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Ep. #111 – The Ideal Week for Financial Advisors with Brian Margolis

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Are you running your week, or is your week running you?

Brian Margolis, founder of Productivity Giant explains why most advisors spend too much time reacting to emails, distractions, and day-to-day chaos, and how you can reverse that trend.

Key Takeaways:

  • Pillar System: Identify 5-7 weekly “pillars” – the most high-leverage activities that, done consistently, drive your long-term results. Success lies in consistency, even if the payoff isn’t immediately obvious.
  • Pro Time (Protected, Proactive Time): Schedule focused, undisturbed blocks in your calendar – ideally in the morning – to work on your business, not just in it.
  • Mold & Batch: Treat your Pro Time as your most important client. Mold your calendar around it, and batch similar tasks together to avoid the productivity-killing cost of context switching.
  • Plan Your Day: Don’t start your morning until it’s finished on paper. Brian Margolis shares his “four column” legal pad system to organize priority projects, tasks, and even personal to-dos.

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 Quick Implementation Tips

  • Set Recurring Pro Time: Make it a standing appointment with yourself on your calendar – before meetings or client work fills the space.
  • Try a Reverse Timer: When tackling email, set a 10–15-minute timer to process as much as you can, saving longer items for later.
  • Batch for Focus: Group similar tasks. For example, process prospecting emails together, handle admin tasks in one block, and reserve creative work for your freshest hours.

This episode is packed with actionable strategies to help you work smarter, protect your pro time, and achieve the results you want.

Don’t forget to check out the show notes for free resources and get ready to turn great ideas into meaningful action!


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About Our Guest

Brian Margolis is a former environmental scientist who turned entrepreneur. He is the founder of ProductivityGiant.com and author of the book The Index Card Business Plan for Sales Pros and Entrepreneurs.

Brian’s Pillar System helps sales pros and entrepreneurs create a strategy so simple, it fits on an index card…but so powerful it’s helped create 7-figure earners and has been licensed by some of the largest companies in the world to train their teams.

Brian has been a partner or consultant in multiple ventures ranging from startups to national brands. He has worked with everyone from SharkTank entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. Both his accomplishments and failures span a variety of industries.

In addition to his above work, and appearances on some of the largest business and sales podcasts in the world, he is still in the trenches having done thousands of individual coaching sessions with sales pros and entrepreneurs.

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About Your Host

Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE, works with financial advisors to speed up their growth without increasing their marketing budget.

Advisors tap into Bill’s proven process to multiply their best clients through introductions from advocates and Centers of Influence, communicate their value proposition more effectively, blend digital and human strategies, and create a reputation in a profitable target market. Bill helps advisors move from push prospecting to magnetic marketing – to attract more Right-Fit Clients™.

Bill is the author of 8 books including Get More Referrals Now, Beyond Referrals, Radical Relevance, The Language of Referrals, and The Hidden Heist.  He is the founder of The Cates Academy for Relationship Marketing™ and is the host of the acclaimed Top Advisor Podcast – now ranked in the Top 3% of podcasts worldwide.

 

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Contact Bill Cates directly:  BillCates@ReferralCoach.com     


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