Inspiring the Future: Advocating for Next Generation Success in Financial Services

Maria Bethel [00:00:00]:

I believe in advocating using grassroots efforts, authentic engagement, and unyielding commitment, and those being the true catalysts for effecting lasting change. Those are essential in passing a bright shining torch to the next generation.

Leah Alter [00:00:27]:

Hi there. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Leah Alter.

Joanna Ehresman [00:00:31]:

And I'm Joanna Ehresman. And this is WomenShare, a marketing guide for women in financial services.

Leah Alter [00:00:38]:

Today's episode is very special to me as we welcome Maria Bethel, senior vice president of marketing and communications at Axtella. Maria and I go way back as they say. We were on the same marketing team for a couple of years, and I had the true pleasure of watching Maria elevate the lead gen efforts at the organization, as well as spearhead campaigns to raise money and items for local charities who support women entering the business world. Maria adeptly oversees all marketing and communications at Exstella, seamlessly coordinating them across internal divisions and and elevating the financial professional experience. In 2022, Maria infused her team with a wealth of diverse marketing experience gained from various roles at esteemed financial services companies. Alongside her 15 years of industry experience, her impressive qualifications include a series 7 license and a bachelor of social science from Florida State University. Our professional relationship has certainly been an interesting one with lots of ups and downs. Sadly, we were not in the healthiest working situation when we met, and our relationship suffered, despite being I think we both really appreciated the work that the other one did.

Leah Alter [00:02:08]:

But you know what? I'm really, really proud of us. It took some time, but we were able to have a really honest and healthy conversation and resolved all those issues. And while it was as kind of a sad example of what we see a lot of times in our industry of women kind of being pitted against each other. I think we rose above that and and are just really we're such in a in a great place. I'm just so thrilled to have you on the podcast. Thank you so much for being here and for joining us.

Maria Bethel [00:02:41]:

Whoo. What an introduction. Thank you. I love it. I love it. Action packed. There's so much going on there. Thank you genuinely from the bottom of my heart for both of you, to have me on.

Maria Bethel [00:02:53]:

It's a real pleasure here because, to Leah's point, I think our story proves that communication is key. And it's usually not too late to just overcome obstacles, evolve a relationship into a positive direction regardless of past circumstances. So I'm happy to be here and that we have an open dialogue acknowledging the past, yes, but focusing on the present, the future, and aligned ideas and values that we share. So I believe that women collaborating and supporting one another is truly vital for ongoing success across the board and definitely in this industry, inside and outside of the office. And it helps pave the way forward, and it really sets a good example, in my opinion, for the generations to come. So thank you.

Leah Alter [00:03:42]:

Yes. How about that for kicking off a show?

Maria Bethel [00:03:46]:

Whoo. We love it. No. It chilled already.

Joanna Ehresman [00:03:48]:

I love it. Well and and to the point of next generations to come, let's talk about this because, Maria, you and I are newly acquainted, but your passion around the industry and what's coming in for the next generation, both in terms of people providing the service and the clients we serve, that is absolutely clear. So tell me a little bit about this passion and and where does it come from?

Maria Bethel [00:04:13]:

So I'm really, really excited to have this conversation today because I am genuinely so passionate on this subject, and I hope that that passion comes through loud and clear in our conversation today. Focusing on the next generation is really a top priority for me at the moment specifically, and that is deeply fueled by this internal belief that we have so much untapped potential just waiting out there to be discovered. And I wanna talk about things in this conversation that we typically don't unearth when we're talking about next generation of for financial professionals and investors both. Right? So I wanna take a little bit of a different take on it, in this conversation if we can. And I believe you're both on board with that. So that makes me even

Joanna Ehresman [00:05:01]:

more excited. 100%. We are here for it. Yes. Yes.

Maria Bethel [00:05:04]:

Yes. And to do it on the Women's Share, platform is, when you're opening a new, you know, dialogue that isn't typically talked about, then, you know, you're opening yourself up to to different things than the the more safer route, if you will. So, what I'm getting at here is that the level of transformation that I'm talking about requires us, to redefine our all of ourselves as an independent broker dealer, meaning we will need to find new ways to articulate our purpose and our mission in order to really inspire the next generation of financial professionals and investors. So for a long time, we've relied on really familiar solutions for NextGen that have yielded, shall we say, incremental progress, which is better than no progress, but it is probably time for a faster pace of evolution. Sure. So I think the question then becomes, how do we speed up the pace of the next gen evolution in a compliant way? You're like you see what I did there? In a compliant way. So

Leah Alter [00:06:18]:

Compliance is like, yes.

Maria Bethel [00:06:22]:

Always on the forefront of the mind. So I think to start off, we really need visionaries and advocates to champion our cause and usher in positive change swiftly. And I believe we need to address a couple of fundamental questions. So there's a lot more questions than this, but for the sake of time, I'll focus in on 2. The first and foremost is going to be, what do people truly understand about the independent broker dealer, what we do, and why we do it. I mean, let's let's truly face it here. There's a gaping void in public awareness regarding the different verticals of financial services. So with limited understanding, limited education, I'm gonna ask a hard hitting question.

Maria Bethel [00:07:05]:

Is it really any wonder that attracting the the younger generations is a challenge for us in this field?

Leah Alter [00:07:13]:

Mhmm. Right.

Maria Bethel [00:07:14]:

So think about it. When we're kids or you hear kids, they're asked a question, what do you be what do you wanna be when you grow up? Rarely, if ever, is someone going to answer financial planner. And that's kind of like a funny take on it, but I think we have to sit back and truly ask ourselves why is that. Right? So when exploring career opportunities, awareness is key. You cannot embrace a career path that you know not of, that you are blissfully unaware of. So I believe we have a ton of work to do at the awareness level for what an independent broker dealer is, what we do, and why we do it.

Leah Alter [00:08:01]:

Well and I think and that was one of the things that popped up for Joanna and I when we were talking about this morning, which is it also the with the change of more advisory business versus the old school broker, I think there's still a lot of people who just assume advisors are brokers. They're just selling stocks and buying this and and the and there has been, within the industry, this huge shift into advisory. And the truth is that story is a more digestible, understandable story for the investor. And to your point, we're still kind of in that are are we telling the story in a way that people are truly understanding what it means, you know, for your best interest and that you have skin in the game. And when your investor and your client does well, you do well as an adviser. I think that's part of that story. Right?

Maria Bethel [00:09:02]:

Yeah. It is part of that story, and that's a really good segue into leading into the the second important question, and that's transitioning from awareness to interest. Right?

Joanna Ehresman [00:09:14]:

Mhmm.

Maria Bethel [00:09:14]:

So are we illuminating the profound impact that this role plays on helping people achieve their aspirations?

Leah Alter [00:09:23]:

Yes.

Maria Bethel [00:09:24]:

Right? So what exactly do I mean by that? So society readily recognizes doctors, nurses, firefighters, they all help people. Right? The significance of a financial professional often remains obscure. And from childhood, we are taught that all of these vocations directly impact lives. They help people, but we often overlook the transformative influence that a financial professional wields in helping people realize their aspirations, their lifelong dreams. So while our ads out in the marketplace oftentimes is, you know, we're gonna help you save for retirement, college savings, and home ownership. These are the predominant things you see out there in the marketplace as how a financial advisor is going to help you. Right? But I would say that our dreams as Americans have evolved so much over the last couple of decades, especially. We're encompassing now a multitude of different ambitions and dreams that go well beyond just retirement planning.

Maria Bethel [00:10:32]:

Those dreams are going to range anywhere from starting a business to, supporting family members, to supporting charitable causes, or even just traveling and experience the world and the cost associated with that type of dream. So what I'm getting at is that each individual harbors a unique dream. And it's high time, at least in my opinion, that financial professionals are, presented as more than just number crunchers, but also enablers of dreams and aspirations.

Joanna Ehresman [00:11:05]:

I love that. And, well, Ria, you said, I hope people pick up on your passion around this. I mean, how how can you not? And I think that's actually something we have in common, the 3 of us on this show today, is, a, wasn't aware of financial services, really, as a as an industry growing up, coming into college, that sort of thing. Ended up in this industry almost by happenstance, but once I was in, I was hooked when you saw the power when you see the power of the impact on people's lives. Right? And that's meaningful and motivating, so I just love that. And, yeah, I agree. I'm I am behind you in this cause.

Leah Alter [00:11:42]:

Well and and that whole, and that whole idea too of, like, a financial adviser is only for rich people and I'm not rich, so I don't need a financial adviser. There's a lot of people where that's still just that sentence just makes sense.

Maria Bethel [00:11:57]:

Yep. And You nailed it on the head. There is Yeah. That, mindset out there still. And it it really teaches, well, I don't have 1,000,000 of dollars, so I don't need an adviser. Or I can do everything myself, so I don't really understand the advantages of having one. But, yeah, they there there's so many ways, and opportunities that an adviser can help you with that are kinda go under the radar a little bit. And if we shine a light on it, I think it opens the doors to a lot more opportunities.

Leah Alter [00:12:28]:

Absolutely. You said my favorite thing, shine a light on it. It. Joanna hears me say it all the time. That's how we affect change. So I know that there are some things going on behind the scenes. So you're taking this passion. What are you currently working on in regards to NextGen and and what's coming?

Maria Bethel [00:12:51]:

Really excited. And while I can't divulge every single detail, I can share that we've dedicated time and resources into a very comprehensive marketing strategy that really aligns with the themes that we talked about today, and it was important that our approach integrated real world tactics. So our road map was uniquely designed, to include engaging discussions, interactive panels, specialized focused sessions at upcoming events that we have, social media campaigns, collaborations with educational institutions, both at the high school and the college level, strategic media placements, and thought leadership content. We do have an upcoming blog series that's, going to be starting to roll out in April, as well as, venturing into podcast dialogues like this one here with Women's Share to really propel us forward. Because in my opinion, we really need to meet people where they are and communicate using platforms that the next generations are using. So I have noticed in some conversations, there seems to be this prevailing notion that substantial marketing budget is a requisite to really drive progress into the next generation dialogue. Yet I really tend to buck against and challenge this notion because I don't necessarily believe that's the case. I believe in advocating using grassroots efforts, authentic engagement, and unyielding commitment, and those being the true catalyst for effecting lasting change.

Maria Bethel [00:14:27]:

Those are essential in passing a bright shining torch to the next generation. It's our job to do that, and it's our job to do it well. And while that's not written probably in anyone's job description, maybe it should be because we have a level of responsibility or we should want to have a level of responsibility in leaving everything better than even how we found it. While I believe that all of this that we discussed so far really helps pave the way forward, I do equally believe that transform this type of transformation will require our industry to really unite and work together for the greater good.

Joanna Ehresman [00:15:07]:

That's how I can't wait to see how this plays out and what you what you're doing at Xtellar to really advance this, and I can't help but be kind of amazed, and maybe it's, like, selection bias on this podcast, but that theme of the guests on women share having this passion around reaching the next generation, you know, opening the opportunities to a more diverse and inclusive talent base to reflect who it is that we are today serving and will only continue to serve more of. So it sounds like that's right in line with what what you're doing. Although okay. So nod to our compliance friends. I have so many questions around approved platforms that we probably can't get into, but I'm like, did you did you crack the code on getting more social media platforms approved for your marketing campaign? That she has. If so, we

Maria Bethel [00:15:59]:

need we

Joanna Ehresman [00:15:59]:

need to have you back for a master class on that for marketers.

Maria Bethel [00:16:04]:

We may have. We may have. And while we still have some moving pieces, I will say I look forward to the end of q2, beginning of q3.

Leah Alter [00:16:17]:

That's awesome.

Maria Bethel [00:16:18]:

If we're gonna change the game, we have to communicate how the next generations are communicating, and we have to be a little bit cooler, as cheesy as that sounds. I am reminded daily by my 2 teenage sons that I am not cool enough, right, so in their opinion. So they have to help me out here sometimes, and that's okay. I fully embrace it. I accept it. But I also know that it is part of our job. If we're gonna sit here and talk about next generations, then you have to find out how to improve gig, and you gotta be on platforms that they are using

Joanna Ehresman [00:16:55]:

Mhmm.

Maria Bethel [00:16:56]:

And they are not using

Leah Alter [00:16:57]:

Well, and I think mostly. And I think we've seen the power of Gen z already. Right? Just in in different in different avenues. We don't have to, like, go down those rabbit holes whatsoever. But in terms of pop culture and politics and and and and all of that, like, Gen z is they're here. Like, they're not gonna just kinda go with the social norms that they have been handed. You know, gen x and millennials, we're a little, like, more go with the flow. Whereas gen z has kinda said, we're we we want change.

Leah Alter [00:17:39]:

We want things to change. And I love that you guys are meeting them where they're at, and they love that. Right? We have seen that proven over and over again that they respond really well when, time and effort is taken to reach them.

Joanna Ehresman [00:18:01]:

Mhmm.

Maria Bethel [00:18:02]:

Yeah. And we have to and myself included when I say this. Right? We have to get out of this mindset, this mentality that these generations are just gonna morph into who we were at some point in time and how we are. It we must morph into them, not the other way around. And that takes a lot of work on our on our end. Right? You can't avoid that. It takes work. It takes effort.

Maria Bethel [00:18:33]:

We have to want to leave behind each one of us a beautiful legacy of our own. We are in this industry where we talk about we're gonna help the financial professional leave a legacy. Allow us to help you leave a legacy. I see it all the time in advertisements. When are we gonna focus on the legacy we're leaving? What legacy are we leaving behind to prepare them for the next generation of client conversations, the next generation of, wave of what I hope will be female advisors coming into this industry, young advisors coming in. There is so much good that can be done here, so much amazing work, untapped opportunity. We just gotta start speaking how they speak.

Joanna Ehresman [00:19:19]:

And meeting them where they are, like you said. Yes. Oh my gosh. Okay. So I know you can't divulge a lot about what's coming from a specific future social strategy, but tell us. We're all marketers here on the on the show today. What insights do you have? We'd love for our audience to hear kind of any strategies that you're seeing work either at the corporate or enterprise level for Xtellar or what some of your advisers are doing. Like, where are you seeing the best growth right now?

Maria Bethel [00:19:47]:

Yeah. That's a good question. So I'll give 4 high level, strategies today. So one, I'm gonna say embrace the fundamentals. Avoid spreading yourself too thin, and you end up diluting the impact of your efforts. You don't wanna see that happen. If you can't post to 3 social media platforms per day, that's okay. Don't, don't expect yourself to do that.

Maria Bethel [00:20:10]:

Right? Focus in on what really matters and where think you could truly move the needle. Put your effort there. 2, harness the power of storytelling. We each hold this really unique perspective, and have storytelling ability. Whether you consider yourself a creative or not, you have storytelling ability. Fearlessly sharing your stories in a compliant way on both corporate and advisor platforms is crucial to success. 3, embrace the visual realm. We live in a time where attention spans are diminishing.

Maria Bethel [00:20:45]:

We all know that. So capitalize on the effectiveness of videos and visuals. Things that, Instagram and TikTok have taught us is that this is where the generations, are at. This is how they're communicating. They are doing that through visuals more and more and more. That's what you need to be doing, embracing the visual realm. 4 and potentially the most important, to thread into the conversation we've had today, it's balancing the needs of your current clientele with those of the next generation. Those two types of clientele often require distinct communication approaches and meeting styles, and even building trust can vary significantly between those 2 generations.

Joanna Ehresman [00:21:30]:

Those are good. Yeah. Well and it's funny. I have, you know, some friends and family who listen to the show that are not in the industry, so I'm going to have to explain to them the compliance Like, why are you all joking about compliance all the time?

Maria Bethel [00:21:42]:

They're like, that's not funny at all. We're like

Leah Alter [00:21:47]:

You're like, if if you know, you know.

Maria Bethel [00:21:49]:

Yeah. Yeah. If you know, you know.

Joanna Ehresman [00:21:51]:

Yeah. Well and have you seen I mean, I think it's just been interesting in over the course of my career, and personally, seeing people getting more comfortable sharing their personal story and kind of this authenticity back to the storytelling and even the visual component of that you mentioned of, like, embracing, you know, video or photos and that sort of thing. And it's usually the intersection of those two things where it's you're showing up in a very human way and telling your story and using those personal visuals that I personally see. That's when you get the most engagement because, you know, at the end of the day, people buy from people, not buy or people wanna work with people. And so I just think that's really smart. And I've seen more and more advisers get comfortable with embracing that, whereas at first, they weren't very comfortable with it. And it's not always easy, but it's so important that human connection, building trust through showing up as yourself is so powerful.

Maria Bethel [00:22:45]:

Yes. It is. Yeah.

Leah Alter [00:22:47]:

Alright, Maria. We ask every guest that comes on the show what the best career advice they've ever received. So will you share your best career advice with us?

Maria Bethel [00:22:58]:

Yeah. So, gosh, I I feel lucky to have had so much good career advice over the years, but I would say the one that stands out to me, throughout the course of time is to speak up. Always be respectful to others when you're speaking up, but don't be afraid to let others hear your voice. Be courageous.

Joanna Ehresman [00:23:22]:

I love that. Like, do you have any cues? I'm just thinking I'm actually replaying situations in my life where I know when I probably should speak up. There's something going on in my head, or, like, is there an emotion that comes to mind when you're like, this is a time when I should speak up? Like, how do you discern this is my moment versus this is a sit back and think?

Maria Bethel [00:23:45]:

I love this question, and some people might love those answers. Some people might not. But I believe you need to be able to read the room. If somebody's in a bad mood, that is not your moment to speak up. Not because your voice is not, you know, valuable in that moment. It's because you wanna make sure that other person is in a state of mind they can receive what you have to say. Do you need to set that as a 1 on 1 meeting? Is this something, that you can deliver in a group setting? Be sure that you are aware of the space that you are in. And the other piece to that, I would say, I'm a very strong believer in following your gut and your intuition because it will it'll never fail you.

Maria Bethel [00:24:31]:

If you get that gut check, that feeling, you're like, okay. This is it. Don't let fear get in the way now. Don't let fear make a decision for you and and and put, you know, a mouth muzzle over your your mouth and allow that moment to flow naturally. And if you get a gut check the other way where you feel like, somebody this is not the right time for that person. So you wanna make sure that it's it's good timing for you and the person you need to send that message to.

Leah Alter [00:25:03]:

Amen. Joanna knows how much I love a good gut check.

Joanna Ehresman [00:25:08]:

Yes. Well and I think what I've observed too, and this is actually as I moved into more senior roles, what was what was fascinating to me is how often the meeting after the meeting happened because people were not on the same page, and where I got more comfortable was being okay, potentially asking what might be perceived as, well, you should know that. Like, that's a dumb question because, a, never received that feedback when I asked it, and, in fact, most people are like, I'm so glad you said that because we were not aligned or we were not on that same page. So I think it it it is, like you said, getting past the fear. It's getting past the the fear of how you will be perceived for asking questions or speaking up as well. So love it. Love it.

Maria Bethel [00:25:50]:

Balance wisdom with your intuition, if I had to put it in one sentence.

Joanna Ehresman [00:25:55]:

Oh, yes. That's good. That's great. That's great. Well, Maria, this has been wonderful. So now that you've got people hooked and they will absolutely be wanting to see what Xtella is up to and how are you are bringing this strategy to life, how can our listeners find out more about Xtella and connect with you?

Maria Bethel [00:26:13]:

So they can head on over to our brand new public facing website, and that's www.extella.com, a x t e l l a, or you can find me on LinkedIn and send a connection request. I'm happy to connect.

Joanna Ehresman [00:26:27]:

Excellent. We'll make sure all of that is linked in or linked in the show notes, including your, LinkedIn profile. So awesome. Perfect. Thank you.

Leah Alter [00:26:34]:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Maria Bethel [00:26:35]:

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to voice all of this passion here in one place because I know it's just a lot.

Leah Alter [00:26:44]:

No. This has been such a fantastic conversation, and we just thank you so much for being here and sharing such an important topic like NextGen and your passion around it. I know that it is going to inspire a lot of people, not just the ones that are listening to the show, but what you all are doing at Exstella. And, you know, on a personal front, it's just so amazing to see you in your element and thriving. And I just I just love it. I I'm I have loved having you on the show. I hope you'll come back. I

Maria Bethel [00:27:21]:

would be honored, and, it blesses my heart to see you thrive and and to have a good cohost and, everything that you achieved and accomplished. I can't thank you enough for letting, inviting me and letting me have this platform to speak about a topic that means a lot to me, and I know means a lot to our firm.

Joanna Ehresman [00:27:40]:

That's wonderful. Well, thank you. Thank you. That is our show for today. If ours is a mission that you would like to share in, please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform. With that, I'm Joanna Ehresman. And I'm Leah Alter,

Leah Alter [00:27:55]:

and we'll catch you on the next episode of WomenShare.