250 Sten Morgan / PlanScore: The Advisor of the Future Sells a Process that Gets Results

In this solo episode of the Elite Financial Advisor Podcast, Sten Morgan, CFP®, ChFC®, introduces PlanScore - the software his team built to deliver financial plans clients actually understand - and shares the journey that took him from selling products to selling a process. Sten walks through his path into the business on the insurance and AUM side, the moment he realized advisors could get paid for their time and ideas, and the roadblocks he hit adding financial planning: it was heavy, slow, and hard to scale. His answer became a mantra - maximum value with extreme efficiency - and a clear framework for what a complete financial plan actually covers. He breaks down the categories every plan should include, why scoring each one from 1 to 5 turns a plan into something clients can see and act on, and why the advisor of the future is a communicator and coach who sells a process, not a product. As Sten puts it: "The advisor of the future delivers a process, not a product." **Try PlanScore Free (Code: PODCAST):** PlanScore helps you build financial plans people actually understand - the complete-plan framework, a simple 1-to-5 scoring rubric, and a proposal built for you, so you deliver maximum value with extreme efficiency. Start your free trial and use code PODCAST for your first month free. Get PlanScore here: https://www.planscore.com/?utm\source=shownotes&utm\medium=podcast&utm\campaign=ep\250\_planscore **In This Episode** - Maximum value with extreme efficiency: deliver a plan that feels like it took 30 hours in an hour or less. - You can get paid for your process. When clients pay for advice, they value it and actually follow through. - Define a complete plan. A cash flow report and a Monte Carlo is not a plan; do not let clients believe a collection of products is one. - Score every category from 1 to 5 (red, orange, green). Clients do not want to be red, and now they can see the path to green. - The advisor of the future is a communicator and coach who sells a process, not a product. **Episode Timestamps** 00:00 - Launching PlanScore, and why we built it 00:40 - Maximum value with extreme efficiency 01:30 - Starting in insurance: trained to sell products 02:27 - The business owner I tried to talk out of his own business 03:30 - Moving to AUM: still gated by "do you have money to invest?" 04:00 - The $5,000 onboarding fee that broke my brain 05:00 - My first paid plan: $1,500 for 12 months 06:00 - Adding planning slowed the rest of the business 07:30 - Deciding what kind of advisor I wanted to be 08:30 - Where it broke down: expectations and the deliverable 10:00 - Simplicity is a gift: a plan people understand 11:00 - The categories of a complete financial plan 13:00 - Scoring each category 1 to 5 (red, orange, green) 15:00 - Building a plan in an hour instead of ten 17:00 - Pricing and the average planning fee 19:00 - Service models: 3-month, 12-month, and AUM-only 22:00 - PlanScore Light: re-energizing existing clients 25:00 - The advisor of the future sells a process 27:00 - Try PlanScore with code PODCAST **Get the Free Episode Companion Guide:** Want the cheat sheet for this episode? We turned the biggest ideas into a one-page companion guide - the complete-plan framework, key takeaways, and three action steps. Grab your free copy here: https://gobeelite.com/elite-advisor-podcast-companion-page?utm\source=shownotes&utm\medium=podcast&utm\campaign=ep\250\_planscore **Free Resources for Financial Advisors:** Want to become a more elite advisor? Get our free course on how to become an Elite Advisor, plus training videos that show you how to whiteboard ideas with clients using real examples. Get the free resources here: https://gobeelite.com/elite-advisor-path-resources?utm\source=shownotes&utm\medium=podcast&utm\campaign=ep\250\_planscore **Get the Free Book: Value First Prospecting** Most advisors were trained to sell first and hope trust shows up later. Value First Prospecting shows you how to create demand, lead with ideas, and turn first meetings into strategy conversations instead of sales meetings. You can claim a free copy of Sten Morgan's book, Value First Prospecting. Just cover shipping. Get the book here: https://gobeelite.com/free-book?utm\source=shownotes&utm\medium=podcast&utm\campaign=ep\250\_planscore **Attend Elite Advisor Live:** Elite Advisor Live is our in-person training where advisors get the reps, feedback, and proven system to start charging for advice and clearly communicate their value. Learn more about Elite Advisor Live here: https://www.eliteadvisorlive.com?utm\source=shownotes&utm\medium=podcast&utm\campaign=ep\250\_planscore **Join Elite+:** Elite+ is for advisors who are done dabbling and ready to become Elite. Inside Elite+, you get proximity, accountability, real-time coaching, and a complete operating system to help you remove resistance and grow at a higher level. Join Elite+ here: https://eadvisornetwork.com/join-ean?utm\source=shownotes&utm\medium=podcast&utm\campaign=ep\250\_planscore **Connect With Elite Advisor Network** Website: https://www.eliteadvisornetwork.com?utm\source=shownotes&utm\medium=podcast&utm\campaign=ep\250\_planscore Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-elite-financial-advisor-podcast-with-sten-morgan/id1601321140 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elite-advisor-network YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EliteAdvisorNetwork **Subscribe** Subscribe for more conversations, training, and practical ideas to help financial advisors reject average and become elite. #EliteAdvisorNetwork #FinancialAdvisor #StenMorgan #FinancialPlanning #PlanScore #AdvisorGrowth #FinancialPlanningProcess