The Influential Advisor Podcast

Paul G. McManus and Gabe McManus
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Bimonthly

The Authority Marketing Platform for Financial Advisors. Built for advisors who want to be known for what they're already great at.Influential Advisor Media helps financial advisors build visibility, attract better clients, and grow through authority rather than cold outreach. If you've spent years developing real expertise and you're frustrated that the right people don't know you exist, this podcast is for you.Influential Advisor Media was founded by Paul G. McManus, host of The Influential Advisor Podcast and creator of The Authority Operating System. Our team has worked with more than 500 financial advisors and helped them generate over $100 million in results through authority marketing. Subscribe if you're a financial advisor who is done being the best-kept secret in your market. Learn more at influentialadvisor.com

  1. 22h ago

    122: David Grau Jr. | Top 50 Most Innovative Voices in Advisor Growth Series

    What does it take to build a financial advisory firm that can grow without depending on its founder? In this episode of Top 50 Most Innovative Voices in Advisor Growth, Paul G. McManus sits down with David Grau Jr., MBA, founder of Succession Resource Group and one of the financial advice industry’s leading experts on advisory firm valuation, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, and advisor exits. David has spent more than two decades helping independent financial advisors build, value, buy, sell, and transition their businesses. The conversation explores one of the biggest decisions successful financial advisors eventually face: Do you want to remain primarily an advisor—or build an enterprise that can operate and grow without you? What You’ll Learn In this episode, you’ll discover: Why financial advisor succession planning should begin years before retirementHow founder dependency can affect the value of an advisory firmWhen a financial advisor should transition from advisor to CEOThe difference between a highly profitable lifestyle practice and a scalable advisory enterpriseWhy getting stuck between the two can create what David calls “no man’s land”How M&A and acquisitions can accelerate advisory firm growthWhy capacity and profitability matter before acquiring another practiceHow compensation, career paths, phantom equity, and ownership can help retain next-generation advisorsWhy documenting a founder’s ideas, philosophy, and intellectual capital can make a firm easier to scaleHow AI can increase advisor capacity and profitability when paired with human judgmentHow advisory firm owners should think about whether to sell now or continue buildingCan Your Advisory Firm Exist Without You? For many successful financial advisors, the biggest constraint eventually becomes the founder. Clients depend on the founder. Important decisions depend on the founder. Business development depends on the founder. And much of the firm's most valuable knowledge may still live inside the founder's head. David explains why reducing that dependency requires more than simply hiring people. Advisors must intentionally transfer relationships, knowledge, judgment, and responsibility to the next generation. The goal isn't necessarily to build the biggest firm possible. It's to decide what kind of business you actually want to own—and build it intentionally. Lifestyle Practice vs. Advisory Enterprise David makes an important distinction between two very different models. A lifestyle advisory practice can be extremely profitable, efficient, and rewarding for the owner. A true advisory enterprise is designed to operate independently of the founder, with leadership, specialized team members, repeatable processes, and greater enterprise value. Neither model is inherently better. The danger is unintentionally getting stuck somewhere in between: more employees, more complexity, more management responsibilities, and less time doing the work you originally enjoyed. How Does Succession Planning Affect Advisory Firm Value? Succession planning isn't simply something to address shortly before retirement. Nearly every decision an advisory firm owner makes—from hiring and compensation to profitability, client demographics, growth, and organizational structure—can ultimately influence the value and transferability of the business. That is why David encourages advisors to begin thinking about valuation and succession long before an exit. Why Documenting Your Intellectual Capital Matters The conversation also explores an overlooked source of founder dependency: intellectual capital. Your ideas, stories, judgment, philosophy, and approach to working with clients may have taken decades to develop. If those ideas remain only in your head, they become difficult for your team to consistently replicate. Documenting that expertise—including through a book—can help preserve the founder's thinking, educate the next generation, strengthen marketing, and allow the founder's ideas to remain present even when the founder is no longer personally sitting in every client meeting. AI, Capacity, and the Future of Financial Advice David and Paul also discuss how artificial intelligence is changing advisory firms. AI itself doesn't automatically make an advisory firm more valuable. What matters is what the firm can accomplish with it. When used by experienced professionals with judgment and subject-matter expertise, AI can potentially help advisors serve more households, increase capacity, improve profitability, and create greater operating leverage. About David Grau Jr., MBA David Grau Jr. is the founder of Succession Resource Group, a consulting firm focused on helping independent financial advisors value, buy, sell, and transition their businesses. His work focuses on advisory firm valuation, succession planning, M&A, ownership structures, compensation, and helping advisors ultimately exit their businesses on their own terms. Learn more at SuccessionResource.com. Build an Advisory Firm That Grows Beyond You If you're a financial advisor or RIA founder looking to turn your expertise into greater authority, visibility, and business growth, visit: InfluentialAdvisor.com Discover how The Authority Operating System™ helps financial advisors document their expertise, build visible authority, and create a business that becomes less dependent on the founder. Subscribe to Top 50 Most Innovative Voices in Advisor Growth for conversations with the leaders shaping the future of financial advisor growth. Topics: Financial Advisor Succession Planning, Advisory Firm Valuation, RIA Succession Planning, Financial Advisor M&A, Advisory Firm Growth, RIA Valuation, Enterprise Value, Founder Dependency, Financial Advisor CEO, Advisor Acquisitions, Advisor Exit Planning, AI for Financial Advisors Support the show

  2. 4d ago

    121: Eric Maldonado on The Fearless Wealth Plan and Why Fear, Not the Market, Is Your Biggest Risk

    Eric Maldonado, founder of Aquila Wealth Advisors, joins the show to talk about the real force behind most bad financial outcomes: not market crashes, but fear. He walks through why simple, understandable investing strategies consistently outperform complicated ones, why he starts every client relationship with values instead of numbers, and how his own experience with panic attacks changed the way he counsels anxious clients. He also shares how he helps people navigate sudden windfalls, why he encourages clients to spend and give while they're alive to see it, and what a seven-year family sabbatical taught him about practicing what he preaches. About Eric Maldonado Eric Maldonado, CFP®, MBA, is the founder of Aquila Wealth Advisors, a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning firm based in San Luis Obispo, California, serving clients virtually across the country. He has spent 15 years in financial planning, focusing on business owners and near-retirees, and specializes in helping clients navigate sudden windfalls from inheritances, business sales, and settlements. He is the author of The Fearless Wealth Plan, a simple guide to achieving your financial goals without losing sleep. What We Cover The foreclosure story from Eric's childhood that still shapes how he advises clients todayWhy being "too conservative" late in life can be riskier than staying invested in growthWhy Eric starts every client conversation with values before ever discussing investmentsThe panic attack on the 101 freeway that changed how he works with anxious clientsHow Eric helps clients who receive a sudden windfall avoid the two most common mistakes: paralysis and premature spendingWhy Eric encourages clients to give and spend with a "warm hand" instead of waiting until deathResources Mentioned The Fearless Wealth Plan: A Simple Guide to Achieving Your Financial Goals Without Losing Sleep by Eric MaldonadoConnect with Eric Maldonado Website: aquilawealth.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ericmaldonadofinanceSupport the show

  3. 5d ago

    120: Edward Gaskey on Finding Financial Clarity Before You Retire

    Edward Gaskey has spent almost 30 years helping people move from financial uncertainty to financial clarity, and in this episode he explains why that shift matters more than any single investment decision. He walks through the "million-dollar question" retirees rarely ask correctly, why most people plan for a worst case that almost never happens, and how a Social Security mistake nearly cost one client thousands. Ed also talks about his office's "dream boards," the surprising reason clients struggle to spend the money they worked so hard to save, and what he calls giving a client a "verbal hug." Listeners will walk away with a clearer sense of what actually needs to happen, financially and emotionally, before retirement feels real. About Edward Gaskey Edward Gaskey is a Private Wealth Advisor, CRPC®, APMA®, with Gaskey & Associates, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. He has nearly 30 years of experience in financial services and has helped guide clients through some of the biggest financial decisions of their lives, including retirement, Social Security timing, and multi-generational wealth planning. Gaskey & Associates was named to the Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams list in both 2025 and 2026. Ed is the author of Creating Your Next Chapter: How to Gain Financial Clarity, Purpose, Passion, and Vision Before You Retire. What We Cover Why Ed's math background shapes how he breaks down complex retirement decisions into "one page" of clarityThe "million-dollar question" of retirement, and why it isn't about investment returns or Social Security strategyHow a client named Robert almost cost himself years of higher Social Security benefits by taking advice from a coworkerWhy the worst-case scenario clients imagine at 2 a.m. almost never happens, and how Ed helps clients see the realistic middle groundThe office "dream boards" Ed uses to help clients turn retirement goals like a Porsche 911 or a family trip to Italy into realityWhy inflation and taxes are the two most commonly underestimated factors in retirement projectionsConnect with Edward Gaskey Amazon Book: https://a.co/d/01sezqcIBook Website (soon): edgaskey.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/edwardgaskeyFirm: Gaskey & AssociatesSupport the show

  4. Aug 12

    119: Jon Kuttin | Top 50 Most Innovative Voices In Advisor Growth Series

    What role can a book play in helping a financial advisory firm build credibility, strengthen trust, and convert more prospects into clients? In this episode of the Top 50 Most Innovative Voices in Advisor Growth series, Jon Kuttin joins Paul G. McManus and Gabe McManus for a candid conversation about authority, organic growth, client acquisition, and how financial advisors can use books and media to become more influential in their markets. You’ll learn how financial advisors can: • Use a book to build credibility before the first meeting • Stop relying exclusively on cold leads and chasing prospects • Turn referrals into stronger trust-based conversations • Integrate a book into seminars, CPA relationships, client events, and acquisitions • Differentiate themselves when prospects are comparing multiple advisors • Use stories to show ideal clients that they understand their concerns • Build authority through books, podcasts, YouTube, and other media • Transfer the founder’s ideas and credibility to other members of the team • Turn a book into a playbook for clients, prospects, and employees • Use authority marketing to strengthen existing business development activities • Accelerate the speed of trust during the sales process • Build visibility that continues working even when the founder is not in the room One of Jon’s most powerful observations is that the book does not work because it sits on Amazon. Its value comes from consistently putting it into the hands of prospects, clients, centers of influence, and people evaluating the firm. Jon describes his book as a credibility piece and differentiator. When two advisors appear equally capable, being the advisor who has clearly articulated a point of view in a book can help tilt the decision in your favor. The larger opportunity is not simply becoming an author. It is using the ideas inside the book as the foundation for a broader authority system that supports referrals, seminars, acquisitions, media, team growth, and better client conversations. ABOUT JON KUTTIN Jon Kuttin is a Barron’s Hall of Fame Advisor and longtime financial services leader with more than 25 years of experience building and growing advisory businesses. Since beginning his career in 1994, Jon has been recognized among Barron’s Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors and has also received recognition from Forbes and the Financial Times. In addition to leading his financial advisory practice, Jon founded Kuttin Consulting Group to help financial advisors and financial professionals grow through leadership, acquisitions, professional alliances, recruiting, organic growth, and other strategic initiatives. Over the course of his career, he has helped more than 1,000 CPAs and financial professionals rethink and grow their practices. ABOUT INFLUENTIAL ADVISOR MEDIA The Influential Advisor Podcast, hosted by Paul G. McManus, features conversations with leading voices shaping the future of financial advisor growth, marketing, authority, media, and business development. Subscribe for more strategies on financial advisor marketing, authority building, books, referrals, AI search visibility, advisor growth, and building a more influential advisory business. https://influentialadvisor.com/ Support the show

  5. Aug 12

    118: The Authority Operating System: Turn Your Expertise Into Visible Authority That Attracts Your Ideal-Fit Clients

    You do not need another marketing tactic. You need a system. If you are an accomplished financial advisor, consultant, attorney, tax strategist, or other expert professional, chances are your biggest growth problem is not a lack of expertise. It is that too much of your expertise is invisible. It lives inside client meetings, private conversations, and your own head—where prospects, referral partners, search engines, and AI tools cannot fully experience it. The Authority Operating System shows you how to change that. At the center of the system is a focused book: a documented point of view for a specific audience. But the book is only the foundation. Paul G. McManus shows you how to turn that book into a repeatable system for building visibility, familiarity, trust, and authority through: Referral relationshipsProspect follow-upAudiobooksPodcast appearancesSpeaking and mediaContent and videoSearch and AI visibilityTeam alignmentYour own authority platformThe goal is not to become famous, post every day, or add more marketing work to an already crowded calendar. The goal is to become known for something specific by the specific people you most want to serve—and to build a system your team can help execute so your authority is no longer limited by your personal time. Over the past decade, McManus has worked with more than 600 financial professionals, from advisors managing billions to experts just beginning to build momentum in their markets. That work has helped generate more than $100 million in client revenue. He has also used the system on himself. Each of his first three books generated more than $1 million in revenue—and each performed faster than the one before it, not because he became famous, but because he became better at building the system around the book. Inside The Authority Operating System, you will learn how to: Turn your expertise into visible authority. Clarify what you believe, whom you serve, and what you want to become known for. Accelerate the speed of trust. Give prospects a way to understand how you think before the first meeting. Make your marketing compound. Stop running disconnected tactics and start building assets that reinforce one another over time. Transfer trust beyond yourself. Help clients, referral partners, your team, search engines, and AI systems understand and communicate your value. Create leverage instead of more activity. Build a marketing system that continues working even when you are not personally pushing it forward. If you have not written your book yet, this book will show you why it should come first. If you already have a book and are asking, “Now what?”, this book will show you how much more it can become. Your book should not be the finish line. It should be the foundation. The ultimate goal is to build a business where your best thinking travels farther than your calendar—and where you can confidently say: My marketing runs on AOS. Learn more at https://influentialadvisor.com/ Support the show

  6. Aug 7

    117: Jon Randall | Top 50 Most Innovative Voices In Advisor Growth Series

    What keeps successful financial advisors from scaling beyond a founder-dependent practice? Dr. Jon Randall, founder of XFA, shares the psychology, systems, and strategic shifts that help advisory firms overcome growth constraints. In this episode of The Influential Advisor Podcast and our Top 50 Most Innovative Voices in Advisor Growth series, Dr. Jon Randall joins Paul G. McManus to discuss why many financial advisors become stuck around $1 million to $1.5 million in revenue and what it takes to move from advisor to entrepreneur and CEO. You’ll learn why the founder’s capacity often becomes the biggest constraint inside a growing firm, how holding on to every client can limit service and growth, and how building the right team creates more time for leadership, business development, CPA relationships, and acquisitions. Dr. Randall also explains how financial advisors can: • Identify the constraints preventing their firms from growing • Make the transition from advisor to entrepreneur and CEO • Scale from approximately $1 million to $10 million in revenue • Transition client relationships without an abrupt handoff • Avoid giving new advisors only the firm’s smallest clients • Hire team members without expecting them to behave like founders • Segment clients according to revenue and service needs • Create more capacity for referrals and strategic growth • Track revenue per client and revenue per team member • Use books to build authority and communicate important ideas • Prepare for a coming wave of financial advisor practice sales One of Dr. Randall’s most powerful ideas is that founders may unintentionally hurt clients by refusing to let go. When the founder is involved in every meeting and relationship, clients may receive less time and attention than another advisor on the team could provide. The goal is not necessarily to stop serving clients. It is to become more intentional about where the founder’s time creates the greatest value while building a team that can gradually take on more responsibility. ABOUT DR. JON RANDALL Dr. Jon Randall is the founder of XFA, officially Extraordinary Financial Advisors, a coaching and consulting firm that helps financial advisors identify growth constraints, improve profitability, build stronger teams, and scale beyond the founder. After beginning his career as a financial advisor in 1999, Jon rebuilt his practice in North Carolina and began teaching other advisors how to grow. He later sold his practice to focus fully on advisor coaching and combined his industry experience with research in performance psychology and the theory of constraints. He is also the author of The Extraordinary Financial Advisor Practice. Learn more about Dr. Jon Randall and XFA at XFA.coach. ABOUT INFLUENTIAL ADVISOR MEDIA The Influential Advisor Podcast, hosted by Paul G. McManus, features conversations with leading voices shaping the future of financial advisor growth, marketing, authority, media, and business development. Subscribe for more strategies on financial advisor marketing, authority building, books, referrals, AI search visibility, advisor growth, and building a more influential advisory business. https://podcast.influentialadvisor.com/ https://influentialadvisor.com/ Support the show

  7. Jul 31

    116: James Pollard | Top 50 Most Innovative Voices In Advisor Growth Series | Influential Advisor Media

    This interview featuring James Pollard is part of Influential Advisor Media’s Top 50 Most Innovative Voices in Advisor Growth series, hosted by Paul G. McManus. The series recognizes leaders whose ideas, platforms, and work are shaping how financial advisors build trust, attract clients, and grow their firms. James Pollard is the founder of The Advisor Coach and host of the Financial Advisor Marketing Podcast, where he has created more than 370 episodes focused specifically on helping financial advisors build steadier, more predictable growth. Since 2015, his podcasts, newsletters, articles, training programs, and marketing resources have helped more than 50,000 financial advisors attract clients and build more profitable businesses. Known for rejecting short-lived hacks and empty marketing promises, James teaches advisors how to earn attention and trust through stronger positioning, relevant messaging, consistent visibility, and a substantial body of work that makes them easier to know, trust, and choose. In this wide-ranging conversation, James shares how he went from helping one financial advisor with marketing to building The Advisor Coach into a scalable media and publishing business with newsletters, products, articles, and the Financial Advisor Marketing Podcast. You’ll also hear why effective advisor marketing begins by entering the conversation already happening in a prospect’s mind. For retirement-focused advisors, that often means speaking clearly about retirement income, replacing a paycheck, and reducing the fear of running out of money—not leading with technical planning language prospects may not yet understand. A major theme of this episode is trust. How can a financial advisor build trust before the first meeting? James explains why a substantial body of work—such as a book, podcast, YouTube channel, newsletter, or specialized client track record—can demonstrate expertise before a prospect ever speaks with you. He also explains how appropriate personal disclosure can reduce intimidation, create rapport, and make advisor marketing feel more human. James shares real examples from his own marketing, including why posts about strength training generated inquiries, how non-financial content can communicate discipline and status, and how private financial advisors can begin revealing more of themselves without oversharing. The conversation also covers one of the most important questions for founder-led advisory firms: What should you outsource? James argues that financial advisors should not outsource the creation of an unproven marketing strategy. Instead, they should first discover what works, document the process, and then delegate the maintenance of a proven system. This episode is especially useful for financial advisors, RIAs, wealth managers, advisor marketing professionals, and founder-CEOs who want to attract better-fit clients without relying on generic content or interchangeable marketing. Learn more about James Pollard and The Advisor Coach: https://theadvisorcoach.com/ Learn more about Influential Advisor Media: https://influentialadvisor.com/ Subscribe for more conversations about financial advisor marketing, books, media, authority building, and AI search visibility. Support the show

  8. Jul 24

    115: Marcus Ranger | Top 50 Most Innovative Voices In Advisor Growth Series | Influential Advisor Media

    What separates financial advisors who consistently grow from those who stay stuck? Marcus Ranger, who leads a business unit of more than 1,200 independent financial advisors, shares the marketing strategies, systems, and mindset shifts he sees driving advisor growth. In this episode of The Influential Advisor Podcast and our Top 50 Most Innovative Voices in Advisor Growth series, Marcus joins Paul G. McManus to discuss why financial advisors are in the marketing business first—and how the best advisors build intentional systems for attracting ideal-fit clients, generating referrals, creating authority, and growing their practices. You’ll learn why niching down can accelerate financial advisor growth without forcing you to turn away opportunities, how to build a client experience people naturally want to refer, and why giving clients valuable information to share may be more effective than simply asking for referrals. Marcus also explains how financial advisors can: • Build repeatable marketing systems instead of relying on random tactics • Choose a niche and become the go-to advisor for a specific audience • Use books, podcasts, video, and content to build authority • Create a systematic approach to generating more client referrals • Reward referral behavior in a meaningful and repeatable way • Identify centers of influence beyond CPAs and attorneys • Build a differentiated client experience • Think like a media company in the age of Google, ChatGPT, and AI search • Use client testimonials and social proof more effectively • Build internal and external marketing strategies that work together • Stop becoming the bottleneck in your own growth One of Marcus’s most powerful ideas is that an advisor’s real product isn’t simply a portfolio or financial plan—it’s the client experience. And when that experience is combined with a clear niche, strong positioning, valuable content, and an intentional marketing system, advisors can create a business that attracts more of the clients they most want to serve. ABOUT MARCUS RANGER Marcus Ranger is an experienced financial services executive, advisor, coach, and business leader who leads a business unit of more than 1,200 independent financial advisors across 10 western states. After building a successful advisory practice, Marcus transitioned into executive leadership with a focus on helping financial advisors build stronger businesses, develop scalable systems, improve their marketing, and multiply their results. Connect with Marcus Ranger on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-ranger-9050702/ ABOUT INFLUENTIAL ADVISOR MEDIA The Influential Advisor Podcast, hosted by Paul G. McManus, features conversations with leading voices shaping the future of financial advisor growth, marketing, authority, media, and business development. Subscribe for more strategies on financial advisor marketing, authority building, books, referrals, AI search visibility, advisor growth, and building a more influential advisory business. https://podcast.influentialadvisor.com/ https://influentialadvisor.com/ Support the show

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The Authority Marketing Platform for Financial Advisors. Built for advisors who want to be known for what they're already great at.Influential Advisor Media helps financial advisors build visibility, attract better clients, and grow through authority rather than cold outreach. If you've spent years developing real expertise and you're frustrated that the right people don't know you exist, this podcast is for you.Influential Advisor Media was founded by Paul G. McManus, host of The Influential Advisor Podcast and creator of The Authority Operating System. Our team has worked with more than 500 financial advisors and helped them generate over $100 million in results through authority marketing. Subscribe if you're a financial advisor who is done being the best-kept secret in your market. Learn more at influentialadvisor.com

Information

  • Creator
    Paul G. McManus and Gabe McManus
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    125
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 © 2026 Influential Advisor Media
  • Show Website
    The Influential Advisor Podcast

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