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Capacity is the number one challenge for financial advisors and wealth management. There are only 168 hours in a week, and that is the one thing that is not changing. How can you build more capacity in 2021?
Here are some technology strategies that I have helped advisors implement to save them time, and you can too:
Online meetings
One advisor I worked with saved 75 to 100 hours of travel time by offering clients an online meeting instead of a face to face meeting. The clients found traffic difficult in their city, so it limited the time to set up appointments. The advisor thought they would then go to the client's house to save them time. But who’s time did it waste? The advisor. Instead, he decided to offer online meetings instead. Not only did it save time, but the clients also enjoyed it more because the advisor prepared their whole review using PowerPoint. It then became an emotionally engaging conversation. Consider using software to do online meetings. Get a good camera, headset and microphone, and software such as GoToMeeting ( which I use) or zoom. Check with your firm, branch manager or compliance officer before proceeding, as your firm may already have it set up for their advisors. ( full disclosure I do not get any compensation from software firms recommended in this post, I just like using it).
Online calendar
Have you ever played phone or email tag with a client or prospect to find a mutual meeting time, only to get a follow-up email that they want to change it because the time doesn’t work? Then you start the process over again and it takes months to see ideal clients and prospects because they are busy people. Sound familiar. I work with some of the busiest and successful advisors and I can book appointments with them and their teams using an online calendar scheduler. It is a simple but effective tool for you and your staff to book appointments. Check out timetrade ( I Use ) or Calendly or others. Check wit your CRM system as all CRM systems should have this built-in. This will save you and your staff hours per month on emails and the phone.
Paraplanning
Do you think your accountant puts the data into their software system and prepares your personal and corporate returns? Or do they have an assistant that is trained on the software to prepare everything for the accountant, so they can review and confirm it for their clients? You should be delegating as much as possible on your goals-based planning software to your admin or team members. This will free up 10 hours per new client and if you acquire 10 new clients this year there are another 100 hours saved. Paraplanning refers to the administrative duties of a financial planner carried out by junior members of a financial planning group. The function of a paraplanner was created to allow financial planners to focus on working closely with clients and identify their investment needs. Paraplanning includes analyzing clients' needs and researching and recommending suitable advice aligned to those needs. ( according to invesopedia.com )
What is your time worth?
If your time is worth $500 per hour then saving 100 hours this year is worth $50,000. This article then can provide great value to your practice, only if you implement it. The challenge is investing time to implement software and train staff. You can also hire this out as well. That is one of the things we do in our Capacity program, help you implement. Remember to check with your firm, branch manager or compliance officer before proceeding, as your firm may already software set up for their advisors.