In this episode, Ray Sclafani discusses the critical importance of having a well-defined compensation philosophy in financial advisory firms. He highlights the common pitfalls of compensation planning without a clear strategy and emphasizes the need for a structured approach that aligns pay with performance, culture, and profitability. The conversation covers the essential building blocks of a strong compensation philosophy, how to implement it effectively, and the impact it has on employee engagement and trust in leadership.

Key Takeaways

1. More than half the industry lacks a clear compensation strategy.
2. Clear pay philosophies lead to lower turnover rates.
3. Transparency in compensation processes fosters trust among employees.
4. Regularly review and adapt your compensation philosophy to align with business changes.
5. Involve team members in defining key performance metrics.
6. A strong compensation philosophy reflects the firm's values and leadership style.

For more information click here to visit the Best in the Business Blog.

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

To join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.

In this episode, Ray Sclafani explores how advisory firm leaders can move from solo leadership to shared, high-performing teams. Using the metaphor of a musical ensemble, Ray shares lessons from his high school band and real-world coaching with billion-dollar firms to show how clarity, trust, and accountability create lasting success. Learn how to define team roles, foster trust, and lead through leadership transitions while keeping your firm’s performance in harmony.

Key Takeaways

• Leadership is most effective when responsibility is shared across the team.
• Clear roles help every team member understand how they contribute to the bigger picture.
• Trust among team members strengthens performance and accountability.
• Transitions in leadership are opportunities to evolve and sustain firm value.
• Every team member’s contribution is essential, like instruments in a symphony.

Click here for the Decision Making Problem Solving Model™.

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

To join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.

In this short but powerful episode, Ray Sclafani tackles a topic many financial advisors avoid: pricing. As firms expand their services beyond portfolio management into multi-generational planning, tax coordination, and family governance, their value has increased, but too often, their pricing hasn’t.

Ray challenges advisory leaders to view pricing not as a financial figure, but as a leadership decision that impacts enterprise value, team compensation, and client perception. He breaks down the mindset and mechanics required to evolve your pricing model with clarity, confidence, and consistency.

This episode is a must-listen for firms committed to delivering premium services and ready to price like it.

Key Takeaways

1. Most advisory firms are undercharging, not because clients can’t pay more, but because firms haven’t clearly defined and communicated their value.
2. Legacy pricing models (flat AUM basis points) are misaligned with modern, complex service offerings.
3. Advisors must embrace clarity, confidence, and consistency in how they present pricing.
4. Top firms are evolving with tiered basis points, flat planning fees, and project-based pricing to reflect complexity.

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

To join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.

In this episode, Ray Sclafani dives into a key leadership habit that high-performing advisory firms revisit every year: a structured marketing review. Far from a compliance audit, this annual reset is a strategic opportunity to realign messaging, optimize marketing systems, and attract the right clients for the future.

Ray walks through the five essential areas to evaluate:

1. Marketing calendar and plan
2. Ideal client segmentation
3. Value proposition and capability deck
4. Marketing collateral and communication
5. Digital presence and marketing systems

Whether your team is large or lean, in-house or outsourced, this episode outlines how to make marketing a firm-wide responsibility, not a side project. If you're ready to move beyond generic outreach and lead with intentional messaging, this is your playbook.

Key Takeaways

1. A structured annual marketing review helps firms stay aligned, relevant, and client-focused.
2. Without regular evaluation, your messaging can become outdated, misaligned, or unclear.
3. Marketing should be collaborative and cross-functional, not owned by one person or department.
4. Set 3–5 high-impact marketing priorities every quarter for measurable progress.
5. Align internal messaging before launching external campaigns.

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

To join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.

In this episode, Ray Sclafani challenges advisory firm leaders to rethink how they attract new clients. He exposes why many firms are unintentionally sabotaging their growth by relying on outdated, ad-hoc approaches to client acquisition like waiting for referrals or operating off of a founder’s charisma.

Ray dives deep into what it takes to build a scalable, repeatable, and measurable lead generation engine. He covers:

• Why most firms can’t answer “How many new clients can we take on this year?”
• How to define and align your firm around the ideal future client
• Why a compelling, differentiated capability deck is essential
• What it really means to “own your niche”
• The difference between a hope list and a functioning pipeline

This episode is a wake-up call, and a roadmap, for advisors who want to lead their growth, not just react to it.

Key Takeaways

1. Firms must calculate their true client carrying capacity before setting growth goals.
2. Growth requires clarity around the ideal future client, not just a general idea of your current book.
3. True differentiation comes from owning a niche so specifically that you become the obvious referral.
4. Firms that rely on one person’s memory or relationships aren’t building a business, they’re creating a vulnerability.

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

To join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.

In this episode, Ray Sclafani introduces a critical metric that leading wealth management firms—and the private equity firms evaluating them—are using to assess the health and enterprise value of their businesses: the Rule of 40. Originally born in Silicon Valley to evaluate SaaS companies, this simple but powerful formula (Revenue Growth % + EBITDA Margin %) has crossed over into the RIA world and become a litmus test for intentional, sustainable growth.

Ray breaks down:

• What the Rule of 40 really means in a recurring revenue business like an RIA
• How to calculate it (with real examples from ClientWise client firms)
• Where it falls short if misused
• How the most forward-thinking advisory firms use it as a leadership, compensation, M&A, and strategy tool

Plus, you’ll get five coaching questions to spark powerful conversations with your team—and begin leading like a CEO, not just a lead advisor.

Key Takeaways

1. The Rule of 40 = Revenue Growth % + EBITDA Margin %, and if the total equals or exceeds 40, your firm is financially healthy.
2. Many firms overestimate their growth by including capital market gains or acquired AUM—only organic growth tells the real story.
3. Leading RIAs use the Rule of 40 not just as a metric, but as a strategic lens.
4. Tracking Rule of 40 over time and by business segment (organic growth, next-gen, core team) uncovers the real levers driving enterprise value.
5. If your growth is passive or your margin is inflated, the Rule of 40 exposes the imbalance and forces better leadership decisions.

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

To join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.

In this episode, Ray Sclafani challenges financial advisors to shift from simply managing a successful practice to thinking like a CEO and capital allocator. Drawing parallels to the booming subscription economy, Ray explains how advisory firms, powered by predictable AUM-based revenue, are in a prime position to reinvest with purpose.

Whether it’s developing leadership, upgrading tech, or expanding into new client markets, this episode offers a compelling call to action: don’t coast on recurring revenue, leverage it. Learn how elite firms are acting boldly and investing in infrastructure, talent, and strategic growth to command premium valuations and build enduring enterprises.

Key Takeaways

1. Your AUM fee model gives you predictable cashflow, so you should treat it like a competitive advantage.
2. Don’t just preserve profits, deploy them in ways that support scalable, long-term growth.
3. Top valuations go to firms with vision, strategy, systems, and momentum, not necessarily the largest AUM.
4. Forecast with confidence and use recurring revenue to fund your firm’s future.

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

To join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.

In this episode of Building the Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani explores one of the most underutilized but essential skills in financial advisory: the art of choosing clients wisely. Shifting from “more clients, more assets” to “right clients, sustainable growth,” Ray outlines how high-performing firms assess both behavioral and financial indicators to identify their next generation of A+ clients—even before they build wealth.

He introduces a client selection framework that focuses on advice-receptivity, future potential, values alignment, and more—all geared toward improving enterprise value through predictable cash flow. Ray also offers coaching questions to help leaders train their teams, align their growth strategy, and build a firm designed for the future.

Key Takeaways

1. Strategic firms focus on those who enhance predictable cash flow and align with long-term goals.
2. Traits like curiosity, respect for process, and ambition signal a high-value client even before assets arrive.
3. Scorecards, life-event triggers, and fee-based onboarding help firms assess clients strategically.
4. When firms define who they’re built to serve, growth strategies, referrals, and client experiences improve.

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

To join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.