Michael Kane and his leadership team are redefining the landscape of wealth management. They’ve built a national powerhouse firm, well known for their intense focus on delivering the support and resources financial professionals need to provide excellent client service while reaching elite levels of production.

They continue to partner with an impressive number of successful wealth managers who are limited at their current firms and who are driven to reach the new levels of success by finding the right partner.

As a Managing Principal of 1847Financial, Michael and his leadership team have seen incredible wins in teaming—pairing individual advisors to create teams with powerful synergy and momentum. Join us in this discussion with Michael Kane as he shares the secrets to successful teaming, the right ways to recruit, the keys to effective firm transitions and more.

What does your firm focus on doing better than other companies in the industry?
When I started, I was fortunate enough to learn from John Duni. John ran an organization based on one principle, “How do you help people?” 

At our firm, we've always kept one core ingredient the same, the financial professional is our client. 

We work for the advisor.
We need to listen to them.
We need to help them.

We are here to support them every day. Not only in the good times, but in the challenging times, as well. If we asked other firms who their clients are, I'd be really intrigued with the answers we would hear.

We hear Dave O’Malley, Chairman, President and CEO of Penn Mutual, state this over-and-over, “Penn Mutual does not reach a single client without an advisor.”

And that's core to our DNA. It’s pretty simple: We listen to our financial professionals, and we help them. If you’ve never worked for a financial company that treats you—the financial advisor—as the client, let’s talk.

We want what our team members want. When we recruit someone, we focus on recruiting the right fit, and we make it all about them. We really listen to what they are trying to build, and that becomes the business plan.

We focus on recruiting the right fit and then focus on helping them succeed.

When we’re recruiting, we really focus on listening to them and seeing if we can help them; and being open with them if we can't help them. If we know there’s a better spot for them, we’re going to let them know. There's so much goodwill that happens and so much trust that builds in that process.

We are not trying to convince people to join our team. That is not what we are about.

They can see right through you when you're just trying to sell them, sell them, sell them. You know, “Oh, yeah, we can do that better than anybody!” “Yep, we’ve got that!” “Oh, yeah, we do that better than your current firm!”

Instead, we ask questions like, “Why is that important to you?” or “Let me hear what you're actually wanting.” And “Tell me what's currently offered at your organization.” 
And when we point out the good things they have at their current organization, and we are very clear, upfront and honest—transparent on all of those different pieces—advisors appreciate that!

Then, we get into what we can do and see how that’s different from what they currently have … and not being afraid to point out those things that we can't provide. That’s another core piece of who we are, not being afraid to say no to individuals who are not right for our organization … or we’re not the right fit for them. Having the confidence and presence-of-mind to say they should stay with their current organization. That’s a really powerful statement to make.

And it often comes back to us 10 times.

What advice do you have for financial professionals who are considering a move to a new firm?
First, ask a million questions before you commit to a company. Don't be afraid to throw hypothetical scenarios out and discuss them thoroughly with the recruiters.

For me, I want people to understand exactly what they are getting into before they sign with us. What I don’t want anybody to do is join our firm, and then think, “I wish I had asked about this!” So, ask those questions all along the way. That way, when you come on board, you're ready to roll.

The Principle of Threes
Second, I tell people that transitions from one firm to another firm are often challenging. I don't care what anybody says, transitions are significant, and there are often challenges.

I try to help people understand and be prepared for this by sharing the principle of threes when it comes to transitions.

1. The first three days you're going to feel on top of the world, like, “I just made the best move of my financial career!”
2. During the first three weeks, you're probably going to have questions like, “What in the world did I just do? I used to know exactly where everything was. I was able to go right online, and I knew exactly what button to hit … now I have no idea what to do. I’m lost.”
3. From about three weeks to about three months is when you transition, and it’s important to make note that the transition should be over after three months. If it’s not, let’s escalate support and make sure you have everything you need!

There are two reasons that I share that with new recruit prospects before they sign with us: First, if they can see that there is likely going be short-term pain for three months, but there’s a lot of long-term gain after that … it can help them when they start feeling the challenges arise.

Second, and most importantly, if the transition isn’t worth some of that pain, then it’s probably best to stay where they are, and that's okay. I want people to realize that before they’ve cut ties with their current firm. That’s a big part of being a great partner!

Also, when you’ve passed the three-day mark and those challenges start coming up, I want you to understand that your number one job at that point is to pick up the phone and call me. Scream at me, holler at me … whatever it is you need to do, and then let’s rally the teams and resources to get the exact help that you need!

I think it also helps when people realize that everyone experiences these challenges. It’s normal to go through this. We’ve made huge gains in planning ahead and minimizing these things, but challenges are still a very common theme we see in transitions. So we need to be prepared to address them.

A perfect example of The Principle of Threes
A perfect example of the principle of threes happened to me just the other day, and interestingly enough, it happened with a team that we didn’t end up recruiting.

We were working with a small team of high-end advisors for quite a while. This team is a great fit for us! We were very close to the transition, and then they got a very, very high signing bonus from another company. It was a ridiculously high payday that they couldn’t refuse. So, they took the money and went with that company.

I called the lead advisor to check in with them. After we had been talking for a minute he says, “I appreciate you calling me, but you don't need to keep up with me at this point.” And I replied, “No, my job is to help you, no matter what … I made that commitment to you from the beginning. Whether it's with us, whether it's with another organization. I'll help you.

The next thing he says to me is, “I'm having a really hard time in this transition!” It was exactly the principle of threes.

So, I replied, “You remember what I told you? The principle of threes? You're two months in right now, so you're two-thirds of the way done. You’ve got one more month to go. You’ve got to buckle down; I'm sorry it’s going rough for you right now, but you’ve got to get through it.”

That's the example I want to be. He knows I'm not making a penny off of that call. In fact, I lost money on that deal … I flew out there a couple of times. So it may seem like I “wasted” time and money, but I’m building a strong relationship with one of the greats in our business!

Building all these different relationships, you never know how it’s all going to come back to you, but it will. That I can guarantee.

I hated losing that opportunity with that team! And I still remember when he called, telling me he got that incredible offer. I said, “you'd be an idiot not to take it … go down to the bank and sign it. Congrats, somebody offered you a great package—I’m excited for you!”

We are playing the long game here.

I’m working with a team right now that is planning to transition at the first of the year; I met them before the pandemic. That was the first time I had lunch with them.
They are solid people and elite advisors, in my opinion. But we weren’t the right organization for them at that point, and I don't think their practice was the right practice for us. It is a two-way street.

Now, they are absolutely the right practice for us, and we are absolutely right home for them. I have no doubt that joining our organization is the right thing for them.

I think there's real value in being able to tell an advisor, “I think you need to stay where you are” or “you need to look at another organization.”

And I'm not afraid to tell them, that if they need someone who is there every day, asking how many calls they’ve made or if they’re submitting two apps per week, then we're not the right partner for them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being 15 years in the business and still doing that because it works.

But what is wrong is telling yourself you're one way, when you're actually something else; so be true to yourself.

This approach has taken us out of the game of selling. It’s not our job to convince anyone that our company is the right company for them.

What are some key ways that you partner with financial professionals?
That depends entirely on what they are trying to accomplish, on their business plan.

What is their business plan for the first 90 days or 180 days? How are we going to help them execute that plan? We're shifting the focus to them, which is exactly where it should be. So it's their vision, and we're just trying to help execute and help accomplish that vision.

The real strength of that, in my opinion, is the level of ownership for us. If we told them we can help them with part of their business plan, we will help them with it.

All the other resources that we have, like our Marketing Team, Practice Development, Advanced Sales and more … a lot of companies have various support teams, right? But very few are actually in the trenches, helping wealth advisors grow their practice and reach their vision.

That’s all part of the focus we have that the financial professionals are our clients.

What I want to be known for as an organization is that we care about our people and our promises … that we respect our advisors as people who are trying to do something big and that we aren’t trying to make their business model into our business model.

I want our team to be known as the team that gets stuff done right and that we deliver what we say we’re going to deliver.

“Tell me one thing that we said we were going to execute on but didn’t.”

A quick example of that is a conversation I had with some of our people in Colorado. I was meeting with them for a three-month check in. I wanted to find out how we are doing. “Tell me one thing that we said we were going to execute on but didn’t.” It’s one of my favorite questions to ask people who have recently transitioned to our team.

It is a bold question, but that's the only way we're going to identify any issues before they fester and become a negative. I really want to know if we told them we would do something, and we didn't do it! I'd rather have them tell me, so they aren't stewing over it.

And honestly, there have been moments where they call us out on something. With our team in Colorado, that’s exactly what happened. And we had to own it, so I said “Oh my gosh, we did tell you that! I am so sorry, but I'm really glad you told us.”

It was a really easy fix, but the point is, we want to build in that level of transparency right from the start. I love that. It shows that we're okay with constructive feedback about how we are doing. And that we don’t want anyone holding back on what they're actually feeling.

I want them to tell me if we are not holding up our end of the deal. They better be telling me, because I'm going to tell them if they aren't holding up their end of the deal. That's what elite business people want in a partnership.

And we're always asking for that one little thing that we can do differently. Because those things move the needle big time … and more importantly, those things show how much we really do care about their success.

Your leadership team seems like they have very a clear picture of who their ideal recruit is. Is that a fair assessment?
That's a tough one. We've been certainly on a journey on this thing. We've defined it simply as “elite.” We are going after individuals and teams that either are or want to be elite advisors.

If you look at our business plan, it's all centered on that one word, “elite.”

They need to be good-to-great right now … not as worried about the day-to-day sales … they need to be business owners; that’s what we’re looking for … a constant student of this ever-changing industry.

That has become a really good thing in our organization.

We're not as worried on a day-to-day basis, like, what sale happened today. That’s a salesperson’s mentality. That's being really small-minded on things in the industry … like, what revenue can look like.

We're really focused on the advisor that has an actual business, who is wanting to grow it. And elite doesn't necessarily means just a very high level of revenue. But elite is also getting designations and being a constant student. So much has changed in the wealth management space. You always have to be evolving. There are certain individuals who want to be elite, and they want to be with elite people. And that's what our goal and our commitment is, to continue to bring in that style of individual.

When you're talking with somebody who has an elite mindset, can you spot that fairly quickly? Or do you have to spend a significant amount of time with somebody to uncover that match?
They are hard to find, but when you do find them, you often click right away. You don't have to be best friends right off, but you have a respect for each other very quickly. And we see the world and opportunities similarly, more or less. I can click with somebody like that right away.

I'll give you an example. I had two business dinners this week with people we’re talking to about coming onboard. I had a dinner Monday with one prospect and dinner Tuesday night with another prospect. Both dinners were at the same place, out in Brooklyn, New York.

One of those people actually does quite a bit more revenue than the other person. But I got the sense that person was thinking, “I'm making a lot of money right now. I'm doing good work, and I'm not changing.”

The other person is a very good advisor as well, but I mean such a difference of how this person wants to grow, and who he wants to become. He’s talking about things ten years out in the future. And how he sees the business evolving and how he’s trying to position best for that future. That's the individual that we need to go all in on because I know we can help him.

This person would be a great fit for our organization, even though his production right now is less than the first prospect’s production.

It's important to be consistent, but it's hard telling somebody no. Especially when you're looking at a person generating hundreds of thousands of revenue a year. But it dilutes resources if we recruit everyone. Focusing on the elite mindset helps insure that the right resources and tools will be available to those people who will capitalize on them the most.

I can often tell very quickly that someone would be a fit culturally with us. The night I met Mark Critchlow, for example ... we sat at dinner for hours, talking about business, talking about life, talking about philosophy … even talking about how we grew up. Immediately, I knew, “This guy is going to be an elite advisor.” He was already well on his way!

In fact, I'm meeting with them again tomorrow down in Richmond, and literally the title of my slide is “Elite”. We have their business analytics on how they're growing their business, and I'm going to challenge them because I think they are capable of doing even more, and I think they can be helping more people than they are right now. And I know we can help them.

And it’s important to point out that his team was really doing fantastic things already, but I know Mark Critchlow, Mike Colb and their team. I know they’re focused on moving to that next level of elite. It’s our job to do everything we can to help them get there. That is what elite advisors want. They want that kind of a teammate or partner. It’s really exciting the energy that comes out of that kind of a relationship!

We’ve seen your team build incredible teams by matching individual producers together, combining strengths to build even stronger teams. Examples come to mind like Josh Bear and Evan Pollack coming together or Cliff Duester and Joe Guevara, of Private Label Wealth Management, adding teammates, James Kimber and Mike Antalek. All of those advisors are excellent by themselves, but these teams they’ve created are very impressive! Will you share your thoughts about the power of teaming?
That all comes organically, interestingly enough. The story of Cliff and Joe is simple: They joined us back in July. We then hosted a holiday party in December in Colorado. Cliff and Mike sat next to each other at that event and just started talking. And we had another meeting that brought them together again, and they sat and talked again. And all these different things started happening that made it very clear that they were better together than they were apart.

I'm very big on teaming, but I’m probably just as big on the fact that we don’t want to force it. We may make introductions and ask if something might be there … if this might make sense.

But if someone's joining a team just for compensation, or if someone's joining a team just for a friendship, it's not likely going to work out long term.

So it’s important to set parameters about what people are trying to get out of a teaming arrangement.

At its core, I believe in teaming more than anything else in this business! And there are several reasons for that. But for one, I'm a big sports fan. Golf is a very good example; it’s arguably one of the most individual sports. It's you and your caddy, quite frankly. There's not a teammate that can pick you up when you’re down … or to work with to create synergy and momentum.

When I watch the Ryder Cup or the President's Cup … or any of those tournaments where golf becomes a team game. These players really aren't making much money from these team tournaments compared to the money they make in individual tournaments. They make millions if they win an individual tournament, but they really don't make much money on the Ryder Cup or President's Cup.

But see you see tears, and you see excitement in these team tournaments, more than any individual tournament. To be included as part of the team to begin with is a significant honor by itself. But I think it was Bryson DeChambeau who said, after leading the U.S. Team to the Ryder Cup victory a couple of years ago, “This was one of the most meaningful weeks of my life.” And he's won multiple major tournaments.

The team dynamic elevates people to a higher level.

There’s just more in a team: More knowledge, more talent, emotion, opportunity, effort … there’s just more in a team.

Most clients love the fact that there's multiple people on the team, it's not just their financial advisor they’re relying on. And, ultimately, when it’s time for financial advisors to exit the business, you have a team behind you. That is a lot easier exit.

Victories just mean more when you’re part of a team. And losing is often a little easier on a team, than it is to lose alone. This business is really hard. It's really, really hard to do it by yourself.

There's something about being a part of a team that makes you want to win together. There's something about that team dynamic that I think elevates people to a higher level.

On a great team, you're held accountable to each other. There’s a lot of energy in that.

I look at Cliff Duester, Joe Guevara, James Kimber, Mike Antalek, every one of them is elevating each other. They can get in each other's faces. They can certainly have disagreements and all that, but they actually really care for each other at the end of the day and care about how they're doing and what they're building. They all have a very strong long-term vision about what they’re building.

A lot of our success facilitating these relationships has come organically … not forcing it.

What do you like to do for fun?
I have three kids, and I love to have fun with my kids on the weekends. Now we're just getting into sports and entertaining. The kids are my weekends, and we love trying new restaurants together. And I love golf. That is certainly something I enjoy.

Are there any quotes that you like to keep top of mind or that you share with your team?
One that I love is from Arthur Blank, “If the car is driving safely and smoothly down the road, you're not innovating. We want those wheels to wobble a little. Of course we don't want the wheels to fall off, but unless you feel as though they might, you're probably taking things too slowly and too safely.”

I want our wheels to wobble … I don't want them to fall off, but I want us to be pushing forward and getting out of our comfort zone, all the time.

I love to keep up with what incredible innovators are doing. Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates … all of those and more. Curiosity was probably like one of the core beliefs they have. Asking, “Why don't we do this? I'm curious if I can pull this off.” Take Elon Musk for example, asking: “I’m curious if you can land the rocket back on the Earth?”

I also love Disney quotes about innovation and curiosity. “Around here, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things because we’re curious … and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Walt Disney

Curiosity is probably my favorite word. So much can be solved by being curious. 

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