Jeffrey Rusin is the Co‑founder and CMO of Advisor Tech Partners, where he specializes in helping financial advisors optimize their operations through CRM tools, email marketing, and social media strategies. He grew up in Massachusetts, attending Wilbraham & Monson Academy, and earned a business degree from Whittier College, where mentors like Dr. Gary Gold shaped his professional drive. Jeffrey’s early career included hands-on work with residents of retirement homes, which helped him develop empathy and a deep understanding of client relationships. A lifelong Nickelback and Boston Celtics fan, he balances his tech and marketing expertise with a love for hiking, weightlifting, and binge‑watching shows.

Many financial advisory firms struggle with inefficient workflows, disorganized CRMs, and a lack of accountability across teams. Without the right systems in place, tasks get missed, client experiences suffer, and firm growth stalls. How can firms transform their operations to streamline processes, improve data reporting, and enhance client engagement — all without overwhelming their teams?

Jeffrey Rusin, a CRM automation expert for advisory firms, shares how he helps streamline operations by customizing and automating workflows inside platforms like Redtail and Wealthbox. He emphasizes the importance of properly configuring foundational CRM elements, such as contact sources, event types, and user-defined fields, before layering in automation. Additionally, Jeffrey explains how workflows can be designed by observing team dynamics, identifying process bottlenecks, and automating task assignments based on meeting types. He also offers tips on using Zapier to automate common actions, such as drafting follow-up emails, and advocates for using the simplest tech stack possible to avoid unnecessary complexity.

In this episode of The Customer Wins, Richard Walker interviews Jeffrey Rusin, Co-founder of Advisor Tech Partners, about automation and workflow design for financial advisory firms. Jeffrey shares how to optimize CRMs to improve reporting and accountability. He also discusses the benefits of Zapier, tips for teaching clients automation, and his thoughts on the future of AI notetakers.