How Top Advisors Use Technology Today
It’s a given that in our tech-reliant 21st-century financial advisory firms, we need technology to work more efficiently and to provide the best service to our clients. Not only that, but clients these days expect financial advisors to provide some sort of technology so they can communicate, track accounts, and see their progress toward their goals. But with more technology choices than we know what to do with, how do you choose the right tools with the most bang for the buck? Learn from the example of top advisors. Here’s how they use technology to grow their firm and retain clients.
1. To Grow And Manage Relationships
In a technology study conducted by Financial Planning, 91% of advisors said they use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, with the top two being Salesforce and Redtail. Here’s why: an effective CRM helps you keep track of clients and prospects, save time, and close more leads. They help you create workflows that automate your firm’s processes and overall make you more productive. And many CRMs offer advanced features, like secure text messaging and integration with other platforms, such as financial planning software and Microsoft Office. When it comes to choosing a CRM for your firm, though, don’t get seduced by fancy extras. If you aren’t going to use the unique features or you just want a system that takes care of the basics, don’t spend your precious money on expensive software.
2. To Enhance Core Tasks
What’s the bulk of the work you do? Financial planning. There are robust financial planning programs available that allow you to offer the most comprehensive, in-depth planning services, tracking real-time data and covering every aspect of a person’s life, like MoneyGuidePro and eMoney. As a bonus, your clients will love the interactive process, like the ability to change variables to produce different outcomes.
3. To Share Information With Clients
Clients have entrusted their financial lives to you because they don’t want to carry the burden on their own. At the same time, they still want to know what’s going on with their money. A user-friendly client portal (a bonus if it’s available as a mobile app) is key to keeping your clients happy. People are increasingly busy these days and want to check in on the go. Since they don’t always have time to have a sit-down meeting with you, it’s a perk to have a portal where they can see what’s going on and communicate their questions and concerns. And to make it even easier, you can combine financial planning software with a client portal with tools like eMoney and MoneyGuidePro, both of which offer client login to view investment performance, reports, estate planning tools, “what if” planning, and more.
4. To Pursue Returns
Your clients want and need you to grow their money, but amid growing and managing your firm, you don’t have the time to pick and manage investments for every single client. That means you need an investment management platform with plenty of customizable models. And while there may be plenty of investment management options out there, many of them are “off the rack” and don’t offer the flexibility you and your clients want.
That’s why we offer the FWA Investment Management Platform as a solution. Not only can you personalize the process and meet your clients’ needs, but you can also rely on it to save you time and headaches, as it handles portfolio management, research, trading, communications, and compliance.
Where Do You Start?
You may be looking at this list and wondering how you will ever be able to afford these tools, especially if you are just starting out as an independent financial advisor. Plus, using technology requires an investment of time as you go through the learning curve. In other words, you don’t want to make a mistake in choosing technology, wasting productivity and disrupting your client experience.
At Freedom Wealth Alliance, we make choosing new technologies for your firm less risky. We provide the necessary tools to help your business thrive, ones that are normally reserved for top advisors and large firms. We pride ourselves on the advanced technology we use to benefit our advisors, and we spend time learning the tools inside and out so we can use them effectively and help our advisors do the same. Learn more about our firm and the suite of technology tools we offer by visiting www.explorefreedomwealthalliance.com. You can also email us at krozman@freedomwealthalliance.com or call Kurt Rozman at 262-798-7979.
About Freedom Wealth Alliance
Freedom Wealth Alliance is a Registered Investment Advisor providing a home and multiple affiliation options for financial advisors seeking business growth and/or succession planning, operational excellence, and turn-key placement. We created this firm to relieve your stress no matter the stage of your firm. We take the burden of running the business off your back, so you can spend your time doing what you do best and love the most. If that means spending more time with clients and prospects, you can. If that means spending more time with your family, just do it. Visit www.explorefreedomwealthalliance.com and sign up for a free account to access all the tools and resources we have developed to help you transition to true freedom and business ownership.
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