Tag: Advisor Growth
EP 29 – How Financial Advisors Can Measure Marketing That Leads to Growth with David Franzke

EP 29 – How Financial Advisors Can Measure Marketing That Leads to Growth with David Franzke

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Marketing activity can look healthy on the surface while prospects quietly disappear somewhere deeper in the funnel. 

Knowing what to measure can reveal where attention, appointments, and opportunities are being lost.

In this episode, Grow Organically host Dan Gilmartin speaks with David Franzke, Chief Marketing Officer at Advisors Excel, about building advisor marketing around clear business outcomes. They cover event marketing, seminar follow-up, funnel metrics, team goals, brand measurement, video, and the value of defining what a win should look like before launching a new initiative. David also shares how better data helped one advisor uncover a two-week follow-up delay that was hurting appointment attendance.

Key points:

  • How advisor marketing metrics can reveal where prospects are dropping out before becoming clients
  • Why reducing the time between an advisor event and prospect follow-up can improve appointment attendance
  • How clear goals help marketing teams connect campaigns, daily responsibilities, and company objectives
  • How Advisors Excel built a repeatable dinner seminar process by studying advisor offices and attendees
  • Why defining the desired result before starting a marketing initiative makes performance easier to evaluate
  • And more!

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

Connect with David Franzke: 

About our Guest: 

David Franzke is the Chief Marketing Officer at Advisors Excel, where he helps financial advisors grow their businesses through marketing, advertising, events, and business development support. He has been with Advisors Excel for 15 years, beginning as an intern at age 19 and growing alongside the organization as it expanded from roughly 80 employees to more than 1,200. In his role, David and his team work closely with advisors to strengthen marketing processes, improve event performance, use data to identify gaps in the client journey, and connect everyday marketing activity to larger business goals.

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REPLAY – Rethinking Growth in Wealth Management: Markets, Demographics & ROI with Jimmy Zhao

REPLAY – Rethinking Growth in Wealth Management: Markets, Demographics & ROI with Jimmy Zhao

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Organic growth sounds straightforward, but for many firms it remains one of the hardest challenges to solve.

What happens when client demand slows, marketing feels risky, and internal teams struggle to connect the dots across services?

In this replay episode, Dan Gilmartin revisits a timely conversation with Jimmy Zhao, Partner at McKinsey, to examine what truly drives organic growth in wealth management. They unpack why growth has slowed, how banks and RIAs miss opportunities hidden in their own data, and where new advisor relationships are emerging. The discussion also explores long-term investment thinking, referral strategies that convert, and why patience is critical when building sustainable growth engines.

Key takeaways:

  • Why organic growth has slowed, and what interest rates and liquidity cycles have to do with it
  • Missed opportunities banks face when data, teams, and incentives remain siloed
  • How workplace channels are becoming a meaningful source of new advisor relationships
  • Why marketing programs often fail early despite strong long-term economics
  • What effective referral programs do differently to improve conversion and client experience
  • And more!

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

Connect with Jimmy Zhao:  

About our Guest: 

Jimmy Zhao is a Partner at McKinsey & Company. Jimmy leads McKinsey’s North American retirement division and works closely with wealth managers and other financial institutions in the retirement ecosystem to serve more clients and unlock new sources of growth.

Jimmy collaborates with institutions across the US retirement landscape—including wealth managers, defined contribution recordkeepers, retirement plan advisors and consultants, technology platforms, and asset managers. Working in collaboration with the top executives at his client companies, Jimmy designs and executes transformational growth programs. He also leads McKinsey’s support for transactions and private capital investments in the sector. Over the past six years, Jimmy has supported over 50 deals across registered investment advisors (RIAs), independent broker-dealers, and WealthTech.

Jimmy became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in 2012 and hosts educational events with the CFA Society in Boston.

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EP 22 – Rethinking Growth in Wealth Management: Markets, Demographics & ROI with Jimmy Zhao

EP 22 – Rethinking Growth in Wealth Management: Markets, Demographics & ROI with Jimmy Zhao

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Organic growth has become the defining challenge and opportunity for firms in wealth management. Despite resilient demand, many firms struggle to scale sustainably in a market shaped by rising expectations and shifting client demographics. 

In this episode, Dan Gilmartin speaks with Jimmy Zhao, CFA, Partner at McKinsey & Company, about what’s driving (and slowing) organic growth in the industry. They discuss market cycles, demographic shifts, marketing ROI, and the need for firms to treat growth as a long-term investment rather than a short-term metric.  

Jimmy also breaks down how firms can position themselves for sustainable growth and stronger valuations through organic initiatives that truly empower advisors.  

Key Takeaways: 

  • Why 2024 marked one of the weakest years for organic growth and why 2026 could bring a rebound 
  • How the wave of baby boomers reaching retirement age may be reshaping client demand 
  • The growing opportunity for banks to integrate wealth and banking relationships 
  • Why marketing ROI in wealth management is strong, yet underutilized 
  • How scaling referral programs and growth culture can boost valuation and advisor engagement
  • And more! 

Connect with Dan Gilmartin:  

Connect with Jimmy Zhao:  

About our Guest: 

Jimmy Zhao is a Partner at McKinsey & Company. Jimmy leads McKinsey’s North American retirement division and works closely with wealth managers and other financial institutions in the retirement ecosystem to serve more clients and unlock new sources of growth.

Jimmy collaborates with institutions across the US retirement landscape—including wealth managers, defined contribution recordkeepers, retirement plan advisors and consultants, technology platforms, and asset managers. Working in collaboration with the top executives at his client companies, Jimmy designs and executes transformational growth programs. He also leads McKinsey’s support for transactions and private capital investments in the sector. Over the past six years, Jimmy has supported over 50 deals across registered investment advisors (RIAs), independent broker-dealers, and WealthTech.

Jimmy became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in 2012 and hosts educational events with the CFA Society in Boston.

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