Enhance every client touchpoint from marketing to first meetings to keeping clients happy for life.
Feel confident that you're successfully communicating your value.
Break the connection between value and activity and replace it with trust.
Have great conversations and build deeper relationships with clients.
What you'll learn
1- The First Meeting
The first meeting with a client-to-be sets the stage for everything that will happen in that relationship. Get the mindset, tactics, word-for-word scripts, and exercises to make your first meeting great.
2- Client Solutions Meeting
The second meeting—where we clarify that we nailed down the problem and start to put some broad outlines around the solution—is really where we set the stage for a lifetime of client satisfaction.
3- Transitioning Clients
Learn how to introduce a new style of financial planning to your existing clients. In the past, your relationship might have been focused on products and performance. Now, we're shifting to process and client goals.
4- Going Niche
Find a problem you're interested in solving, then find a group of people who have that problem. The key to making an impact is relevance, and the best way to be relevant to your clients is to know who they are and what kind of problems they need help with.
5- Nail the Problem
You'll learn how to nail the problem that the clients you want to serve are experiencing and become indispensable to them. The key here is learning to listen, research, and understand the clients in your niche holistically.
6- Create Content Snacks
A content snack is precisely what it sounds like: a consumable piece of media that is tasty, enjoyable, and digestible to the average person with a limited amount of time.
7- Build Trust at Scale
As a Real Financial Professional, trust is the greatest asset you have. In this workshop, you'll identify the trust assets you already own and discover how to utilize them to build trust at scale.
8- Being Social
Being social doesn’t mean you have to be on TikTok, Instagram, or whatever the latest hot platform is. Social media platforms are just tools to help you do what you already know how to do. It’s never been easier to spread a message. And the good news is—you already have the tools to do that.
9- Write a White Paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers about an issue in a way that helps them solve a problem or make a decision. Learn how to create a white paper from the content you already produce.
10- Referrals
Referrals are the number one way most financial professionals tend to get new business, yet few of us have a system in place for them. You’ll learn a way to get referrals that not only works but also doesn’t make you feel gross inside when you use it.
11- Keeping Clients Happy for Life
The secret to keeping clients happy is to break the connection between value and activity and replace it with a connection between value and trust—because that’s really where your value lies.
12- Useful Conversations
You’ll learn some of the most useful conversations you can have with both clients and prospective clients. These aren’t just any ordinary chats. These conversations serve a purpose. In fact, they often solve problems.
Greetings, Carl here!
Have you ever noticed something?
Nobody teaches us how to talk to people.
There are lots of ways to learn the technical aspects of the job, or behavioral finance, or the most useful spreadsheet formulas.
But when a client needs to be talked down off the ledge during a scary market, no one teaches us how to navigate that conversation.
When a prospective client keeps trying to derail the conversation to talk about performance, there’s no guidance on that.
When a couple isn’t on the same page about their money and goals, we’re left to figure it out.
I mean, I get it. It’s not easy to do, and it’s even less easy to create a process so those conversations are consistent every time.
I'm sure you're great at spreadsheets. You’re probably great with the calculator. You might even be great with behavioral finance.
But navigating a conversation about scary markets with a client who wants to blow up their portfolio is another story.
Don’t get me wrong. Calculators and spreadsheets are really important. Emotional intelligence and behavioral finance are maybe even more so.
But knowing how to communicate with clients and clients-to-be is a skill that is absolutely essential.
And that thread has to run through everything you do. All the way from your email newsletter, to first and second meetings, to the investment plan presentation, to keeping your clients happy for life.
That's why I created The School of Advice.
Not only is this the best material I have on communicating with clients and building trust at scale through your marketing, it’s also the only place where I get specific on tactics.
Let me say that again.
This is the only place I get specific on tactics that you can apply to your firm!
Inside The School of Advice, you’ll find:
- More than 15 hours of instruction from me, with the average length of each video being just five minutes long
- Corresponding guides
- Word-for-word scripts
- Examples
- Templates
- Meeting flows
- Exercises
- Mindsets
Everything in The School of Advice is geared toward one thing: making you a master at communicating with clients and clients-to-be.
Ready to dive in?
Let’s go.
Who is this for?
The School of Advice is for Real Financial Professionals* who want to level up the way they communicate their value and process to clients.
The School of Advice is for you if you have ever asked any of the following questions:
How do I talk people down off the ledge during a scary market?
How do I ask for referrals without feeling icky?
How do I have a conversation with a couple when they might not be on the same page about money?
How do I communicate my value in a world when so many of the words I want to use have become meaningless?
How do I have a tough conversation about somebody blowing a budget again?
How do I keep people on track when all they ever want to talk about is performance?
How do I get consistent results from first and second meetings?
How do I build trust at scale through my marketing communication?
What others are saying
See what Real Financial Professionals from around the world are saying about The School of Advice.
Andy Baxley, CFP®, CIMA®
"Carl Richards' latest project, The School of Advice, is going to be a revelation for Real Financial Professionals interested in mastering their craft. Anyone familiar with Carl's work knows that he typically and masterfully focuses on big, game-changing ideas. With The School of Advice, he dives into specific tactics that bring these ideas to life."
Stanley Zurawski III, Vice President
"Your method and advice seem perfectly aligned with where my heart and my head has always been. I never knew how to defend my position and beliefs outside of 'I know this is right.' And it doesn’t just feel 'right' for our clients. It feels 'right' for our business and profitability as well. Your content has given me the voice I’ve been searching for."
Kieran Pirie, AFP
"Today we held an introductory meeting with a prospective client. Rather than going through our usual process, we tried to incorporate the learnings from Module 1. Although we were a little rusty, it was a huge success! We never would have discovered the client's 'Why' using our normal process. The next meeting is booked! Hopefully we have adopted a new process for years to come. Can't wait to keep learning."
Michael Mustian, CFP®, CKA®
"Thank you for being an inspiration and resource to me! I transitioned to becoming a financial planner a few years ago. I am fortunate enough to look at the financial world from an outsider's perspective, so your message and mindset have resonated with me so much! Thank you for your transparency and genuineness."
Chris Bowman
"I love it, it's an incredible product, and it's worth every penny."
Justin Pritchard, CFP®
"This is something I am trying from The School of Advice: When you're talking about something hard with a client and it might be time to move on to practical stuff or other topics. Not that there's any need to rush this, but from personal experience, I know that even the client wants to move on at some point! You told us, "It feels insensitive not to acknowledge this tough/sad/difficult/tragic aspect" and to transition gracefully and with kindness, assuming the client wants to go with you. I've been using it and can see it improving professional and personal interactions."
Liz Whitteberry, CPWA®, RMA®, CFA®, CIPM®, ChFC®, AIF®
"The School of Advice is awesome. I spent a full day listening and barely made a dent. That was a lot of work! Thanks for all you're doing."
Michelle Shauger, Regional Vice President
"I am loving The School of Advice! So much so that I’m telling all my colleagues and friends. There are a lot of like-minded advisors out there who are going to benefit so much. Thank you for all you did to prepare and make this available."
The School of Advice
Master the art of communicating with clients
ENROLL TODAY
When you enroll in The School of Advice, you'll get instant access to:
- A fundamental framework to set up happy client relationships.
- A balance of mindsets and tactics that reinforce the core idea of each module.
- Specific exercises to help you apply the concepts to your practice.
- Scripts, examples and templates that you can use and customize in your firm.
- 15+ hours of instruction from me, broken down into consumable pieces.
- 9.0 Continuing Education credits for U.S.-based CFPs.
A one-time payment of $997 gets you lifetime access.
Sign up now
Ways to Use The School of Advice
Workshop
Set aside an hour each week to work through The School of Advice material systematically.
Topical
Review a relevant section to apply to your strategic planning, marketing, or meeting agendas.
Search
Search for key phrases in the material to come up with insight and inspiration when you need it.
Join The School, discover The Society.
There's more to explore inside The Society of Advice. But I can't tell you more until you're on the inside!
Still have questions?
Who is this for?
Do I have time for this?
You said "school." Does that mean there's homework?
Is the content organized in a specific way?
How much does this cost, and is there a money-back guarantee?
Is this eligible for CFP Continuing Education credits?
I run a team. Can I share this with them?
I have more questions, how can I get in touch?
How much does this cost, and is there a money-back guarantee?
*Real Financial Professionals can be found in every corner of the globe and under any number of monikers, including financial advisors, advisers, and planners. All I can say is, if I would be willing to refer you to my mom, then you're one of us.
