Speaking to ifa, FinPal chief executive Stephen Handley said many advisers suffer “analysis paralysis” when selecting technology for their business, with the multitude of considerations prompting them to wait.
However, Mr Handley said this was problematic as delaying the implementation of new technologies can put practices on the back foot.
“It is disruptive, it takes time to learn a new system, to integrate it into your business, but if advisers don’t start doing it now they’re not going to be able to deliver the type of client experience I think is going to be necessary, and also be profitable,” he said.
Mr Handley said advisers should instead assess their business operations and look for areas that can be made more efficient, then look for technology services that can achieve this.
“Advisers generally don’t have deep technical experience or expertise, so the first step is understanding their own business and then being able to decide which parts of their business could become more,” he said.
“If you understand those, it allows you to map that to the sorts of technology offerings that can help and see if it’s going to make a difference in your efficiency or the client experience.”
Mr Handley said advisers should be doing this sooner than later to ensure they reap the benefits earlier.
“Take those baby steps towards a solution, because any change of this significance doesn’t happen in a month; you’re talking about a one- or two-year process to overhaul your business,” he said.
“I’ve been through it with our advice businesses and we worked on it for years before it really started to pay significant dividends, so if you just wait and something more advanced or more complete comes along in 12 months’ time, you’ve still then got another 12 months to two years to integrate it and get used to working with it and get your staff used to working with it.”
Hi all.
Thought I’d join in the conversation to help provide some context. This article is a result of a conversation I had with Killian regarding what I’m seeing on my travels and in discussions with advisers. I.e. while almost all advisers have recognised the need to improve their use of technology, most are struggling to know where to start.
There are a variety of reasons I believe are contributing to this:
1. Making wholesale technology change takes time and can be disruptive, unless correctly planned.
2. Advisers generally do not have deep expertise/experience with technology
3. Technology is evolving so quickly, there’s a fear that today’s options will quickly become obsolete
4. There’s a lot of marketing hype by technology providers, so it’s difficult to know what’s rhetoric and what’s reality
5. Some are waiting for a silver bullet that will solve all their problems at once … not going to happen
Unfortunately, doing nothing is not an option, if you want your business to evolve to the point you can deliver a better experience, to more clients, at lower costs. The only way to achieve this is by leveraging technology to improve the efficiency with which you manage data and back office operations.
Rather than proposing you “rush in” as my old mate Anonymous has suggested, I actually recommend you take a staged (“baby steps”) approach and start with areas of your business that could easily be improved with well established technology solutions. E.g. any advisers who have not yet migrated to a paperless office would do well to look at cloud based document storage, digital signature technologies, etc.
The key is getting started now (because these changes will take time) and choosing technologies that are going to continue to meet your evolving needs well into the future.
Providing specifics on “what is good, and what works” in a few hundred words is difficult, because (like good financial advice) it very much depends on the unique needs/goals of your business. I am working on an initiative that will make it easier for advisers to get specific guidance … in the meantime you are welcome to reach out and I’ll be happy to provide my opinion. I’m easy to find 🙂
David, would welcome further conversation. Feel free to connect on LinkedIn or shoot me an email.
Cheers
Stephen
Damn … name didn’t stick, even though it said Posing as Stephen Handley. Maybe that’s why we get so many Anonymous comments. IFA, might want to do some testing
Handley makes a very good point when he says that a key is understanding – – and putting the TIME into understanding!!! – how ‘ it’s going to make a difference in your efficiency or the client experience’.
It can make a huge impact when it is understood and integrated – but not when it’s purchased just because the guy next door has one.
For those of you who recognise my name – it’s that same story I’ve been telling for the past 25 years – but back in those days I had to also convince you that you needed a computer!
Now that’s out of the way (you even have a computer in your pocket!) – start looking at technology and how it can help your clients. Help them and you help yourself. I’m easy to find if you want to discuss any of this – invitation open to you too Stephen.
what bunch of useless waffle…………………………………………………………….
please actually make a comment about what is good, what works, etc
Rush into new technology before you know it works and blows up your business. Geeze sounds like a fintech company article to me