| 16 July 2009
The Latest & the Greatest…Or Is It and So What?
Oh boy, new technology, a new gadget, a new toy. You just can’t resist the temptation to purchase it. Surely it will solve all of your problems right? That’s what it promises…buy this and you’re life will be light and breezy, right?
Hold up there partner…before you embark on yet another new piece of technology, let’s talk about what you’ve already got. I’m willing to bet a substantial amount of money that you already have a large amount of money invested in the technology you have at this moment but either you’ve not taken the time to learn it fully, you’re not currently using it to it’s greatest capability or worst of all, you’ve issued an edict within your office and to your staff to use the technology a certain way and you’re the only one not doing it. Sound familiar?
If it does, you’re not alone, but that doesn’t make it right. So, let’s talk about some of the technology you’re likely to have currently and some steps you can take to improve what you’re doing. More than likely, you have a powerful CRM program in place. It has the capability to store notes from meetings, birthdays all the important information that is crucial to maintaining good relationships with your clients. So, let me ask you this: are you the only one not entering notes in the program because, after all, you know these clients like the back of your hand right? Of course you do but your staff doesn’t and the only way your staff can competently assist you is by having the same information. Relax! It doesn’t make you less important to the relationship because everyone in your office has this information. It makes you a better advisor and helps free you up because you are making sure that ANYONE in your office can help each and every client by having the most current and up to date information.
So, gather your staff around you and write a procedure (please see my white paper “Building Your Franchise with a Practice Policies Manual” on my website for more information) for each and every task that is performed within this program. Sign off on them, distribute them to everyone and have them sign off that they understand and will abide by the policy (including you) and then do it! This one correction in your behavior will bring substantial relief to you and ease frustration that your staff must be feeling because they are out of the loop, and consequently spend much of their time caught off guard with clients because they don’t have the latest information.
Now let’s talk about your Portfolio Management Software. Same issues apply here but in a different context. Have you taken the time to really examine this program and find out all of it’s capabilities? If the vendor offers classes (most offer them on demand, online), take them or have an employee take them and then summarize and report the results to you. Again, I’d be willing to bet that you are not using this technology to its fullest advantage. Let’s take PortfolioCenter for instance. This is a powerful program that can deliver real time information regarding your client’s positions. If you’ve taken the time to enter your client’s asset allocations into the program, it can give you an up to the minute picture of where that client stands with respect to his approved asset allocation. A great compliance tool right? Integrate this technology into your compliance program by printing these (or storing them electronically…did you know PortfolioCenter can create pdf files as well?) at pre-determined intervals showing that you are monitoring your client’s allocation. Again, gather your folks around you and spend some time brain storming about this technology and how it can be used across various aspects of the firm, write policies and then stick to them! You will cut down on mistakes and improve your compliance abilities.
I could go on and on but you get the point. Technology is an expensive investment so before you shell out more money for something else, take the time to examine what you have or better yet, hire someone to take a look at the big picture for you. I bet you’d be surprised at the capabilities you already have in house.
Give me a call if I can assist you in getting your arms around your technology.
