What happens when talented advisors spend significant money on marketing but see little to no results? For Lara Galloway, Head of Growth at Elevation Point, the culprit is a common misconception: mistaking activity for strategy. Volume won't fix a lack of vision, and good intentions paired with tactical execution but no underlying plan leave money on the table.

In this episode, Lara and host Kelly Waltrich explore how RIAs can build intentional growth strategies that actually move the needle. They discuss why so many firms invest heavily in marketing without clear goals, how to identify your ideal client before you pick your channels, and why rallying the whole team around a shared vision makes more of a difference than hiring the fanciest agency.

Kelly and Lara cover:

00:00 – Lara’s journey to Elevation Point and her intentional next move
01:35 – What Elevation Point does: taking minority stakes in RIAs to fuel growth
04:00 – Choosing the right leader and cultural fit
07:58 – Two leadership types: those who support vs. those who grow advisors
08:53 – Lara’s process: business planning, marketing consulting, accountability
10:48 – Why many firms don’t know what they’re working toward
11:38 – The “top 15 clients” exercise: ideal client profiling
13:07 – Why “What’s your unique value prop?” is the wrong question
14:21 – Helping firms articulate what they actually do best
16:24 – When firms get most excited: clear goals + 12-month activity plan
19:32 – What’s working: brand alignment and leveraging natural skill sets
21:32 – Preparing for 2026: FAQ content + LLM optimization
24:20 – Why metrics, dashboards, and accountability matter
25:06 – Lara’s “Don’t Do That”: Activity ≠ strategy. Volume won’t fix vision.
29:32 – Real examples: $50K+ marketing spend with no segmentation or results
32:35 – The baseline activity every firm needs—even on small budgets
33:21 – The “LinkedIn Five and Five”: five things, five minutes daily
40:45 – Identifying good-fit clients: collaborators vs. hands-off types
44:44 – The moral tug-of-war between what clients want vs. need
46:07 – Final advice: do an end-of-year audit of what’s working

About Our Guest:

Lara Galloway is the Head of Growth at Elevation Point, where she helps elite independent RIAs design and execute tailored growth strategies. Many of the firms she works with are former wirehouse advisors and top producers who’ve gone independent to build the firms they’ve always envisioned. Others are established RIAs seeking to break through growth plateaus. Lara combines coaching, consulting, and marketing expertise to help them scale intentionally while maintaining their independence.

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