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No one said it would be easy to get 20% more productivity out of your financial advisor sales force. But it could be possible by focusing on one key initiative and two fundamental issues.

Introduction:

Recently released by Charles Schwab Advisor Services, is a study that uncovered an interesting and tangible correlation between how integrated and evolved a firm’s CRM (‘Customer Relationship Management’) technology was to the level of staff productivity. In the study titled “Integrating Technology into Your Practice: Keys to Improving Productivity”, Schwab found that when the CRM application had high levels of integration with other applications such as document management and client portfolio accounting, more than 40 percent of firms reported experiencing productivity savings of more than 20 percent.

Tackling one key initiative and two fundamental issues for a 20% productivity gain:

Achieving such a level of CRM integration with other applications does not come easy as many financial advisors pointed out in the study. In fact, integration is the top technology challenge advisors are facing. However, I propose that instead of focusing on the one time challenge of better integrating  CRM with other applications, financial advisors and their investment management firms would be better off if they tackled two fundamental issues that are at the root of poor technology deployment and usage:

1. Does the firm have a technology roadmap and vision? What does the optimal technology state look like 1, 3 and 5 year out? Define the vision, then align initiatives to the vision and be prepared to revisit the technology roadmap at least yearly.
2. Has Information Technology helped shape the actual business strategy? In the past, most technology resources and management have traditionally supported advisors in an “order taker” capacity instead of being able to provide visionary insight.

In my opinion, if the two issues above could be solved, then advisors would not be as challenged with selecting the right technology vendors or solutions.

Do you think that the issues of lacking a technology roadmap/vision and failing to have IT help shape the business strategy are at the root of technology challenges for financial advisors?

Be sure to leave your comment below!