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Not too long ago, you as financial advisor could squeak by with outdated Excel files tracking critical client interactions or somehow convince yourself that the Rolodex on your desk was good enough to track clients and prospects. Your business was doing fine and you wanted to run it your way.
That is understandable, even commendable.
What the pandemic has taught us, however, is that change is not only inevitable, but unexpected and highly disruptive. We’ve become accustomed to Zoom calls as the norm. Your digital environment can no longer be “good enough” – it must be rock solid. An advisor’s CRM software is no longer a nice-to-have piece of technology; it is the foundation for your entire digital ecosystem.
Many advisors are in limbo when it comes to making a choice or a change regarding the most important piece of technology they will purchase. Maybe it’s analysis paralysis, procrastination, or there’s disagreement among those charged with making the final decision. No matter which of those excuses most closely resembles yours, I am here to help.
Here are 10 questions to ask yourself as you assess the CRMs available in the Golden Age of FinTech (I’ve helped a bit with the answers too):
1. How much of my time is required to implement this enhancement or make a change?
The CRM you choose should specialize in working with advisors and should understand our profession. Checking those two very simple boxes means that you will save a vast amount of time as you get up and running. Advisors are a very distinctive set of professionals with an equally specific set of needs, like doctors or lawyers
2. Do I have to use the whole thing right out of the box?
Run from anyone who says “yes” to this! You want a flexible solution that both grows with you and that you can grow into. A CRM solution can seem overwhelming at first, and there’s absolutely no reason you can’t ramp up your usage over time as you familiarize yourself with everything a high-powered CRM makes possible. In fact, that’s what you should do. Start small and work with your provider’s customer service team to identify the most important features to deploy right away.
3. Can I get help at any time and on my time?
You are going to want (and you deserve) ongoing, easy-to-access software support from live human beings who understand your challenges. You don’t want to pay extra for that. You want on-demand support as needed. You’re busy and your tech vendors need to provide easy access to the information you need to use their solutions, period.
4. Is the CRM provider keeping up with the times – constantly working to alleviate advisor pain points?
A CRM done right has to wear a whole lot of hats. When surveyed, financial advisors report that CRM is the core solution in their tech stack, the backbone. Your CRM partner should be working constantly to either 1) make existing features or functions work even better for you; or 2) introduce something new that will make your office’s day-to-day operations more efficient. Constant, incremental improvements win the day.
5. Is the CRM solution specialized to the financial services industry?
This is crucial. A financial services industry-focused CRM will have incorporated into its platform all the necessary compliance and regulatory framework that you need. It could take an inordinate amount of time to build that into your average CRM. Why do that to yourself?
6. Will the CRM maintain a historical record of my business as it grows and evolves over time, thereby keeping everyone on the same page and streamlining the process of bringing new employees up to speed?
If you are CRM-ing in the Stone Age, your office has neither recorded client/prospect information consistently nor documented these interactions sufficiently. As a result, information retrieval is difficult and time-consuming (when it is even possible) and there are knowledge gaps due to variances in how staff members store or track data. Your CRM must provide your office with one centralized location to house your organization’s “institutional memory.” Institutional memory is a collective set of facts, concepts, experiences and know-how held by a group of people. Contrary to this definition, however, much of what makes up institutional memory is often housed at an individual level, and thus creates a dangerous state if the entire team doesn’t have access to it. Good CRM solves this conundrum.
7. If I buy into the concept that a strong CRM solution can serve as the foundation for my entire technology environment, does the CRM I’m assessing play nicely with other technologies vital to the functionality of my business?
You need the technology you use to integrate in meaningful ways so you can eliminate redundant data entry and errors, streamline your processes, and improve client experience. CRMs not tailored specifically to the financial services industry may not integrate very effectively with other industry solutions or will require customization and/or the need to bring in expensive consultants to make them work for your business. For proposed integrations to be meaningful, they should help you bring all the parts of your business together.
8. Does the CRM “do” anything else or do I need to cobble together my essential tech and hope I can find an IT consultant who knows how to get it all up and running?
The state of CRM has evolved. Good CRMs offer the essentials under one roof – paperless office, email hosting/archiving, compliant texting, and a mobile version should all be tightly integrated with your CRM of choice. They should be available à la carte, so if one of these other solutions is more important to you than others, you can add them to your subscription according to your individual office’s needs and on your desired timeline.
9. Does the CRM have a good industry reputation?
Choose tech vendors with strong, deep roots in the industry who clearly understand your challenges as well as your opportunities and are staffed with employees equipped to help you meet those challenges and take advantage of those opportunities. Three fundamental factors that help advisors meet their challenges as well as recognize and take advantage of their opportunities are culture, industry relationships, and thoughtful leadership efforts. Leave one of those unchecked at your own peril.
10. OK, I get it, but what does a modern CRM and its upkeep actually cost?
Pricing for CRMs that focus on financial advisors varies. At minimum, you want pricing that is affordable and straight-forward and does not require any explanation of hidden fees. Nickel and diming does not sit well with your clients, nor should it with you. Say “no” to support fees, “no” to onboarding fees, and “no” to data-conversion fees. Simple solutions and an easy-to-understand cost for each of them need to be the order of the day (though broker-dealer discounts may be available through your BD – be sure to ask about this).
No more excuses. Armed with these 10 responses to your burning questions, you can assess your CRM needs confidently and determine the right fit for you and your practice.
Brian McLaughlin, CEO of Redtail Technology, has been working closely with advisors, broker-dealers and industry partners for the last 17 years to assist with making the industry a better place for those who depend upon it to do their jobs. Brian is passionate about the solutions the company provides to their community of subscribers and enjoys getting his hands dirty in that pursuit. That passion is evidenced by his frequent participation in industry hackathons and his numerous speaking engagements at tech events throughout the year.
Read more articles by Brian McLaughlin
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
