talking about how to simplify, systematize, automate, and streamline our businesses—but what about our lives outside of work? After sharing that I recently flew my family to South Africa and back in upgraded seats for mostly free, I got flooded with questions about how I had accumulated so many miles. The answer isn’t complicated travel hacking or a spreadsheet filled with credit cards. In this episode, I’m sharing my “easy button” approach to free travel: a simple, mostly automated system that helps me earn points, score travel perks, and save money without turning any of it into another job. In this episode you will learn: How I use SkyKey to automatically find lower fares and get money or miles back after I’ve already booked a flight.My simple strategy for using companion passes and credit card spending to cover more of my family’s flights.How I “double dip” with Uber, SkyMiles Dining, shopping portals, and everyday spending to earn points with minimal effort.How I keep my entire system simple by giving each credit card a specific job for business expenses, personal spending, and travel.This episode isn’t about perfectly optimizing every point or becoming a travel-hacking expert. It’s about finding your version of the 80/20—using simple systems and automation to get more of the benefits you want without adding more work to your life. Whether your preferred combination is Delta and Marriott or completely different airlines and hotels, the goal is the same: find what works, keep it simple, and use the margin you’ve worked so hard to create to actually enjoy your life. READ THE BLOG HERE!  Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

Some of the best efficiency wins in your practice aren’t massive system overhauls—they’re the small decisions you find yourself making over and over again. In this episode, I’m sharing one incredibly simple process I used in my own advisory practice to eliminate a recurring interruption, empower my team to make more decisions without me, and ultimately give clients faster service. I’ll walk you through exactly how we created a “first $20,000” distribution strategy for clients, documented it in our CRM, and built a decision tree that helped my team know exactly what to do when a client called needing cash. In this episode you will learn: How to create a simple “first $20,000” distribution strategy for your clients.How to use your CRM to give your team clear direction without needing to involve you.How to build a decision tree that helps your team confidently handle client distribution requests.How to identify recurring questions and small decisions you can systematically remove from your plate.You don’t have to build this process for every client overnight. Start with the clients you’re already meeting with next week, document where you’d recommend they access cash if a need comes up, and build from there. Small systems like this can eliminate interruptions, speed up your client service, and gradually train your team to take ownership of more decisions—freeing you to focus on the bigger strategies and conversations that actually require you. Register for the Quin Show & Tell HERE!  Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.

What does it actually look like to build a fast-growing advisory firm without sacrificing the depth of your client relationships?  In this episode, I’m sitting down with financial advisor Emily Rassam to take a behind-the-scenes look at the client experience, workflows, and team structure she’s used to build a thriving practice serving approximately 270 families. We dig into how behavioral finance shapes everything from prospect conversations to financial plans, why every meeting in her firm has a defined purpose and process, and how her team delivers a highly personalized experience without relying on traditional client segmentation. In this episode you will learn: How to use behavioral finance questions to identify ideal clients and create deeper financial planning conversations.Why a structured onboarding process can differentiate your firm before a prospect ever becomes a client.How to build a flexible client service model that combines consistent processes with personalized planning.How strong workflows and delegation allow advisors to step away from prep and follow-up without sacrificing the client experience.If you’ve ever wondered how to create a more personalized client experience while still building a practice that can scale, this conversation gives you a look under the hood of a firm doing exactly that. You’ll walk away with practical ideas for structuring your meetings, strengthening your workflows, using your team more effectively, and creating the kind of processes that give you more capacity to focus on the work you do best. Check out The First 100 Days Course: The Advisor's Blueprint for a Remarkable Client Experience HERE! Learn more about our sponsor BELAY for amazing virtual assistant services HERE!    Learn more about T2MWorks HERE! Learn more about Asset-Map financial planning software HERE! Check out the Efficient Advisor YouTube Channel HERE! Connect with Libby on LinkedIn HERE! Successful businesses don’t get built alone. You need community! You need collaboration! Join us in The Efficient Advisor Community on Facebook.