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. 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 Redfern, 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 Advisor Podcast.

Brittany A.: Welcome to the Ultimate Advisor Podcast. This is Brittany Anderson, and I am here today with a really special guest, Mr. Chris Smith of The Campfire Effect. So welcome, Chris. Thank you for being here.

Chris Smith: Thank you, Brittany. Yeah, it's my pleasure. I'm honored to be here with you guys.

Brittany A.: Awesome. Well, I am so excited for today's conversation. I'm going to give Chris a chance to talk a little bit, toot his own horn a little bit, talk about kind of where he's come from, what his background is and I know that our audience members are going to get just a ton of value out of today. Chris, I know since meeting you, it's been gosh I think a couple of years ago now through Joe Polish's Genius Network and you just kind of amaze me every time I hear you speak, every time we engage together. So I am really excited to have you share today. So can you kick us off and talk a little bit about how you actually came from the financial planning world that's your background and lead us up to where you are now with The Campfire Effect?

Chris Smith: Absolutely, I'd be happy to. Yeah, I had the amazing privilege of being an advisor and I entered the industry in kind of a non traditional way and I was pretty non traditional in my approach of the success I had as an advisor. And I think one of the best things that was going for me was you probably sometimes naivete can be a blessing because you just don't know any better. And so I was just too dumb to know any better when I became an advisor and I didn't know any other way to sell than how I knew how to sell and I didn't know anything about the industry. And yet within a pretty short amount of time, now I've realized I was pretty successful and I was one of the top producing advisors in the firm.  And what was interesting is I knew less about the markets than anyone in the firm. I knew less about financial planning than anyone in the firm. I knew less about products than anyone in the firm. And in some ways, I think it was actually a saving grace because I couldn't rely on those things to go out and talk about in the marketplace to try and differentiate myself because what I've realized is if you're talking about the markets and you're talking about financial planning, you're talking about products, the likelihood is that you do sound like everyone else. So the only thing I could do, Brittany was really rely on my story of who I was and why I was an advisor and how my life had led me there. 

 And then I had to rely on their story. I had to get to really know the clients. And the one thing that, although I didn't know a lot about the markets and I didn't know a lot about financial planning, I really was intentional about knowing the story of our firm and our origin story and our history, and really what made us unique as a firm. So that's really what I focused on is I went out and I connected with people through their story. I connected with them through my story. And then I told a really powerful story about our firm and who we were and what we stood for and what made us unique and different. And it really worked. And I didn't know that I was doing anything out of the ordinary, but I was there, I was producing, I was an advisor, and then our firm merged with another firm. And so we had this kind of situation where we're trying to decide who we were.

 And I jumped in and said, "Hey, I'd love to help figure out the new story and the new brand for these two firms coming together." And so we just got really intentional about what we stood for and who we were and how we were going about to differentiate ourselves. And I think that's one of the things a lot of financial advisors are frustrated with is they know that they're unique and different. They just don't know how to articulate it. And so we just had a lot of growth and a lot of success as a result of that.

Brittany A.: You know, I think that you bring up, you said the word differentiation a couple of different times and that's something that we talk about a lot within the Ultimate Advisor Podcast, within the Ultimate Advisor mastermind, within the coaching. So I want you to elaborate a little bit more as to how you see financial advisors using stories to actually build their business and how you've aided in that.

Chris Smith: Absolutely. What's interesting is I think one of the mistakes around story that's so unfortunate and I want to change this in this industry and in the world is that so way too many people see story as a tactic. And we hear all the time that story's important, right? Financial advisors are probably hearing it all day everyday, like you got to tell your story, you got to tell your story but we look at it like a function of marketing or branding or advertising and it's kind of this cute thing. Yeah, I should tell my story. Whereas we see that your story's the most powerful thing you have to influence your mission, your message, and your movement to create the kind of income and impact you're capable of.

 We don't believe story's a tactic. We believe that story is the source of all clarity and all alignment. And every bit of differentiation is found in your story. And what's so unfortunate Brittany, is we often see advisors who are talking the least about what differentiates them the most and talking the most about what differentiates them the least. And so what differentiates you the least as an advisor is the same things that every other advisor could talk about. Financial planning, the markets, security goals, retirement, those things are important, but again, everyone's talking about that. And there's not a way for you to talk about those things in a different enough way to differentiate yourself. You're going to sound like everyone else. And if you really think about it, the only thing that you have as an advisor to differentiate yourself is your personal story of who you are and what led you to this industry because no one else can replicate that.

 And then the second thing that we teach that really you can differentiate yourself with as an advisor is the way you do it and how you do it. Because the way you do it, yeah, it might be similar to other advisors, but there's no way that it's identical because it's you. So what we want to help advisors do is stop talking so much about what they do and the markets and financial planning and products and start talking more about who you are, how your life led you here, why you do this, and the way that you do it that's unique and different than anyone else.

Brittany A.: Gosh, I think that's so powerful. And it's interesting because in one of our previous episodes, actually more than one of them, to be honest, is as we've talked about how when you become so aligned with your story, when you become so aligned with who it is you serve, who you are as a company, that it actually makes it really easy to identify your avatar and to decide who you actually serve best and you start attracting those people naturally. So I think this is just such a powerful thing in your process in general. It's just so interesting.

 We at Sweet Financial, we've actually been through Chris' four step process. So Chris, I would love for you, you kind of alluded to it just a moment ago, but I'd like for you to talk a little bit more about your four step process and how it's really helping advisors change that communication that you just talked about. I would love for you to touch on that.

Chris Smith: Yeah, absolutely. And I want to touch on something that you said, Brittany, that's so unfortunate. And then this is where I even in my own story and messaging, I get to be better. As the guy that's out teaching story messaging, I get to be better with my own story and message because one of the things that we've heard recently from some advisors that are really successful, including you and Brian, is they're like, :Chris, we always kind of thought you were just the story guy, which is awesome. It's a compliment. But we thought that what you did was you just kind of help people get clear on their personal story and connect it to their business."

 And then once they go through our process, they're like, "Wow, this is so much more than just our personal story, connecting it to our business." It's like what you said, it's like we can see now that by diving into our story, it actually sheds light and clarity on everything. So it's like through the story, we help you identify what differentiates you the most. Through your story, we uncover your proprietary process or methodology that makes you unique and different. Through your story, that leads us to who your target market is and who you really should be serving that's most aligned. Through your story, we develop your signature talk that allows you to go out and give seminars and workshops and webinars that are way more powerful than any talk you've ever given.

 So it's like, and that's something that I realized that I get to do better at my own story messaging is helping people see that story is not one dimensional. It's like it's through the story that everything that's related to growth and scale and impacting your business gets created and which leads into that idea of this process that one of the things that we've realized Brittany, is that so much of story and messaging and marketing is focused on the how to say it, like the tactically, like how to say it more effectively, how to say it more concisely, how to say it more uniquely, how to position it. So a lot of it's in the how to say it and we're constantly spending time, money and resources, whether we realize it or not on the how to say it better. We'll work with the copywriter, we'll work with a video production company, we'll work with a speaking coach.

 We're always tweaking how to say it. But what we've come to realize is that there's a huge step that comes before the how to say it, which is like what are you actually trying to say? Because what you're trying to say should inform how to say it. And if you really want to get the most out of your marketing dollars on the how to say it, and if you really want to be the most intentional, how to effectively say it, you've got to first get clear on what it is you're trying to say. And so that's why we've created what we call the core four messaging statements. So these core four messaging statements we've created are really designed specifically first and foremost, help you get clear on, we know exactly what it is we're trying to say. We know exactly what it is we're solving for out there in the industry.

 And we can see the through line that runs through all of our messaging that holds all of it accountable. Because once you have those core four messaging statements, every piece of content you're ever going to create, every piece of copy you're ever going to write, every video you're ever going to shoot, every talk you're ever going to give, every bit of rebranding you're going to do, it literally gets derived from one of those core four messaging statements. And it really empowers you to go out now and invest in marketing and branding and seminars and workshops, but know that you're being absolutely the most intentional. So it's the what you're trying to say. Then once that's clear, yes, then we look at the how to say it and we plug it into the framework and the methodology. But if you're focusing on how to say it before you're clear on what to say, it's kind of like you're putting the medium before the message and there's this real temptation to do that. But if you can dial in the core four messaging statements first, that leads you to the effectiveness of how to communicate it, how to be absolutely the most intentional with everything that you put out there.

Brittany A.: I think it's really interesting, Chris, and I'm so glad that you said what you said with, it's more than just the story, that there's so many different dimensions to that and I was just kind of chuckling to myself thinking, yeah, you are dead on. I mean, I think about at Sweet Financial, we had a whole video sequence shot prior to engaging with you and we went back and reshot everything because we're like, "Oh my gosh, that through line. That's what we have been missing. That is really where we're going to be able to resonate." So it was literally, I think three sentences total that we added into that sequence and it has completely changed the whole dynamic of that video sequence for the better. So I think it's the things that people don't always think about, yeah you hear story and you're right.

 In our industry, we have a lot of people talking about you need to share your story, you need to share who you are. But I think that what's interesting at what you're doing and in your four step process is you're peeling back the layers and really helping people to lay a foundation for what their whole entire business and decisions actually, really important decisions, how they're being made and how they're being more congruent to that message.

 So one aspect I think that is really interesting and that we talk on quite a bit is how it's so important in our industry with financial advisors to really create an experience. So we have helped other advisors to kind of hone in basically for lack of a better term, the Ritz Carlton effect, really help them to be able to provide a unique experience to their client that makes the client feel like they're walking into long lost, beloved family members to really have them engage. So something that I think is interesting that I know you're going to be working with us here in the near future is the office story, the tour, right? The tour and how that can actually create a whole experience and have a prospect sold before they even meet with the advisor. So I want you to just talk a little bit about what that looks like.

Chris Smith: Yeah, absolutely. This is one of my favorite things to talk about. And again, it's like once you've really done the work to get clear on what it is you're trying to say, then you get to do these really fun, intentional things about how to effectively say it, but in a way that's super aligned and consistent like a story tour. But it would be difficult for me to walk into a financial advisor's office and help them develop a tour of their office without actually knowing what it is they're trying to say first. And that's where we would get way ahead of ourselves. So what we started realizing is I'm like you and Bryan, I'm a huge, huge believer in being intentional to the point of obsessed with the experience, like obsessed about it to the point of maybe like a little unhealthy sometimes.

 But the reality is is I really believe Brittany, that anything that we haven't been intentional around the experience, we're leaving it to chance and why would we ever want to leave it to chance? Especially something as important as a first prospective client meeting. It's the first experience they're having with us in person. Now, they've probably had some experiences with us before they've come in, which is a whole another topic we could talk about as far as shooting a really compelling video about your story and why you do this, what you stand for and having them have an experience of that before they ever come to the office. so it's like there's just so many things that we can do as advisors to allow our story to actually do the heavy lifting for us, like a video that gets sent to them before they ever come in that gives them an experience of who you are and what you stand for and they already start to feel a connection to you and create that human connection, that trust and that confidence before they've ever walked into the office.

 And then they walk into the office and instead of just saying, "Hey, it's so nice to meet you. I know you're here to see Brian today. Take a seat while we're getting the room ready. Would you like a coffee or a bottle of water?" What if instead, it's like, "Hey, thank you for coming to the firm today, our office. I know it's your first time here and I know you're going to meet with Brian. While we're getting the room ready, would you mind if we give you a quick tour of our office and told you a little about who we are and what we stand for and what makes us unique?"

 And that prospective client's like, "Sure, I'd love to." And to the client, it just feels like a casual tour but then you take them on this tour and every single word is intentional, like the tour has been designed using the story in a narrative that we create and put together in a way that it flows chronologically, it makes sense and it touches on all the important pieces. So on that tour, you're telling them who you are, you're telling them your origin story, you're maybe even showing pictures of the past. You're telling them why you do what you do and you're telling them how you got to this place you're at now. And then you're showcasing your process and your methodology. You're talking about people that you've taken through it. So by the time the tour is over, they as a prospective client, they're like, "I know who these people are. I know what they stand for. I know why they do this. I feel a personal connection to them. I know how they do it. I know the way they do it. I know how it's unique and different." Again, all of this is happening before the meeting has even started.

Brittany A.: See, and this is why I truly enjoy talking to you Chris, because you've said so many things in that little spiel that you just gave there, you've said so many things that are key takeaways that advisors are just not doing and I think it's so powerful. You mentioned the whole thing of sending a video before somebody even comes in that warms them to who you are, what you stand for, and actually how it applies to that prospect. People are just not doing things like that. So when you look at differentiation and being able to stand out in a potentially crowded market space, those are the things that are going to make you stick out in a really positive light. And I want to go back just even one step further than that is that when you have this, when you go through this four step process and you really drill down in your copy, in your marketing and everything. You are setting up what Robert Cialdini has this whole book written on Pre-Suasion, setting the tone before somebody even engages.

 So when you are putting your story, your message, who you are, who you serve into all of your marketing efforts and to all of your copy, you are attracting the people who are going to come in. You're going to offer that tour and they're already sold. They are already in the correct mindset because you have done your job when it comes to marketing efforts to get the right people in your office and you are going to start engaging with them in a really exciting way. So you threw out the term marketing, Chris. So I want to kind of circle to this so that I don't lose it. If you could share kind of in one little golden nugget, you could share one marketing tip that you think would really help advisors to differentiate themselves, what would you recommend? What would that be?

Chris Smith: Yeah, I'll share one that I think is really relevant that I've been having a conversation with a lot of advisors with recently and that is this idea that like if you're an advisor, you probably are, but you have to be paying attention to what's going on right now in the industry. It's more exciting than it's ever been and it's more potentially threatening to some and uncertain than it's ever been with all the different regulations and fee compression and these huge companies plastering media with 0% commissions and zero fees. It's never been more important to differentiate yourself based on value because the marketplace is being educated that it's not about value. The marketplace is being educated that it's about fees and low fees and no fees and like no commissions.

 So where I think we're headed, Brittany is the things that I'm talking about, the things that you're talking about, they've always been really, really important to be successful as an advisor and you could also ignore all of them and still be successful as an advisor and I think those days are over or they're coming to a close. It's no longer like, in my opinion, it's no longer going to be, "Hey, yeah, tell your story, differentiate yourself, develop a world-class client experience." All of those things are really important. I actually think we're getting to a place where they're a necessity and an essential if you want to be successful in this industry. And so go ahead.

Brittany A.: No, I was just going to say I completely agree with that and I just wanted to add that you are dead on with your comment about how up to this point, it's kind of been a, that would be nice, right? Yeah, that's good. I'll get to that at some point. But it goes back to the whole thing. If you're not growing, you're dying. And I think that growing is more than just your numbers. It's in how you serve people. So I'll let you continue. But I just thought that was such a good point to hone in on.

Chris Smith: Yeah, absolutely. And to that point, I believe that if you are an advisor, we'll take this serious and be super intentional about what you and your firm stand for. Help your people get aligned to that, which is another, it's one thing for you to get clear and then help all of your team get connect and align to that. So if you will be really intentional about what you stand for, your story, your message and how you differentiate yourself and start to be intentional about how that gets woven into everything you do from pre office visit to office visit to marketing, branding, then I believe that all of the changes in the industry and the focus on zero commission like zero fees and zero commissions, I actually think all of that actually serves you.

 It's like the best thing that ever happened to you because there are people out there that still put a huge amount of value on value. And I think if you're an advisor that's not going to be intentional about your story and your message and your brand and what you stand for and weave in it everything, then I think that all of these changes in the industry are probably one of the biggest threats that's ever been to your business. So it's like I've heard a lot of people in the mortgage space that were asking, "Hey, what do you think about like Amazon starting a mortgage company and entering the mortgage space?" And I said, "Well I think if you're a loan officer that really still understands the power of a client experience and the power of differentiation in your story and your message, then Amazon starting a mortgage company could be the best thing that ever happened to you because it's going to allow you to stand out even more from the people that don't get it. And if you don't get it, then it's a huge threat to you.

 And so one of the things that I would really be focusing on in my marketing right now, if I'm an adviser, is value. I would not be talking of... and this is not just recently. We've always taught our advisors do not talk about fees and there's a way to handle the fee conversation. But I would be focusing in all of my marketing and all of my branding and all of my messaging in my first client meetings is on value. And when someone asks me, "Hey, what's your fee like?" We teach our advisors a really intentional way to respond to that. But don't let them bait you into the fee conversation because it's a road to nowhere.

 It's a road to try and separate yourself and against this commercial that they saw on TV. And so one of the things that we teach people advisors to do when someone asks you like, "Hey, what's your fee?" The very first thing you say is like, "That's a really amazing question. I'm happy to tell you our fee, but I want to ask you first why have you asked that?" See now I can do something with the conversation. I can turn it into a conversation around value, but if someone asks me what my fee is and I'd go right to like, "Oh, here's what it is and then I start having to defend it and justify it.", that's a really like just a not great place to be in a conversation. So the one marketing tip I would have right now is use the industry, take advantage of what the industry is doing out there around zero commissions and zero fees and use it to your advantage to talk more about value.

Brittany A.: I think you just bring up a really interesting point there about posing that question of what brought you to ask that. And I think that something that's underlying here that I just want to bring out is that I think in understanding exactly who you are as a company and exactly the value, I mean you use the word value and I think that's so powerful, exactly the value that you provide to people, when it does come time in the conversation where you have to let them know how much they're going to pay to work with you, by having that firm understanding and who you are and the value you provide, it makes that conversation really simple and it gives you confidence as an advisor because I know actually quite a few very successful advisors that hate the fee conversation. They hate it. And I've seen this happen live and in action where they actually start offering a discount to the prospect before the prospects even asked for it because they just get nervous and they lack that confidence around it. So I wanted to bring that out that I think, and I think you would attest to this, that by having that core foundation of who you are, understanding the value you provide, it makes that conversation just so simple. So simple.

Chris Smith: Absolutely. And I loved the fee conversation because again, I saw it as a way to differentiate myself like they were giving me an opportunity to show how I was different. And that's what I'm talking about differentiation is like you've got to use language and your message and your story to differentiate and you've got to use every opportunity that's given to you. So a lot of advisors I know, they hate that conversation. They hate people asking them because they don't know what to do with it. But I really believe that we want people walking in and one of the first questions I ask is like, "Hey, what's your fee?" Because it's such an opportunity to demonstrate to them how different you are and how you answer that question.

Brittany A.: You know, I think that something that's interesting to you is people understand in today's world, in our world as advisors, people are understanding that you get what you pay for. It's with anything. It's with any purchase, you get what you pay for. So you have to be able to articulate that value like you stated in such a clear and concise way. And that brings me, I have to bring this up because it is just one of those things that so many advisors just cringe thinking about or they sit and spin on it for just years trying to perfect it. And it is the whole concept of the elevator speech. And I think you, Chris have a really interesting kind of spin to that. So I'd love for you to talk about why the elevator pitch or elevator speech is dead, and where you can take it instead.

Chris Smith: Yeah, absolutely. Well the first thing, I've never loved that term because I'm like one, I don't want to be pitched in an elevator and I don't want to pitch anyone in an elevator. I just hate everything about that term and what it conjures up for people. And what's so funny is I actually was talking with someone. The reason why I love working with independent advisors and organizations and companies that support independent advisors is because I feel like they really, really get it. And they value story messaging beyond a tactic. And I was talking with someone recently and I was telling them about what it is we did and, and the person responded with like, "So you basically kind of helped them develop their elevator pitch."

 And I was like basically no, not at all. And so what is so much better than... see, an elevator pitch is about you. So when someone says, "Hey, what do you do?", and you give them the elevator pitch, it's really about you. And what we're constantly trying to help our clients see is well how do we make it about them? How do we use the story and the messaging to make it about them? And so one of the things that we teach, that's a really powerful way to answer the question, "What do you do?" Or just in general talk about what you do or if you're ever at a networking event and you get 30 60 seconds to stand up and do your commercial to not do an elevator pitch again. Because why? It sounds like everyone else and it's about you and no one cares. So what we teach people to do is to speak to the pain, struggle or challenge that their target market is in that they serve, that they solve.

 And so instead of jumping right to an elevator pitch, someone says, "Hey, what do you do?", and you get a chance to stand up and talk about what you do, you might say something like, you know, I often work with business owners who have spent their entire life pouring everything into their business and now find themselves at this place of wondering if that's going to pay off for them and they're going to be able to retire and create the life that they've always wanted with their family. And they know that they've been way more intentional about building their business than they have actually planning for their exit from it. Then you just stop and you let them, yeah.

Brittany A.: That's amazing to me. And yeah, I think I'm going to to let you keep going with that. But I think that just again, I want to pull this out because I think it's so important for our audience members to understand the impact of this is that simple change in framing, that simple change in words, that is what is going to get you new business. And again, why be in the business and make it this hard? It's not that hard. It's just doing the work. It's doing the right things. So I'll have you continue, but I just think that's so good.

Chris Smith: Yeah, no, I think that's really like again, it's just thinking differently. It's thinking like, okay, if I'm in a conference or a networking event and I know that everyone's up saying that same thing and here's the other thing is we're so tempted at times to talk about where we're at instead of meeting people where they're at. And what I mean by that is your prospective client is not interested in your solution right now. Your prospective client is interested in knowing if you actually get the pain, struggle or challenge they're in. And so we have to meet them where we're at. So our solution for people, "our elevator pitch.", it's great, but it's in the future. That's not where they're at right now. That's tomorrow but today is the pain, struggle or challenge they're in. And so whenever you think about talking about what you do in a conversation at a networking event or whatever it is, think about it from the context of how do I meet people where they're at, how do I meet people in the pain, struggle or challenge they're at so that they really see that I see them, they see that I feel them and understand them and get them.

Brittany A.: You know, I think that when you talk about making them feel seen and heard, I think that the biggest problem, the biggest trap or one of the biggest I should say that advisors and just anybody who's really trying to engage with the public is trying to engage with new prospective clients is that they don't honor that always. And we're so hung up on having to get our point across and it goes back to listening to hear versus listening to respond. So I think that what you just touched on, it's just a complete change in mindset and a mindfulness when you were out, when you were in that public setting and how again, you can stand out in an amazing, amazing way just by making somebody feel heard and feel seen. So I absolutely love that you brought that up and that you said that because I think it's so completely relevant.

 So Chris, I want to round us out. I could go on for days just because I love, I get new tidbits, new nuggets every single time that I hear you talk. I have notes myself as I'm jotting down for whatever the word is, ferociously, voraciously while you're speaking. But I want to ask you one more question for you to give some insight to the audience.

Chris Smith: Sure.

Brittany A.: If you could give one piece of advice to a successful wealth advisor, what would that piece of advice be?

Chris Smith: Yeah, that's actually a pretty easy one for me because the majority of the advisors we work with are very successful and they have an amazing business already, like without us, they've got an amazing brand, an amazing story, an amazing culture. And the one thing that they struggle with is to translate that to the rest of the team. So an advisor we recently worked with, he's one of the top three advisors in his company. He's a massive, massive producer and has six other advisors on his team. And yet the one area he had not yet been able to scale in his business was in the seminars and workshops they do. So he hardly does any more client meetings. He's been able to scale and replicate himself almost everywhere. But he still spends 10 to 20 hours a month doing the seminars and doing them at nights and being away from his family because there wasn't any other advisor on his team that felt like they could do what he did.

 They didn't have the confidence and he had done a really good job of being very intentional with his own story in his own message, but it's difficult to then translate that to the team and so we were, we were able to help them take his already amazing story and message and upgrade it for him and the firm, but then most importantly really help his advisors see how their personal story was aligned with it and connected to it how it actually was part of it. And so what's so amazing about that is then we plug that into our signature framework, which is our framework of how to give a signature talk. Using that framework, as a guy that's already been doing seminars, he went out and was a little bit nervous to use our framework because what's interesting Brittany is our framework has a lot less teaching about the markets and what he was currently doing and what he was currently doing is working.

 But he said, "Chris, I'm going to have to cut out about 60% to 70% of the information I teach about the markets to make your framework work and I'm going to give it a shot. But I'm pretty nervous." Well, he let me know that the first seminar he did it, they scheduled 70% of the room, which is the biggest numbers they'd put up. The second seminar, he scheduled 85% of the room, but they said most importantly since then because there's now a framework and we've helped their advisors see how they connect to it, he sent two advisors to go out and put on the first ever in the history of their firm, advisor led seminars. And the first time they scheduled 40% of the room. We did some work and then they scheduled 70% and 75% so it's like, imagine how that changes. Imagine what would change if you're an already successful advisor if you really empowered your team with the story and the message that they could go out and truly replicate you.

Brittany A.: That is an incredible example. I mean think about those rates. I'm sure our audience members can think about their own close rates with seminars and that is an impactful story too to end. So I'm going to wrap us up on that note, Chris. So if anybody wants to get ahold of you, wants to talk a little bit more about how they can interject this whole theory, this whole idea of story into their business and really bring it to life, how can they get ahold of you?

Chris Smith: Yeah, we keep it pretty simple and straightforward because we realized that's what advisors like. And so one of the things that we always offer is I would love to open up a handful of strategy sessions to your community. And so if you send an email to connect@thecampfireeffect.com and Brittany, you can include that email but connect@thecampfireeffect.com and just put in the subject line Ultimate Advisor Podcast. We'll reach out to you with a way for you to schedule a strategy session with our team. And on the strategy sessions, it's really simple, like we really dive into what it is you really want to create and we look at the ways that you're currently using your story and your messages that are really useful and powerful, and then we also look at and help you identify all of the different areas you could be using your story in your message in a much more intentional way. 

Brittany A.: That is such a gift, I think. I appreciate that for our audience members, Chris, like I said, your company is just, you're amazing to work with and it truly changes the way that you do business in a really powerful and impactful way. So thank you so much for taking your time today to share your insight with our audience. I sincerely appreciate it. That wraps us up. That wraps up this episode of the Ultimate Advisor Podcast. We will catch you back here next week.

 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 that clients can't stay away from. We look forward to seeing you back here in next week's episode.