Volume I  ·  SEIA Growth Labs

The Architecture
of Wealth Growth.

A human-centric view of how a Schwab or Fidelity referral becomes a signed SEIA client — through four teams, one editorial process, and a plan delivered before the first meeting.

The Editorial

What is Growth Labs?

Growth Labs is SEIA's operating almanac for turning referrals into relationships. It's the single, transparent view of how a lead moves from custodian to signed client — logged in Salesforce, enriched by BDO, planned by PlanScout, and shaped by a named advisor.

Prospects, partners, and internal stakeholders can see exactly what happens at every stage — no black boxes, no dropped batons.

Fig. 01 — Preview

Eleven stages. Seven teams. One diagonal descent from a Schwab referral to a signed client — plotted below with every hand-off logged.

Read the full figure
The Cast

Four teams. One seamless journey.

01
Referral Sources

Schwab & Fidelity

Custodial foundation. Qualified prospects enter the pipeline through trusted institutional referral programs.

02
Intake & Research

Salesforce + BDO

Salesforce de-dupes and routes. The Business Development Office enriches every lead with proprietary research.

03
AI Planning Engine

PlanScout

Outsourced planning plus the SIPS software — models tax, Social Security, and multi-year cash-flow scenarios.

04
Conversion & Advice

SEIA Advisors

Named advisors tailor the plan, run discovery, and convert the lead into a lifelong client relationship.

The Centerpiece

The Eleven-Stage Lifecycle

A compact swimlane chart of the referral-to-client journey. Click any stage for the inputs, outputs, and hand-offs — or watch a sample lead move through it.

Step 1 of 11 · Harold Winters
Status keyWithin SLANeeds attentionBreached
Fig. 01 — The Referral-to-Client Journey
SEIA lead-to-client workflowEleven-stage swimlane from Schwab or Fidelity referral through Salesforce, BDO research, Catchlight, PlanScout, Claude, and the advisor team to a signed client.ReferralISEIAIIBDOIIICRMIVCatchlightVPlanScoutVIAI Financial PlanningDiscoveryVIIAdvisorVIIIDiscoveryIXProposalXClientXI
Stage VI · PlanScout

PlanScout Analysis

AI Financial Planning

Outsourced planning + SIPS software drafts a client-ready plan.

Timing
3–5 business days · saves ~13 advisor hours
Inputs
  • Structured interview
  • Tax profile
  • Assets & liabilities
Outputs
  • Retirement plan
  • Tax strategy
  • Cash-flow forecast
  • Visual snapshot
Tools
  • PlanScout
  • SIPS
  1. Stage 1: Referral Intake — Custodian (Schwab · Fidelity). Qualified prospects flow in from trusted custodian referral programs. SLA: Same day.
  2. Stage 2: SEIA CRM Intake — SEIA CRM (Salesforce). Salesforce is the spine. Every hand-off is logged and routed. SLA: < 1 business day.
  3. Stage 3: BDO Research — BDO (Business Development Office). BDO enriches the lead with proprietary research and lead context. SLA: 2–3 business days.
  4. Stage 4: CRM Handoff — SEIA CRM (Salesforce). Enriched record returns to Salesforce and is routed for enrichment. SLA: Same day.
  5. Stage 5: Catchlight Enrich — Catchlight (Catchlight AI). AI enrichment scores the prospect and predicts likelihood-to-close. SLA: < 1 business day.
  6. Stage 6: PlanScout Analysis — PlanScout (AI Financial Planning). Outsourced planning + SIPS software drafts a client-ready plan. SLA: 3–5 business days · saves ~13 advisor hours.
  7. Stage 7: Discovery Prep — Claude (Claude AI assistant). Claude summarizes the plan and drafts talking points for the advisor. SLA: < 1 business day.
  8. Stage 8: Advisor Plan — Advisors (SEIA Advisor). A named advisor tailors the deliverable and shapes the pitch. SLA: 2–3 business days.
  9. Stage 9: Discovery Meeting — Advisors (Advisor ↔ Prospect). Walked through the plan end-to-end. Fees, scope, next steps confirmed. SLA: 1 meeting · follow-up within 1 week.
  10. Stage 10: Proposal — Advisors (SEIA Advisor). Advisor turns the discovery into a written proposal — scope, fees, IMA — sent to the prospect for signature. SLA: 2–3 business days · signature within 1 week.
  11. Stage 11: Client Won — Advisors (Onboarding). Prospect signs — moves to onboarding & ongoing advisory. SLA: 5–10 business days to funded.
A closer read

Plans built in days,
not weeks.

PlanScout is an outsourced financial-planning service and software provider for licensed advisors. It drafts comprehensive, client-ready retirement, tax, and cash-flow plans — so advisors can focus on the relationship, not the spreadsheet.

Outsourced plan development

Advisors submit client details through a structured interview. PlanScout's team drafts a tailored plan, reviewed with the advisor before delivery.

SIPS planning system

Financial professionals model tax scenarios, Social Security optimization, and multi-year cash-flow forecasts inside the SIPS software.

  • Time savings

    Average plan creation drops from ~15 hours to ~2 hours of advisor effort.

    ~13 hrs
    saved / plan

  • Tax optimization

    After-tax income strategies: IRA conversions, Social Security timing, annuity placement.

    After-tax
    focus

  • Visual deliverables

    Engaging snapshots and talking points that advisors can hand directly to clients.

    Client-ready
    snapshots

  • Fast turnaround

    Client-ready retirement, tax, and cash-flow plans delivered in 3–5 business days.

    3–5d
    delivery
Chapter · VIII

Frequently
asked

The questions advisors, operations leads, and prospective clients ask most often about the Growth Labs workflow.

Chapter · IX

See it on your book

Sign in to wire the eleven-stage pipeline to your Schwab and Fidelity referrals, track the PlanScout hand-off in context, and open the dashboard views your team will use on Monday morning.

  • Live funnel tailored to your referrals
  • No prep — import one CSV of recent referrals
  • Guidance on Schwab / Fidelity / Salesforce wiring
Private preview

Growth Labs

Reserved for advisors, operations leads, and RIA principals.

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