Better Planner

A financial plan should help a client decide what to do next.

Sam Flaten of LEVR Planning joins Colin Page and me to talk about what makes planning useful, how outsourced paraplanning can work, and why advisors need to understand what their software is doing. Sam shares how he supports different firms and tech stacks, while our conversation moves from client outcomes and retirement projections to AI and hiring planning support.

In this episode:

- Separating planning work from client relationship management

- Building plans around client outcomes and clear next steps

- Using Monte Carlo and guardrails to explain trade-offs

- Learning planning software deeply enough to question its output

- Using AI while checking data, calculations and recommendations

- Defining a paraplanning role people want to stay in

Connect with Sam: https://www.levrplanning.com/

Recorded September 16, 2026. Software references reflect that recording date.

A CRM can eat hours before it saves you a minute.

Colin Page joins me to talk about CRM setups that fit how advisors actually work. I share why keeping up with clients started breaking down around 20 households. Colin explains how he built workflows around his service calendar, delegated tasks and meeting preparation.

In this episode:

- Defining a process before building a CRM workflow

- Deciding whether a task is worth automating

- Adjusting workflows when you hire a support person

- Keeping recurring work from turning into dozens of boxes to check

- Using Notion for detailed procedures alongside a CRM

- Using AI for meeting notes, preparation and moving client information

Before building another workflow, try drawing your process on a whiteboard.

Recorded September 9, 2026.

How do you keep compliance work organized while running an advisory firm?

Colin Page joins me to compare our experiences with exams, compliance support and documentation. Colin talks about his firm's transition to SEC registration, and we discuss how calendars, written procedures and meeting notes fit into our day-to-day work.

In this episode:

- Deciding when to get more compliance support

- Our experiences with state exams and SEC registration

- Keeping written policies aligned with how a firm operates

- Organizing recurring reviews and supporting documentation

- Using AI for meeting notes and evaluating software vendors

Recorded September 2, 2026. This conversation shares our personal experiences, not compliance advice.

What makes someone want to keep listening to you?

Sean Trace joins Colin Page and me to talk about storytelling, showing your personality, and making content you can keep creating. We discuss how podcasts can build relationships, how one conversation can become several pieces of content, and why a small audience of prospective clients can matter more than a big download count.

In this episode:

- Finding stories in your own experiences

- Letting your personality help people decide whether you're a fit

- Using short videos, longer conversations and podcasts for different purposes

- Building a repeatable recording routine

- Getting help with production while keeping your own voice

Recorded June 10, 2026. Contains explicit language.

A financial plan should give clients something they can return to.

Colin Page joins me to walk through his approach to a one-page plan: what matters to a client, where their money goes, and what they should do next. We look at a sample in Kerdora Guides and discuss how a concise plan can support a conversation instead of becoming another report to file away.

In this episode:

- Starting with a client's purpose and goals

- Organizing income into spending, savings, debt payments and taxes

- Using a financial snapshot to uncover better questions

- Showing assets by purpose and tax treatment

- Building a plan together and keeping next steps visible

Recorded May 27, 2026. Product demonstrations and references to upcoming features reflect that recording date.

Building your own AI tools can be useful. It can also become another way to stay busy.

Colin Page and Taylor Stewart discuss AI subscriptions and API costs, how advisors and software companies price their work, and when building a tool yourself is worth your time.

In this episode:

• AI subscriptions versus usage-based API costs

• Pricing advice and software around value and costs

• Building your own tools versus buying working software

• Tinkering, productivity, and knowing what you don’t know

Recorded May 20, 2026. Product names and prices reflect that conversation.

Projections can help clients see the future, but they can also trick advisors into building a prettier model instead of a better plan.

In this episode, Taylor Stewart and Colin Page talk about where projections actually fit in financial planning. They cover the difference between projections and calculations, why detailed models can create false confidence, and how to keep the focus on the only question that really matters: what should the client do today?

In this episode:

• Why projections are helpful for visualization, but dangerous as the centerpiece
• The difference between a projection and a calculation
• How detailed models can waste time without changing the recommendation
• Why retirement projections still need humility
• How guardrails can make projections more actionable
• Why advisors should model what affects today’s decision, then stop

Marketing gets a lot simpler when you stop trying to build a machine and start saying useful things clearly.

In this episode, Taylor and Colin talk through how they’ve both found clients without being “marketing people.” Colin shares how his blog became the foundation for his website, newsletter, lead magnet, and prospect follow-up. Taylor walks through what’s worked on his own site, including local SEO, transparent pricing, a simple intro video, and letting prospects self-select before they ever schedule a call.

They also talk about why advisor websites don’t need to be fancy, why podcasts can work even with a small audience, and why the best marketing often starts with being clear about who you serve, how you work, and who probably isn’t a fit.

In this episode:

• Why Colin’s blog became the center of his marketing system

• What makes a simple advisor website work

• How local SEO helps prospects find you

• Why transparent pricing can pre-qualify better-fit prospects

• How newsletters and lead magnets can stay simple

• Why a small podcast audience can still build trust

The first call has 1 job: figure out whether both sides should keep talking.

In this episode, Taylor Stewart and Colin Page walk through their prospecting processes from first website click to signed client. Colin shares how he uses a short form, a 15-minute intro call, document collection, and a one-page plan to qualify serious prospects before proposing a fee. Taylor shares his Ataroke flow, including how he uses a quick plan, hourly conversations, and ongoing planning options depending on what the person actually needs.

In this episode:

• Why your prospect process starts with knowing what you do for clients
• How Colin uses a 15-minute call to sort qualified prospects, referrals, and edge cases
• Why asking for documents can be a good filter
• How to give value without turning every prospect call into unpaid planning
• Why flat fee doesn’t mean same fee for every client
• How Taylor uses a quick plan as a cleaner path into ongoing planning
• Why your website CTA should make the first step feel mutual

Advisors can drown in tech, meetings, deliverables, and service calendars before answering the real question: what do clients actually want from me?

In this first episode of Better Planner, Taylor Stewart and Colin Page talk about defining the job clients are actually hiring you to do. Taylor shares how asking clients one uncomfortable question helped him cut back a $30,000 tech stack, simplify his planning process, and build around a clearer promise: help clients understand their financial life and know what to do next.

In this episode:

• Why “I just want to help people” isn’t specific enough
• How to ask clients what they actually want from you
• Why tech decisions get easier once your planning job is clear
• The restaurant analogy for advisory service models
• Why clients pay for results, not effort
• How fewer meetings and deliverables can create a better client experience