Tag: Digital Marketing
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

By |

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More
REPLAY: Maximizing Your Organic Growth Funnel with Michelle Winkles, MBA

REPLAY: Maximizing Your Organic Growth Funnel with Michelle Winkles, MBA

By |

Sustainable growth does not come from chasing every tactic available. It comes from clarity, consistency, and systems that respect how people actually make decisions.

In this replay episode, Dan Gilmartin sits down with Michelle Winkles, MBA, Partner and CMO at Mission Wealth, to revisit a foundational conversation on organic growth through digital marketing. This replay episode explores how firms can structure their websites, tech stacks, and workflows to attract higher-quality leads. Michelle explains how niche identification, data-driven personalization, and thoughtful follow-up create stronger relationships and more efficient funnels, while sharing how Mission measures performance and prioritizes long-term growth.

Key takeaways:

  • Building a website that clearly communicates who you serve and guides multiple audiences toward the right next step
  • Using organic search and local SEO as a consistent source of higher-intent prospects
  • Organizing client data to identify clusters that can evolve into focused microniches
  • Creating automated yet personalized workflows that respect lead preferences and timing
  • Measuring organic growth by revenue generated relative to total digital marketing spend
  • And more!

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

Connect with Michelle Winkles:

About our Guest: 

Michelle Winkles is an energetic, innovative, and results-focused marketing professional with over 20 years of distinguished business leadership experience. As a Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at Mission Wealth, Michelle spearheads the firm’s strategic marketing initiatives, guiding overall vision, leadership, and the execution of marketing and business development programs.

A key part of her role is driving the firm’s digital growth strategy, where she has successfully developed and implemented a robust digital marketing funnel and growth engine. This includes building a comprehensive marketing technology stack designed to automate processes, enhance lead generation, and convert prospects into clients. Through her efforts, Michelle has streamlined marketing operations, expanded the firm’s digital footprint, and increased business opportunities.

She is responsible for creating end-to-end marketing strategies that integrate messaging, branding, digital presence, demand generation, content creation, research, and thought leadership. Michelle collaborates closely with department leaders across Mission Wealth to ensure marketing efforts align with the firm’s growth objectives in the B2B, B2C, and M&I sectors.

Recognized for her contributions to the business community, Michelle was named one of the “Top 40 Under 40” business professionals by the Pacific Coast Business Times in 2018, highlighting her role in reshaping leadership and the economy in the Tri-Counties.

Michelle earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2005. Driven by a passion for continuous learning, she obtained a Marketing Professional Certification from UCSB Extension in 2012 and completed her MBA with a Certificate of Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Strategic Management, and Nonprofit Social Business from Antioch University, Santa Barbara, in 2017.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More
EP 11 – Maximizing Your Organic Growth Funnel with Michelle Winkles

EP 11 – Maximizing Your Organic Growth Funnel with Michelle Winkles

By |

Creating a digital strategy to drive growth strategy can feel daunting. How do you know you are on the right track?

Daniel Gilmartin sits down with Michelle Winkles, Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at Mission Wealth, to delve into the art of organic growth. With a background in tech marketing and a passion for purpose-driven leadership, Michelle dives into the cutting-edge strategies she employs to fuel growth at Mission Wealth. From leveraging a robust digital lead-gen program to fine-tuning the mergers and acquisition process, Michelle shares insights that financial advisors can use to enhance their practice, emphasizing the importance of niche specialization as a critical strategy for differentiation in a crowded market.

Michelle discusses: 

  • (04:00) How Mission Wealth fosters integration over acquisition in mergers
  • (06:45) Tips for setting up a successful digital lead generation program
  • (10:45) Optimizing SEO and online presence for top-of-funnel growth
  • (13:30) The role of niche specialization in differentiating from the competition
  • (18:00) Deciding when a top-funnel lead is ready to transition to mid-funnel outreach
  • (24:00) Top KPIs to keep an eye on for organic growth through digital marketing
  • And more

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

Connect with Michelle Winkles:

About our Guest: 

Michelle Winkles is an energetic, innovative, and results-focused marketing professional with over 20 years of distinguished business leadership experience. As a Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at Mission Wealth, Michelle spearheads the firm’s strategic marketing initiatives, guiding overall vision, leadership, and the execution of marketing and business development programs.

A key part of her role is driving the firm’s digital growth strategy, where she has successfully developed and implemented a robust digital marketing funnel and growth engine. This includes building a comprehensive marketing technology stack designed to automate processes, enhance lead generation, and convert prospects into clients. Through her efforts, Michelle has streamlined marketing operations, expanded the firm’s digital footprint, and increased business opportunities.

She is responsible for creating end-to-end marketing strategies that integrate messaging, branding, digital presence, demand generation, content creation, research, and thought leadership. Michelle collaborates closely with department leaders across Mission Wealth to ensure marketing efforts align with the firm’s growth objectives in the B2B, B2C, and M&I sectors.

Recognized for her contributions to the business community, Michelle was named one of the “Top 40 Under 40” business professionals by the Pacific Coast Business Times in 2018, highlighting her role in reshaping leadership and the economy in the Tri-Counties.

Michelle earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2005. Driven by a passion for continuous learning, she obtained a Marketing Professional Certification from UCSB Extension in 2012 and completed her MBA with a Certificate of Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Strategic Management, and Nonprofit Social Business from Antioch University, Santa Barbara, in 2017.

1149679.13.0

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More