It doesn’t seem possible that it is already the middle of March.

Last year, Kim and I committed to teaching a class at the College of Charleston on analytics. Then we blinked, and it was time to go inspire juniors and seniors for three hours. We gave them key principles that guide how we work, broke down some leading companies in our industry, and walked through the massive opportunity inside wealth management.

Teaching the next generation was truly energizing, in the middle of a week packed with activity — Charleston Food & Wine, lots of kid events, and a couple of birthdays.

With all that pulls for our attention each week, you and I can choose to just go through the motions or we can seize the moment, focus on making each experience as good as it can get and make it count.

This week, I’m digging into how our industry needs to be thinking about intentional experiences.

1. The Art of Experience Design and How it Separates Successful Firms

2. On the Pod: Breaking the Mold: Foster Victor's Unique Wealth Coaching Model 🎧

3. Event: From Data to Dollars: Maximizing Scale & Enterprise Value

4. Milemarker On the Road ✈️

The Art of Experience Design and How it Separates Successful Firms

This past weekend, my oldest daughter, a sophomore in High School who is a newly minted state officer for FCCLA and a stand out in her culinary program, worked the Charleston Food and Wine Festival. Over the span of a week she collaborated with numerous chefs and food and beverage industry experts.

She was immersed in the behind-the-scenes orchestration of a world-class culinary experience—learning how the finest chefs curate, refine, and perfect every detail. And that got me thinking. Experience is everything.

Look Up—It’s Q4 Already

As quarter end quickly approaches, most of us are heads down, doing the work—showing up, making decisions, moving things along, sitting in meetings, trying to stay on track—rinsing and repeating the daily requirements.

Soon, we will look up, and it will be Q4.

We’ll think: What should we do differently next year?

Maybe you thought about this in 2024 and you’re implementing new experiences now. If your like a lot of firms, you have thoughts about what you want to change, but struggle to implement them. Experience design.

This holistic approach to crafting meaningful and memorable experiences for our clients by intentionally shaping their interactions, perceptions, and emotions across various touch points, including physical, digital, and sensory elements is what separates us from our competition and is what moves the needle for client satisfaction.

We all want life to be better than it has been. Everyone wants an exceptional, preferential experience.

At the heart of everything we do, in wealth management now more than ever, is client experience.

 • How do we craft great experiences?

 • How do we help our clients feel something exceptional?

 • How do we make the experience of our team members better every day?

The Experience Tour: Your Next Assignment

I want to challenge you to go on an Experience Tour over the next few weeks—whether it’s spring break, a work trip, or even just a weekend.

Go out and intentionally walk through a world-class experience:

 • Stay at a Four Seasons. Observe what mind-reading service feels like.

 • Eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Experience storytelling on a plate.

 • Visit a top-end spa near you and don’t just book one service. Grab a half day or full day package.

Go into the experience with your eyes wide open. Take mental notes:

• What stands out?

• What makes you go “wow”?

• What makes you feel special?

• Why are people willing to pay extra for this?

And now—the best part.

What’s the Experience of Your Business?

Now, go through your own business.

• What is the experience we deliver today — for prospects, for clients, for stakeholders? Think through all aspects of a user's interaction with your services and system, from the initial point of contact to the final interaction and beyond

• What does it feel like to work with us—through the eyes, ears, and senses of our clients?

• Where is friction problematic or growing? How can we remove it?

Often, as leaders and business owners, we block out the negativity because we have to keep moving forward, stay positive, and inspire confidence.

But we need to be ruthlessly objective about experience.

If something feels slow, clunky, or forgettable to a client, it doesn’t matter how good we think our service is—their experience is what they remember.

Become a Student of Experience

Let’s become students of experience. Take time to get curious about your every day experiences in life. Learn from each and every interaction so that you can bring those key learnings into your business. From the grocery store to the golf course, the country club to the drive through, take the time to note what delights or frustrates you and extrapolate those learnings to your life and business.

We have more tools working for us than ever before—more technology, more information, more training available to our people. It’s all here for us, so let’s make sure it is working for us to elevate experience.

Experience Is Everything

The best firms aren’t the ones with the best brochures.

They’re the ones that feel the best to work with.

So yes, experience is everything. But what does experience look like for you today?

How are you designing experience—both actively and passively—inside your organization? And what can you be doing better to improve it?

Would love to hear what you learn on your Experience Tour. Let’s talk.

________________________

On the Pod: Breaking the Mold: Foster Victor's Unique Wealth Coaching Model

Episode 084: In this episode of The Connected Advisor, Kyle Van Pelt talks with with Kylie Felker, President of Foster Victor Wealth Advisors.

Kylie leads the firm's strategic direction and innovation. She and Kyle discuss leadership, growth, and the intentional steps required to build a thriving wealth management firm. From fostering a strong team culture to designing a client experience that leaves a lasting impression, Kylie shares the challenges and triumphs of establishing a leadership structure, the importance of meaningful client relationships, and how Foster Victor stands out in a competitive industry.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(02:21) - Kylie's money moment

(04:16) - The unique branding and digital presence of Foster Victor 

(05:52) - The origins of Foster Victor and its vision 

(08:12) - A team-based approach to client service

(09:18) - Foster Victor's onboarding process

(14:33) - Business models and hiring process

(21:47) - Creating a leadership structure

(24:23) - Foster Victor's core values and operating principles

(30:33) - The role of AI in financial services

(31:56) - Secrets to rapid growth

(34:39) - Kylie's outlook on the future of the industry

(36:16) - Kylie’s Milemarker Minute

⚡️Bookmarks

Event: From Data to Dollars: Maximizing Scale & Enterprise Value

Join Orion’s Adam Palmer, Milemarker’s Jessica Perez, and me for a workshop where we break down how firms are able to turn the ownership of their data into a true increase in the value of their firm.

Save your spot by clicking the link below.

Milemarker on the Road
Catch my team on the road at the following events or cities:

1. March 16-19 - Miami Beach, FL, Future Proof Citywide

2. March 18-20 - New York, NY

3. March 24-26 - Denver, CO

4. March 28 - Omaha, NE

5. April 1-2 - Nashville, TN, RIA Edge

6. April 3-4 - Charleston, SC

7. April 9-10 - Las Vegas, NV, Envestnet Elevate

8. April 28-29 - Tampa, FL, Csenge Advisor Summit

9. Aprill 29-30 - Boston, MA, Tiburon

If you’re in any of those cities and want to arrange a meeting time, reply to this email, and we’ll get something on the calendar.

Jud Mackrill