401k Best Practices

Proven Strategies to Grow a Successful 401k Practice

4-401k Advisor Resources

Resource Review – 401(k) Annuity Hub (Simplifying Lifetime Income Decisions)

by Sharon Pivirotto | Follow Me on LinkedIn Here

Resource Review – 401(k) Annuity Hub

Most advisors aren’t avoiding annuities because they don’t believe in them.

They’re avoiding them because they’re hard.

Hard to understand.
Hard to compare.
Hard to explain.
And even harder to document.

I recently sat down with Tamiko Toland to take a closer look at the 401(k) Annuity Hub, and what stood out to me immediately is that this isn’t trying to “sell” annuities.

It’s trying to make them usable.

The Real Problem Isn’t Demand – It’s Complexity

Guaranteed income is coming back into the conversation.

Plan sponsors are asking about it.
Participants need it.
And regulators are pushing the industry in that direction.

But most advisors still hesitate.

Not because they don’t see the value…
…but because once you open that door, you’re faced with:

  • Dozens of products
  • Different structures
  • Different recordkeeper availability
  • Different use cases (in-plan vs at retirement)
  • No clear way to compare them consistently

So what happens?

The conversation gets pushed off.
Or avoided entirely.

What the 401(k) Annuity Hub Actually Does

At its core, this is a decision-making tool.

Not a product marketplace.
Not a sales platform.

A structured way to evaluate lifetime income solutions inside retirement plans.

Instead of starting with:
“Which annuity product should I use?”

The platform starts with:
“What is the plan trying to accomplish?”

From there, it walks you through a series of plan design–focused questions, not product questions, to narrow down the types of solutions that may fit.

Then it allows you to:

  • Filter options based on structure and use case
  • See what’s available on specific recordkeeping platforms
  • Generate side-by-side comparisons
  • Create PDF summaries of individual products
  • Document your selection criteria and process

That last piece is important.

This Is Really About Process (Not Products)

One of the biggest gaps I see with advisors isn’t knowledge.

It’s process.

Even if you understand annuities…
How do you show:

  • What you looked at
  • How you narrowed it down
  • Why you selected one option over another
  • That you followed a consistent, prudent approach

That’s where tools like this become valuable.

Because they don’t just help you evaluate options – they help you demonstrate how you evaluated them.

Why This Matters for Advisors

This changes the conversation from:

“I don’t know enough about annuities to recommend one…”

to:

“I have a structured process for evaluating lifetime income solutions.”

That’s a very different position.

It allows you to:

  • Engage in the lifetime income conversation with confidence
  • Bring a more thoughtful, plan-level perspective to sponsors
  • Move beyond product conversations into decision frameworks
  • Support your recommendations with documentation

Where This Fits

This isn’t something every plan needs immediately.

But it is something every advisor should be thinking about.

  • You’re getting questions about guaranteed income
  • You’re working with plans nearing retirement-heavy demographics
  • You want to be proactive instead of reactive
  • You care about having a repeatable fiduciary process

Watch the Full Resource Review

I recorded a full walkthrough with Tamiko so you can see exactly how the platform works and how the process flows in real time.

Watch the full resource review below:


VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: (condensed)

Sharon:
Most advisors know guaranteed income is becoming a bigger part of the 401(k) conversation. But when it comes to actually evaluating annuity options, it can get complicated fast. Today’s conversation is all about simplifying that.

I’m joined by Tamiko Toland, creator of the 401(k) Annuity Hub, and we’re breaking down how advisors can evaluate and implement lifetime income solutions in a more structured way.

Tamiko:
I’ve spent about 25 years in annuities, and over the last several years I’ve really focused on bringing that expertise into the retirement plan space.

What I kept hearing from advisors, consultants, and plan sponsors was:
What solutions are actually out there today?
And how do I sort through all of them?

So I built a database that lists the available products, but more importantly, I created a way to sort through them based on plan design, not just product features.

The goal is to help advisors identify which types of solutions might fit a plan, understand what’s available on different recordkeeping platforms, and then evaluate those options in a consistent way.

Sharon:
Who is this really designed for?

Tamiko:
Primarily retirement plan advisors. It’s also useful for consultants and even plan sponsors who want to dig deeper, but advisors are the main audience.

It’s both an educational tool and a documentation tool. It helps you learn the space, but also create a record of how you evaluated options and why you selected a particular solution.

Sharon:
I love that, because documentation is such an important part of the process. You have to demonstrate prudence.

Tamiko:
Exactly. That’s a big part of this.

The platform walks you through a series of questions — not about products, but about how the plan is structured and how the solution will be used.

For example:
Is this for participants while they’re saving, or at retirement?
Is it part of a default?
Is it an investment option or something else?

Based on those answers, the system narrows down the relevant solutions.

From there, you can:
– Filter further based on specific features
– Compare options side-by-side
– Generate PDF summaries of individual products
– Create comparison reports

All of that can be saved, shared, and used as part of your documentation process.

Sharon:
That’s really helpful. It gives advisors a structured way to approach something that can otherwise feel overwhelming.

Tamiko:
That’s exactly the goal.

This is about helping advisors understand what’s available, evaluate it properly, and have a repeatable process they can use again in the future.

Sharon:
And I think that’s important, because guaranteed income is something that more plans need to be thinking about.

Participants need it, and many plans don’t have anything in place today.

Having a tool like this allows advisors to actually have that conversation with confidence.

Tamiko:
Exactly. That’s what I’m trying to support.

Resources Mentioned

Resource Review – Radish Plan

by Sharon Pivirotto | Follow Me on LinkedIn Here

Resource Review – Radish Plan

Looking for a better way to actually engage plan participants?

Not educate them.
Not remind them.
Not auto-enroll them.

Engage them.

I recently sat down with Kyle Bagley to take a closer look at Radish Plan, and what immediately stood out to me is that this isn’t trying to “fix” participant behavior the traditional way.

It flips the model entirely.

What Radish Plan Is (and Why It’s Different)

At its core, Radish is a 401(a) profit sharing plan — but it’s designed in a way that most advisors (and most participants) haven’t seen before.

Instead of hoping employees care about retirement…

Radish ties employer-funded contributions directly to behavior.

  • Show up on time
  • Hit safety goals
  • Meet performance targets
  • Stay with the company

→ Earn contributions.

Not once a year.
Not buried in a statement.

Visible. Ongoing. Immediate.

And that’s where this gets interesting.

The Real Problem Isn’t Education

We’ve all seen it.

You can:

  • Run meetings
  • Send emails
  • Build beautiful presentations
  • Explain compounding, diversification, all of it

…and participation still doesn’t move.

Why?

Because most participants don’t have a reason to care right now.

Retirement is abstract.
It’s distant.
It’s easy to ignore.

Radish solves for that by connecting today’s behavior → today’s reward → future benefit.

That bridge is what’s been missing.

Why This Matters for Advisors

This isn’t just a “cool tool.”

It gives advisors a different conversation to have with plan sponsors:

“Let’s try to improve participation…”

You can say:

“Let’s give employees a reason to engage in the first place.”

It also positions you differently:

  • Not just managing a plan
  • Not just reviewing investments
  • But helping solve real business problems:
    • Retention
    • Productivity
    • Culture
    • Recruiting

And that’s where you can win.

Where This Fits (and Where It Doesn’t)

This isn’t a replacement for a 401(k).

It’s a complement.

Radish works especially well for:

  • Middle- and lower-income employee bases
  • Employers struggling with participation
  • Industries where behavior (attendance, safety, output) matters

It’s not about replacing the system.

It’s about making the system work better for the people it’s supposed to serve.

How This Connects to Participant Education

This is the part I think is really important.

Tools like Radish can create engagement.

But engagement alone isn’t enough.

Once you have someone’s attention…
what do you say next?

That’s where most advisors still struggle.

Because:

  • Information doesn’t drive action
  • Slides don’t change behavior
  • Data doesn’t stick

Stories do.

That’s exactly why I’ve been building out the

Participant Education in a Box

kit — and specifically the Stories That Stick™ component.

Short, relatable, real-world examples that:

  • Simplify complex ideas
  • Connect emotionally
  • Drive action

Because once someone cares, the message matters more than ever.

Watch the Full Resource Review

I recorded a full walkthrough with Kyle so you can see exactly how Radish works, how employers are using it, and where it fits in real-world plan design.

You can watch the full resource review below:

Final Thought

If an employee benefit doesn’t benefit the employee…

…it’s not a benefit.

Radish is one of the more interesting attempts I’ve seen to actually close that gap.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Sharon:
Welcome everybody. Sharon here, and today I want to talk about a tool called Radish Plan. Kyle Bagley is with me today, and he’s going to tell us a little bit about what it is and why you might want to take a closer look at using it.

Kyle:
Awesome. Thanks for having me. The Radish Plan was Ted Benna’s idea, so I don’t take any credit for it.

It is an incentive plan — a unique, gamified way to get middle- and lower-income earners interested and excited about retirement. Auto-enrolling them in a 401(k) isn’t doing it.

Ted’s idea was to use pre-tax money based on work and goals — incentives tied to behavior — and let the employer fully fund the retirement account.

The business benefits from increased productivity, and employees get a savings mechanism that actually makes sense to them — especially those who don’t care about retirement yet, are intimidated by it, or have more immediate financial priorities.

We say it this way: if an employee benefit doesn’t benefit the employee, it’s not a benefit.

Sharon:
Very cool. Is it a profit sharing plan at the core?

Kyle:
Yes — it’s a 401(a).

Sharon:
Nice. Can we see what’s being incentivized?

Kyle:
Absolutely. This is where it gets fun.

We’re a mobile-first experience. Employees can see how much they’ve earned and what they could be earning.

Motivation works both ways — what do I gain, and what am I leaving on the table?

For example, in the trucking industry:
– Hit safety goals each week → earn money
– Be on time → earn monthly bonuses
– Stay with the company → earn annual contributions

The key is visibility and frequency. Instead of employees forgetting about benefits until year-end, this shows up consistently — weekly, monthly — reinforcing what the company values.

Sharon:
Are the incentives always measurable?

Kyle:
Ideally, yes. We focus on what employers are already tracking — dashboards, KPIs — and convert those into simple yes/no actions.

We integrate with payroll systems, CRMs, and data sources to make it as automated as possible.

Sharon:
How do plan sponsors typically find you?

Kyle:
They can go to radishplan.com and request a demo. There’s a lot of education involved because this is new.

We’re fortunate to have industry credibility behind us, including Marcia Wagner and Ted Benna.

Sharon:
If I’m an advisor, what’s the benefit of bringing this to a client?

Kyle:
Two things: we pay a commission, and it helps you solve a real business problem.

You’re not just showing up to talk about the 401(k). You’re bringing something that improves participation, engagement, and retention.

Sharon:
How does pricing work?

Kyle:
It’s $10 per participant per month, plus a startup fee. We act as the recordkeeper and are flexible with where assets are held.

Sharon:
Anything else advisors should know?

Kyle:
Think of Radish as a magnet.

It helps attract and retain the right employees. It gives employers a real benefit that employees actually talk about.

Everyone has a 401(k). That’s important. But this is a way to make it meaningful to people who otherwise wouldn’t engage.

Sharon:
I love that. Anything that helps participants take action and better prepare for retirement is a win.

Kyle:
Absolutely. Thanks again for having me.

Mentioned in this episode:


Listen to the podcast episode of this topic here

Resource Review – Strad (A Virtual Family Office Platform)

by Sharon Pivirotto | Follow Me on LinkedIn Here

Resource Review – Strad (A Virtual Family Office Platform)

Looking for a way to deliver a true virtual family office experience – without having to build a family-office infrastructure from scratch?

I recently sat down with Russell Dow for a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of STRAD Pro, a virtual family office platform designed to help advisors bring a higher level of organization, coordination, and service to mass affluent and high-net-worth clients.

In this interview, Russ walks through what STRAD is, how it works, and why it can become a powerful “missing piece” in an advisor’s client service model – especially for advisors looking to differentiate in a crowded market.

You’ll see how STRAD helps centralize a client’s financial life (accounts, assets, documents, planning items, and tasks) and supports a more coordinated experience across a client’s other professionals (CPA, estate attorney, trust officer, etc.). We also discuss security and compliance (SOC 2 Type II), permissioning, and how STRAD can layer alongside an existing tech stack.

You can watch the video interview below and the full transcript follows.

NOTE: The demo begins immediately and includes a full walkthrough of the platform – including the advisor view, client view, document vault, task management, and generational family features.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Sharon:
If you are an advisor who wants to deliver a true virtual family office experience – and I see a lot of advisors moving in this direction – you are going to love this.

Today I’m sitting down with Russell Dow for an inside look at STRAD Pro: what it is, how it works, and why it might be the missing piece in your client service model.

Russ, thank you for joining me today. I really appreciate it. Let’s start with the big question – what exactly is STRAD Pro?

Russell:
Pleased to be here, Sharon. STRAD Pro is designed to bring the family office dynamic to the mass affluent.

When someone reaches ultra-wealth levels, they typically create a physical family office – a dedicated team working exclusively for that family. But that’s out of reach for most people. You generally need hundreds of millions of dollars to consider a physical family office.

What we’ve built is a virtual family office – an online platform – for the mass affluent: households with hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars, even up to hundreds of millions.

STRAD Pro enables an advisor – financial advisor, CPA, or other professional – to deliver that family office experience to their clients.

Sharon:
I saw a taste of this recently and thought, “I can’t be the only one who looks at this and says, wow – where do I sign?” I think a lot of advisors would benefit just from seeing it.

If you don’t mind, I’d love for you to run through a demo so other advisors can see it as well.

Russell:
Happy to. This platform is an outgrowth of our own advisory practice. We spun it out as a separate entity to provide it to other advisors.

It’s what I’ve always wanted as a financial advisor – for my clients and for my own family.

It’s SOC 2 Type II compliant, has multi-factor authentication, and meets high security standards. It can also be white-labeled, so a firm can add its own logo.

Let me sign in and give you a tour.

The ultra-wealthy have a family office and a team that works only for them. Advisors typically serve many families, and each family has different professional relationships – CPA, attorney, trust officer, loan officer – but the consistent person is usually the financial advisor.

STRAD is designed to help the advisor manage that one-to-many dynamic.

Here you can see the principals and their family, along with other professionals involved with the household.

One of the goals is to give the advisor clarity, but also to allow the advisor to bring other professionals into the picture as needed by sharing relevant information in a secure, permissioned way.

At the top, STRAD is organized into “Finances” and “Family Life.” Finances includes everything money touches – the areas professionals most often need. Family Life includes things like doctors and lifestyle items, but we’ll focus on the financial side.

We can track the people involved, and then assets – including account aggregation. STRAD uses Plaid to link outside accounts.

Just documenting what’s owned, who owns it, and how it’s owned can be a big step forward for most families.

There are also non-financial assets – homes, cars – including liens, cost basis, and other details that often get lost over time.

I should point out there is a client portal, so the client can log in and add information as well.

There’s a tax and planning section. For example, tax preparation allows a customized list of everything a CPA needs each year, which the client can complete and share.

Trust and estates is where legal documents can be stored, accessed, and discussed. This often adds immediate value because you can ask, “When was the last time your estate plan was updated?” and actually see what’s current.

There’s also an executive view – AI can summarize legal documents to save time.

Another powerful feature is the generational view – seeing the family across generations. Many clients still have living parents, meaning a significant portion of their inheritance hasn’t transferred yet. Often adult children are stepping in to help parents, and this view helps advisors support the broader family dynamic.

Sharon:
I love that. Just today I was trying to track down information about a grandchild and had to scroll through a lot of notes to figure out who belonged to who. Having everything organized visually like this saves a lot of time.

And you’re showing documents – so this also works as a secure document vault for sharing documents with clients and for them to upload files to us, right?

Russell:
Correct. There’s a document center where documents can be housed, and you can create your own categories.

Sharon:
Quick question – cybersecurity is top of mind for everyone. What level of security do you have?

Russell:
We’re SOC 2 Type II compliant – the highest level for financial organizations. Everything is encrypted at rest and in transit.

Sharon:
Perfect. Thank you.

Russell:
Another feature I use every day is task management.

When a client calls or emails, there are usually one to three actions that need to happen. STRAD includes task management inside the family office. You can create tasks, assign them, add due dates, create recurring tasks, and track progress.

Tasks roll up to a centralized dashboard, which I use daily to prioritize and work through what needs to be done. It helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

You also asked about permissioning. Each individual can be given access, and you control which pages they can see and whether they can view or edit.

A personal example: when my wife and I updated our estate plan and started working with a new attorney, I asked him to log into our family office before our meeting. We shared the pages he needed, and it made the first meeting far more productive. He already understood our family and circumstances and could immediately focus on what we wanted to accomplish.

STRAD becomes an effective way to set up the family office first, then share it with the estate planning attorney to make the entire process smoother.

Sharon:
Absolutely.

Russell:
If a client owns a business, you can also build out a business office inside STRAD. Instead of husband, wife, and children, you have an executive team. Instead of an estate planning attorney, you have a business attorney and potentially different tax advisors.

This makes it possible to provide two family offices – one personal, one for the business.

Sharon:
That adds a whole other layer of prospecting and ways to talk to business owners that many advisors wouldn’t have in their toolbox.

Russell:
Exactly. I believe we’re changing the dynamic. There will be a time when everyone has a family office.

Every family needs a family office, and every family office needs one – and only one – family office CFO. Being the advisor leading that is a major benefit to families and a major differentiator for the advisor.

Sharon:
I love that.

We had a client looking for a “leave-behind” system – something that says, “If something happens to me, here is where all important information can be found.” Many people start with a spreadsheet or a book. I see STRAD as leveling that up dramatically – everything accessible, organized, and shareable, which makes transitions and planning so much easier.

Russell:
We see that as well. Often older couples – especially wives – are very interested because they know they may outlive their spouse or may need clarity if something changes cognitively. Children also benefit when they need to step in. STRAD makes it much easier to understand the full scope: who the advisors are, what the accounts are, where key documents live.

Sharon:
Quick question – for firms already using a CRM, document vault, or planning software, how do you recommend layering STRAD in without disrupting an existing tech stack?

Russell:
STRAD can slide in alongside whatever a firm already uses. It doesn’t have to replace anything on day one.

Over time, it can replace certain functions because it’s so useful – including prospecting and CRM-style features – but it doesn’t have to.

One immediate use case is prospecting: you can show this demo to prospects to illustrate how you’re different. It’s highly visual. When prospects compare firms, many offer planning and portfolio management, but a virtual family office experience is a differentiator.

As the industry becomes more commoditized, differentiation matters.

Sharon:
A couple questions come to mind. Advisor view versus client view: what does a client see when they log in?

Russell:
The client view is very similar but doesn’t include the backend dashboard for lead, prospecting, and firm-level task dashboards. It’s limited to their family office.

The firm’s logo can be shown, and the layout is the same, just scoped to the household.

Sharon:
How receptive are compliance departments to advisors using this?

Russell:
So far, highly receptive. It supports deeper know-your-client practices and adds integrity. It’s harder for someone to spoof being a client when information is organized and verified. You know the power of attorney agents, the CPA, who should be calling – it reduces fraud risk and improves clarity.

Sharon:
If someone wants to sign up, what onboarding support is included, and how long does it take to get up and running?

Russell:
They can go to strad.com and start a free trial and self-register.

In about five minutes, you can go from not offering a family office service to offering one.

With the free trial, you get a demo family office you can use for client and prospect meetings. We also provide significant white-glove onboarding and support to help you get familiar and implement it effectively.

Sharon:
Good. Nothing worse than signing up for a program and then not getting support.

Russell:
We aim for intuitive, but support is there to walk you through anything you need.

Sharon:
Perfect. If someone wants to sign up, they just go to strad.com?

Russell:
Yes – strad.com. If they sign up for a free trial, we’ll have their email and we’ll follow up.

Sharon:
Perfect. Thank you so much for sharing this with me and with everyone watching. I really appreciate your time, and I look forward to clicking that free trial button and setting up our free trial ;-).

Russell:
Thank you, Sharon. Much appreciated.

Mentioned in this episode:


Listen to the podcast episode of this topic here

Resource Review – Savology

by Sharon Pivirotto | Follow Me on LinkedIn Here

Resource Review – Savology Financial Wellness Platform

Looking for a way to deliver financial wellness and basic planning support at scale – without adding more work to your practice?

I recently sat down with Brock Klementson for a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of the Savology Financial Wellness Platform, a client-led financial wellness solution designed for advisors who work with retirement plans, middle-market clients, and prospects who aren’t quite ready for full-service planning.

Savology allows advisors to offer an accessible planning experience to employees and individuals, while still keeping the advisor in control of branding, education, and next-step conversations. In this interview, Brock walks through the platform from the end-user perspective and explains how advisors are using it as a financial wellness benefit, a prospecting tool, and a way to support younger or middle-market clients.

You can watch the video interview below, and the full transcript follows.

NOTE: the screencap walkthrough of the platform starts at the 3 minute mark…

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Sharon:
Hey everyone, Sharon here, founder of 401kbestpractices.com, where I share proven strategies to help advisors grow a successful practice.

Today, I’m sitting down with Brock Klementson for a behind-the-scenes demo of the Savology Financial Wellness Platform. We’ll walk through what it is, how it works, and why advisors may want to consider using it in their practice.

Brock, thanks for joining me today.

Brock:
Thanks for having me, Sharon. I’m excited to be here.

Sharon:
Let’s start with the basics. What is Savology? And by the way, I love the name.

Brock:
Savology is a client-led financial planning and financial wellness solution that advisors can offer to middle-market and mass-affluent clients at scale, without adding more work.

The main use cases are retirement plan advisors offering it as a financial wellness benefit to their 401k plans, subscription-style planning for middle-market clients, and prospecting. It allows advisors to help people who may not meet minimums today, but still need guidance, while keeping the experience largely hands-off for the advisor.

Sharon:
Do you see certain types of advisors using it more than others?

Brock:
Yes, retirement plan advisors are using it heavily as a wellness benefit for plan participants. They roll it out to all employees and use engagement reports to show employers the value being delivered.

It can also be used as a sales and prospecting tool. Advisors can identify individuals based on demographics, income, assets, age, or other criteria and use that data to drive more meaningful conversations.

Sharon:
I’d love to see what this looks like behind the scenes. Can you walk us through it?

Brock:
Absolutely. I’ll start with the client experience. When someone creates an account, they go through a short initial survey that takes about six minutes on average.

The survey asks basic questions about age, family status, income, savings, assets, liabilities, insurance, estate planning, health, and retirement goals. There’s no sensitive personal information collected, and everything starts as estimates.

Once that’s completed, the platform generates three key deliverables: a financial report card, an action item center, and a financial plan.

Sharon:
Tell me more about the report card.

Brock:
The report card gives users an overall financial health grade and grades for each category of their finances. There’s also a social comparison tool so they can see how they stack up against peers.

Users can click into any section to see why they received a certain grade and what they can do to improve it. Advisors can customize the resources shown, including adding their own videos, content, and branding.

Sharon:
So if an advisor already has educational videos or content, they can plug that in?

Brock:
Yes, exactly. Advisors can add their own videos and resources by category, so when a user clicks into a topic like insurance or debt, they’ll see the advisor’s content.

Sharon:
That’s great. What about next steps for the user?

Brock:
That’s where the action item center comes in. After reviewing their report card, users see personalized action steps designed to help them improve their financial health.

These might include increasing savings, creating an emergency fund, building a will, or completing education modules. The advisor can customize or remove action items and add their own resources.

The idea is to put the advisor and the client on the same side of the table, working toward goals together rather than feeling like a sales conversation.

Sharon:
Can you show an example of the educational content?

Brock:
Sure. Each topic includes literacy courses made up of videos, polls, short readings, and quizzes. The content is interactive and often personalized based on the user’s information. Advisors can also replace or supplement this with their own educational material.

Sharon:
Can advisors see how engaged users are?

Brock:
Yes. On the advisor side, there’s reporting that shows engagement levels, activity, and aggregate insights into where users are struggling or improving.

Sharon:
What about the financial plan itself?

Brock:
The financial plan provides a visual overview of net worth, savings rate, insurance coverage, estate planning, and retirement projections.

For example, if someone’s savings rate isn’t high enough to meet their retirement goal, the platform shows them realistic steps to improve it over time rather than overwhelming them with unrealistic targets.

Sharon:
I can really see how this helps people who don’t currently work with an advisor.

Brock:
Exactly. It’s built to help advisors deliver value at scale, especially for people who aren’t ready for full-service planning yet.

Sharon:
How do advisors typically charge for this when offering it as a wellness benefit?

Brock:
Some offer it as a value-add at no cost. Others charge a per-employee monthly fee, usually anywhere from $2 to $15 depending on involvement.

Savology is priced per advisor license, not per user, so advisors can offer it to thousands of people for the same cost.

Sharon:
Is the data manually entered, or does it integrate with accounts?

Brock:
Initially, users manually enter information. They can then link accounts to automatically update balances. Advisors can view that data and reporting on the backend.

Sharon:
Are there branding options for advisors?

Brock:
Yes. Advisors can add their logo, customize resources, include their bio, contact info, calendar link, and make the platform feel like an extension of their firm.

Sharon:
What questions do advisors usually ask before deciding to use it?

Brock:
It really comes down to their needs. Advisors looking to differentiate their 401k offering, support younger or middle-market clients, or generate leads tend to see the most value.

There’s also a starter plan option that can be used as a lead magnet with built-in calls to action.

Sharon:
How does it integrate with other software?

Brock:
We integrate through Zapier, which allows data to flow into most CRMs and other platforms advisors already use.

Sharon:
What about compliance?

Brock:
We have a compliance portal with vendor reviews, policies, and documentation. The platform is educational, doesn’t provide advice, and avoids collecting sensitive personal information, which makes compliance approval straightforward.

Sharon:
Is there anything else you want to show or mention before we wrap up?

Brock:
I think we covered the main points. I’m happy to answer questions or connect with advisors who want to learn more.

Sharon:
Perfect. I’ll connect interested advisors directly with you. Brock, thank you so much for taking the time to walk through this. It’s a great tool and one I think many advisors should take a closer look at.

Brock:
Thanks again, Sharon. I really appreciate the opportunity.

—————- end of transcript ——————

Mentioned in this episode:

Listen to the Podcast episode of this topic here.

Resource Review – The 401k Advisor Playbook

by Sharon Pivirotto | Follow Me on LinkedIn Here

Resource Review – The 401(k) Advisor Playbook

Wish you had someone to tell you exactly how to grow your 401k plan business? Someone who can look at what you’re doing now and give you a scorecard of what to focus on?  Someone who has almost 20 years and $100 million in sales success in this space?

Wish you had the exact scripts and emails to use to get plan sponsors attention, add value, and nurture the relationship until they’re ready to make a change?

Wish you had accountability and someone to bounce ideas off of?

You get that and so much more inside this new coaching program by Andy Hudson.

In this video I walk you through what you get inside the members area that truly makes this a one-of-a-kind program to help the 401k advisor catapult their business to the next level.

NOTE: 2 Minutes, 20 Seconds starts the screencap walkthrough of the member’s area…

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Sharon:

Hey, Sharon here, 401kbestpractices. com, and two days ago, I got an email from a new client asking if I offered coaching, and I don’t, but I get that question a lot.

Surprisingly, maybe 25 percent of the time, somebody joins the program that I have on 401kbestpractices. com, they inquire into coaching. Now I understand the value of coaching, of having a mentor, of having accountability, of having somebody to run ideas by and ask questions to. And I know that in this industry, specifically the 401k industry, Andy Hudson offers coaching, and he has been in this business for a very long time, almost 20 years responsible for a hundred million dollars in sales over that time.

And he focuses exclusively on 401ks on the coaching side. There’s a lot of coaches out there that will coach a financial advisory practice, but not specifically focused on the 401k side, and Andy is.

So when I reached out to him yesterday to let him know that I would be sending someone else his way, he told me about a new program that he has recently rolled out called the 401k Advisor Playbook and then he gave me a sneak peek behind the scenes and I was so impressed by it I asked if he wouldn’t mind if I shared it with those people who follow the 401k best practices podcast and blog and he granted me access so that I can go behind the scenes and show you a little bit about what he has built and why I think it’s so valuable and something that you should consider.

I know it’s an in-demand service. People want this kind of coaching and Andy delivers like he always does. Very professional, very high level, exactly what 401k advisors need to help them get to the next level. So, I’m excited to show you a little behind the scenes here. Let me flip over to the Skool platform and show you what he has built.

Peeking behind the scenes at what you get. First, the platform itself, the training is hosted on is called Skool and it’s a very popular platform because it integrates with Classroom, Calendar, and Community. Inside this community, the goal basically is to help get you to a million-dollar business with just 50 to 70 clients and then build from there.

So over 12 months in this coaching program, they cover three key areas called the 401k advisor playbook system that focuses on outreach to prospects getting leads. nurturing prospects, and then the sales presentation, which is unique and unlike anything that I’ve ever seen. Inside the classroom, you’ll see they have that new member training, which goes over each of those three areas in depth.

This is the in-depth training to get you started. And then it’s more than just training. The training is nice, but he gives you monthly emails to send on new topics every month that also includes a script for voicemail and a script for email. If you get them on the phone, a separate script if they’re interested versus not interested.

So, every month you get exactly what you need to do your outreach when you’re prospecting. And then they also, you also get inside this program, nurture emails. So, they’re writing emails for you, plug and play, done for you. It doesn’t get any easier than that. I know -that’s what I create, the done for you stuff. And most of the stuff that I create for advisors is on the service side. And Andy has done a fantastic job of creating resources and training on the sales side.

So, there’s also triggering event scripts. He teaches you what’s called “a 4% activity framework,” so that this can be done in just 20 minutes a day, probably might take you up to an hour when you’re first getting started to learn the whole process and the flow, but then 20 minutes a day is all this should take in order to get the results on the personalized plan that Andy will give you.

When you go into this program, you get access to a PowerPoint presentation for you to customize and take and use during your discovery meetings.

And here’s something that, I’m just, I’m excited about this, it’s called “the COI Code,” (Center of Influence). Many of you know that’s one of the best places to get leads, but sometimes you don’t get as many as you’d like, or they’re not the highest converting leads because maybe the COI didn’t know exactly what they were looking for. But this COI Code teaches them exactly what to look for and what might be a triggering event where they could bring you into the conversation and refer folks your way. It’s fantastic. You’re going to love it.

There’s additional resources and training in here for you. I think probably the best part of the program, besides the done for you scripts and emails, is the fact that this is a coaching program, right?

Twice a month, you hop on a call., walk through your wins, walk through what you’re trying to figure out, and get help directly from Andy Hudson on this group call. And you can hear what other people are doing, what’s working for them. That’s one of the things I love about a community like this.

And then every Thursday, he’s got office hours, which, if you’ve got a question, a challenge, you want to walk through the three areas that you’re working on, lead gen, nurturing, and closing the sales. Hop on and discuss those with him.

So that is the program and if you go to 401kchampions. com, how it works is you schedule a free mapping session. Andy will walk through a series of questions with you and give you your own personalized, actionable plan that’s going to help you understand how to address those challenges and help you hit your revenue goals.

And when you join the program, here are some of the things that he’s got listed on the sales page. And I just want to call attention to this because I think it is so valuable.

  • The reason people need coaching is because sometimes you’re great at getting leads but it’s not consistent. Consistent lead flow.
  • Higher conversion rates.
  • Increased referrals, when you’ve got the correct COI framework in place.
  • More revenue, less effort. 20 minutes a day, doesn’t that sound fantastic?
  • Confidence and clarity. You’ll no longer feel uncertain about what’s next.
  • A solid game plan with, and this especially, continuous support, so that you know exactly what steps to hit your target.

So, I hope you enjoyed the backstage peek at what you get inside this coaching program that Andy Hudson has put together. I think it is absolutely fantastic. I also think that he is undercharging for it and have already recommended he raise his fees. Sorry, but I know how much work goes into building and implementing a coaching program and how much value there is in it. And if you just go to 401kchampions.com, you’ll see testimonials of the value that people that are in the program are getting already.

I just thought this might help since I do get the coaching question a lot. I know that coaching is one of those things that can significantly improve your business.

And Andy Hudson offers it at 401kchampions. com. And if you have any questions. Reach out to him.

And until next time, this is Sharon with 401kbestpractices. com, telling you to go out there and educate your plan sponsors to have a more successful and compliant plan.

I wish you the best of luck and we’ll talk soon.

—————- end of transcript ——————

Mentioned in this video:

Listen to the Podcast episode of this topic here.
Or watch the video on YouTube here.