A new web-based client engagement platform is helping advice businesses boost productivity by 30 per cent and lift profitability by up to 50 per cent, according to the system’s architect, Hans Egger.
Over 300 advisers from 32 licensees have signed up to use AstuteWheel since it was launched by technology provider, Astute Wealth, last year.
Perth-based dealer group WealthSure is also set to roll the platform out across its network of 230 authorised representatives before the end of the year.
According to Egger, who is also a financial planner, many advisers still aren’t able to articulately express their value propositions to clients, despite the enormous amount of time and money spent training advisers in the lead-up to the introduction of the Future of Financial Advice reforms.
He said AstuteWheel was designed by financial planners for financial planners, and provides a range of marketing, engagement and educational tools as well as 22 strategy modelling calculators, video emails, health check surveys and online fact finds.
Together these templates and tools make it quick and easy for advisers to explain the breadth and value of their services to clients.
“We provide a methodology for advisers to follow. This includes pre-meeting, meeting and post-meeting tools,” Egger said.
“For example, there’s an email video which replaces the old welcome kits advisers send out in the mail, which cost a lot of money to print and post, and take two to three days for the client to receive it. Furthermore, documents and information often need to be sent back to the advisers, which can take weeks if they’re sent back at all.”
Over 80 per cent of clients email or send back all the necessary forms within days.
“It’s certainly a much more efficient way to do things,” Egger, pictured right, said. AstuteWheel had been particularly well received by advisers between the ages of 30 and 50 years who had strong technical skills but who indicated they needed some help with their sales skills, he added.
“Many clients don’t fully realise what financial planners do. They often arrive at that first meeting with a pre-determined idea of the advice they need, and in the past advisers allowed those pre-determined ideas to dictate that meeting, but these templates and tools help advisers demonstrate the extent of the services they offer.”
“This often leads clients to sign up for additional services, which allows the adviser to charge more. The client is happy to pay a fee because they know the value that will be added.”
Egger estimates that Astute Wealth cost over $1 million to build with around $500,000 spent on development costs alone.
