When considering what kind of technology to introduce into a brokerage, Strategi Group’s David Greenslade says there are three key things worth considering – how it fits with your clients, your database, and what kind of business support it can offer.
Greenslade says that over the past year, clients have become significantly more comfortable with video conferencing and remote calls – something which may have been a much harder sell against the traditional ‘face to face’ before COVID-19. He says that now, advisers have a great opportunity to do away with a significant chunk of paperwork, and to replace it with recorded video calls and other tech-based tools where possible.
“Now is definitely the opportunity to introduce new technology into your advice business,” Greenslade said.
“It’s clear from all the global research reports that clients are now more comfortable with having a digital interface as far as advice. They’re more comfortable with things like Zoom and Teams, but clients also want more information quicker and cheaper. The only way we can effectively do that is to introduce some form of technology.”
“Whatever technology you use, you should have some sort of process that you go through in order to select it,” he explained.
“We recently released some guidance notes around the various steps you can consider when selecting technology, and you can think about it in three different areas. The first one is of course paramount, and that’s around your client.
“Think about how you’re going to interact with them – with things like video meetings, you can consider whether you can take that format and provide it to the client along with any disclosure that you need to offer at that stage. Video can often be a more effective way of communicating advice, compared to the traditional paper-based way.”
Greenslade says advisers should also think about how the technology fits with their existing database, and what kind of extended business support it can offer. He says advisers should look for tools that will allow them to have their training, reviews and templates in one place, and which can provide easily accessible analytics around business performance.
“Business support is a key thing to think about,” Greenslade said.
“Make sure your technology is sufficiently flexible and tailored to your business, and that it can provide you with links to various planning tools, education portals, etc.
“It should have all your documents and templates, and it should allow you to monitor exactly how your business is tracking in terms of your business obligations and planning.”
