If It’s FEE It’s for Me With Andrew Martin, Episode #137

In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers and co-host Kyle Houck interview Andrew Martin, Founder & President of Atlas Financial Strategies. Andrew discusses his transition from life insurance to financial planning, why he decided to become a fee-based advisor, and how he provides value for his clients. 

Episode Highlights:

• Andrew shares his background. (2:50)
• Andrew believes that the property-casualty insurance sector is very transactional, focused on providing quotes, and not so much on educating clients. (5:20)
• Andrew explains why he believes individuals are still used to working with advisors on a transactional basis. (9:44)
• Andrew mentions that their most difficult challenge is getting the information they require from clients in a timely manner and getting them to follow through on certain commitments. (14:25)
• Andrew explains how they came up with hiking the fee. (17:32)
• Andrew mentions the importance of educating people on the products and their benefits. (24:36)
• How did Andrew decide to switch from life insurance to financial planning? (26:24)
• Andrew mentions that it took him some time to get used to the process and how he charges. (31:18)
• Andrew believes that one of the most difficult challenges he has faced is the learning process. (32:29)
• Andrew mentions that being in front of clients and directing the planning is the most valuable use of his time. (36:10)
• Andrew mentions that there are many agents or advisors who are afraid to charge a fee. (48:58)

Tweetable Quotes:

• “Before I made that transition into fee-based and charging for our time and advice, I lost what would have been, several good clients, because I didn’t charge because the people with money want to pay their advisor or the person they’re working with for their time and advice to feel like they’re getting that unbiased advice.” – Andrew Martin
• “I’ve always wanted to be a trusted advisor for my clients and be well rounded, and holistic, and help them with everything as much as I can to provide as much value as possible.” – Andrew Martin
• “It was a tough transition and making the transition into fee-based, took me a while to kind of settle, and we’re still trying to perfect things, as I hope we always do. But it’s been one of the best business decisions I’ve ever made, it really has opened things up, it really has positioned me.” – Andrew Martin

Resources Mentioned:

• Andrew Martin LinkedIn
• Atlas Financial Strategies
• David Carothers
• Kyle Houck
• Florida Risk Partners
• The Extra 2 Minutes