If you’re aiming to scale your firm, enhance client service, and improve overall efficiency, the key lies in your standard operating procedures (SOPs). Streamlining these core processes not only helps reduce manual work but also positions your firm for sustainable growth and better client outcomes. We recently participated in a webinar with Wealthbox, where we explored why optimizing SOPs is essential. Here’s somes practical steps to help you get started.
What Does It Mean To Standardize Operating Procedures?
While advisors provide personalized recommendations and service to every client, they follow many of the same processes and steps for every interaction or account. In essence, standard operating procedures ensure consistency throughout key financial advising processes. Instead of taking a different approach or following different steps for each client, standardizing operating procedures creates a streamlined and expected process.
Streamlining standard operating procedures is critical for firms of all sizes. It includes everything from the order in which information is gathered to how it is analyzed, secured, and stored. Standard operating procedures can also dictate how often clients are contacted, how leads are managed in the pipeline, how clients are segmented, and more. Consistent, standard procedures allow for consistent indexing so that advisors and staff can easily find historical and current projects. Instead of having to remember the unique indexing for each project, a standardized approach to processes, documents, and storage creates simplicity.
There are countless benefits to standardizing operating procedures, including the following:
- Improved client experience. With smooth processes, clients can get a personalized and consistent experience and trust that their information is secure and compliant.
- Streamlined reporting. Clear operating procedures let advisors and staff know what needs to be reported and stored. Automation and standardization go hand in hand so that documents can be stored and information can be reported seamlessly.
- Scale efficiently. Instead of manually determining processes for each client, standard operating processes allow advisors to move clients along more quickly without sacrificing quality, allowing them to expand their bandwidth and scale the firm’s growth.
Standardization Best Practices
Even for advisors who understand the basics and importance of streamlining standard operating procedures, it can be challenging to know how to implement changes.
Start by establishing what needs to be standardized. This typically includes information about new client onboarding and new account openings. What information do you collect for every new account? What processes can be repeated for every new client? What are the steps to the ideal onboarding experience? Consider what steps and information you need for each type of account. Standardizing parameters makes it easy to create clear processes and organize searchable data. Use those parameters to create a workflow and set the foundation for what processes should look like.
Turn to trusted partners to manage leads and client onboarding. When firms know where leads and clients are in the pipelines, they can add specific scenarios to understand when and how to engage with current and potential clients.
Streamlining standard operating procedures doesn’t happen overnight. It can require trial and error and evolution, especially as client and account needs change. Everyone at the firm needs to be engaged. Successful firms leverage templates, either created custom for their firm or adapted from a template library. These templates clearly state what information needs to be gathered and empower advisors and staff to understand and follow standard operating procedures.
Above All, Integrate
Above everything else, integrations and connecting data are the best ways to standardize. Automatically syncing data between systems reduces human errors and pushes information to the next tool so that nothing slips through the cracks.
Integration allows for automated handoffs in the process. Instead of manually working through each step, integrations smoothly and seamlessly move data through customized workflows to ensure everything is done properly. For example, integrating customer data collection through PreciseFP with a CRM system makes it easy to hand off the collected client data to the next step and keep everything organized.
With over 30 integrations, PreciseFP stands out as a true leader in connectivity. Visit our partners page today to see how your existing tech stack connects with our platform.
