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Cfa® Eric Waggoner
Managing Partner at Waggoner Financial
Professional Background
Eric Waggoner is a highly esteemed financial professional, with a robust reputation in the financial planning industry, particularly appreciated in the Greater Lansing, Michigan community and beyond. As the Managing Partner at Waggoner Financial, Eric leads a dedicated team that is committed to client education and sophisticated financial planning that helps individuals and businesses alike build their futures with confidence. With extensive experience and qualifications, including the prestigious CFA®, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, and AEP® designations, Eric demonstrates an exceptional grasp of financial markets, investment strategies, and holistic planning approaches.
Throughout his career, Eric has emphasized the importance of a personalized, team-focused strategy in financial planning. Understanding that no single approach fits all, he ensures that each client receives tailored advice, comprehensive plans, and a dedicated team member who is both knowledgeable and approachable. Eric’s adaptability, paired with his principle of putting the client's needs first, has allowed him to forge lasting relationships that go beyond mere transactions—transforming him into a trusted accountability partner for his clients.
Eric’s prior experience includes a wealth of impressive roles, such as Managing Director at Northwestern Mutual, where he honed his skills in wealth management and investment strategies. His commitment to education also extends to his time as a Faculty Instructor at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business and as a professor at Lansing Community College. These roles highlight his ability to communicate complex financial concepts clearly and effectively, ensuring that both students and clients are well-informed about their financial decisions.
Education and Achievements
Eric Waggoner’s academic credentials reflect a solid foundation in finance and mathematics, which play a critical role in his financial advisory practice. He holds a Master's of Science in Global Finance from New York University, where he acquired advanced financial theories and practices that he integrates into his work at Waggoner Financial.
At Michigan State University, Eric earned two Master's degrees, one in Mathematics and another in Astrophysics, as well as a Bachelor of Science in the same disciplines. This diverse educational background not only showcases Eric’s academic excellence but also provides him with a unique analytical ability that differentiates his planning strategies in the financial sector.
Achievements
Among Eric’s numerous accolades, his successful leadership at Waggoner Financial stands out as a testament to his exceptional planning capabilities and transformative impact in the financial sphere. His approach to goal-focused holistic planning has turned countless clients’ aspirations into achievable financial realities. By accurately evaluating clients' needs through risk management, retirement planning, investment strategies, and estate planning, Eric has built a trusted brand synonymous with integrity and excellence within the financial consulting industry.
Moreover, Eric’s contributions to education in finance through his teaching roles have further established him as a thought leader. His ability to mentor the next generation of finance professionals speaks volumes about his commitment to the industry and his desire to uplift others in their financial journeys.
Overall, Eric Waggoner exemplifies professionalism, skill, and commitment in the field of financial planning, embodying the traits of a top-tier financial advisor. His extensive education, vast experience, and dedication to client success indeed set him apart in the competitive landscape of financial advisory services.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
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Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
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Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.