At the Exit Planning Institute CEPA Summit in Nashville, 1,200 credentialed advisors gathered in one room. The first night, they held an awards ceremony. Every single person who walked on stage had one thing in common. It wasn't their credentials, their AUM, or their years in practice. It was a book. Episode Summary Paul and Gabe McManus just returned from four days in Nashville at the EPI CEPA Summit, where they presented the Authority Operating System to one of the most credentialed audiences ...
Apr 28, 2026•40 min
The Authority Operating System: Turn Your CEPA Credential Into Deal Flow You earned your CEPA credential. You know how to help business owners navigate the biggest financial decision of their life. But the business owners who need you most don't know you exist. Right now, someone in your market is asking ChatGPT who they should trust with the sale of their company. They're searching Google. They're listening to podcasts. They're forming opinions about who the expert is long before they ever pick...
Apr 15, 2026•56 min
A $200 million exit — and the client who should have been celebrating, but wasn't. That's what started the Exit Planning Institute. And it's the same story Scott Snider has lived himself: a successful business sale in his mid-20s followed by two years of feeling completely lost. Identity, purpose, what comes next — these are questions the transaction doesn't answer. Exit planning does. Episode Summary In this conversation, Paul sits down with Scott Snider, President of the Exit Planning Institut...
Apr 13, 2026•40 min
Most business owners assume their CPA is doing everything possible on taxes. They aren't. And the reason isn't incompetence. It's access. The strategies that allow 18% of Fortune 500 companies and America's wealthiest individuals to legally pay zero in federal taxes are real, documented in the tax code, and available. The problem is that most CPA firms, even highly successful ones, are stretched thin producing returns and financial statements. They don't have the time or infrastructure to find, ...
Apr 09, 2026•33 min
When you go independent, nobody tells you that you're just trading one set of constraints for another. When Conor Delaney went independent in 2012, he started with $40 million in AUM and a blank whiteboard. What followed was a 14-year education in becoming a CEO, a shareholder, and a leader, all while still serving clients. Today, Good Life Companies supports more than 200 advisors across the country, and the firm's advisors grew at 34% annually over the last two years, compared to an industry o...
Apr 03, 2026•43 min
Most financial advisors will tell you to save more and invest wisely. Mark Rasner will tell you that's not enough. After 32 years of watching people succeed and fail financially, he has the track record to back it up. Mark grew up poor on a dairy farm in Upper Michigan, worked his way through college without taking a single student loan, and watched his father transform from a struggling farmer into a financial advisor who changed people's lives. That backstory didn't just shape who Mark is. It ...
Apr 02, 2026•40 min
Most people doing the right things financially still have no idea if they're actually on track. They're saving, investing, contributing to the 401k — and still lying awake wondering if retirement will actually work out. That gap between doing well and knowing you're okay is exactly what Bernd Steinebrunner has spent nearly two decades helping families close. Episode Summary In this episode, Gabe McManus sits down with Bernd Steinebrunner, CFP® and founding partner at Parliament Wealth Management...
Mar 25, 2026•40 min
He built a successful practice — and it was quietly destroying your life. That's exactly where Stanley C. Leong found himself a decade ago. Making $600K in revenue, working nights and weekends, falling asleep on the floor while his daughters played around him. On paper, everything looked great. In reality, the business was running him. Today, Stanley averages 34 hours a week, takes every Friday off, and hit $2 million in revenue last year — roughly triple what he was making when he was burning o...
Mar 23, 2026•40 min
Episode Summary Ron Phelps, a wealth advisor with nearly 30 years of experience, joins the Influential Advisor Podcast to discuss his book Beyond the Sales Pitch: A Roadmap for Finding the Wealth Advisor You Deserve . Ron shares his journey from growing up in a tough Milwaukee neighborhood to military service to building a client-centered advisory practice. The conversation covers what separates a true trusted advisor from the rest of the industry, why jargon-free communication matters, and the ...
Mar 06, 2026•45 min
Joseph Falbo has spent 30 years helping people navigate retirement, from the 1999 tech boom through COVID and beyond. In this episode, we explore his concept of the "functional retirement advisor" and why modern retirement demands a completely different approach than what worked for previous generations. About Joseph Falbo Joseph is the founder of Falbo Wealth and Amazon #1 bestselling author of Retirement Success: Hiring Your Functional Retirement Advisor . After starting his career at a penny ...
Dec 04, 2025•41 min
In this transformative webinar, Paul and Gabe McManus reveal why your most powerful marketing assets—your client transformation stories—are trapped in your head, and exactly how to turn them into a book that builds your practice. What You'll Discover: The "You have my faith" story that made Gabe triple his life insurance immediately Why Steven's Target bag story about throw pillows made Paul hire him as his financial advisor How Bernd went from "I'm just a numbers guy" to writing a book about An...
Oct 01, 2025•34 min
Episode Summary: A tech professional in her 50s had everything planned—enough saved to retire at 55. Just one problem: 80% of her net worth was company stock. Stanley Leong warned her to diversify. She agreed but couldn't bring herself to sell, feeling it would betray the company that made her successful. Then 2008 hit. The stock crashed. Her retirement at 55 vanished—she worked another decade to rebuild. Stanley, a former engineer who survived the 2002 tech crash, now helps tech professionals a...
Sep 15, 2025•36 min
Episode Summary: Your best client just sold their business for $8 million and calls to say they're moving everything to Goldman Sachs. This devastating scenario happens to 70% of advisors, but Jeff Armstrong has the antidote. As a former business owner who ran a company for 23 years, Jeff reveals the blind spot costing advisors their most valuable relationships. While most advisors focus on managing wealth outside the business, Jeff shows how becoming the expert on your client's largest asset cr...
Sep 12, 2025•32 min
Episode Summary: After 11 years scaling Elite Resource Team, Anton Anderson's revenue tripled when he released "The Art of Collaboration" in 2024. He shows how one book became a growth flywheel, why his event is now the "Virtual Family Office Collective," & how AI is speeding—not threatening—progress. Anton previews book #2, "The Art of Proactivity" (co-authored with Paul Latham, who sold his accounting firm for $45M) to help accountants become proactive VFO pros. These titles anchor a four-...
Jun 18, 2025•29 min
Episode Summary: Andrew shares the tragic story that changed his career: a couple delayed retirement until reaching a financial milestone, only for the wife to pass away before they could enjoy it. This moment reshaped his mission from managing money to helping people retire with confidence. He breaks down the three pillars of financial planning, explains how small spending habits reflect deeper priorities, and offers strategies that help clients shift from fear to freedom. He also challenges co...
Jun 13, 2025•40 min
Episode Summary: Ever hosted a client event and wondered if it truly moved the needle for your business? In this episode, we’re joined by Elyse Stoner and Angela York—co-founders of Event Advisors—who share the secret sauce behind turning events like book launches into powerful referral and relationship-building tools. Unlike traditional advisor events that focus on entertainment, Elyse and Angela dive into the art and science of designing strategic events that align with business goals and clie...
Jun 12, 2025•35 min
Episode Overview Financial advisor Stephen Soderstrom reveals why high earners struggle with the paradox of "I make good money, where does it all go?" After watching countless successful professionals face this challenge, Stephen developed a radically simple system that requires no budgeting apps, no expense tracking, and no complicated spreadsheets. Learn how the G4 cash flow model can transform your financial life. Guest Bio Stephen Soderstrom is a financial advisor and author who started his ...
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Transform Your Book into a Million-Dollar Client Attraction System Most financial advisors who write books make a critical mistake: they focus on book sales instead of client acquisition. This comprehensive guide reveals the proven system that has helped nearly 500 financial advisors generate over $100 million in fees and commissions—not through royalties, but by strategically using their books to attract high-value clients. The Problem This Book Solves You've written (or plan to write) a book t...
Jun 01, 2025•1 hr 56 min
Episode Summary: Laura Rehbein shares her journey from becoming head of household at age 12 in rural Michigan to building a successful financial advisory practice over nearly three decades. Her book "Fearless Finance" addresses the anxiety that highly educated, successful professionals feel about their finances despite their achievements. Laura reveals why knowledge replaces fear and how proper planning can help clients "face everything and rise" rather than "forget everything and run." She disc...
May 30, 2025•34 min
Episode Summary: Many entrepreneurs focus intensely on growing their businesses while neglecting personal financial security. Paul Cook, a veteran insurance professional with decades of experience, reveals how life insurance can serve as more than just death benefit protection - it can provide tax-free retirement income, emergency liquidity, and protection from market volatility. Drawing from real-world stories of families he's helped through tragedies and business owners who've faced unexpected...
May 27, 2025•33 min
Episode Summary: In a world dominated by digital platforms, Urban Adams offers a refreshingly human approach to financial advising. With 25 years in the industry and a philosophy grounded in stoicism, Urban helps clients balance enjoying the present while planning for the future. His new book, "Wealth Your Way," challenges traditional mindsets about wealth accumulation, advocating instead for an intentional, values-driven approach. Urban shares how he applies stoic principles to help clients nav...
May 21, 2025•28 min
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May 16, 2025•18 min
Episode Summary: There's a significant gap affecting nearly every financial advisor: the disconnect between their expertise & their ability to communicate it in a way that resonates with prospects. Hillary Gale, a former linguistics professor turned copywriting expert, shares insights on how advisors can transform their marketing through better messaging. She reveals strategies for identifying language that connects, having conversations that convert, and creating content that actually bring...
May 14, 2025•38 min
Episode Summary: Many financial advisors find their practices increasingly transactional despite their best efforts. In this conversation, Morgan Nichols unpacks how she's pioneered an approach that puts values at the center, creating what she calls "simultaneous multi-generational success" - a practice that serves clients across generations while developing advisors across generations too. Morgan shares practical steps to building a values-driven practice that nurtures deep client relationships...
May 11, 2025•40 min
Episode Summary: In today's episode, Russ and Mike unpack their insightful five-pillars framework for Social Security optimization and reveal strategies that could help maximize retirement benefits. With pensions disappearing and Social Security representing 30-50% of retirement income for many Americans, making the right claiming decision is crucial. The authors highlight a startling reality: 80% of men die married while 80% of women die single, yet most claiming strategies overlook this fact. ...
May 09, 2025•48 min
This episode features an in-depth conversation with Morgan Nichols and Kelly Bays, financial advisors at Ameriprise and co-authors of the new book "Intentional Legacy." The discussion explores how legacy isn't something you plan for at the end of life, but something you live every day through your financial decisions, family interactions, and the values you demonstrate and pass on to future generations. Guest Information Morgan Nichols : Financial advisor at Ameriprise for 10 years, comes from a...
May 06, 2025•47 min
In this episode of The Influential Advisor podcast, host Paul interviews Erik Brenner, founder of Hilltop Wealth and Tax Solutions with 32 years of experience in wealth management. Erik discusses his innovative "Personal CFO" model that brings comprehensive financial services under one roof, including integrated tax planning and wealth management. The conversation explores how this approach can transform retirement planning for successful individuals by breaking down traditional silos in financi...
May 02, 2025•33 min
In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Russ Gaiser and Mike Hoeflich, financial advisors and authors of the bestselling book "Beyond Break Even." Discover how they transformed their stalled manuscript into a #1 bestseller in five categories in just six months, and how their book has opened unexpected doors for their financial practice. Whether you're a financial professional considering authorship or someone who's stuck on a creative project, this conversation offers valuable insights on th...
Mar 25, 2025•8 min
In this podcast episode, I welcome I welcome Shuey Wyne, V.P. Wealth Advisor at RVW Wealth and author of the Amazon bestseller Worry-Free Wealth . Shuey offers a unique take on wealth management, combining timeless wisdom with evidence-based investing. We explore his unconventional path from rabbinical studies to managing over $1.6 billion in assets and discuss key principles for avoiding financial mistakes, delegating effectively, and building long-term wealth security. Shuey’s Journey: From Ra...
Feb 14, 2025•34 min
In this podcast episode, I welcome Sam Sivarajan, an expert in behavioral finance and a leader in coaching financial advisors, to explore the transformative intersection of artificial intelligence, behavioral finance, and human connection in financial advising. This episode provides insights into how advisors can embrace technology while deepening their human connection with clients. It also highlights Sam's practical frameworks for thriving in an AI-driven world, along with lessons from his imp...
Jan 16, 2025•30 min
