"For those clients who are not ready to commit but have agreed to giving you their email address, so they can receive our news letter. What's the best sort of marketing structure?"

The magic formula is this:

1. One consistent engagement per month. Ie, your monthly client email newsletter.
2. One highly personalized engagement every three months.

Here is the engagement structure below.

1. First, connect with them on LinkedIn. Ask them if there is anything stumping them pertaining to their money, that they'd like to see answered in the newsletter.
2. Send them the email newsletter every month. Two days after it goes out, check to see if the prospect read the newsletter by looking at the tracking results in your email software.
3. Every three months, do something highly personalized. Call and tell them you want to talk about their Social Security earnings statement. Send them a book on their favorite hobby. Comment thoughtfully on a posting they did on social media, and send them a note saying you appreciate their post. Show up at a charity event their business is having, and say hello.
4. Repeat this engagement cycle over and over - 1 consistent interaction a month, 1 highly personal every three months.

If you have the bandwidth, you can make a personal engagement more frequently than three months.

Try to see it as a relationship you want to keep over the next 20-30 years and don't get too caught up in the short term. Don't get discouraged by non-responses and lose your consistency.

• Watch our one-hour weekly Monday Kickoff Meetings for training, education, updates, recognition, news etc. 
• Pro-tip: participate “live” and ask questions!
  

One of the most important things you can do for your business is have a succession plan in-place in case of your demise or incapacity to conduct business - just as we advise our clients to get term life insurance.

This should be easier than it actually is. At my previous B/D, in which I was a founding partner, I spent  years (almost a decade) trying to get a ownership & succession plan in-place for our Advisors, but to no avail. At IP got it established in two days! 

It's a one-page DocuSign, no lawyers required, written in English and easy to understand. IP truly has an Advisor-First philosophy.

What is the general rule-of-thumb regarding contributions to a UGMA vs a 529-Plan?

1. Always fully-fund the 529-Plan first.
2. Always fully-fund the UTMA first.
3. 50% / 50% into UTMA and 529-Plan.
4. Put the first $20,000 into an UTMA and the remainder into a 529-Plan.
5. Put the first $50,000 into an 529-Plan and the remainder into a UTMA.
6. Put the first $5,000 into an 529-Plan and the remainder into a UTMA.

Answer = 4