New technology makes reaching out a lot easier.
For many financial advisors, working in a remote
environment with clients is an everyday challenge. At first glance, the
idea might seem to be contrary to good time management, if an advisor
has to travel to a client or potential client's home or place of
business in order to conduct an appointment.
But, for a number of advisors, it is simply not
possible to arrange meetings with clients in the advisor's office. This
may be because of geographical challenges (i.e. the advisor covers a
large area and has clients spread out) or it could be due to the
inability of a client to travel to their office (house-bound or
elderly).
Some advisors I have spoken with have moved their
practice from one part of the country to another and decided to retain
their clients in the former territory. Serving the needs of these
clients requires a fair amount of travel and time management
discipline. If an advisor lives and works in an area of the country
that supports part-time residents (winter or summer), there could be
licensing and registration issues to contend with, along with the
geographical challenges.
I spoke recently with Steve O'Hara, CFP, a principal
with Financial Strategy Network LLC in Chicago. Steve has a practice
with clients in both Chicago and Los Angeles. What started out as a
minor issue with a few clients in Los Angeles has now blossomed into a
large group of clients that requires him to travel monthly to L.A.
Steve's practice has developed a virtual private network (VPN) to allow
him access to secure client files and other information when he is on
the road. He connects to his VPN using Symantec's PCAnywhere product
(http://sea.symantec.com/content/product.cfm?productid=16). Though he
has sparingly used Web-based conferencing solutions, he indicated that
the idea hasn't caught on with him yet.
A popular alternative to PCAnywhere is GoToMyPC.com
(gotomypc.com), a Web-based connection portal that permits a user to
log in to his/her home or office computer via the internet from
virtually any location, including Web-enabled cell phones, PDAs or
public-use computers (cybercafes). For a monthly subscription charge
that can be as low as $14.95 (if purchased annually), a user can have
unlimited use of the portal to access anything that resides on their
computer.
Whether you are using PCAnywhere or GoToMyPC.com, or
another remote software solution, the keys to making this work for
remote advisors appear to be security, speed of access and an ability
to print remotely. Most solutions offer encrypted access for security
purposes. With the increasing use of faster broadband connections and
free Wi-Fi "hotspots" at local restaurants, hotels and airports,
gaining access through the Web is becoming increasingly popular and
available.
For printing, there are limited options. Canon
offers a portable printer (Pixma i80 Portable Color Printer) that
produces outstanding results in a compact package. The i80 printer
offers both IrDA (infrared) compatibility and an optional Bluetooth
interface enabling you to print wirelessly from a PC, PDA or mobile
phone. They also offer an optional Canon car adapter and rechargeable
battery kit (http://estore.usa.canon.com). And, at print speeds of up
to 14 pages per minute (ppm) in black and 10 ppm in color, this
lightweight mobile printer is no slacker in the speed department.
Beyond hardware offerings, software developers have
recognized the need for different client communication solutions. There
is now a host of new technology offerings out there to help the remote
advisor, not the least of which is an interactive Web site technology.
Web sites can and probably should do more than just
deliver information. (See Financial Advisor magazine, January 2005,
What's Your Web Site For?) Interactive Web sites give your clients the
opportunity to interact with various features such as account lookup,
goal calculators and the ability to send messages to you. But there is
a new trend emerging, live conferencing, and it goes way beyond instant
messaging technology.
Advisor Square (www.advisorsquare.com) has added
cool tools to enhance your Web site, including instant message
conferencing. Their new service, IMConferencing, touts a feature-rich
interface with the ability to show a PowerPoint presentation, use a
white board with the capability of the client to draw on it as well,
and tie the conversation to a VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) phone
system or traditional phone conferencing. The advantage is an
interactive experience with the client that is almost like you are
sitting there in front of them. You can even show a photo or live video
of yourself to your clients. If they have a Webcam, you can see them as
well.
MSN Messenger has released a new version of its
instant messaging service that permits people to connect with a list of
contacts chosen by the user. Once connected, the user can send a file
or photo, start an audio conversation, initiate a Webcam, share an
application (such as a PowerPoint presentation) or start a whiteboard
with remote user access. A user can even send a message to a mobile
device such as a cell phone or personal data assistant (PDA).
Yahoo (www.messenger.yahoo.com) offers a similar
service. In recent tests, the Webcam feature had a considerably slower
frame rate (how many pictures show per second) than with competing
services. However, Yahoo has recently added a Super Webcam service to
take advantage of higher broadband connection speeds.
Both MSN messenger and Yahoo Messenger are primarily
designed for one-to-one communications. If you have the need for
multiple participants in differing locations (i.e. an attorney or CPA),
you will need to look at a more robust solution such as the
IMConferencing service from AdvisorSquare mentioned above.
Or, you could look to Microsoft. Microsoft offers a
similar service called Microsoft Office Live Meeting
(http://office.microsoft.com/livemeeting) for business owners, with
flexible pricing options including per-minute charges. But beware that
this could become quite costly, as you are paying per-minute charges
for each participant in a Web conference.
Some financial advisors have opted to keep their
practices simple and not use state-of-the-art technology to meet their
clients' needs. For those advisors, the personal touch appears to be
the key. "Meeting with that client one on one usually results in
business and justifies the long drive to meet with them," says Jan
Richey, CFP, CLU, CSA, a financial practitioner based in Brentwood,
Tenn., a suburb of Nashville.
Jan mentioned that he meets with clients as far away
as Chattanooga (more than two hours) and Memphis (more than three
hours) on a regular basis. He says that the key for him is qualifying a
prospect in advance before making the trip. Most of his prospects are
referrals from existing clients.
Rather than use sophisticated Internet connections
to his office computers, he has converted his vehicle into a mobile
office and uses a laptop computer for illustrations and pricing info.
Jan mentioned that another key to making this work is frequent
communications with clients. Handwritten birthday cards, quarterly
newsletters, phone calls and e-mails are a few of the ways that he
keeps in touch.
If you are a remote advisor, there are a host of
options available to you and your practice to increase the efficiency
of your communications with clients.
David Lawrence is a practice
efficiency consultant and is president of David Lawrence and
Associates, a practice consulting firm based in Lutz, Fla.
(www.efficientpractice.com)