In this interview, Richard Canfield, John, and a third host discuss Ascendant’s advisor training and onboarding approach, emphasizing how the firm’s structured coaching and the Nelson Nash infinite‑banking methodology dramatically shorten the typical multi‑year learning curve for new advisors. John describes the “fire‑hose” of preparation, the focus on simplicity, and the step‑by‑step transformation that enables advisors to make meaningful, long‑term financial impacts for clients. Richard shares a personal anecdote about mentoring a newer colleague, highlighting concepts such as guaranteed insurability and the value of condensing five years of industry experience into roughly one year. The conversation also touches on the motivational power of positive Google reviews, which energize the team and reinforce the client‑centric culture. Overall, the dialogue showcases Ascendant’s commitment to providing comprehensive support, practical tools, and a positive environment that empowers advisors to deliver the Nelson Nash way of financial planning.
Chapters
You're daily being exposed to all kinds of dynamics of different people. So what has been interesting and what's kind of surprised you about just the process of going through and helping people now in this environment compared to your previous world?
To begin with, this is the Ascendant difference. I wasn't hired and then pushed to say, go sell this, right? There was a process and we call it like a drinking water from a firehose, I think that's what we call it. So yes, there is a lot before we address any problem that a client might have. Ascendant makes sure we have the proper training, the proper coaching, because life is out there, you know. And one day I could talk to a business owner, I could talk to a family man who's retired, I could talk to a teacher. So there are different people, different situations that I'm exposed to. And the coaching and the teaching from Ascendant helped me to help those people.
That's fantastic. And, you know, there— I guarantee you, because we've— we have 2 just in the past, um, I want to say, let's say 3 weeks. It could be shorter than that, but let's just say 3 weeks. And we have 2 new team members that are going to be onboarding. And one of the dominoes that tipped over for each one of them was watching our teammates' interviews on the Wealth on Main Street podcast. And so there are advisors who are watching today, and some of those advisors feel like something is missing. in their current environment. And so what would you tell them, John?
Come to Ascendant. We will give you the proper support, the proper coaching to make this happen the right way, the Nelson Nash way.
Love it.
Because we don't need to sensationalize, make it like a big deal. There's that word sensationalize.
That's exactly right.
It's a tough word for me to say in English.
We don't need to make it, uh, poo-poo.
That's it, right?
It's just, it's just make it simple, that, because that's really what it is. And, um, you know, in your own experience, your own implementation of the process, what's the biggest transformation that you've experienced up to this point?
It's taking it one step at a time to achieve that dream of not only helping people but helping them making such a big difference. You know, when we sign on an application, I know that my name attached to that person gonna have such an impact that even if I'm not And run anymore, that's going to impact their family in such a huge way.
Love that. Love that.
I was, I was actually at a wonderful breakfast dinner with a colleague this morning, and I actually had a meeting with a gentleman who's also in the industry in a different aspect of the industry through my strategic coach group yesterday. It was wonderful. Great to connect with some people locally here. And the gentleman this morning was interesting because he's fairly newer to the business, and we had some good conversations about that long-term longevity planning. And I really wanted to impart upon him the importance of things like guaranteed insurability risers on kids and some of the strategy around why you would want to make sure you have certain things in place. And it was really interesting to just be a part of that experience and recognize how thinking back to getting started, where I was, you know, whatever, 17 years ago, however long it was, and what I didn't know and what I had to start to learn and take in. And everything was an experience, and you're learning and learning, and then you develop and you figure out how to apply things differently. And even just in the first 5 years, the amount of things I learned about the industry, the business, how to teach and communicate infinite banking was so astonishing and diverse. And the ability to now kind of condense that timeframe, I think for other people is probably where one of our distinct advantages is maybe at Ascendant because it's like, look, don't go through the 5-year experience that Richard and Jason went through. Maybe we'll just tone that down to a 1-year experience or kind of like you're not going to get all of it, but you're going to get like a lot of the most, how do we put it? Like the sledgehammers that hit you in the toe. Like have you ever hit your finger with a sledgehammer, like a hammer of something? So like, we want to— we don't want to— those are still going to happen, but you're just going to bump the finger. You're not going to have a blackened nail that's going to fall off anymore. And we can probably condense that to a 1-year or less timeframe. Just knowing that we have the ability to do that, I think, is really, really powerful. And it was inspiring to recognize how far we've come and how exciting it is for people like yourself, John, and our other teammates to be able to have the capacity to help as many people as you are able to do. And when we have our meetings, sometimes Jason will start a meeting with a positive power-up, but a lot of times you'll say, hey, who's looked at a Google review lately? And then we'll go on and we'll read 3 or 4 or 5 Google reviews, and it just sets the whole meeting into this amazing positive environment. What's been your experience of seeing some of those Google reviews for yourself, John?
It's always bringing a boost of new energy. You know, seeing people saying, hey, I was in touch with this advisor from Ascendant, and he was able to guide me. He was patient enough, you know, to take me from point A to point Z, and in such a friendly way. And now I can help my family by implementing this system.
Thank you.
They usually say, thank you, I can't thank you enough, I'm looking forward, you know, to expand my system, I will share this with my friends, you know. So it always brings us a lot of joy and a lot of energy, positive energy.
