Steep Marketing

05/12/2026

Some advisors who try movie events once and don't get an immediate flood of new clients write the whole channel off. David Brooks of Retire SMART did the opposite — he kept going, refined the system, and built one of the most thoughtful movie event operations we've heard of.

In this conversation, David walks Jonathan through what actually happens before, during, and after a successful movie event. Not the theory — the real stuff. Why he shows the movie to his clients first. Why he ditched full appointments in favor of a softer 15-minute phone call. Why a half-page evaluation form on a clipboard beat the heavy branded folders his team was handing out. And why no-shows aren't dead leads — they're just leads with worse timing.

The big idea? Movie events aren't a theater night. They're the top of a funnel.

If you've tried movie marketing and weren't sure how to think about the ROI — or you're considering adding it to your practice — this is worth your time.

🎧 Listen here →

David Brooks shares how financial advisors can turn movie events into a long-term marketing funnel with better follow-up, stronger branding, and higher ROI.

05/08/2026

In the latest episode of The Advisor to Advisor Podcast, we welcome special guests Joel Johnson and team from Johnson Brunetti.

If you've ever thought to yourself...
Movie events don't generate high quality prospects...
👉 “Our average client from a movie event is around $1.3 million. That’s actually higher than what we see from all our other marketing channels.”
I don't think we'll see a positive ROI from a theater event...
👉 “For every $1 we spend on movie marketing, we get $5.70 back. And that’s just first-year revenue – lifetime value is even higher.”
I already do seminars - why would I start movie marketing?
👉 “The movie brings in a completely different audience than workshops. People who go to movies don’t necessarily go to seminars – and vice versa.”
But running a movie requires a huge staff...
👉 “We only need 3-4 team members, max, to run a movie event."
Then this episode is for you!

Do movie events actually work for financial advisors? Learn what one firm discovered after 25+ events — including real results, challenges, and what it takes to make them profitable.

05/06/2026

🎬 Most financial advisors either underestimate movie events, or struggle to turn registrations into real appointments.

Advisor Calvin Goetz shares what effective movie event marketing actually looks like when it’s backed by the right systems, staffing, follow-up, and process improvements.

In this episode:
- How his team generates hundreds of registrations each time
- The top theater check-in mistakes they fixed
- A simple tweak that improved appointment opportunities
- Why they start with a 15-minute call first
- What happens after the movie for no-shows and future prospects

If you’re running events, or considering movie marketing for the first time, this is a practical behind-the-scenes look at what makes the strategy work.

Listen to the episode here:
https://steep.marketing/movie-event-marketing-with-calvin-goetz/

Drop a 👍 below if you're interested in movie marketing!

How one advisor uses movie marketing to drive registrations, book more appointments, and scale event marketing for financial advisors.

06/19/2025

Our new Advisor to Advisor podcast is live (and getting played at 34,000 feet)!

In the same way your clients rely on you to advise them on financial strategy, we advise our clients a their marketing strategy. Three episodes are live now, and new content comes out every 2 weeks. Subscribe now if you don’t hate money :) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/advisor-to-advisor-the-best-financial-advisor/id1821224973

06/18/2025

Last week was a Jolt! We loved getting to meet and teach so many new and existing clients at our first ever experience at Jolt in Nashville hosted by Snappy Kraken.

09/16/2024

We were honored to sponsor the "Hit The Boat for a Seminar" contest at a recent conference in Scottsdale, AZ. One lucky winner will receive a free Social Security Blueprint seminar. Phil put a good swing on it, but came up a little short :)

09/16/2024

IRMAA University is underway in Omaha! Steep is proud to welcome 35 financial advisors to this first of it's kind event along with Content Partner, David Brooks! Our new IRMAA marketing system is coming soon!

08/19/2024

Congrats to Retire SMART on their amazing client event featuring The Psychology of Retirement Movie!

07/04/2024

Follow The Psychology of Retirement Movie page for exciting developments about our MPA rated, documentary-style film!

It was an honor to welcome 2 of our featured experts to our premiere in Denver last week: New York Times Best Selling Author, Morgan Housel, and the former Comptroller General of the United States, David Walker. Follow this page to see upcoming showings near you starting in August!

07/01/2024

What an amazing evening at the premiere of The Psychology of Retirement! We packed the 150 seat theater with experts from the film, Executive Producers, financial advisors, and our team. This is just the beginning of the massive impact this film will have.