PROpulsion LIVE

Francois du Toit

Welcome to PROpulsion Live, your ultimate destination for all things related to building and running a successful financial planning business. Our weekly show is the essential resource for financial planners, advisors, paraplanners, and anyone in the financial services profession. Join us every Friday on YouTube for the live show as we explore the ins and outs of sales, marketing, technology, relationships, business strategy, personal development, and so much more.With over 200 episodes and counting, our show features both insightful solo presentations and engaging interviews with industry experts from around the globe. Our dynamic format includes a 5-minute intro and welcome, a current affairs segment hosted by the FPI, a coach's corner led by Norma Simons, a random topic discussion, quick announcements, a 30-minute main topic or interview, and a closing segment to wrap things up.Subscribe to PROpulsion Live and become a part of our growing community of 1200+ dedicated professionals. Together, we're shaping the future of the financial planning profession. Don't miss out on the valuable insights, tips, and strategies that will propel your business or practice to new heights. Be part of the change and the journey towards a prosperous and impactful financial planning profession!If this is speaking your language or you listened to a few episodes and found value, then please subscribe or follow now and never miss an episode of PROpulsion Live, the show that empowers financial planners like you to thrive!

  1. 3d ago

    Is Your Technology Making Your Business More Complicated? with Pieter Teessen

    Send us Fan Mail Is your technology making your business simpler, or are you changing the way your business works just to fit your technology? In this episode of PROpulsion LIVE, I speak with Pieter Teessen of Teessen Consulting about how financial services businesses can use technology to reduce operational friction, connect information and give their people more time to focus on clients. We explore an important question: How do you use technology to simplify your business rather than forcing your business to fit the technology? Our conversation covers: - Why businesses can end up adapting their processes around generic systems - How to tell the difference between a technology problem and a process problem - The cost of having client information spread across multiple systems - Where automation and AI can reduce repetitive administration - How better internal processes can improve the client experience - What to consider when choosing a technology partner - Where to start if your current technology environment has become too complicated Pieter brings more than 25 years of experience working with financial services businesses through Teessen Consulting. Their work includes technology platforms such as InsureSuite, InsureCRM, CommSplit and InsurePortal, alongside consulting focused on business processes and operations. If you work in a financial planning, advice, insurance or brokerage business, this conversation will help you think differently about the relationship between your processes and the technology supporting them. The goal is not more technology. It is technology that helps the business work better. Subscribe to PROpulsion for weekly conversations about building and running better financial planning businesses.

    Is Your Technology Making Your Business More Complicated? with Pieter Teessen
  2. Sep 25

    How Russell Ho Built a Human-First Financial Planning Practice

    Send us Fan Mail  What changes when financial planning starts with the person, rather than the product? In this episode of PROpulsion LIVE, Francois du Toit speaks with Russell Ho, CFP®, one of the 2026 FPI Financial Planner of the Year finalists, about the human-first approach he has built into his financial planning practice. Russell works through what he calls his Three Hats. First, he approaches the conversation as a financial therapist and behaviour coach, seeking to understand the client’s money story, fears, beliefs and behaviour. Second, he steps into the role of lifestyle financial planner, helping the client build a roadmap around the life they want to live. Only then does he put on the third hat, financial adviser, where technical advice, products and solutions enter the conversation. We unpack what this looks like in practice, including: Why understanding the person comes before analysing the numbers What happens in Russell’s first conversation with a prospective client How therapeutic listening can help planners get beyond surface-level answers Why vulnerability plays a role in his client process How he structures a personalised first-year client journey Where AI may change the technical side of financial planning Which human skills planners may need to develop further What Russell has learnt from becoming a 2026 FPI Financial Planner of the Year finalist Practical changes planners can make in their own client conversations The bigger question behind the conversation is: What does a human-first financial planning process look like in practice, and why does it matter more as AI gets better at the technical work? If you are a financial planner, adviser or practice owner thinking about the future of advice, client relationships and where human advisers continue to add value, this conversation will give you plenty to think about and apply. Subscribe to PROpulsion for weekly conversations about building and running better financial planning businesses. #FinancialPlanning #FinancialAdvice #HumanFirstAdvice #FinancialPlanner #ArtificialIntelligence #ClientExperience #PROpulsionLIVE

    How Russell Ho Built a Human-First Financial Planning Practice
  3. Sep 11

    Building a Financial Planning Practice Around Better Decisions with Gareth Collier

    Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build a financial planning practice around better client decisions, not just better financial outcomes? In this episode of PROpulsion LIVE, I speak with Gareth Collier, CFP®, founder of Firecrest Group and one of the finalists in the FPI Financial Planner of the Year competition. We explore how Gareth approaches financial planning, how he works with clients, and what he has learnt from moving from an established practice to building his own. The conversation goes beyond investments and technical advice. We look at how Gareth thinks about client conversations, process, implementation, technology, and the role of the planner in helping people make decisions that support the life they want to live. We discuss: • What good financial planning looks like to Gareth • How he approaches the first client conversation • The process behind understanding what matters to a client • How he helps clients move from understanding to action • What building Firecrest has taught him about running a financial planning practice • Where technology fits into the advice process • What should remain firmly in the hands of the human planner • What the FPI Financial Planner of the Year process has revealed about the way he works If you are a financial planner, adviser, practice owner or part of an advice business, this episode offers a practical look at how one planner is thinking about better decisions, better processes and building a practice around both. PROpulsion LIVE Season 7: From Knowing to Doing.

    Building a Financial Planning Practice Around Better Decisions with Gareth Collier
  4. Sep 5

    South Africa’s R50.4 Trillion Protection Gap: What Are We Missing? with Prince Sarpong

    Send us Fan Mail South Africa’s life and disability protection gap has reached R50.4 trillion, despite years of financial education, stronger regulation and a more professional advice industry. So what are we missing? In this episode of PROpulsion LIVE, Prof. Prince Sarpong joins us to explore why he believes the problem is not mainly financial literacy, but legibility. In simple terms, people may understand that they are exposed, but they often do not know their own financial position clearly enough to act. We discuss: Why the protection gap keeps growing The difference between literacy and legibility Why “screening, not schooling” may be a better approach How advisers can create salience without shame What SikaSync is designed to show clients Why protection advice may open new opportunities for growing advice businesses What advisers can do differently in their client conversations The one big question we explore is: If financial literacy is not closing South Africa’s R50.4 trillion protection gap, what needs to change to help more people understand their own risk and act on it? The conversation draws on Prince’s working paper, Financial Planning for the Greater Good, which argues for a diagnostic-led model that makes personal financial exposure clearer and more actionable. Here is the link to Sika Smart that Prince spoke about: https://sikasmart.epistemica.co.za/  Subscribe to PROpulsion LIVE for weekly conversations about building and running better financial planning businesses.

    South Africa’s R50.4 Trillion Protection Gap: What Are We Missing? with Prince Sarpong
  5. Aug 21

    The Myth of the Self-Managing Team with Lizanne van Eeden

    Send us Fan Mail A self-managing team sounds ideal. People take initiative, solve problems and keep the business moving without everything landing back on the owner’s desk. But what happens when “self-managing” starts to mean that people are simply expected to figure things out? In this episode of PROpulsion LIVE, Francois du Toit speaks with Lizanne Van Eeden, Founder of Karenu Consulting, about the difference between an empowered team and an unsupported one. They explore the one big question: How do you build a team that can take ownership without leaving people to figure everything out for themselves? The conversation looks at: Why practice owners want self-managing teams The difference between trust and proper management Warning signs that a team is under-managed The effect of poor role clarity and unclear decision-making How team structure affects client service, compliance and capacity What good management looks like without micromanaging One practical step practices can take to create a more empowered team Clients may deal mainly with the adviser, but they experience the whole business through handovers, follow-ups, administration and communication. If the team lacks clarity behind the scenes, clients will eventually feel it. This episode is for financial planners, practice owners, managers and team members who want more ownership in the business without creating confusion or dependence. Subscribe to PROpulsion LIVE for practical conversations about building and running better financial planning businesses. #FinancialPlanning #PracticeManagement #Leadership #TeamManagement #FinancialAdvisers

    The Myth of the Self-Managing Team with Lizanne van Eeden
  6. Aug 14

    Choosing Technology Without Getting Caught Up in the Hype with Marius Botha

    Send us Fan Mail Financial advice businesses have more technology choices than ever before. New platforms, AI tools and software promises appear constantly, which makes it harder to know what is worth paying attention to and what is simply noise. So how can financial advice businesses make better technology decisions without getting distracted by hype or putting client information at risk? In this episode of PROpulsion LIVE, Francois du Toit speaks with Marius Botha, Founder and Managing Director of WorkPool, about how advice businesses can make better technology choices. They discuss: How to start with the business problem before looking for software How to avoid technology decisions driven by FOMO What to consider before adding another tool Why process matters as much as technology How to think about AI without chasing every new development What advisers should understand about client data and technology providers Whether businesses should look for one platform or several connected tools What more than 20 years of working with businesses has taught Marius about making technology work Marius also shares lessons from building WorkPool since 2002 and working with businesses across financial services and other industries. WorkPool was recently recognised among the Top 10 Rated Advice Technology Solutions, based on ratings from financial advice professionals. This conversation is about cutting through the noise, asking better questions and making technology decisions that support the way your business needs to work. PROpulsion LIVE helps financial planners, advisers and advice businesses move From Knowing to Doing.

    Choosing Technology Without Getting Caught Up in the Hype with  Marius Botha

About

Welcome to PROpulsion Live, your ultimate destination for all things related to building and running a successful financial planning business. Our weekly show is the essential resource for financial planners, advisors, paraplanners, and anyone in the financial services profession. Join us every Friday on YouTube for the live show as we explore the ins and outs of sales, marketing, technology, relationships, business strategy, personal development, and so much more.With over 200 episodes and counting, our show features both insightful solo presentations and engaging interviews with industry experts from around the globe. Our dynamic format includes a 5-minute intro and welcome, a current affairs segment hosted by the FPI, a coach's corner led by Norma Simons, a random topic discussion, quick announcements, a 30-minute main topic or interview, and a closing segment to wrap things up.Subscribe to PROpulsion Live and become a part of our growing community of 1200+ dedicated professionals. Together, we're shaping the future of the financial planning profession. Don't miss out on the valuable insights, tips, and strategies that will propel your business or practice to new heights. Be part of the change and the journey towards a prosperous and impactful financial planning profession!If this is speaking your language or you listened to a few episodes and found value, then please subscribe or follow now and never miss an episode of PROpulsion Live, the show that empowers financial planners like you to thrive!