Bill Cates:
Welcome to the Top Advisor Podcast brought to you by ProudMouth’s PodRocket Academy. I’m your host, Bill Cates, creator of the Cates Academy for Relationship Marketing. In each episode, I interview one of our industry’s top performers, getting them to pass on their secrets to success to you so that you can impact more lives and generate more income. Now, on to the show.
Welcome. Welcome. When it comes to being proactive for referrals and introductions, do you ever find yourself at a loss for words? Well, fret no more. I have a new book that may just become your blueprint, growing your practice at the speed of relationships.
The title is The Language of Referrals, the words and scripts financial professionals use to gain more ideal clients. Most advisors who come to me for coaching or online training, and they say, how can I be appropriately proactive without looking like the cheesy referral guy? I get the cheesy referral guy or the creepy referral guy. Well, the key is having the right approach and the right words, words that are natural to you. Having the right approach, the right words, it’ll boost your confidence, that in turn will create more effective action, which then, of course, results in, or creates more results, right fit clients for your business.
So The Language of Referrals will provide you with the words and phrases to elevate your referability, confidently ask for introductions, address concerns and objections, and turn the willingness to refer into effective connections with new prospects. So to get your copy or just check it out, see if it’s right for you, go to www.languageofreferrals.com. That’s languageofreferrals.com.
Look. The strategy of exponential growth through personal introductions is the most cost effective and time efficient way to grow your business. It’s also the most enjoyable because it takes the friction out of client acquisition. So that’s language of referrals.com. Now on with today’s show.
There seems to be something magical about the notion of a 7 figure practice. Most every financial professional aspires to generate annual revenues of $1,000,000 or more. I’m a founding member of a group called the The Million Dollar Speakers Group.
We’re a group of professionals who use speaking as one of our main revenue streams, and we generate at least $1,000,000 in annual speaking related revenue. It’s a magical group. If you would like to hit that coveted 7 figure mark, then you’re in the right place. If you are already at that mark, you’re still in the right place.
Today’s guest is Tony Maree Torrey. Tony Maree Torrey is a master coach and business strategist renowned for her 20 year track record of elevating financial professionals and elite performers to achieve impactful success. She is the author of the transformative book, Your Million Dollar Accelerator, 6 proven strategies to grow a 7 figure financial practice, which went to number 1 in the Amazon Financial Services category. She challenges conventional approaches and introduces a fresh cohesive road map for financial professionals to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Tony Maree Torrey, zooming in from Los Angeles, California. Welcome to Top Advisor Podcast.
Tony Maree Torrey:
Thank you, Bill. Wow. What a great introduction. I think I’m going to, like, take that snippet and put it on a loop and just play that every day because you’ve got the best voice, and you make me sound so good.
Bill:
Well, I’ll take that. Thank you. So let I I wanna start out with a little bit of your background because it’s kind of an interesting story. And what brought you to financial services and writing your book, your Million Dollar Accelerator, 6 proven strategies to grow a 7 financial practice? Tell us a little bit of the backstory that brought you here today.
Tony:
Yeah. You know, I have a background actually in the corporate world marketing to the affluent and, at some point felt that that wasn’t all that meaningful. And so I was really a lot of it is driven by a search for meaning and contribution. And so I left the safety of the corporate world. I, you know, spent years with a foot in both worlds, learning to become a business and executive coach. Fast forward a few years, and I had the opportunity to be introduced to some people, some amazing people in the financial services industry who became my clients. And from that point in time, it was kind of like a, you know, just a it opened the floodgates, so to speak. And I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really talented people in the financial services industry.
And I fell in love with that industry because of the way in which I feel I have a broad trickle down effect that really makes a significant difference in the world because of the work these ethical financial advisers and various other financial professionals do?
Bill:
Ethical financial advisers, of course.
We know that there’s so many regulations now because there have been some bad actors over the years, and we suffer the consequences, unfortunately. Tony Maree, in in your book, you cover 6 core strategies for financial professionals. What I’d like you to do is is quickly mention the all 6, and then we’ll dive into a couple more in detail, the 2 I think perhaps most impactful for our listeners.
Tony:
Awesome. So what I tried to create in the book, and you and I were talking about this earlier, Bill, is is I wanted to create a business in a box, basically, and make sure that the book provided real actionable strategies. Oh, and by the way, here’s the book right here, Your $1,000,000 Accelerator. And I wanted to provide real actionable strategies that weren’t just, you know, an agitation of the problem, and actually empowered people to go out there and put and implement. And, you know, the reason why I do that is because there’s still gonna be a certain percentage of people that want help implementing, and that’s, you know, where I get to come in with my business. But really, I wanted to make sure that people can do it for themselves first and provide them with real information, a true road map and tools that they can use.
Bill:
That’s great. So what are the 6 strategies? Let’s hit them real quick. You can give us a little bit on each, of course.And then we’ll dig deeper.
Tony:
Absolutely. So I divide them up into 3 different categories. Basically, the attract, convert, and accelerate categories. So, obviously, the first aspect for our business when we’re looking for clients and customers is to be able to attract them. And what I’ve discovered after working with people in this industry for 20 years is that a lot of advisers just wanna work with someone with a pulse. And and what that results in is a lot of scattershot activity. And so inside the book is a list of questions that really allows people to consider who it is that they wanna work with and who lights them up and makes them feel, you know, great about going to work each day. Because I think one of the biggest roadblocks people actually experience to growing their businesses is working with people that drain them.
And so we definitely wanna make sure that you’re working with the right people and that you’re talking to those people in all your messaging.
The next one is to amplify your authority and expert status. So we all know that it’s a it’s a difficult thing to stand out in a crowded marketplace, and financial services is definitely a very crowded marketplace. So one of the things that you could do is make sure that your thought leadership and who you are is out there in the world. And I think we’ll probably dig into that a little bit more deeply as we go forward.
So then in the convert category is what I call audition prospects. I have to say, I have been surprised and flabbergasted by the amount of very successful financial professionals who still don’t really know how to have the conversation with someone that really powerfully invites them in, invites the right people in, and weeds out those people that aren’t the right fit for you. And so I give some, you know, real details on how to go about doing that, how to set up your systems, your scheduling systems, all those kinds of things to make sure that you’re targeted and your precious time is being used talking only to warm prospects who are the right people for you.
And if, for some reason, someone sneaks through, not a lot of your time is used up as a result.
The next one is one to many. Bill and I, you were talking about you and I were talking about this earlier today that really anyone that wants to position themselves as an expert needs to be an author. They need to be willing to speak. They need to be willing to do things that help them reach more people. Some of that comes from automation, like automated outreach, all that kind of stuff. So the one to many is really the thing that, that amplifies your initial nugget of wisdom and experience and allows you to play the numbers game effectively.
Then we move on to the accelerate phase of things, and this is really very in alignment with what Bill talks about.
I call them active advocates who want to find people that are in either, you know, your family, your social network, and your existing client base, and groom them and encourage them to know how to be your secret agents, your, you know, your as your Cates, how they can absolutely be these you know, we have these people that are willing to go the extra mile, that have us top of mind, that talk to other people about us because that can be such a huge game changer just as Bill talks about introductions. People that are really focused on doing those introductions for us, not just as an occasional aside, but as something that they’re really genuinely invested in. They’re invested in you because they know what you’re doing is important in the world. So that’s the active advocate phase of things. And then the next one, the last one is leveraging other people’s networks. And what Bill and I are doing here today is a great example of that.
Bill:
Yeah. I love it. Six great strategies, and we’re gonna go into get some couple of real life examples so you can see how, they might play out for everybody.
First, though, since you, like me, keep your finger on the pulse of the industry, what are some of the common challenges that you’ve noticed lately financial professionals face when trying to scale their business. You know, and scaling their business means different things to different people. Essentially, it means expand in some form or another. But what what are some of the things that you’ve been seeing lately? I
Tony:
I think one of the biggest problems that financial professionals face is that the general public sees you as a commodity. And, you know, I I hate to say it because obviously everyone’s an individual, and they’re bringing value to the world. But, you know, there have been studies done. Like, there was a study done by, b BNY Mellon and Pershing, where they discovered that 63% of people see advisors as being all the same. So I really think one of the biggest challenges people face is how to stand out in a crowded marketplace. LinkedIn, we still love LinkedIn, but it has in some ways since the pandemic become saturated. So you need to be able to find ways to be seen as a giver, to be seen as a thought leader, and to be seen as a trusted expert, not just your average run of the mill professional. And that’s, you know, one of the reasons why we do a lot to help our clients increase their expert status by doing things like writing a short helpful book that, that, you know, really positions them as a trusted adviser, and also making sure that when they’re providing content, they’re providing content that’s valuable and sets them apart.
Bill:
Seems like, this differentiation thing not looking like everybody else. The last two strategies in your, list of 6, the active advocates. And then, what was the 6th one was like,
Tony:
Other people’s networks.
Bill:
Other people’s networks. Yeah. Mhmm. I mean, that that that would help with that. Right? Because if you’re using advocates to talk about you, if you’re using your network to talk about you, seems to me that’s one way to stand out already. Mhmm. Would you agree?
Tony:
I would agree. And one of the reasons why we have the, you know, the pieces that kind of come before that is because oftentimes, say for instance, you’ve got someone that wants to be your active advocate, but they don’t actually really know how easily and effectively they talk about you. So if you have, for instance, a book in your you know, as one of the arrows in your quiver, you can empower them to pass that book along. Same with if you, for instance, create an evergreen training. You want arrows in your quiver that you can arm and empower your active advocates with. And you also need the credibility and authority to encourage people. Let’s say someone that has a large network, for instance, and you would love to get in the door. All these credibility builders that you put in place ahead of time are the things that are gonna open the door to those, you know, acceleration strategies, which is the reason why we, you know, we start with those building blocks first.
Bill:
And and you kind of in passing mentioned the book, and I know that you’re an advocate, and I think you even help advisers, with producing a book. Tell us just a little more about why the folks listening should at least consider, having their own book. And is it as daunting as it sounds?
Tony:
Absolutely. Well, the good news is it’s not as daunting as it sounds. And because it does sound daunting to most people, that’s actually one of the reasons why it’s so effective in setting you apart. So there’s a reason why the word authority has its root in the word author. And I like that. Yeah. Yeah. There is no doubt that the moment the the fact of the matter is is, like, something like 89% of people say they have writing a book on their bucket list, but approximately 2% of people actually write one.
So what does that mean to us as professionals who are wanting to attract our ideal clients? Well, what it means is that suddenly you are in the elevated 1% if you actually do it. Everyone admires someone that is a published author. It’s just in our nature to do so because so many people pine to do it themselves. Now there are a lot of reasons why, you know, the other 88% of people don’t write those books even though they aspire to, and that’s because it’s not always easy. And it’s certainly not easy to do it on your own. We advocate writing a specific type of book, which is you know, we call it a short, helpful book. People are busy. They don’t wanna spend a lot of time reading these days.
So we write a short book that is helpful and informative and sets you up as an expert, as someone who has a, you know, multi decade background in marketing, it’s really important to make sure that how that book is written is to set you up to get people to take action to do the 1 or 2 things you really want them to do, which is typically either put time on your calendar or continue to consume your information and get on, for instance, your email list. So the whole book is geared towards being helpful. You don’t wanna, you know, you and I, Bill, were talking about this earlier today, about just agitating the problem, books that just agitate the problem. Cates leaves people feeling dissatisfied. So you you wanna call out the problem, but you also wanna call out the solutions to the problem as well. And then, obviously, encourage people to help you with for them to and also encourage people to reach out to you to help you help them implement. That was helpful. Yeah.
Bill:
It’s alright. I we get it. And and I think, advisors need to know that doing a book, it’s you don’t make money in from the sale of the book in this case. This is not usually, you know, writing the best seller that’s gonna go on to sell a gazillion copies. It’s it’s a tool. And having the book will make you money because it’s a great calling card. It’s a it’s a tool that your clients can use, your advocates can use to give to others. You can even autograph it to that other person, so they get a special of their own copy.
So, it’s it’s a different kind of tool. It’s not you’re writing a book for the masses, although almost anyone might be able to benefit. I mean, I’m I’m about to interview someone who wrote a book for nurses, and it’s financial planning and financial wherewithal. Very limited target market, but it sets him up as the expert in in that area.
In about 90 seconds, Tony Maree, I’m going to make this discussion super reality based by asking you to provide us with at least 1 or 2 specific case studies, one or more of your clients have experienced in a business transformation as a result of using some of these strategies that you teach.
But first, let’s take a very brief pause to listen to a word from our sponsor, PodRocket Influence Academy, brought to you by ProudMouth. First, they make this podcast possible. They produce this podcast as well as sponsor it, and their core business is helping financial advisors accelerate their influence through marketing activities like podcasting.
[SPONSOR MESSAGE]:
This podcast is sponsored by Proudmouth, the influence accelerators. It’s tough to be seen as an expert if you’re spending most of your time as a salesperson. That’s why we help industry experts like you spend less time selling and more time advising by turning you into a trusted subject matter authority. We help amplify your influence over a growing audience of magnetically attracted fans who will chase you down instead. Visit proudmouth.com to learn more.
Bill:
I wanna let you know about some free resources that I invite you to retrieve after you’ve listened to today’s interview. You’ll find checklists, guides, videos, and other tools. Simply go to referral coach.com/resources. Now write this down unless you’re driving. Referralcoach.com/resources. It’s also in the show notes. And while you’re there, make sure you sign up for our weekly tips. We’re always sharing best practices.
Bill:
We’ll notify you of our newest podcast interviews as they go live. And while these are free to you, I think you’ll find them quite valuable. Now back to today’s conversation with featured guest, Toni Maree Torrey, calling in zooming in, I should say, from California.
As I mentioned a minute ago, Tori Murray, I’d like you to bring all of this to life in the form of a couple of examples or case studies of advisers with whom you’ve worked to illustrate how they use and benefit from all or some of the the strategies you mentioned previously. So where would you like to begin?
Tony:
I’d like to deviate just a teensy bit from that in terms of just talking about a way in which I have implemented this, one of the strategies in my own life, which is a client, Matt Zagula. And we we’re talking about, like, leveraging other people’s networks right now. So I had the honor of working with Matt Zagula as he was building his Smart Advisor network.
Bill:
I know I know Matt, and Yeah. He he’s done quite well. Yes.
Tony:
Yes. Yeah. And he’s got, like, you know, he’s got quite a large network of people. And then I got to and this is where the, you know, other people’s networks principle comes in. Then I got to be invited into his network and have actually been paid to do 31 trainings that reach out to his entire network, which obviously, as you can imagine, has bought business in it to me. So I just felt like that was kind of an important thing to know and understand that I practice what I preach, and that these things really actually do work. And then and then in terms of the client case studies. Paul Harris is a financial adviser who has his own business.
When he first started working with me, his biggest complaint was that he’d been in business for 38 years, but his experience was that he was constantly yo-yoing back and forth with his income, and there was no reliable, stable base of income that he really felt that he could count on despite his obvious experience. And so in the 1st year that we worked together, he was also stressed out because he was working too hard. We actually were able to reduce the hours that he worked by 33% while increasing his income for those hours worked by 54%. So that’s pretty significant when you get to, like, step back from your business. He started doing more traveling. He has a beautiful family and grandchildren. He got to spend more time with his grandchildren. The other thing that he was dealing with was that he had staff, but they were really b and c players.
They were not a players. So he made some transitions there, which was another way in which he was able to then really work specifically with his, you know, a category clients, the ones that he most loves to work with, hand off anyone that wasn’t as inspiring to him or, you know, within the kind of financial parameters that he preferred to work with. And so as a you know, these days, it’s very common for him to have $300,000 months, and his business is absolutely transformed, and his life has transformed as well.
Bill:
So let’s break that down just a little bit. So it sounds like one of the first things you did was step 1 that you talk about in your book is making sure he was clear on who a right fit client was for him. Mhmm. Was was that a tough thing for him to do, or was it pretty obvious if he looked at his book of business?
Tony:
You know what? It’s usually tough for people to, you know, sometimes the book of business does lean in a certain direction. But something that Paul had not really fully recognized within himself is that his family is full of health care professionals. His grandfather was a doctor. His dad was a doctor. His brother is a doctor. And I think there might be an orthodontist in there somewhere. Trying to remember. But anyway, you know, he was kind of almost, in a way, the black sheep of the family and that he he was not in the medical profession.
But because he’d been saturated with this kind of person, this kind of personality throughout his entire life, it was just such a natural fit because he really understood them, and he also had a real why behind it that was stimulated by that because his father, even though he was successful, he was popular in his community, they always struggled financially. So he had, like, an origin story behind it as well. And these are the sorts of things that that allow you to really resonate with your specific type of client. And the fact of the matter is is that people wanna work with specialists, not generalists, and that’s one of the reasons why we recommend that.
Bill:
And I know strategy number 2 is amplify your authority and expert status. Did he do a book? Did he end up creating a book? Or or if not, what did he do? Yeah. He did? Okay. And to medical professionals, was it geared to his target market, I guess. Yes?
Tony:
Health care professionals. And and Paul, specifically is a man of very strong faith. And so it’s a combination of, you know, he’s gone really strong in that he’s looking for health care professionals that are focused on a faith driven pursuit. And, you know, yeah, it’s really powerful. And so we’ve done a lot of things for him. We’ve changed his website. We’ve published the book. We’ve set up LinkedIn strategies.
And then also because he because I have three aspects to my business. There’s the there’s the publishing, there’s the marketing, and then there’s the business coaching. And so he has actually utilized all those aspects of my services and talents. And, of course, that’s, you know, the folks that do that are the ones that tend to really have the biggest impact in their businesses and their lives.
Bill:
I wanna make an important point to everybody listening. And if you’ve listened to past podcasts for me, you’ve heard me talk about the power of a a very well focused market, target market if you want. I’m telling you, everything gets easier. Do you have to do that to be successful in this business? No. Of course not. There’s a lot of successful folks, but it’s easier. It’s faster, talking about for you scaling the business. Right? And and then it other things get easier because deciding what content to share on LinkedIn, for instance, who to try to be in touch with as Cates, all of those decisions get easier, don’t they? Because you have that very clear sense of who you’re trying to attract and who you’re not trying to attract.
Tony:
Exactly. That’s one of the amazing things about doing the book is because it really hones in your thought leadership. Like most of it, the biggest problem that we find is well, there are 2 really, is that people are like, I don’t know what to say, because they haven’t realized that over their years in their profession that they’ve really gleaned so much information that feels like common knowledge to them. But it isn’t to everybody else. Right? So that’s, you know, one side of it. And then the other challenge can sometimes be I have too much to say. And we usually solve that problem by going, well, more than one book. It’s like, you’re a great example of that, Bill, obviously.
You have you are publishing books on an ongoing basis. And I bet it’s not just because you I don’t know. You’re bored at night. I’m sure it’s because because you recognize the value and the power of doing so.
Bill:
Oh, yeah. It’s it’s all part of the mix. Financial advisers, you are experts. You’re an expert in a certain area. Experts write, experts speak, experts generate content, curate content, you name it. Well, that’s a great example, real world example of some things. Another one perhaps?
Tony:
Yeah. Absolutely. So we’ve we’ve done one of the boys. Let’s do one of the girls. So Please. Pat Katoon is a client of mine. And when she and I first started working together, she’d been somewhat successful as a financial adviser, but she was feeling burnt out and unmotivated and, in fact, was actively considering going back into a previous career that she had because she was just feeling disillusioned with her capacity to build her business. Fast forward less than a year well, you know, the within the year, things turned significantly.
She actually got really in touch with why it was that it was important for her to do the work that she was doing. She got really clear on her target market, and, you know, we there was work on a book done, and we also did a lot of practice management and strategizing from the coaching and she became reinvigorated, recommitted. So that was part of it. In fact, I remember we had this negotiation where she’s like, you know, I’m pretty much out the door here, and I’m like, well, why don’t we give it 3 months? Are you willing to fully commit for 3 months towards this? And that was kind of like the the negotiation. She’s like, okay. Yes. I will fully commit for 3 months, and that’s where we started. And so, you know and then she ends up with an amazing year.
Her production ended up being recognized by a general agency and then the National Insurance Company, and she’s gone on trips, and she’s now part of the Million Dollar Roundtable. And things have just completely flipped for Cates. And one of the reasons why I just love her story is because she was so you know, she was proactively heading out the door because things weren’t going her way.
Bill:
I think the operative word there, I heard you use it a couple of times, is clarity. Clarity on who you serve the best, clarity on your purpose, clarity on why you believe the work you do is important, clarity on how to reach these people, all of that. Right? It all stems from that. When we get clear about things, then then we can see a path forward, And then I’m sure you helped her with those steps along the path, and that’s why she produced the results, but it really started with the clarity. Did it not?
Tony:
Absolutely. Yes. I’d say clarity and commitment. You know, it’s like we did we had that conversation because part of what was going on for her was that she was second guessing herself and wavering in her commitment. So that was kind of, like, you know, one of the core things. I’m not saying that that’s necessarily common. A lot of people that are committed to doing well still are, like, somewhat scattershot, don’t really know what they’re doing. I see a lot of advisers who, you know, try these different strategies for short periods of time instead of creating a fully fledged, fully encompassed vision for their business.
And that’s why in the book, I like I said, I tried to, like, you know, put a business in a box in the book because it covers all the things that make a $1,000,000 and multimillion-dollar practice, not just, you know, piece parts.
Bill:
Yeah. It’s it’s sometimes if things aren’t working, the first thing they go to is a tactic, but Mhmm. They don’t think strategically. In your book, Your Million Dollar Accelerator, 6 proven strategies to grow a 7 figure financial practice, Cates strategic. It’s let’s get the right strategies in place, and then and the tactics fall into place after that. Speaking of the book, before we go, how does one learn more about the book and you?
Tony:
One can go to YourMillionDollarAccelerator.com, and you can actually get a complimentary copy of the audiobook, the flip book, and PDF download if you wanted it. One of the things that I really love to do myself is to listen to audio and look at the book look at the book on my Kindle or whatever at the same time. You know, we know studies show that we absorb more information when we’re engaging all the various different senses. So that’s what I recommend. That’s one of the reasons why it’s there. So, so, yep, go there. Get your complimentary copy of the book. Another aspect of the book is that I have included, a kit, a work kit.
So when you get the book, you’ll be able to have access to the work kit. I know you do this as well with your books Bill. And the reason why we do that is because if you just sit back and read and do nothing, then that’s not helpful either. So I’ve provided something that allows people to really kind of, you know, print it out, do some writing, come up with a real plan of action to to take your business to the next level.
Bill:
Get the ideas and then think through for execution. Because ideas without execution, pretty much worthless. Right?
Tony:
Pretty much.
Bill:
So my featured guest on today’s show is Tony Maree Torrey. Her firm is Sage Smart Advisor Agency, Sage Smart Advisor Agency. Tony Maree, thank you for sharing such practical and valuable content today on Top Advisor Podcast.
Tony:
Thank you so much, Bill. It’s been a total pleasure.
Bill:
It’s great having you. To you, the listener of this podcast, may I ask a small favor? If you like this episode or like the podcast in general, please leave a 5 star review on the platform you’re listening to the show. Not all platforms have a place for reviews, but if yours does, I’d be grateful.
If you haven’t already, there are 3 places you’ll wanna visit, LanguageOf Referrals.com, ReferralCoach.com/resources, and the CatesAcademy.com. I didn’t mention it previously, but this is the most comprehensive program we have. It’s the CatesAcademy.com. And Bill Cates reminding you, and I kinda said this already, it’s not ideas that make you more successful. It’s acting on these ideas that’ll bring you the success you desire.
Thanks for stopping by. Thank you for listening to the Top Advisor Podcast, brought to you by ProudMouth’s PodRocket Academy. I encourage you to visit my website, referralcoach.com, for links to my books, online courses and to register for the Cates Academy.
