✦ Our Story

RNC Elite Group was founded by Monique Rustia, a registered nurse who discovered that earning a good income and building real wealth are two very different things. After years of working long shifts and feeling financially stuck, Monique entered the financial services industry, got licensed, and built a firm designed to close the gap between income and strategy.

Today, we serve professionals and business owners — particularly those in healthcare — across the Coachella Valley and nationwide. We are powered by Affinity Advisory Network (AAN), which provides us with a collaborative network of specialists across every discipline of financial planning.

◈ The Multidisciplinary Approach

Most advisory firms operate in a single lane. We don't. We believe the scope of retirement planning — investments, Medicare, Medicaid, legal services, veterans benefits, tax strategy — is too large for any one person to master. So we take a team approach.

Through AAN, we partner with professionals who are the best of the best in their niche. Based on a client's specific needs, we bring in the right specialist at the right time. The client gets a connected, full-picture strategy — not fragmented advice from disconnected sources.

◈ Our Network of Specialists

✦ The Big Picture

Here's the full lifecycle of how we turn a lead into a long-term client. Each step in this process has its own section in this guide with detailed instructions, scripts, and best practices.

✦ How Lead Generation Works

Affinity Advertising is AAN's in-house agency. They handle all your marketing and advertising needs — the negotiating, scheduling, strategy, and approvals.

Here's what they do for you:

• Market Analysis — They study your market to identify the most effective channels
• Negotiations — They negotiate media buys and placements on your behalf
• Training — They train you on what's working and what to expect
• Scheduling — They coordinate timing for maximum impact
• Concierge Services — They manage the lead flow and handoff to you
• Data Tracking — They track results so you can measure and improve

◈ CRM Automation

When a prospect registers for your seminar, the system kicks in automatically:

• Their contact info, seminar info, and status are uploaded to RedTail automatically
• They receive a confirmation text and email upon registration
• 24–48 hours before the event, they receive a reminder text, email, and phone call
• All correspondence is logged in RedTail under the contact's notes section
• Respondents can opt out of specific contact methods, and those preferences are respected

✦ Why Restaurants (Not Hotels or Event Centers)

For pod seminars, we prefer restaurants. Why? If you book an event center with 500-person capacity and 7 people show up, it feels empty and lonely. A restaurant's private dining room naturally creates an intimate, comfortable setting regardless of turnout.

✦ Seminar Philosophy

Our seminars are education-based. The goal is to give attendees a foundation of understanding so they want to come into the office to discuss their own unique situations. We never discuss specific products or individual scenarios in the seminar setting.

The title of the seminar is: "Identifying, Acquiring & Utilizing Estate Planning Tools." If attendees could only remember one word, the word to remember is options. The theme running throughout: if you're proactive and take initiative, you create choices. If you don't, choices are few and far between.

◈ What the Seminar Covers

The presentation follows a four-point outline:

1. Tools — What's in your financial toolbox? (Will, Medicare, Social Security, 401k, trusts, VA benefits, long-term care insurance, and many more)
2. Projects — The four phases of financial life: Dependency → Accumulation → Preservation → Distribution
3. Schedule — The timeline for action, and what happens if you wait too long
4. Key Legal Documents — Last Will & Testament, General Power of Attorney, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will, Properly Funded Trust Agreements

◈ Key Topics You'll Present

◈ Seminar Delivery Tips

• Introduce yourself and your credentials at the beginning — people need to know who they're learning from
• Reference the sign-up sheet three times during the seminar, naturally woven in — "at the end, you'll have an opportunity to meet with us one-on-one"
• Offer the one-on-one meeting in lieu of Q&A — position it as giving people what they actually want: your time, privately
• Keep it to 60–70 minutes. Respect their time. Food comes after, not during
• The common response you'll hear: "We get a lot of these invitations. We don't go to all of them, but I'm glad we came today."

✦ The Sign-Up Sheet

The seminar sign-up sheet has three sections:

1. Top Section: Introductory questions — why they attended and what they thought of the workshop
2. Middle Section: "Yes, I am interested in a no-charge opportunity to learn more" — with your office address
3. Bottom Section: Appointment grid with 5 days of time slots (9:45 AM to 4:00 PM). Gray dots marked "N/A" mean you're working with existing clients. Blank slots are available.

◈ How to Present the Sheet

When the seminar ends, people will start to get restless — they want to use the restroom, stretch, talk. Your first job is to get control of the room. The food is staged outside the door (you've already coordinated this with your wait staff).

Hold up the sheet and explain:

• If you're interested in coming to see us, this is your opportunity
• In lieu of Q&A today, we give you what you actually want — our time, one-on-one
• These are 5 days, all within the next 10 working days, with time slots from 9:45 to 4:00
• If you have schedule flexibility, mark multiple time slots — this helps avoid conflicts when two people pick the same slot
• You can mark preference (1, 2, 3) if you have one
• If you don't need help, that's fine — just provide your name and number as a record of attendance

◈ The Two Most Common Questions

◈ After Collection

Collect all the sheets. Let the food come in. Sort through the sheets, try to give everyone their preferred time, then go around and trade each person a business card with their confirmed date, day, time, address, and directions. They leave knowing exactly when they're meeting you.

✦ Seminar Confirmation Call

This call confirms attendance before the seminar. Keep it warm, brief, and professional.

◈ Seminar Confirmation Voicemail

✦ 24-Hour Meeting Reminder Call

This is the day-before reminder for their office appointment (not the seminar).

◈ 24-Hour Reminder Voicemail

✦ Step 1: Transition Question

Open with: "Have you had a chance to go to our website?" If no, say: "No problem — I actually brought some information for you today." Walk them through the CID (Corporate Identity Kit) folder, covering who you are, your credentials, the multidisciplinary approach, office locations, and the service divisions.

◈ Step 2: Introduce the Firm

Walk through the CID folder and highlight:

• Your personal background and credentials (CRFA, licensed agent, etc.)
• The multidisciplinary approach — every professional under one roof
• The specific divisions: Financial Services, Securities, Legal, Tax, Home Equity Solutions
• The fiduciary structure — investment advisors and attorneys sit on the client's side of the table
• The Roadmap page — this is the favorite page. It shows the client exactly what to expect at each step

◈ Step 3: Client Intake

Gather the basics conversationally. Use the intake sheet to capture:

• Ages (both spouses), employment, children (ages, location)
• Interest areas: asset protection, government benefits, veteran status, trusts
• Tax filing status, Medicare/insurance status (supplement vs. advantage)
• Income: Social Security, pensions, rental income, investment income
• Assets: home value, vehicles, 401k, brokerage accounts, liquid savings
• Anything else worth more than $10,000 (campers, tools, collectibles, etc.)

◈ Step 4: Trust & Estate Planning Education

This is where you educate them on their options. See the Estate Planning 101 section of this guide for the full breakdown of trust types.

◈ Step 5: Government Benefits Overview

Cover the three major programs they may qualify for. See the Government Benefits section of this guide for full details.

◈ Step 6: Homework & Set Next Meeting

Close the meeting by telling them:

• Go home tonight and write down what you think was discussed — while it's fresh
• Come up with any questions you have
• Schedule the next meeting approximately one week apart — shorter doesn't give them time to think; longer and they start to forget
• Remind them: there are no fees until you tell them there are fees, and everything is clearly disclosed and à la carte

✦ Application Essentials

When the client decides to move forward, there are several forms to complete. The application typically has these key sections:

1. Section 1: Client Information — Social security number, date of birth, basic identification
2. Section 2: Suitability — This is critical. List every single asset: money markets, brokerage accounts, annuities, everything. This section makes or breaks the application
3. Remaining Sections: Strategy allocation pages, replacement information if applicable

◈ Fund Transfer Cheat Sheet

When moving funds from a client's current carrier to a new policy, do a three-way call with the client and the current carrier. Use this checklist during the call:

• Does the current carrier require their own transfer forms?
• Will they accept the new carrier's paperwork?
• Do they need a medallion stamp?
• Do funds need to be liquidated prior to transfer?
• Is this a replacement? (Triggers additional disclosure requirements)
• What is the expected timeline for the transfer?

Document everything so the client knows the process. If there's a delay, they'll know it wasn't your team — you followed the other company's requirements to the letter.

✦ Logging In

1. Open Google Chrome (recommended browser)
2. Go to www.redtailtechnology.com
3. Click Login → RedTail CRM
4. Enter your username and password (sent to you via email) — not case sensitive
5. Click Sign In

To save your password, click "Save" when prompted. To change your password, click "Reset Password" on the main screen — RedTail will send a link to your email.

◈ Basic Navigation

RedTail has two navigation systems:

• Left sidebar — Master navigation. Click any section here and the top menu bar updates accordingly
• Top menu bar — Secondary navigation that changes based on your left sidebar selection

If you ever get lost, click the RedTail logo/icon in the top left to return to the home page.

◈ Quick Links (Top Navigation Bar)

◈ RedTail Retriever

If you want to sync your RedTail calendar with Microsoft Outlook, download Retriever for Tailwag from the Help section and follow the instructions.

✦ Creating a New Contact

Go to Contacts in the left sidebar (or use the + quick-add button). Select Individual — not Business, Association, Trust, or Union. 99.99% of entries will be Individual.

◈ Married Couples: The Ampersand Method

If the couple is married and making decisions together, enter them as one contact:

• First name: Joe
• Middle name field: Use an & Mary (ampersand + spouse's first name)
• Last name: Smith

This creates "Joe & Mary Smith" as one contact. Benefits: single contact record, permissions set once, and notes for both spouses stay in the same place. If Joe calls Tuesday and Mary calls Wednesday, everything is together.

◈ Contact Details for Seminar RSVPs

• Status: Follow-Up Scheduling (prompts you to call them back)
• Type: Contact
• Source: Seminar
• Seminar field syntax: State, City, Location, Date (MM/DD/YY), Speaker Initials
  Example: CA Indio Table6 050125 MR
• Writing Advisor: Your company name (this is critical)

◈ Address & Phone Rules

• If you start an address field, you must complete it — type (Home/Work/Mailing), city, state, zip
• RedTail validates zip format (5 digits, numeric) but does not verify the zip matches the city — enter correctly
• Phone numbers must have a type selected (Cell, Home, Work, etc.) or it'll throw an error
• RedTail does not auto-detect area codes from city — enter the full number

◈ Keywords (Tags)

Use keywords to tag important client attributes — "Veteran," "Social Security," or any of the 25–30 available keywords. These help characterize potential clients so anyone interacting with them knows key details at a glance.

✦ Calendar Views

Click Calendar in the left sidebar. You can switch between Day, Week, and Month views on the right side. Use the quick navigation arrows or pop-up calendar to jump to specific dates.

◈ Color-Coding Activities

Under Actions → Change Colors, assign colors to different activity types — e.g., lime green for client appointments, bright red for seminars, blue for phone calls. This lets you instantly differentiate activities at a glance. Configure this early and stick with it.

◈ Filtering What You See

The calendar defaults to showing everyone's activities. To see only your own:

• Use the third dropdown from the left to select your name (instead of "Everyone")
• Use the activity type filters to show only specific types (phone calls, emails, appointments, etc.)
• Use category filters for further refinement (recommendation, case design, customer service, etc.)
• If activities are missing from your view, check these two things first: (1) whose calendar you're viewing and (2) what filters are applied

◈ Adding a Meeting

1. Double-click on the desired date
2. Search for and select the contact
3. Use consistent naming: [Agent] First Meeting with [Client Name]
4. Uncheck "All Day" to set specific start time and duration
5. Assign the activity category (Recommendation, Customer Service, etc.) for color-coding
6. Set the correct attendee (if adding for someone else)
7. Add meeting-specific notes in the notes section (distinct from the contact's overall notes)
8. Set Privacy → Only This Team
9. Save the activity

You can drag and drop activities to reschedule. Click the top of an activity to see its details; click the bottom (contact name) to go to the contact card.

✦ Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts

Everything starts with understanding these two categories:

• Revocable means you can terminate the trust during your lifetime. It can do one thing: avoid probate. That's it.
• Irrevocable means the trust cannot be terminated — it will outlive you. It can do much more: guarantee distribution, minimize taxes, enable government benefits eligibility, avoid spend-down, block estate recovery.
• Both types can be changed. Don't let the name "irrevocable" scare anyone. There's legwork involved on the irrevocable side, but it's possible.

◈ Can You Avoid Probate Without a Trust?

Yes — and most law firms don't volunteer this information. If accounts have beneficiaries, if assets are jointly held, if vehicles have TOD (Transfer on Death) or POD (Pay on Death) designations, probate is avoided. A revocable trust in Ohio costs $2,500–$3,500 when probate avoidance might be free with a few errands.

◈ Four Key Irrevocable Trust Types

✦ Two Things Every Client Must Do

1. Make yourself eligible — Rearrange assets so they can't be counted against you (this is what the trusts accomplish)
2. Block estate recovery — The National Deficit Reduction Act allows the state attorney general to come back into your estate after death and reclaim what was paid for nursing home care. The right trusts do both: make you eligible AND block recovery.

◈ Medicare Basics (Supplement vs. Advantage)

Many clients think they have a supplement when they have an advantage plan. Here's the quick distinction: