THE FINAL WORD

Connecting with the Future

BY ROB EBY

As this year wraps up, we undoubtedly will reflect on many things. After beginning the year in our home offices, many of us are now returning to the workplaces we left behind in 2020 with new realities and changes within them. The industry continues to shift as well, with CRM and Know Your Product just around the corner.

If anything has been constant, it has been that the pandemic has forced us to be creative about the way we connect with people. Many who adapted and implemented new technologies throughout the past year are now in the early stages of seeing the benefits. Like many of you, I have had to expand my team and my practice while thinking carefully on how to reposition and take advantage of a new normal that is quickly solidifying. Our year began with hiring and training a new associate virtually — without ever being able to meet in person or have them visit our offices — and I realized that we had succeeded in doing something we might have never even considered attempting.

At the same time, the technologies that are enabling all of these changes are also providing us with the opportunity to rethink and elevate the narrative of the client planning experience.

For starters, our practices have now evolved to use technology on a more dynamic basis. I feel far more engaged and am having more frequent and efficient meetings and conversations with clients. From my experience, clients of all ages have become much more comfortable as meetings move fluidly between being online or in our offices depending on their needs. I now feel I’ m able to provide more consistent and repeatable advice within the meeting regardless of where I am, and the technology I use to support them is equally convenient. I haven ’t picked up a pen to fill out a form in almost two years, it’ s all online!

Though the basics of advice have not materially changed, the way in which we engage and deliver that advice to clients has changed rapidly. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and not all clients and advisors will be the same in how they adjust their practice. In the fee-based world, for example, we are seeing planning offered on a monthly subscription basis that is enabled largely by collaborative online planning technologies. These technologies are allowing us to offer a much more interactive planning experience both online and in person. Clients are now able to experience the process via customized dashboards, modifying and exploring various scenarios for their financial futures on their own time before reconnecting with us again. The advice hasn ’t changed, but rather the opportunity of how we can deliver that advice has. This is a tremendous opportunity for advisors. Clients have now had more time to think about their future and re-evaluate what is truly important to them. Clients now realize that they may have had a portfolio, but not a plan.

Technology is also giving us greater insight into our practices, as well as quicker processing and turnaround. This has allowed us to have more conversations with clients about their goals and needs, improving our focus on how we can plan for their future. As a tail-end Baby Boomer, I wish I was 10 years younger — the newest generation of advisors increasingly have an unprecedented chance to truly focus on the core value we can offer to clients, which is our professional advice.

Finally, are you ready for client-focused reforms? Much of today ’ s regulation is very focused at a transaction level, but I believe that successful advisors are focused on clients already. Driven by empathy, coaching, and a greater understanding of client needs, successful advisors understand that these are the factors that ultimately produce better outcomes and greater client satisfaction. For advisors who are still coming around on this perspective, the good news is that as an Advocis member you already have the cornerstone of a client-first culture: our motto of Non Solis Nobis — not for ourselves alone.

Happy holidays and best wishes for next year. Go forth and inspire client confidence!

ROB EBY, RRC, CFP, is chair of Advocis. He can be reached at rob.eby@igpwm.ca.