To be a successful advisor, client service needs to be your top priority. Your best resource to make that happen? A strong customer relationship management (CRM) system that can become the operational hub of your business.
Let’s walk through the five steps to using your CRM and integrations with other digital tools like PreciseFP to take your client experience to the next level.
1) Data Organization
In its most basic form, a CRM is a database. That means the foundation of an effective system is clean, organized data. It may not be exciting, but trustworthy data sets the tone for the entire client relationship and helps advisors get buy-in from employees. Even automation and other time-saving tools aren’t effective if you don’t take the time to build out and organize the data first.
A CRM can do more than just store client contact information. You can also label contacts based on whether they are clients, prospects, or inactive. Then you can narrow it down even further with tiers of clients and prospects. This organization makes delivering personalized communication and experiences easy and ensures no clients or prospects get lost.
2) Operational Hub
Your CRM should be your one-stop shop for managing your business. By centralizing information on a single platform, you can reduce redundancies and increase efficiency.
Use your CRM as a task management system with an activity template for common tasks and interactions. It can also be a centralized communication hub with links to every client communication. Integrate your CRM calendar with your Outlook calendar to create a connected schedule for the firm and gather all client touchpoints in one location. You can also use your CRM to manage your pipeline and have all your leads in one place.
From start to finish, a CRM can store and organize all your business needs and be a place where anyone on the team can access and track relevant information.
Reach out to Simplicity Ops for expert guidance on CRM implementation best practices.
3) Service Model and Delivery
Who do you serve, what do you provide, and what do you want it to feel like? These are the driving questions behind your client service model and delivery. Answering these questions will define who you serve, in what priority, and how you meet their needs.
Your CRM can help you deliver services proactively by breaking down clients and prospects into groups and tiers for batched communications. When you clearly understand where your client fits into your service model, you know how to best meet their needs.
4) Workflows and Automations
Much of what an advisor does can be broken down into automated workflows. If you go through a process more than three times, it deserves to be automated. Workflows ensure that clients move through a process smoothly and nothing is forgotten.
For example, when a new prospect shows interest and wants to set up a meeting, they join the introductory workflow and are moved through the internal process to schedule a meeting, send initial communication, and more. Anything from an address change to closing an account or moving money can trigger a workflow. Effective workflows are scalable and can be organized in the CRM, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel constantly.
5) Integrate Technology
Although a CRM is powerful for managing your business and boosting the client experience, it’s still just a database. It really shines with technology integrations that add new features and capabilities to your existing platform.
Think back to the service model you want to deliver–what tools do you need to get you there? You can integrate a portfolio management system, calendar, data gathering system, and much more.
One of the most crucial integrations is PreciseFP, which seamlessly integrates with many CRMs. With PreciseFP, you can easily gather client information through personalized forms and automatically sync their data to your database, ensuring you have the most current and accurate client information.
Take PreciseFP for a spin and see for yourself. Sign up here for a 14-day free trial. To watch the recording of the webinar, “Take Your Client Experience to the Next Level,” click here!
