Read The Transcript Of The Episode:

Speaker 1:

This is the Ultimate Advisor Podcast, the podcast for financial advisors who want to create a thriving, successful, and scalable practice. Each week we'll uncover the ways that you can improve your referrals, your team, your marketing and your business operations. Helping you to level up your advising practice, bring in more assets and create the advising practice that you've dreamed of. 
 

Speaker 1:

You'll be joined by your hosts, Bryan Sweet, who has more than half a billion dollars in assets under management. Brittany Anderson, the driving force for advisors looking to hire, improve their operations and company culture. And Draye Redford who can help you systematize and automate your practices marketing to effortlessly attract new clients. So what do you say? Let's jump into another amazing episode of the Ultimate Adviser Podcast.

Brittany A:

Hello, welcome back to your ultimate advisor podcast. This is Brittany Anderson and as always I have got with being Draye Redford and Brian Sweet and we are rounding out the top questions that we are being asked by you, our audience members and by our ultimate advisor coaching and mastermind members. 
 

Brittany A:

So please, the one thing I want to touch on before we round out in the third week of addressing the most frequently asked questions, is that if you have some burning question, don't be afraid to reach out and ask. We are here to help you. We want to help you overcome some of the biggest obstacles in your business or decide which opportunities to pursue. So don't be shy. We don't bite. We're really nice, I promise. So please keep the questions coming because we love being able to help and to address things that are actually front of mind for you.

Brittany A:

So that being said, you definitely want to tune in to the last two weeks where we talked about the first two frequently asked questions, which was: How on earth do I find good people? The second was: Where do I start with marketing? There was so much wrapped into those two weeks. You absolutely want to tune in if for nothing else, for the takeaways from each episode, because there is good stuff that you could implement in your business immediately to help you really break through the ceiling of complexity that you may be facing. Which is what our topic is on today. 
 

Brittany A:

The third most frequently asked question that we are getting from your audience members is that, "I just want to know how on earth I can break through this next ceiling." So regardless of where you're at production-wise, if you're at one and a half million, if you're at that $3 million ceiling, that $4 million ceiling, we have all been there where we feel like, man, I am doing everything I can. I feel like all my cards are on the table and I have no idea how to get to the next level. 
 

Brittany A:

I'm looking over here at Jimmy Jones or Barb Smith or whoever it is, and I'm going, "How are they breaking through and I'm not." So that's what we want to talk about today because it goes back to the old adage of if you're not growing, you're dying. We all get to different stages in our business where we just feel like, man, is this going to be it? Is this just where I'm going to sit? Because it just seems so hard. It seems so tough. So the good news is, is that while you are definitely not alone in these feelings, you are not alone in hitting these ceilings of complexity. So the good news is, is that there are always strategies that you can employ to help you break through. 
 

Brittany A:

So again, the most successful advisors that we work with are the ones that not only believe but fully embrace that notion of, hey, if I'm not growing, I'm dying. That is so important. It's something that I really want to circle on today, and Bryan I'm going to bring you into this one, is because I think that what needs to happen is that in our industry, advisors can get a little bit too singularly focused on what has helped them grow in the past versus what new opportunities they can bring to the table. Bryan, I think you individually have really embraced some new thoughts, some new concepts, one of which being the who versus the how, which I know that you'll definitely circle on just because that's really been exponential to our business. But I think it's all about looking for opportunities. So Bryan, I would love for you to share how you've done that, how you've implemented that in your business all while taking at least 16 weeks off every year, which is a huge win. So I'd love for you to shed some light on this topic. 
 

Bryan Sweet:

Well, thank you Brittany. I think the title of ceiling of complexity is very interesting in and of itself. I think it speaks for itself what it means. It is a Dan Sullivan from strategic coach concept. The thing I would point out to the audience is, it's something that you're going to reach multiple times. So as you keep growing you're going to have different ceilings of complexity. That's actually a really good thing and so don't get frustrated by it. Actually look at it as something positive because that means you've actually grown to a new level where you're facing some new issues or concerns that you didn't have before. So I think the first thing is one, recognizing that you've gotten to the point where there is this complexity and two, is what do I need to do or what are the steps or actions that I need to take to overcome it. 
 

Bryan Sweet:

So you had alluded to earlier the concept of who versus how. To me, I probably have mentioned that on this podcast, but of any Dan Sullivan concept that has been introduced, that one has at least with me resonated the most. I would tell you since we've implemented it in the office, had the greatest effect. It simply is this. Is when you run into a problem or a situation that you know how to deal with, instead of saying, how can I do it? Or how can my team do it? It's more who is the expert in that area and how can I coordinate or work with them to bring their expertise in to help me solve it? If you think about that, it's so logical, but we don't do it enough. So if you can hook up with somebody that's already solved that issue, one, they can give you the steps that they've taken, they can tell you the things that work, the things that didn't work, and you can apply that without having to be the one that goes through all the misery and trying to overcome all of the issues. 
 

Bryan Sweet:

One of the things of where you find these whos, well part of it depends on the question or what is the ceiling of complexity. But a lot of it is just really fellow advisors that you're aware of or have met or people in your broker dealer that are at that level that you would like to be or are doing the things that you're having issues with and essentially reaching out to them and asking them, how did you overcome that or what did you do to get to that next level? You will be surprised, especially if they're not in your direct area, most advisors that are successful really want to help other people be successful. 
 

Bryan Sweet:

That's why they're good, is they like helping people, i.e. helping their clients. So if you simply ask or say, "Hey, if I bought you a lunch, would you spend some time with me going through this particular issue I'm having?" I'll be shocked if 9 out of 10 won't go ahead and do that for you. Now sometimes you're going to run into a scenario where you're running into something where it's not something that you know of an advisor that's actually tackled it or it's a new problem that you're not aware of anybody that's done that before. That's where getting involved in these mastermind groups and these other outside organizations are so helpful because they give you access to different thoughts and ideas and we wouldn't have the Ultimate Advisor Coaching and the Ultimate Advisor Mastermind and we wouldn't be having our really awesome marketing platform if we hadn't gone to a mastermind and met Draye Redfern. 
 

Bryan Sweet:

So Draye became a who for us and he continues to be a who for us as we have him on retainer and he's always doing something new for us. So I think it's figuring out what is the issue, do I know of somebody in the field that's already overcoming that, and just simply reaching out and asking them. Now the worst case scenario is you ask them and they say, "No." All right, well you're not in any worse position than you were before. Then what do you do? Well, who's another person that you could reach out that's maybe done the same thing and is the second on the list? I would tell you if you ask two people, one of the two for sure is going to spend time with you helping you on that issue. Then just figuring out where are these other complexities and joining organizations that are helpful. So Draye, what kind of thoughts do you have on that particular topic? 
 

Draye Redfern:

There's so much around that I agree with and it's fun just to listen to your take on it also because I agree with everything you said. From my standpoint, I think that I will always, perpetually for the rest of my life have a ceiling of complexity, but that ceiling will continually get higher and higher and higher. That's how I view my life. I think that from my experience and conversations and doing it the dumb ways and doing it the smart ways, and I can do this on my own and all the other things that we have as individuals, I think that there's really only two ways to increase your ceiling of complexity. This would involve most instances I guess. That's the school of hard knocks where you figure it out on your own. 
 

Draye Redfern:

Keith Cunningham would call it the dumb tax where you're going to make mistakes and you're going to figure these things out on your own, but you're going to eventually get through that ceiling of complexity. It's going to be less expensive, but it's going to take you a whole lot longer and time is our most precious asset and if money is one of those things that some people may not have as much of, then the hard knocks way is a good way to start. 
 

Draye Redfern:

I started there for a long time until I had the right mentors around me that just said, "Shortcut all of that," and number two, "Pay to play." As an example of that, when I was 24 years old, I went to the Tony Robbins Date with Destiny. It's a $6,000 seminar, which was a lot of money or a good amount of money for me back then. It was one of those things where this whole seminar is basically around just creating your ideal self and relationship. This is before I was married, but I knew that I wanted to invest in myself before I actually got married so I could be that person that would attract the right type of individual. So it was I always willing to make these investments. At that event I met Joe Polish who happened to be the founder of Genius Network where I also then met Brian and Brittany. 
 

Draye Redfern:

So you never necessarily know what one thing may lead to another. From my standpoint, pay to play is almost always the better option because you get around people who have already had more success than you have. You get around people that can help you not run into that brick wall or not facepalm, with your hand to your face. Like why did I do that? It was such a dumb decision. Or if I would've known this little thing, I could have avoided all of this pain or frustration by simply being around some of the right people. 
 

Draye Redfern:

Sometimes like I said, that's pay to play, but the time and duration is oftentimes shortcut and you never know what one thing will lead to another. That's a fun example there. Another one around pay to play that I was also told a long time ago was: Whenever you can, fly first class. That's not because you want a bigger, comfy seat, it's not because you want the free drinks. It's not because you want the wonderful airplane food. It's because of the people that you are around when in first class. 
 

Draye Redfern:

So sometimes it's only a couple hundred dollars more here or there, but often times you around a significantly higher caliber of individual. That's where the movers and shakers are, that's where deals get done. I have sat next to so many people that have then become clients or we've worked together or there's been a referral that has occurred. Funny enough, someone who actually spoke at the Genius Network annual event, Chris Voss, the lead negotiator of the FBI, I was listening to a story between him and Lance Armstrong. They were flying to Austin and they sat next to each other on the plane and sure enough Lance became a client and Chris was on Lance's podcast and all of these sorts of things. I hear so many stories like this and that's just one of the little takeaways that if you don't want to go pay $25,000 to join a mastermind, I get it. Totally understand. But for the times that you do fly and maybe it's business-related, maybe consider that little upgrade there because that can help you shortcut the time and duration to really increase that that ceiling of complexity. 
 

Draye Redfern:

I've had so many wonderful conversations just shorten the duration it has taken me to reach certain goals. It's opened up my mind to have different conversations that have really stretched me and I can't recommend that enough. I am of the belief that pay to play is certainly of more benefit, but I am also of the belief that my ceiling of complexity will always be there. But like you said Bryan, there's always the right who around that can help you. 
 

Brittany A:

All right, so you guys just covered some awesome stuff and I really think it boils down to two key action items here. Number one I think is the who versus the how. It's that Dan Sullivan concept that Bryan talked about. There's bad news and there's good news with this. This whole topic of ceilings of complexity, the bad news, if you want to look at it this way, is that you're always going to have one. Just like Draye said, there's always going to be a ceiling of complexity. The thing is you've just broken through the first one and then you're going to be floating for a little bit and then you're going to get to that next layer and you're going to bump your head again and then you're going to break through that and then insert cycle, repeat. Okay? 
 

Brittany A:

So that's the bad news. That's the worst part of this. The great news is, is that there is always going to be other people out there who have gone through what you've been through in some facet, in some way they can absolutely help you get to the next level that you want to get to. Really, if you look at this, you boil it down and you say, what is the absolute worst thing that's going on about this whole ceiling of complexity, about banging your head against a wall, is that it just exists. That's really the worst thing. That's not bad news. That's good news. The good news is that there are resources. You just have to decide which ones you want to tackle and which ones are going to help you get to where you want to go. 
 

Brittany A:

So that is the first takeaway. The who versus the how. If you're not a member of Strategic Coach, if you have not checked out any of Dan Sullivan's stuff, his podcasts, his books, we highly recommend it. We highly stand by it. Bryan's been in that program for I think about 75 years now, if I'm correct. No, just kidding. 
 

Bryan Sweet:

82 actually. 
 

Brittany A:

I know it's been over 20, I had to pick on him for a minute, but I know it's been over 20 and when you look at that, that's a relationship. That's a relationship that he's developed with this coaching program because it works and it helps. So that's something that when you commit and that leads me to the next point and Bryan and Draye both alluded to this and I think it's powerful and it's important. That's to join the masterminds. It's to join coaching programs. I mean, I look at the core reason why advisors join our mastermind. It's because they want help breaking through the ceiling of complexity and they have through the vetting process, through our application process, they have decided that we can be the ones to help them do that. So when you're looking at, you have to decide what it is that you need. What it is that you think is going to help you to break through the ceiling, where are your biggest pain points, and then do your due diligence to find what can help you, who can help you, who can help you break through that ceiling of complexity. 
 

Brittany A:

As Draye said, that whole pay to play, it's important. Regardless of what asset or what money you can throw at your problems right now, there's always a solution. What does Dan Sullivan say? "If you've got enough money to solve a problem, you don't have a problem." Well that's a good problem to have then, right? If you can just take care of it with investing into yourself and into your education and putting yourself in a position, whether it's like Draye talked about flying first class or it's joining a mastermind or it's joining a coaching program for accountability or whatever that case is. Make the decision to invest in yourself because most of the time you're one connection away from changing your life. Now that's the point that I want to leave you with is that when you look at a ceiling of complexity, it boils down to this one thing and it's one thing only. 
 

Brittany A:

It's the fact that you are one single decision away from changing the rest of your life. So literally you could make one little decision that could change the trajectory of your business, it's just taking action. It's taking the time to decide where you want to go, who you want alongside to help you get there and how you want to do it. Then find the people that put those puzzles together. Find the people that can help you connect the dots. So before I close us out, you got your top two takeaways, Bryan, Draye, any other tidbits you want to leave with our listeners? 
 

Bryan Sweet:

I have just a couple of thoughts based on some things that you said. One is when you pay, you pay attention. I think that's an interesting one. So when you put money down and they tell you to do something, more than likely you'll actually implement it. There's the other benefit of joining some of these groups. Then just the other thing you're talking about strategic coach, I just got back last night from my strategic coach class and just to tell you like you're one connection away, I had probably three connections that I didn't anticipate that occurred yesterday that were things that I really wasn't looking for but are so helpful for me to move forward. One dealing with a family office situation and a few others where they gave me some ideas or connections or resources that just in conversation and being in this group were side products from the event that I didn't anticipate but probably paid for the strategic coach course just in the little side conversations that I had. 
 

Bryan Sweet:

The other part is there was also one person that I sat next to that had an issue and I helped him solve it. So I helped him get through a ceiling of complexity and he really didn't think that I was probably be the guy because he didn't know he'd be sitting next to me. So it works both ways. I tell you what your comment is that you're one conversation away from maybe changing your life or your circumstances. That is so, so true.
 

Brittany A:

Absolutely. You know, Bryan, I think you bring out a really good point for us to really round this out on is that when you're attending things, when you're going in and when I talk about attending, I mean if you're part of a coaching program, you're joining a mastermind, you're on a call with some guy you met on an airplane flying first class. Regardless of what it is, is that you always need to have your antennas up as to what your biggest pain points are in your business and to what you want to solve. But you also have to go in with the mindset that you might get out of that meeting something completely different than what you expected. So don't go with tunnel vision. Don't go with just, I need to put my blinders on because I only need these three things. 
 

Brittany A:

Well, you might experience something that again could help you change the trajectory, could help you shift something in your business, some tiny little move they could make a really big impact. So just make sure that you open your mind. You've always got certain things that you want to focus on, but have an open mind and go into this knowing that there is something there that could absolutely change your life. So that rounds out the the third of the biggest questions that we are hearing from you our audience members, from our ultimate advisor coaching and mastermind members. So again, we are here to help you. If you have questions, if you have things that are burning, please do not hesitate to reach out. In fact, you could shoot me an email, brittany@ultimateadvisorcoaching.com. It's easy, it's simple, and we are here to be able to vet that for you. 
 

Brittany A:

So the other thing too is that if you know other advisors, you know advisors who are frustrated, they have ceilings of complexity they are hitting, don't keep this episode a secret. Share it with them. Help out people who have helped you because I guarantee that your network of advisors, you guys have helped each other get to the point that you're at today. So be sure to share the best information with them so that they can reach and break through their ceilings of complexity as well. So that wraps up today's episode of the Ultimate Advisor Podcast. We will catch you back here next week. 
 

Brittany A:

Hey Brittany here. We hope you got a lot of value out of today's episode to access the key takeaways, the show notes, and any deliverables go to: UltimateAdvisorPodcast.com and while you're there, check out the Ultimate Advisor Mastermind if you want to learn ways to maximize your income, your impact and your legacy through an automated practice, a self managing team, and a killer culture, the clients can't stay away from. We look forward to seeing you back here in next week's episode.

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