CRM architecture and configuration
We design object models, pipeline stages, fields, permissions, and views within your existing or new platform.
Why Client and Method
You did not do anything wrong. You grew.
The challenge is that your practice is struggling to keep pace with its own success.
We often see strong practices with capable teams invest in quality tools, yet leave them underutilized because of time constraints. The solution isn't another platform or subscription, it's integrating your entire practice into a unified system and proving its effectiveness. This is what Client and Method provides.
How we work
One principal leads each engagement, supported by a team of specialists.
You work directly with the principal from strategy to configuration. The principal defines requirements, recommends and evaluates vendors, oversees implementation, and manages testing and quality assurance. When required, Client and Method assigns vetted specialists based on your needs, with one principal accountable throughout. We do not deliver a plan and leave, nor do we transfer the relationship. Our selective approach ensures the work is completed properly and delivers results we stand behind.
We assign specialists according to your plan’s requirements, selecting professionals experienced in building systems for Canadian advisory practices.
Systems integration
CRM integration includes external systems such as email, marketing automation, meeting recording and transcription, e-signature, AI applications, and document management. This approach ensures information is entered once, eliminating redundancy and streamlining workflow.
Workflow automation
We automate routing, reminders, filing, status updates, and exception handling to reduce your team’s manual workload.
Artificial intelligence implementation
We implement AI assistants and task-specific tools, each with a human review step and designated storage location.
Data engineering and analytics
We deliver book segmentation, client behaviour indicators, and acquisition and transition analysis using data your practice controls.
All analysis uses data your practice controls within approved systems. We review each output before decisions are made, and we file results in the system of record.
Practitioner perspective
Senior advisors and industry professionals are consulted individually to test recommendations against real-world practice operations.
Engagement team members are selected during Discovery based on your plan’s requirements. We introduce specialists before accessing your systems to ensure you receive the expertise your project requires.
Book a Discovery and Planning engagementMeet the founder
Experience behind the method.
Emile McLean, Founder and Principal Client and Method
Previously, the challenge was winning new business. Now, it is keeping up with growth. Emile McLean founded Client and Method on the belief that practices reach capacity due to success, not failure. As your client base grows, so does the workload, yet operational processes often remain suited to a smaller business.
He developed this perspective through direct experience in advisors’ offices. After more than 100 one-on-one consultations and presentations to over 2,500 advisors in Canada and internationally, he consistently found practices that excelled at client acquisition but relied on memory, rework, and long hours to manage operations. The tools existed, but integration, processes, and accountability were lacking.
Emile has over 15 years of distribution experience and has developed programs for advisors. At one of Canada’s largest financial institutions, he designed distribution systems that generated over $92 million CAD in new insurance business within two years, building the underlying technology, including artificial intelligence and automation in Salesforce. These systems performed defined tasks with human review, maintained records, and consistently exceeded sales targets. At another institution, he developed business development and practice management programs for more than 5,000 advisors and led a $30 million CAD initiative to digitize advisor workflows through executive approval. His work in insurance distribution earned him Manulife’s 2025 Global Stars of Excellence award.
Client and Method is the solution he created: an independent operations partner for Canadian wealth and life insurance advisory practices. We do not sell platforms, accept vendor incentives, or delegate work to junior staff. Each engagement starts with a documented baseline and ends with measurable results, such as hours recovered, reduced rework, and improved follow-through. Emile is directly involved in CRM configuration, automation, system integration, and artificial intelligence implementation, all designed to meet Canadian compliance and privacy standards. An unimplemented plan is simply an expensive document.
He partners with successful practices experiencing increased workloads. All work is completed within your systems, alongside your team, and the engagement concludes when your practice operates independently.
Let’s review your practice together.
Discovery and Planning is the essential first step and is offered as a standalone engagement.
Book a Discovery and Planning engagement