From Tax Cuts to Client Wins: Using Tax Planning to Drive Business Growth

BBrian shares how he uses FP Alpha to convert business owner prospects through tax analysis, while Caitlin explains how RFG Advisory equips over 100 advisors with technology to deliver holistic planning at scale. The conversation covers the tax advice gap (89% of clients want tax help, only 25% get it), favourite tax strategies for business owners, navigating Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sunset conversations, connecting with the next generation through estate planning, and how to make tax planning drive organic growth and justify planning fees.

What You’ll Learn

• The tax advice gap and why it matters — 89% of clients want tax planning help, but only 25% are receiving it; what this means for differentiation and organic growth
• How one advisor uses tax analysis to convert business owner prospects — Brian’s process of uploading tax returns, presenting the tax snapshot, and using strategies to offset planning fees before the client even signs
• How RFG Advisory equips 100+ advisors with tax planning technology — Caitlin on adding tools to the toolkit, integrating with Salesforce, and why advisors can now reasonably service 100–150 clients
• Favourite tax strategies for high-earning business owners — QBI maximisation, 401(k) + profit sharing + cash balance pension combinations, putting family members on payroll, and real-life case studies
• Navigating Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sunset conversations with clients — proactively educating clients about bracket changes, estate exemption sunsetting, and Roth conversion windows
• The power of visuals in tax planning — why clients have never seen their tax return visualised, and how the storytelling element of FP Alpha’s snapshots changes the conversation
• Connecting with the next generation through estate planning — uploading estate documents, creating flowcharts, educating heirs about their roles, and building relationships that outlast the current generation

Chapters

Click a timestamp to jump to that section of the webinar.

1. 0:05 — Welcome & Introductions — Andrew, Brian (Navipath), Caitlin (RFG Advisory)
2. 2:26 — Why Tax Planning Is Timely — TCJA Sunset & the Election
3. 3:04 — The Tax Advice Gap — 89% Want It, 25% Get It
4. 5:37 — What FP Alpha Does — Platform Overview & Integrations
5. 9:33 — Brian: Who He Serves & Why Tax Planning Is a Must-Have for Business Owners
6. 14:10 — Caitlin: How Broader Consumer Expectations Are Changing Client Demands
7. 16:18 — Brian: Client Concerns — Revenue, Staffing, Asset Protection, Taxes
8. 19:15 — Caitlin: The Storytelling Power of Tax Visuals
9. 21:12 — TCJA Sunset & Election — How Brian Navigates These Conversations
10. 29:22 — Caitlin: How RFG Leverages Tax Technology to Drive Referrals & Integrations
11. 34:51 — Andrew’s War Story — Helping a Next-Gen Client Shelter Business Income
12. 37:14 — Caitlin: RFG’s Tech Stack Integration, Salesforce Sync & Scaling to 100–150 Clients
13. 43:40 — Favourite Tax Strategies — Brian: Cash Balance Plans; Caitlin: Holistic Full-Picture Planning
14. 48:52 — Brian: Tax Strategies for Business Owners — QBI, Qualified Plans & Family Payroll
15. 52:21 — Q&A: Non-Business Owners & Estate Planning for the Next Generation

Key Takeaways

The Tax Advice Gap Is the Biggest Opportunity in Financial Planning Today

Andrew opened with a striking statistic: 89% of clients want their advisor to help with tax planning, but only 25% are receiving that help. The gap exists because most advisors are still primarily delivering investment management, and advanced planning has historically been too time-consuming to offer at scale. Brian reinforced this from the practitioner side — his business owner clients consistently say their CPA is too busy for planning conversations and only handles the transactional return filing. This creates an enormous opportunity for advisors who can fill the gap, and it’s also a competitive risk: if you’re not providing it, someone else will.

Tax Savings Justify the Planning Fee Before the Client Even Signs

Brian described his prospect conversion process for business owners: gather tax returns and business financials during discovery, upload the returns to FP Alpha, then present the tax snapshot and generated planning ideas alongside the proposal. When a prospect sees that potential tax savings could offset the entire planning fee, it becomes a straightforward decision. He shared a specific example: a client who sold a business and faced a massive tax bill. By implementing a 401(k), profit sharing, and cash balance pension strategy, the client deferred hundreds of thousands of dollars at the top bracket — paying for the advisory relationship for the entirety of the engagement with a single strategy.

Technology Lets One Advisor Do What Used to Require a Team

Caitlin framed FP Alpha as giving advisors an advanced planning team at their fingertips without having to hire additional staff. Historically, the kind of tax and estate analysis that FP Alpha produces would have required multiple professionals — CPAs, attorneys, insurance agents — to be heavily involved. Now one advisor can be in the driver’s seat of the entire conversation. RFG is using this to explore whether advisors can scale from the traditional 50–75 client sweet spot up to 100–150 clients with technology and AI, without sacrificing the client experience. She also highlighted a practical integration detail: FP Alpha’s recommendations sync directly into Salesforce tasks, which may sound small but eliminates the constant risk of planning actions falling through the cracks.

Proactive TCJA Sunset Conversations Create Urgency and Trust

Brian noted an interesting dynamic: most clients aren’t proactively asking about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sunset, but when advisors raise it, the response is immediate. Clients often didn’t realise the estate and gift tax exemption was scheduled to change, or that their individual income tax brackets could increase. By using FP Alpha to show the current snapshot and then projecting what happens if brackets revert, Brian creates both urgency and a clear action plan — whether that’s accelerating Roth conversions, updating estate documents, or maximising the QBI deduction while it’s still favourable. Andrew added that for New York clients specifically, the TCJA sunset could actually save money due to the $10,000 SALT cap being lifted, making the conversation even more nuanced.

Visuals Transform Tax Planning from Confusing to Compelling

A recurring theme across all three speakers was the power of making complex tax information visual. Brian pointed out that most clients have never seen their tax return presented visually — their CPA gives them a stack of forms to sign. The FP Alpha tax snapshot is often the first time a client sees their bracket, their effective rate, their QBI utilisation, and their MAGI thresholds in a format they can actually understand. Caitlin connected this to storytelling: as human beings, we lean into narrative, and the visuals allow advisors to tell a story about strategies rather than just explaining numbers verbally. Andrew tied this back to the advice gap — when clients can see and understand their situation, they’re far more likely to take action.

Tips & Best Practices from This Webinar

About the Speakers