Tag: Client Acquisition
EP 28 – No Lead Left Behind: A Modern Approach to Organic Growth with Samantha Allen

EP 28 – No Lead Left Behind: A Modern Approach to Organic Growth with Samantha Allen

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Organic growth is becoming more challenging for many advisory firms, especially as competition for attention continues to increase.

How do you create a marketing strategy that consistently attracts qualified prospects while giving advisors more time to focus on client relationships?

In this episode, Dan Gilmartin sits down with Samantha Allen, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Merit Financial Advisors, to explore how marketing, sales, and technology can work together to create a repeatable growth engine. Samantha shares how Merit blends proven marketing channels with ongoing experiments, why video streaming has become one of the firm’s strongest sources of high-net-worth clients, how AI helps route leads to the right advisors, and why close collaboration between marketing and sales has become one of the company’s biggest competitive advantages.

Key takeaways:

  • Building marketing systems that let advisors spend more time serving clients instead of chasing leads.
  • Using content to attract highly qualified, high-net-worth prospects through organic growth.
  • Combining AI, automation, and human relationships to improve lead routing and follow-up.
  • Creating stronger alignment between marketing and sales to improve the client experience.
  • Re-engaging past prospects through data enrichment instead of letting qualified leads disappear.
  • And more!

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

Connect with Samantha Allen:

About our Guest: 

Samantha Allen is the Executive Vice President of Marketing at Merit Financial Advisors, where she leads the firm’s integrated marketing strategy across organic growth, digital marketing, content, brand, events, and advisor support. With more than a decade of experience in financial services marketing, she has held leadership roles at organizations including TD Ameritrade, helping firms connect marketing, technology, and business development to drive sustainable growth. Samantha is passionate about building scalable marketing systems, leveraging AI and digital channels, and creating stronger alignment between marketing and sales to improve both the advisor and client experience. She also serves on the board of the FinServ Foundation, supporting initiatives that strengthen the future of the financial services industry.

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EP 7 – How Organic Growth Can Boost Your M&A Strategy

EP 7 – How Organic Growth Can Boost Your M&A Strategy

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Are you curious about why organic growth in the wealth management sector is often stagnant and how you can turn the tide? Dan Gilmartin chats with Gary Roth, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Modern Wealth Management, about the complexities of organic growth in today's competitive financial landscape. Gary shares valuable insights drawn from his extensive experience at firms like Goldman Sachs and United Capital.

Dan and Gary discuss:

  • Why do many financial advisory firms struggle with organic growth, resulting in a low average growth rate in the industry
  • Why is it crucial to understand the underlying condition of each firm and its capacity for growth
  • How organic growth impact a firm’s valuation, and why do firms with such growth often have a premium valuation
  • The role investments in technology, people, marketing, and PR play in driving organic growth
  • And more

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

Connect with Gary Roth:

About our Guest:

Gary Roth is a co-founder and co-CEO at Modern Wealth Management, which he helped to start with the goal of delivering high-quality and comprehensive financial advice to clients by building a next-generation national RIA. Prior to being a part of the founding team at Modern Wealth, Roth was a managing director at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management. Between 2005 and 2019, he also served as Chief Business Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at United Capital, where he was part of the team that built, scaled, and sold United Capital—a $25 billion RIA with 90 locations—to Goldman Sachs for $750 million. Roth was also a co-founder at AssureNet, one of the cloud computing pioneers in financial services that created sales force automation solutions for financial consultants and insurance brokers.

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EP 5 – Secrets to Scaling Your Wealth Management Practice with Jen Abboud Smith

EP 5 – Secrets to Scaling Your Wealth Management Practice with Jen Abboud Smith

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Which prospects should you call next to maximize your conversion rates? The answer lies in harnessing the power of AI and data.

Dan Gilmartin sits down with Jen Abboud Smith, SVP of Investor Marketing at Carson Wealth, to delve into the strategies and insights that drive sustained growth in wealth management firms. Jen shares her extensive background from Amazon to Vanguard, and now Carson Wealth, exploring organizational challenges, the importance of clear communication between marketing and sales, and leveraging technology for efficient client acquisition.

Jen discusses: 

  • Navigating organizational challenges and enhancing leadership focus on organic growth
  • The dynamic relationship between marketing and sales for seamless collaboration
  • Implementing effective technology and tools for better upstream and downstream results
  • Strategies for long-term planning and adaptive execution in marketing
  • And more

Connect with Jen Abboud Smith:

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

About our Guest: 

Jen Abboud Smith is an inspirational ecommerce and marketing leader who is results-oriented and customer-focused. She has a proven ability to manage effectively during periods of dynamic change, with over 15 years of managerial experience in building, leading, and developing high-performing teams.

Jen believes the main role of a leader is to provide strategic vision, clarity of accountability, and the necessary resources to enable team members to perform at their best. She tends toward a coach/mentor style of leadership and values data-driven decisions, even if this means questioning her own assumptions.

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EP 2 – 5 Levers of Growth with Tim Welsh

EP 2 – 5 Levers of Growth with Tim Welsh

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This episode audio originally was recorded as a webinar which can be accessed at Catchlight.ai.

Are you ready to unlock the secrets to sustainable growth in the wealth management sector? In this podcast episode, Dan Gilmartin, the Head of Marketing for Catchlight, and Tim Welsh from Nexus Strategy, delve into the five levers of growth for wealth management firms, exploring how innovative strategies and data-driven insights can lead to significant improvements in client acquisition and retention.

Dan and Tim discuss:

  • The current state and future opportunities within the wealth management industry
  • The importance of organic growth and its impact on firm valuations
  • Effective marketing and prospecting strategies to improve lead generation
  • Tactics to maximize wallet share and drive client referrals

Connect With Tim Welsh:

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

About our Guest: 

Timothy D. Welsh, CFP® is President, CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy, LLC, a leading consulting firm to the wealth management industry. Nexus Strategy’s primary focus is working with leading organizations to best market their products, services and technology to the independent advisor community.

Tim is frequently quoted in the wealth management media on a wide range of business management and industry topics. He is the author of a number of industry white papers, a regular columnist for RIABiz, ThinkAdvisor, and wealthmanagement.com, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.

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EP 1 – Intro to Grow Organically

EP 1 – Intro to Grow Organically

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Many believe that the primary challenge for financial advisors is simply managing investments. However, in today’s rapidly changing market landscape, the real test lies in mastering organic growth strategies to ensure long-term success and relevance.

Join Dan Gilmartin and his Catchlight co-founder Yelena Melamed in this inaugural episode of Grow Organically, focused on the topic of organic growth within the wealth management industry. They explore crucial industry trends, the impact of these trends on firms’ growth strategies, and the opportunities arising from the great wealth transfer.

Dan and Yelena discuss:

  • Industry Trends and Market Landscape: Dan and Yelena discuss current trends impacting firms, including consolidation, the rise of private equity money, and the increasing cost of acquiring new clients
  • Challenges and Opportunities for Firms: The importance for firms to design organic growth strategies tailored to future targets and partnerships, acknowledging the urgency in translating strategy into practice to stay competitive.
  • Investing in Organic Growth: Dan and Yelena emphasize the necessity for firms to invest in resources, technology, and processes focused on organic growth, emphasizing the need for strategic planning amid the wealth transfer expected in the next decade.

Connect with Yelena Melamed:

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

About our Guest: 

Yelena Melamed is a versatile and results-centric leader with expertise in product management, strategy development, and cultivating highly productive teams. She possesses broad knowledge of organization and consumer-facing platforms, as well as emerging technology. Yelena has demonstrated success in simplifying complex issues, change management, and prioritizing total cost of ownership and delivery.

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