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Best Practices Blog

Swift Chat with Reese Harper: Don't Call it Financial Planning

7/25/2022

 
In this Swift Chat video conversation, Marie Swift speaks with Reese Harper CFP®, founder of Dentist Advisors and CEO of Elements. The two discuss how Harper built both Dentist Advisors and Elements, the importance of taking user psychology into account when building software functionality, and what goes into creating a sustainable financial planning practice for the next generations of clients.
 
To learn more about Reese and his podcasts, presentations, and consulting services, connect with him on LinkedIn:
Linkedin.com/in/ReeseHarper/.  You can learn more about Elements at GetElements.com.

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Swift Chat Compilation Episode from the Investments & Wealth Institute ACE Academy 2022

7/15/2022

 
In this special Swift Chat podcast episode, Marie Swift interviews a range of guests from the Investments & Wealth Institute ACE Academy 2022 conference including:

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Swift Chat Compilation Episode from the 2022 Morningstar Investment Conference

7/3/2022

 
In this special edition of Swift Chats recorded live at the 2022 Morningstar Investment Conference, Jonny Swift interviews a range of guests, live from the Social/Digital Hub. The episode features:

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Women in Finance: Have you ever been pegged as an assistant or support person -- when you're not?

7/2/2022

 
In a recent post on LinkedIn, Sheryl Hickerson, founder of Females & Finance (who is also a good business friend of mine and a super sharp marketing pro), asked: As a Woman in Finance, how many of you have you even been mistaken as the assistant versus the advisor at a conference? This got me thinking about my humble beginnings when I actually was an assistant to a highly-successful advisor. In case this helps anyone, I typed up a few thoughts and will post them here. In addition, at the very bottom of this post, I will link back to the LinkedIn conversation that Sheryl started in case anyone would like to comment on the topic.

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FAR Sight / Swift Chat: How Global Pandemics and World Events Affect the World of Client Service and Financial Advice

6/24/2022

 
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) and Finance of America Reverse (FAR) invited a select group of financial planning practitioners and financial services professionals to participate in a special round table while we were all together at the FPA Retreat in April 2022.  This was my first FPA Retreat and I loved every minute of it. We gathered in a side room at the Lost Pines Resort – which was absolutely beautiful – to talk about the most pressing challenges and concerns – as well as the most important opportunities facing advisors today.

As moderator of the round table gathering, I kicked off the conversation by asking the participants to reflect back to March 2020 as the pandemic realities kicked in and, to more importantly, fast forward to today and tell us how things are going, what they have seen and put in place to better serve their clients, and where they are headed as the future unfolds.

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Swift Chat Compilation Episode from the 2022 T3 Technology Tools for Today Conference

6/5/2022

 
In this special edition of Swift Chats recorded at the T3 2022 Conference, Marie Swift and Jonny Swift interview a range of guests from their booth in Podcast Alley at the event. The interviews features:


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Swift Chat with Carl Richards: Navigating a Changing Environment

5/17/2022

 
In this Swift Chat conversation, Marie Swift speaks with Carl Richards CFP® of the Society of Advice and creator of The Behavior Gap at the Jolt! Conference about the difficulties and opportunities of living in volatile times. The two industry insiders and strategy consultants discuss the vulnerability underlying advisors' marketing decisions and navigating change beyond the financial plan.

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Swift Chat with Nitin Seth at T3: Winning in the Digital Age

5/11/2022

 
In this Swift Chat video conversation -- recorded live at the T3 Technology Tools for Today conference in Texas on May 3, 2022 -- Marie Swift of Impact Communications, Inc. speaks with Nitin Seth, CEO of Incedo, Inc., a digital transformation company. Nitin talks about the seven building blocks of successful digital transformation and winning in the digital age.

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Swift Chat with Bill Cates: Transforming Referrals into New Clients

4/12/2022

 
In this Swift Chat video conversation, Marie Swift speaks with Bill Cates, President of Referral Coach International and founder of the Cates Academy for Relationship Marketing about his new book Beyond Referrals, which gives advisors the tools they need to transform introductions into new clients.

The two discuss converting referrals into engaged introductions, why people make referrals, how to form business friendships, and shed more light onto what type of client relationships lead to introductions.

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Swift Chat with John Mackowiak and Dirk Pearson: Advyzon's Quantum Rebalancing Tool

4/11/2022

 
In this Swift Chat video conversation, Marie Swift of Impact Communications speaks with John Mackowiak, Chief Business Development Officer, and Dirk Pearson, Chief Product Officer at Advyzon, a comprehensive technology platform and portfolio management solution for financial advisors and investment managers that includes portfolio management, customizable performance reporting, trading and rebalancing, client web portals, client relationship management (CRM), client billing, and document storage. Advyzon helps advisors streamline their operations so they can focus on growing their business.

The trio discusses the growth of the company, Advyzon's new Quantum Rebalancing tool, and a few teasers of upcoming features Advyzon is working on.​

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Swift Chat with Travis Parry: Achieving Balance In Life and Work

3/24/2022

 
In this Swift Chat video conversation, Marie Swift of Impact Communications, Inc. speaks with Travis Parry, a speaker, coach and author who has a Masters degree in Psychology and a Doctorate in Family and Human Development. Travis focuses on helping people achieve balance in their life. The two discuss what led Travis into this field and how he helps advisors reach their personal and professional goals.

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The New SEC Marketing Rules for Financial Advisors: Here's a Handy Compliance Checklist

2/21/2022

 
So this is a brilliant way to attract more visibility in the financial services industry. If you are a compliance or law firm, create a checklist designed to help advisors navigate the complexities of the new SEC regulation related to testimonials, endorsements, and marketing. This free, downloadable PDF -- which presents an if-this-then-that type of checklist -- will be very helpful for advisory firms as they prep for the November 4, 2022 compliance date for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Marketing Rule.

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Swift Chat with Jake Wagner: How Smart Advisors and Financial Services Firms are Adjusting their Marketing Sails in 2022

2/3/2022

 
In this Swift Chat video conversation, Marie Swift of Impact Communications, Inc. speaks with Jake Wagner, Founder of Digital Marketing 4FP, which offers creative marketing and fractional CMO services to fiduciary advisors and larger organizations that support independent advisors. The two talk about, what else, marketing and how smart advisors are adjusting their business growth sails in 2022. 

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Swift Chat with Brad Swineheart: Lead Generation Using White Glove Workshops

1/25/2022

 
In this Swift Chat video conversation, Marie Swift of Impact Communications, Inc. speaks with Brad Swineheart, SVP of Business Development at White Glove, a marketing company that helps advisors succeed via educational workshops, marketing content, and social media. The two discuss White Glove’s unique approach to lead generation. ​Brad dives into how White Glove matches advisors with pre-determined workshop topics guaranteed to bring in the ideal type of clients. White Glove’s approach of handling all the heavy lifting allows the advisor to focus on what they're good at, educating prospects on financial topics and generating leads.

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Swift Chat with Alex Cavalieri: Marketing Systematically to a Niche

1/4/2022

 
In this Swift Chat video conversation, Marie Swift of Impact Communications, Inc. speaks with Alex Cavalieri, Co-Founder of Seven Group, a "hybrid marketing platform" that gives financial advisors insights and tools they need to market their brand more effectively, create deeper client relationships, and reach new audiences. The two talk about the importance of having a niche, finding and marketing to ideal clients, and how Seven Group's hybrid platform can help advisors through the whole marketing process.  Seven Group's strategic guidance, marketing technology, and content library is a perfect complement to Impact Communications' custom content creation, PR and credibility marketing solutions.

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Happy Holidays Note from Marie Swift + Animated Greeting from Impact Communications, December 2021

12/22/2021

 
One of the greatest joys of the season is spending time with family, friends, colleagues, and clients who share similar values -- including an appreciation for all the blessings that we enjoy at this most wonderful time of the year.

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4 Keys to Mastering Client Conversations

12/20/2021

 
Are you a good communicator? How do you know?  In this article, ​4 Keys to Mastering Client Conversations, Marie Swift of Impact Communications offers some ideas that bubbled up during her work on a new, forthcoming paper, Mastering the Conversation: A Guide to Excellent Client Communication, which Heather Kelly and the Advisory Solutions Team at Allianz made available in 2022. 

No name/email needed to access PDF: https://tinyurl.com/MTCGuide

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Swift Chat with Phil Walker: Reducing Portfolio Risk in Retirement

12/9/2021

 
​In this Swift Chat video conversation, Marie Swift of Impact Communications, Inc. speaks with Phil Walker, who is with the Retirement Strategies Division at Finance of America - Reverse. The two talk about how financial advisors can reduce portfolio risk for their clients who need consistent income streams during retirement - especially during down markets - by tapping alternative sources of income (in this case, tapping their home equity via a reverse mortgage). 

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Swift Chat with Haleh Moddasser: Women, Wealth and Social Change

11/23/2021

 
In this Swift Chat video / podcast conversation, Marie Swift of Impact Communications, Inc. speaks with Haleh Moddasser of Stearns Financial Group. The two talk about Haleh's new podcast "Women On Top with Haleh Moddasser," Haleh's two books (one on gray divorce and one on ESG investing), and how Haleh sees the role of women in creating social change through the power of the purse and their investment decisions.

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Mastering the Conversation - Part One

11/13/2021

 
We can all think of people in our lives who are smart as the dickens but they seem to lack emotional intelligence. They don’t seem to understand that tone matters, that body language and facial expression matters, that words matter. It’s not always what they say but how they say it – and when – that seems a bit ham-handed.  

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Now is the time to focus on becoming a GREAT communicator

11/13/2021

 
In the study we conducted in 2020, Impact Communications found that when it comes to reassuring clients during turbulent times, “I care” communications are way more important than “I know” communications.  Of course, communicating effectively was not easy during the worst parts of 2020 and the dog years of 2021. 

So, how do you master even the toughest of conversations? This article will dive deeper into the topic. You will also find links to resources and ideas for becoming more resilient yourself as a "first responder" of sorts. 

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Working with the Media: How to Endear Yourself to (or Alienate) a Journalist -- 4 Journalists and a PR Pro Tell All on Nov. 11, 2021

10/29/2021

 
​Being quoted by a respected journalist in a prestigious publication can differentiate you from other financial planners who may not make the grade as the outlet’s vetting process unfolds. When you are seen as a source in media articles, the perception is that you are a more credible expert than a competitor who is not regularly quoted. Plus, being seen on a high-ranking website can significantly improve SEO (search engine optimization) factors for your firm and make you more visible online.
How do you endear yourself to a journalist so that you are more apt to hear from them again in the future?

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How to Build Trust with Investors in 2021 and Beyond

10/10/2021

 
Investor trust in 2021 is stuck at the low levels of 2009. It is in the basement of occupational trust levels, just above car salespeople, according to Gallup. According to Knut Rostad, co-founder and president of the Institute for Fiduciary Standards, in his opinion piece published by Advisor Perspectives:

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Travel Considerations as Delta Variant Realities Settle In

8/25/2021

 
Impact Communications founder and CEO, Marie Swift, shared with RIABiz reporter, Lisa Shidler, the personal considerations she uses for assessing whether she will or will not travel to conferences and business meetings this fall. Impact Communications does not have a company mandate for staff travel, as every team member is allowed to think through the options and make their own personal determinations. This is an interesting article with lots of nuance. Read the full article by Lisa Shidler in RIABiz.

Marie also provided comments to InvestmentNews reporter Jeff Benjamin. Read Jeff's article for helpful thoughts from Marie and other people interviewed.

Read on to see Marie's full comments as submitted to the publications.


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Swift Chat: Marketing Trends for Financial Advisors Who Want to Stand Out with Angel Gonzalez and Jonny Swift

8/24/2021

 
In this Swift Chat video interview, Jonny Swift of Impact Communications speaks with Angel Gonzalez, Chief Marketing Office and Co-Founder of Snappy Kraken, a marketing automation and growth platform for financial services professionals. You will learn about what's working for advisors today when it comes to digital marketing and what trends we are seeing on the horizon for advisors who want to stand out.

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    About
    This Blog

    Welcome to the “Best Practices in the Financial Services Industry” blog, where you will find ideas and tips from Marie Swift, a nationally-recognized marketing communications consultant who's worked with some of the top financial services and financial advisory firms in the nation over the course of her career. The "Swift Chat" series. which is available in both a video and a podcast format, is co-hosted by Impact Communications Vice President Jonny Swift, who selects his own guests and brings a Millennial perspective to the show. This blog spotlights financial services firms and allied institutions that the Swifts deem as adopting "Best Practices" in the industry. You will find numerous posts with tools and ideas aimed at helping independent financial advisors communicate better, scale, and grow.

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