Articles by Mike Garrison
- Practice Growth
Successful Owners Don’t Exit From Something—They Exit To Something
The Discipline Behind the Firm You Would Actually Build Today
- Practice Growth
Why Most Advisors Pick the Wrong Clients
Why the Best Advisory Firms Treat Client Selection Like a Professional Sports Scout
- Practice Growth
Trying Harder Is Costing You Referrals
That sounds counterintuitive. We’ve been told our whole careers that effort is the answer. When it comes to referrals, the opposite is often true.
- Practice Growth
The Sale Is Over Before It Starts: Why Prospects Pick You in Advance
The question isn’t how do I sell better? It’s how do I get on the list before there even is a list?
- Practice Growth
Referrals Aren’t Dead. But Most People Are Doing Them Completely Wrong.
Doing business by referral, business by relationship, can compete with and in many ways exceed the return on investment from any other form of marketing.
- Practice Growth
AI Isn’t Killing Advisory Fees—Weak Value Is
This is not an attack on advisors. This is an attack on a dominant and largely unexamined business model.
- Practice Growth
The Referral Revolution: How Leaders Win With Ideal-Client Growth
Right back at the beginning, only at a different level and with a deeper understanding of what ideal client acquisition does to leaders and their firms.
- Practice Growth
The Exit Planning Advantage Few Advisors Talk About: Collaboration That Reduces Risk
Exit planning is, at its core, about collaboration. About trust. About protection. In short—it’s about risk mitigation through relationships.
- Practice Growth
Is Paying for Consulting Actually Worth It? Here’s How to Know
Before you hire anyone, answer this question: What specific outcome would make you say, That was money well spent #growth
- Practice Growth
The Quantum Leap to Client Growth: Position Yourself as the Only Choice
Referrals aren’t about quick wins; they’re about cultivating, planting, and reaping—just like a farmer tends to crops. #growth
- Practice Growth
The Power of Referrals in Financial Services Marketing
While new marketing techniques and technologies may seem more exciting, referrals continue to be the most effective way to grow your business. #growth
- Practice Growth
How to Triple Referral Conversations by Improving Your Referral Process
We know, inside of our soul, that being a taker doesn’t translate to long term success in any relationship. #growth #advisors
- Practice Growth
Why Financial Advisors Are Now the Most Trusted Advisors for Business Owners
The traditional quarterback for a business owner planning their eventual exit of their business was traditionally the CPA. No longer. #growth
- Practice Growth
Who Should I Hire to Boost Growth and Maximize Exit Value for My Business?
Business owners want both growth and exit value increase for their businesses and why shouldn’t they? #growth #advisors
- Practice Growth
Farming vs. Hunting: How Advisors Can Actively ‘Farm’ For Predictable Referrals
Every successful financial advisor, especially in the independent advisor space, wants to get as much of their business from referrals as possible.
- Opinion
Cold Calling Banned: Why the Merrill Lynch Change To Advisor Training Matters to You
The decision by Merrill Lynch to end cold calling as part of their training process for new advisors is a massive disruption to your industry.
- Market Intelligence
The Desperate Need For Essentialism In Small Business
If you are too focused on the goal and not on the moment, you miss the course corrections along the way and thus, miss the destination.
