The job market looks a bit different than it did a few years ago and many advisors are struggling to find talented employees. To help us navigate the hiring process we have invited Lori Miller onto the show. She is the VP of Talent Solutions at FIG, where she assists her clients in the best hiring and retention practices. The market is competitive right now but it's not always the highest paying job that will attract the best employees.    About Lori Miller:  Lori has over 20 years of recruiting experience but has found her passion in finance. At FIG's Talent Solutions she matches clients with the potential employees they need to grow their business.   ​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-miller-952b399b   Key Moments: 1:50 – Introducing Lori 4:22 – Her role at FIG  7:46 – New hiring trends   10:38 – Communicating to potential employees  12:12 – Flexibility as employers  13:13 – Sign-on bonuses & making offers  16:03 – The interview process  18:55 – How long does it take to find employees?  20:35 – An ideal client for Lori  25:00 – Employee retention strategies  33:14 – What makes talent solutions different  37:34 – Final comments from Lori    Contact: FIG Talent Solutions: https://www.figmarketing.com/#!/TalentSolutions figsymposium.com

There is no doubt that business owners have hectic schedules and work tirelessly to maintain what they have created. However, it is vital to take a step back and create an exit plan for the business that you have put all of your effort into. Dave Hostetler sits down with us today to discuss how he helps financial advisors put together an exit plan and some steps you should take now if you want to reitre in the near future. About Dave Hostetler: Dave is the Vice President Of Strategic Development at FIG. Over his career, Dave has coached over 400 advisors and their teams. He enjoys being a resource for financial professionals and has a passion for helping them grow their business through his strong service ethic.  ​LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2Soc5En Dave's Article: https://bit.ly/3j5ZsJc Key Moments: 1:21 - Dave’s Background 3:28 - What Kind Of Coaching Did Dave Do? 4:45 - Common Topics That Are Brought Up 6:23 - Is Remote Work Still Popular? 7:17 - Finding Talent 10:26 - Current Environment For Succession & Exit Planning 11:56 - Why Is The Demand So High? 15:42 - If An Advisor Is Looking To Retire In The Near Future, Where Do They Start? 21:55 - Making Your Business More Valuable 25:41 - How Often Should You Update The Data? 27:57 - What Is Surge? 32:26 - Who Is An Ideal Client? 33:26 - Next Continuity/Succession Planning Program 35:52 - Final Thoughts Contact: The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com Josh's Email: [email protected] Shawn's Email: [email protected]

There is no word, or phrase to encompass how much our lives were impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Life as we knew it was completely thrown out the window and we had to pivot and adjust to a more virtual world. But within the chaos, some exciting new developments were born. We invite Monica Breeding to the show to discuss how digital marketing took off since the pandemic and some tips on how to effectively use this area of marketing for your practice. About Monica Breeding: Monica is the Senior Vice President of Advisor Marketing at Financial Independence Group. With over eight years in the industry, she helps bring new and innovative ideas to marketing, as well as interpret market trends to make the best decisions for FIG. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-breeding-30160b47/   Key Moments: 1:27 - Monica’s Role At FIG 4:30 - How Digital Marketing Has Evolved 10:19 - Different Ways To Market Online 16:33 - Changes Since 2020 17:48 - Creating Facebook Ads 20:54 - Tracking Your Marketing Initiatives 24:35 - Perfecting Your Webinars 29:19 - Ways To Get Registration Numbers Up 33:31 - Having A Nurturing Process In Place Helps The Success Rate Of The Webinars 35:43 - The Advantages Of Live Events 38:12 - Measuring Results With Live Events 40:36 - What Monica Has Observed In The Live Event Landscape 44:52 - Using An Integrated Approach Contact: The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com Josh's Email: [email protected] Shawn's Email: [email protected]

In this show, Shawn and Josh sit down with Kamila Elliott to discuss her recent selection as the Chair-Elect of the Certified Financial Planner Board. They also talk about fiduciary rules and roles, industry debates and solutions, as well as the future of CFP designations and education. About Kamila Elliott: Kamila Elliott has over two decades of experience in financial planning and investment assistance. Elliott has recently been named the chair-elect of the Certified Financial Planners Board, becoming the first female African American to serve in the position. CFP Website: https://www.cfp.net/about-cfp-board/board-of-directors/kamila-elliott   Key Moments: 2:01 - Insight Into What Kamila Is Working On Right Now 4:13 - Kamila Shares Her Past Experience Leading To Her Current Position Today 8:40 - Why Kamila Believes The Financial Knowledge She Shares Is Important To Make Known To All Consumers 11:28 - Kamila Discusses Her Upcoming Role As Chair-Elect For The Board Of Certified Financial Planners 13:40 - How The CFP Certification Is Different 18:02 - The Evolution Of The Education For CFP, And Where It’s Going Next 19:57 - Advice For Someone On The Fence About Getting Their CFP Designation 25:34 - Between Fee-based And Fee Only, Which Is In The Best Interest Of The Client? 26:17 - What’s On The Horizon For CFP’s Marketing Efforts In 2020 And Beyond Contact: The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com Josh's Email: [email protected] Shawn's Email: [email protected]

Taxes have been a hot topic in the industry, especially with a new presidential administration that has talked about raising the current tax rates. It’s imperative to be proactive in our financial planning and that’s why we bring in David McKnight to today’s show. David talks to us about his Power Of Zero marketing program and how they may be able to help you improve your practice when it comes to the subject of taxes and leads. About David McKnight: David is a bestselling author, known most notably for writing The Power Of Zero. Many financial professionals loved this book and its principles, so David has launched his own Power Of Zero program. This program aims to train advisors with the Power Of Zero methods and help them execute them correctly to better serve their clients. Insurance News Article: https://bit.ly/3k1GFgv David's Website: https://www.powerofzero.com/ David's Podcast: https://www.powerofzero.com/podcast/ Email: [email protected] Quick Hits: 2:52 - What’s The Power Of Zero (POZ)? 5:12 - What’s Different In Tax-Free Income for Life? 7:28 - Outlining Other Opportunities 9:10 - Where To Get The Book? 9:47 - The Automated Prospect Journey 16:15 - Consulting With A Client That’s On The Fence 23:27 - Successful Advisors Using The POZ Paradigm 29:29 - Why David Built POZ To What It Is Today 31:31 - Closing Thoughts Contact: The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com Josh's Email: [email protected] Shawn's Email: [email protected]

Recently, there was a change to section 7702 that will have a major impact on life insurance products for 2021. Today we invite an expert in this field, Bobby Samuelson. We talk to Bobby about why the change to 7702 had to happen and what changes we should expect to happen this year. About Bobby Samuelson: Bobby is the President of Life Innovators, an independent product development firm that creates and helps distribute life insurance products. Bobby also runs The Life Product Review Blog. On this platform, he analyzes and reviews different life insurance products and he also shares his current thoughts on the industry. Section 7702 Article: https://bit.ly/3ad7QQV Quick Hits: 2:22 - What Is 7702? 6:49 - How These Changes Impact DIfferent Products 10:44 - Is This A Positive Change For The Industry? 12:43 - How Soon Will Companies Need To Start Following These Rules? 15:43 - How Should A Financial Advisor Adapt To These Changes? 19:44 - Using Life Insurance For A High Death Benefit 21:17 - Whole Life Policies 25:00 - Product Development 28:01 - New Products On The Way 29:21 - What’s Down The Line For The Life Product Review Blog? Contact: The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com Josh's Email: [email protected] Shawn's Email: [email protected]

Shawn & Josh are looking forward to bringing you this recent interview between best-selling author Kindra Hall and Financial Independence Group's Tom Lamendola. Shawn & Josh will first preview what to expect on the show before turning over the microphone where you'll hear Tom and Kindra discuss why stories are so important in business today. They'll also explore why financial professionals can benefit from video storytelling on their websites and share tips on how advisors can tell their "Value Story". About Kindra Hall: Kindra is the Chief Storyteller Officer at Success Magazine. She's an entrepreneur and the best-selling author of the book "Stories That Stick." Website: https://kindrahall.com/ Book: https://www.storiesthatstick.com/ Success Magazine: https://www.success.com/ Quick Hits: 0:44 - Josh and Shawn set up Kindra's interview. 4:28 - How Kindra became a national champion storyteller. 6:32 - Kindra underscores how important "The Founder's Story" is for every company. 10:03 - How advisors can leverage their "Value Story". 16:21 - Tips for advisors who want to integrate video marketing into their practices. 20:42 - Is video marketing an expectation now? 22:45 - Kindra shares some ideas for entrepreneurs who are just starting their business journey. 27:12 - Tom asks Kindra to outline what she personally would look for in a financial professional. 32:51 - Josh and Shawn recap the interview and give you SUMthing to think about. Contact: The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com Josh's Email: [email protected] Shawn's Email: [email protected]

Shawn & Josh are pleased to feature a recent interview between renowned financial planning professional Michael Kitces and Financial Independence Group's Tom Lamendola on this episode. Shawn & Josh will provide their perspective on some of the key takeaways in the interview that ranges several topics from Michael's viewpoint on the messaging as it pertains to the retirement dilemma in the US to delving into the best practices for financial professionals to fish for new clients. You'll also hear discussion about what financial professionals and investors alike should focus on in today's fast-changing financial world. About Michael Kitces: Michael is the Publisher, Editor-In-Chief, and Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com. He's also the head of planning and strategy at Buckingham Wealth Partners and the co-founder of several additional ventures in the financial services space. He's also the host of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast. Website: kitces.com Michael's Podcast: kitces.com/podcast/ Episode 210 of Michael's Podcast: http://bit.ly/3bZjd1D Quick Hits: 0:44 - Shawn and Josh give a preview of the interview and some background on the episode's guest, Michael Kitces. 4:10 - What's behind the "Kitces Blue"? 7:19- Michael reflects on how marketing for financial professionals has changed during the Coronavirus pandemic. 12:33 - Should you try to be everywhere you possibly can from a marketing perspective? 18:45 - Is there a nationwide retirement dilemma facing us today? 28:17 - Michael looks back at an old 60 Minutes segment that painted an inaccurate picture of the financial services industry and what it takes to be prepared for retirement, and the lessons that can be learned from that today. 34:12 - Shawn and Josh recap the interview and give their final thoughts. Contact: The FIG Sales Symposium: figsymposium.com Josh's Email: [email protected] Shawn's Email: [email protected]

It's time for the first episode of the SigMa Podcast with Shawn Sigler and Josh Martin of Financial Independence Group. On this episode you'll get to meet Josh & Shawn, learn a little about how they got into the financial industry, the goals behind hosting the SigMa podcast and what to expect going forward. Quick Hits: 1:20 - Shawn’s Background 9:45 - Josh’s Background 13:28 - Josh Shares A Client's Story That Had A Profound Impact On Him 20:38 - Implementing The Lessons Learned For The Next Client 26:27 - Why It's Important To Define Your Process 30:50 - What Is SigMa All About? 33:06 - What To Expect On Future Podcasts Contact: Josh's Email: [email protected] Shawn's Email: [email protected]