58. Top Twelve Takeaways from Carson Group’s #Excell2021: “Get Your Mind Right for Marketing”

“The Future has never been brighter than it is today.” -Ron Carson, Founder of Carson Group. 

From October 12-14, 2021 at the Las Vegas Cosmopolitan, Founder of In The Suite Tina Powell attended the 37th Carson Group Excell 2021 Conference. Founded in 1983 by Ron Carson, Carson Wealth has grown to become a Barron’s Hall of Fame advisory firm with offices spread across the United States. Carson Wealth is dedicated to helping clients pursue their definition of true wealth through holistic financial planning, disciplined investment strategies, and proactive personal service.

Excell empowers financial advisors to elevate their firms beyond the status quo, equipping guests with actionable advice, proven strategies and a network of inspiring professionals who know how to get it done. 

With her extensive background and knowledge in the financial services industry, Tina was able to conceive of 12 key points that were discussed at the conference in Episode 58 of In The Suite. 

  1. Institute a Code of Conduct: Instituting a code of conduct is important to establish actions, behaviors and language that is permissible. Gathering a group of about no more than a dozen people from the company would be an appropriate amount to discuss these tactics in promoting a healthy work environment. 
  1. Give Back and Support a Cause:  At the core of Carson’s work culture, philanthropy thrives. Carson is the type of organization to put their best interest in others first. This year, at Excell 2021, Carson Group raised money for the Uplift Foundation of Nevada and supported Charity Water. Everyone in attendance, in some way, was able to see the light in giving back to others who are less fortunate.
  1. Promote your event hashtag and use it: Throughout the duration of the conference, the hashtag #Excell2021 was encouraged for those participating to use. Engagement is key when it comes to sharing your event on social media. “There was a big #FinTwit contingent, so a LOT of posting, sharing, and engagement was happening behind the scenes on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I heard personally from people who couldn’t get to Excell2021 how much they enjoyed seeing pictures and videos from the conference and especially slides from Michael Kitces keynote” said Tina Powell. 
  1. Drop the mask, the non-COVID kind: Broadway actress Sandra Joseph was a keynote speaker at Excell 2021. She played Christine Dia in Phantom of the Opera, creating the character from the ground up six shows a week, for 10 years. It was an incredible opportunity, which of course, faced its obstacles. Sandra talked about how there is this constant pressure to always “mask up” and “act a certain way” in order to have approval from the public. One of Sandra’s inspirational words during her speech was “I’m not here to prove myself, I’m here to be myself”. At the end of the day, you are casted in the role of a lifetime and nobody else can play you. 
  1. Don’t be afraid of work that has no end: Throughout Africa, Ethiopia and other countries, Scott Harrison, Founder of Charity Water, has one goal: to bring clean water on Earth to everyone before he dies. During his keynote speech, he shared photos of children and women with tumors and how 28 different diseases are linked to infectious water. A statistic he shared, which shocked the audience to their core; 40 billion hours in Africa are spent fetching water back to the villages by women only. “Scott encouraged us, through the power of his example, to use our time and talents in the service of others, no matter what the cause.” said Tina. 
  1. Explore your creative talents: “It’s a powerful collection of not only oil paintings, but also inspiring stories of 43 different immigrants and their stories are moving” said Tina. One of America’s previous leaders, President George W. Bush was interviewed by Ron Carson. The men talked about President Bush’s love for painting which was started after eight years of leading the country. He painted pictures of Veterans, War Heroes, Past Presidents, and recently, 43 Immigrants who fled to America. In the book “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants”, George W. Bush spotlighted the courageous journeys and contributions made to the prosperity of our nation. 
  1. Empower others and build a plan to let other people help you: The main theme of the Women’s Leadership Lunch: Driving Female Growth in Financial Services is “women need to show up, not just at work”. Letting go of the small things so that we can do the big is a major step to empower others and build a plan to let others help you. “We need to empower those around us and keep our heads up as much as we can” – Teri Shepherd, President of Carson Group.
  1. Make diversity and inclusion a reality by making it an actual business goal: Led by Suzanne Siracuse, David Canter, Jacqui Campbell, Phil Loughlin, and Ron Carson, this panel discusses investors wanting to know that your firm supports diversity, or they will look elsewhere. Suzanne shared some strategic advice for advisors planning to participate in Diversitas, an online career fair. Diversitas’ goal with the CFP Board Career Fair is to make the financial planning profession and the wealth management industry more inclusive through education, mentorship, and human connection. Consider the messaging and language you use in job descriptions, which may be biased toward one gender. It’s a good starting point for moving the needle and making an impact.
  1. Consider a new model for your business: “What I took away from the conversation, is the need for financial advisors to consider a new business model for their business that includes subscription fees for clients that may not yet have significant assets to invest” said Tina. Michael Kitces, Head of Planning Strategy at Buckingham Wealth Partners, spoke about “Five Industry Trends Shaping Wealth Management.” Among them, Michael discussed the math of the entire wealth management ecosystem, particularly as it related to charging an assets under management model. 
  1. Diet is all the food you’ve eaten in your entire life and all your habits: Wellness, health and mindset. “All the food you eat will either make you or break you” said  Dr. Shah as he spoke about eliminating sugar from our diet, which is mainly sourced from packaged foods. Integrating a healthy diet to your routine can help improve your mood and overall lifestyle. Two books that Dr. Shah recommended were “What the heck should I eat?” by Mark Hyman, MD and “The Blue Zones Solution” by Dan Beuttner. 
  1. Love what you do and make it obvious: John Dejulius, author of “The Relationship Economy” said those exact words. By being a resource broker, over communicating, and being in the certainty business, John encouraged advisors to be the partner clients can’t live without. Ultimately, a first-impression is super important and it can either make or break your reputation. He ended with this powerful quote: “Act as if today is the day you will be remembered for how you treat others.”
  1. Get your mind right for marketing: Tina Powell, CEO of C-Suite Social Media, spoke these exact words. She spoke and broke down the mind in her quote and what it means to her. 

“Mind” means M. Who matters? You can’t possibly be all things to all people. Really think and define your ideal client profile precisely, at C-Suite Social Media we call this your ICP. Think of this as your buyer persona. It should contain demographic data like age, geography, and net worth, psychographic data like. It’s ok to have more than one”. 

“I” means Interests. Defining the interest Define the interest and behaviors of your ideal client profiles before you do anything on social media. For example, what groups and membership organizations do they belong to, this includes Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups. What holidays and milestones do they celebrate? If you have Google Analytics data, you can see which affinity groups they belong to if you have this feature turned on. All of this information can help your firm formulate a content strategy ideally suited for this group”.

 “N” means Need.  What do your prospective clients need from you? Education around how to use the client portal? How to read their statements? More in-person and virtual meetings and events around investing or estate planning or tax efficiency”. 

“D” means Deliverable. What is your deliverable?  Is it Text, Video, Audio, Pictures, or a combination of the above? Content comes in these 4 different mediums. What medium does your client prefer? And will it be PAID (like an ad), EARNED (like an article), SHARED (like a co-branded Ebook), or OWNED like a press release? Your firm needs to have a diversified portfolio of content.”

 

Show Notes:

Today’s episode of In The Suite with Founder and Host, Tina Powell, is about the 12 insights she found inspiring from the Carson Group’s #Excell2021 Conference, October 12 – 14, 2021, held at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.  Excell enables financial advisors to go beyond the status quo by providing you and your team with actionable advice, tried-and-true strategies, and a network of inspiring professionals who know how to get it done. From financial planners to investment managers and small independent practices to billion-dollar RIAs.

Invest in your growth, personally and professionally, and join Tina #InTheSuite for an inspiring conversation around these top twelve takeaways:

  • Institute a code of conduct. (6:39)
  • Give back and support a cause. (7:42)
  • Promote your event hashtag and use it. (8:49)
  • Drop your mask, the non-COVID kind. (9:34) 
  • Don’t be afraid of work that has no end. (10:58)
  • Explore your creative talents. (12:45)
  • Empower others and build a plan to let other people help you. (14:50)
  • Make diversity and inclusion a reality by making it an actual business goal. (16:18)
  • Consider a new business model for your business. (18:23)
  • Diet is all the food you’ve eaten in your entire life and all your habits. (19:54)
  • Love what you do and make it obvious. (21:35)
  • Get your mind right for marketing. (23:18)

 

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