Ep 428: Leveraging (Salesforce) CRM To Really Systematize A Mid-Sized Advisory Firm with Lorie Jones

Financial Advisor Success

Michael Kitces

News, Business, Entrepreneurship, Business News

4.8 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2025

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Lorie Jones is the Wealth Manager at Fearless Financial Advisors, a DBA of hybrid advisory firm Fidelis Wealth Advisors based out of Colorado, where she oversees $30 million in assets under management for 88 households. What sets Lorie apart is how she maximized the capabilities of Salesforce CRM—typically used by larger firms due to its advanced features and higher cost—to streamline processes and workflows while working at a mid-sized advisory firm without the need for costly Salesforce developers, demonstrating how a well-optimized CRM can enhance efficiency across the firm.

Listen in as Lorie shares how she leverages Salesforce’s "clicks not code" functionality to create custom automations—such as her innovative "magic buttons"—that streamline firm operations, from client onboarding to money movements. She also discusses her journey from an administrative role to firm partner, her transition into full-time advising to focus on serving high-net-worth women, and how she overcame the challenges of launching her own practice. Lorie also reflects on balancing earning her CFP and MBA while raising five children, how starting a podcast helped her gain confidence in prospecting, and why learning from mentors empowered her to take bold career risks.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/428

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Financial Advisor Success Podcast, where you go behind the scenes with
0:07.1	financial planner, speaker, and consultant Michael Kitsis to hear stories of how leading
0:12.4	financial advisors navigated the inevitable challenges that arise on the path to success
0:17.4	and get insight from leading industry consultants about how to break through to the next
0:22.2	level in your advisory business. And now here's your host, Michael Kitsas. Welcome, everyone.
0:29.0	Welcome to the 428th episode of the Financial Advisor's Success podcast. My guest on today's
0:34.3	podcast is Lori Jones. Laurie is a wealth manager of fearless financial
0:37.9	advisors, a DBA of hybrid advisory firm Fidelis Wealth Advisors based in Castorock, Colorado,
0:43.2	where Lori personally oversees 30 million of assets under management for 88 client households.
0:48.1	What's unique about Lori, though, is how she has leveraged the functionality of Salesforce
0:51.3	CRM, which is often used by larger firms due to its more
0:54.5	extensive features, but higher costs compared to other CRMs, to systematize processes
0:59.5	and workflows not only for her individual practice, but the entire eight-person 230 million
1:04.1	advisory firm that she's a part of without needing a higher expensive Salesforce developers.
1:09.6	In this episode, we talk in depth about how Lori creates what she calls magic buttons
1:13.4	placed in strategic locations and client records within Salesforce to allow her staff to
1:17.9	conveniently initiate workflows that save time on common firm tasks like onboarding and money
1:22.4	movements.
1:23.3	Why Lori currently uses the accelerate Salesforce overlay, rather than Salesforce on a standalone basis,
1:28.4	for its advisor-specific functionality and lower price point than actually buying Salesforce directly.
1:34.2	And how Lori views Salesforce's Clicks-Not code approach as an opportunity for firms to create
1:39.4	custom automations and workflows without needing their own Salesforce developer or really any coding expertise.
	...

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