I will be the first to admit that sometimes I buy technology and use it with one purpose in mind. As long as it can do the job I want it to do, then it becomes a successful part of my ‘tech kit’ – however, and again we have all done this, what about reading through the instructions that come with it? I guarantee that, certainly when it comes to the systems and programmes you run in an advisory work environment, they will be able to do far more than you ever thought possible.
This was certainly a theme raised at the recent Financial Services Expo by Mortgage Brain’s Mark Lofthouse when he suggested that advisers only use 20% to 30% of the technology available to them. I suspect Mark was thinking about the various bits of kit and new systems that are available today but are not actively being sought out by the adviser community and therefore there is a potential to be missing a trick here.
However, what would concern me more is the under-utilisation of the technology that already exists in pretty much every single adviser’s office. In this sense it is about understanding what you have already and what it can do which goes beyond the normal tasks you currently use it for.
For instance, when we introduce our own system, Revolution, to advisers quite naturally the question they want answered is whether the system has the same functionality as their existing software provides. Simply, put, can I carry out the same tasks within Revolution? The answer is universally yes, and that will tend to satisfy a lot of advisers however it’s the ‘extras’ that are perhaps the most appealing part of the system. If an adviser is looking at using a new system and it cannot do the things his or her existing one can then we are on a hiding to nothing.
In essence, Revolution must be able to carry out these basic functions. However it is when you explain everything else the system can do, that you tend to get a light bulb moment especially when you can show an automated series of tasks which take seconds whereas, up until now, the adviser has been taking an age to conduct these manually. So, in an area such as email marketing and design the system is able to take the adviser right through the process producing compliant marketing aids which can target all types of clients and their finance needs. How long might an adviser in the past have spent doing this themselves?
This marks the system out from the rest and I would guarantee that advisers around the country have access to systems like this which can do so much more for them than those run-of-the-mill sourcing-esque tasks. So, the first step is to understand what you have in front of you? Are there elements to the system that are not understood or ever used? If so, could they be utilised? If there aren’t those elements, then why not? Is the system up to scratch for a modern world? If not, then look around to see what is available out there?
As mentioned, pretty much all systems will provide the basics – that’s a given. But, what the adviser should want today is so much more than that – they need everything from CRM functionality to lead generation management, they need commission and fee tracking to the ability to produce a dedicated website for introducers, they need business functionality to document management. The list goes on. And the good news is that these systems are out there and readily available.
So first check what you’ve got, analyse what you use it for, check to see if it can do so much more, and if not, shop around. Technology changes so quickly that you can get left behind – if however you’re on top of it, then you can deliver real business benefits for all concerned.
