Certainty Advice Group

13/10/2026

Still the bottleneck in your own firm?

You've built something real - $350K+ in revenue, solid clients, a team.

But clients still want you.

Fees are still stuck in a pricing model from 20 years ago.

And growth just creates more chaos, not more freedom.

That's exactly what the Certainty Advice Program fixes.

We work with established advice firm owners to build three things:

→ Team-based propositions - clients trust your team, not just you

→ Controlled capacity - growth stops creating chaos

→ Value pricing - fees that actually reflect what you deliver

We do this through your real client meetings, your actual cases, your specific numbers. Not theory. Implementation.

Reine Clemow went from $3,600 to $12,000 average client fees. Lucian Russ achieved 6x ROI in his first six weeks.

This isn't for everyone. If you're still deciding whether you need to change, this won't work. But if you got through this carousel nodding your head - you're exactly who we built this for.

Comment READY or send us a DM to book a Certainty Call.

12/10/2026

Are you growing revenue but wondering where the profit has gone?

More work often creates more activity, more staff and higher costs.

But activity isn’t the same as productivity.

Most businesses spend their time in the Fee Comfort Zone. Doing work they know how to do. Charging fees they’re comfortable asking for. Serving clients they know they can help.

The problem? Taking on more of that work can make you busier without making your business more profitable.

In Episode 4 of Certainty School, I share the Price Zone Grid - a practical framework for understanding where your pricing sits today and how to move beyond your Fee Comfort Zone.

I also explore how to test higher value pricing and use your fees to fund growth, without simply taking on more work.

Watch Episode 4 now on YouTube:
https://zurl.co/zB4as

12/10/2026

He’s 42.

A partner in a big accounting and advice group.

Good salary, good car, young kids in good schools.

Over coffee in Brisbane’s Newstead last month, he told me he is losing enthusiasm for the advice approach his firm is pursuing.

The important targets he’s been asked to focus on are about gathering more assets for the firm. Any measure of the value his clients receive is assumed by their retention.

He feels the model has a shelf life. But he also knows if he leaves, the security leaves too.

So he stays.

Uncomfortable, but paid.

We talked about how technical advice is being commoditised faster than ever before.

Two types of advisers will endure.

The first will be specialist advisers.

The second will be Principal Advisers.

Unlike specialist advisers, Principal Advisers will have enduring initial and ongoing fees. Because the value they deliver is renewed every year.

The technical part is about to get cheaper and easier to access.

The principal part never will.

Which brings me back to my partner over coffee.

His problem isn’t capability. I reckon he has all five of these traits in him.

His problem is a model that pays him not to use them.

Read the full article: https://zurl.co/4QXoW

If the technical part of your advice were free tomorrow, would your clients still pay you enough to earn the returns you deserve?

08/10/2026

Why do some advice firms grow while others feel stuck?

In Episode 03 of Certainty School, Jim looks at the journey advice firms take and what can help them move forward.

Watch the full episode here: Ep 3: How Advice Firms Grow

Where would you say your firm is on that journey?

07/10/2026

One thing risk advisers often do better than financial advisers is articulating, positioning, and managing a client's consequences.

When advisers consistently and methodically identify the 'details' of client consequences they are employed to manage, they step into the most valuable centre of every advice relationship.

Riskinfo knows this and pick up my recent piece on the five best — and worst — discovery questions for client conversations.

If you’re not confident your discovery conversations are getting to the real issues — or you want a second set of eyes on how you’re approaching them — send me a DM.

Happy to jump on a quick chat.

https://zurl.co/3VXtl

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, message on paper, smart phone and coffee on table, 3D rendering GeneralPractice Management The Five Best (and Worst) Discovery Questions October 5, 2026 0 Riskinfo thanks Certainty Advice Group Founder and MD, Jim Stackpool, for the opportunity to re-publish a recent post Ji...

07/10/2026

“There's enough work on” isn't reassurance.

She's 35. Technically great.

During this year’s annual review, a client asked:

“What will your fees be, and what will we get for them?”

She thought she provided a good response.

It didn't work.

She hasn't heard from them since May.

Her principal says not to worry. There's enough work on.

That didn't stop her worrying.

She can see the support those clients need. They just don't value it. Something is missing in how she re-engages, and she can't name it.

Technical skills help advisers through year one engagements. Maybe years two and three.

Keeping a client profitably beyond that takes something else.

Repositioning. Re-engaging. Re-discovering what the client values, continually.

Unfortunately, a less skilled adviser's instinctive response to a fee objection is to justify.

Never ends well.

Capacity, skills, profits and AI are four forces crippling the fee-for-service advice model.

The alternative?

It's what clients have always been paying for.

Value.

Importantly, value is two-way. Valuable for the client, obviously. But also valuable for the advice team.

Read the full article: https://zurl.co/fXsoO

Which of the four forces is starting to show up in your review meetings?

06/10/2026

Is your discovery meeting simply a step before the advice begins - or a valuable experience for the client in its own right?

In this episode of Certainty School, Jim Stackpool explores how to position discovery meetings so clients can see the value in the conversation, not just the advice that follows.

Watch the full episode: https://zurl.co/rFmez

01/10/2026

What does success with Certainty Advice look like in practice?

For Nick Maynes of Mayneline Financial, it’s meant more than tripling the returns from his ideal clients in just one year—and getting closer to the business life he’s always wanted.

If you’re ready to make progress in your advice business, explore the Certainty Advice program. Link in comments.

28/09/2026

I was reviewing a recording of a discovery meeting recently.

A new client of mine was meeting with a couple in their fifties. Twenty minutes in, the adviser asked one of my favourite questions:

“Who, if anyone, is stopping you from achieving some of these significant plans?”

Silence.

Then the wife said, “Honestly? We don’t agree about this. I reckon we are our biggest problem to our financial hopes. We just can’t seem to control our finances, control the credit card spending or get on top of things.”

Her husband said nothing.

The adviser broke the silence with:

“So, who makes the financial decisions in your family?”

The husband said he handled the finances. The wife went silent for the rest of the meeting.

Oh my gosh.

For 22 years, I’ve used recordings to coach advisory teams. I’ve heard great discovery questions, shockers, and what happens next.

Here’s what I know: a great question with the wrong follow-up can do more harm than not asking it at all.

The wife had taken a risk by saying something difficult in front of her husband. That was the moment to listen and explore. Instead, the next question closed the conversation.

In my latest blog, I share five of the best and five of the worst discovery questions I’ve heard. Read it here: https://zurl.co/WK8zD

The questions are the easy part.

Your best questions sit inside a greater discovery and engagement framework. They need skill in positioning, listening, teamwork and knowing how to probe.

Otherwise, they’re just a script. And few things suck the trust out of a discovery conversation faster than someone following a script.

So, what would you have asked that couple next?

P.S. If you want to know what I would have asked, comment NEXT and I’ll DM you my answer.

Jim

24/09/2026

Certainty School is live!

Each week, Jim Stackpool will share a short, practical lesson designed to help financial advice teams strengthen their skills, capability and confidence.

Learn about client segmentation, pricing conviction, team benchmarks and what it takes to deliver comprehensive advice, that clients truly value.

Head over to the Certainty School YouTube channel (link below) to watch Episode 1 and subscribe for a new lesson each week.

Is there a topic you’d like Jim to focus on? Leave your suggestion in the comments or send us a DM.

Watch Episode 1 here:
https://zurl.co/TTO2l

Like & Subscribe to Certainty School here: https://zurl.co/qqwtk