Saying so long to paper
In my practice, we have stopped printing completely. We used to pay about $600 per month for printer toner and maintenance. We also had to purchase a new printer every few years. We now create online folders for all our client data and forms that sit in one location on OneDrive, and every team member can access them. We also turned some paper-based checklists we used for client files to online forms or PDF templates that we can edit and store in the cloud. All of the advice documents are now just sent to clients as PDFs.
In addition, our whole practice uses electronic-signing software such as DocuSign to get contracts, applications and advice documents signed off by clients. This makes it really easy for clients and, in the majority of cases, we have signed paperwork back from the client within an hour.
—Aaron Kane, AFA, B Bu, Rowville, Victoria, Australia, 7-year member
Auto referral
The drive for efficiency forced me to record some videos to explain planning ideas and concepts that I can send to a client in advance of a meeting. This has been very well received and has cut down the length of my meetings. More importantly, it gets a client thinking about relevant issues and questions in advance of the meeting.
It has also meant that people are using it as an auto referral tool, by sending a link to their friends they believe could also benefit from the information. Some are doing this even without my asking them.
—Bhupinder S. Anand, ACII, Dip PFS, London, England, UK, 25-year member
Free will
In the past year, we wrote to all of our estate planning clients and said, “Don’t forget, your children qualify for a free will.” We were targeting, obviously, the ones who have kids over the age of 18. So I’ve been picking up referrals to the clients’ kids. It’s a chance to start having conversations with them and start getting things in place.
—Craig Palfrey, CFP, Cardiff, Wales, UK, 12-year member
Time in, not timing
I tell clients, “It’s all about the time in the market, not timing the market.” The best way to make money is to stay invested over the long term and systematically set aside money via dollar cost averaging rather than fretting over finding the best time to invest.
—Carol Kheng, ChFC, Singapore, 23-year member
Zoom catch-up
One thing that we have done successfully is a Zoom catch-up where several advisors meet to share ideas through what is essentially a virtual MDRT Speaks session. The format is simple: A few members each give a 10-minute presentation on what they’re doing within their practice that others could benefit from. Then three more presenters share two-minute tips. We have run three of these so far, and they have been fantastic. It’s great to see friendly faces on the screen and share in the MDRT fellowship, even if it is virtual until we meet up again.
—Mathew Thomas Fogarty, CFP, Dip FP, Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia, 18-year member
Become claim-centric
It doesn’t matter how good you are at selling a policy if you don’t handle the claim properly. Create a claim-centric practice. Make all of your office practices compassionate, professional and efficient. At a time when so many things are going wrong, make this experience memorable for being right.
—Meagan S. Balaneski, CFP, RFP, Vermilion, Alberta, Canada, 8-year member
Association partnership
We secured an exclusive referral partnership with an association with thousands of business members. We provide them all the tools we would provide a client, and the association in turn refers us and markets our services to their members. We have had dozens of new business clients as a result of this partnership. It truly is a win-win partnership.
—Anthony Nicholas Goebel, LUTCF, Eldorado, Wisconsin, USA, 7-year member
Reinvest and retain
Recently I did a financial health checkup of one of my existing clients whose policy was maturing. I asked him what he was going to do with the maturity proceeds, which was quite a substantial amount. He was unsure, so I forwarded a unique questionnaire to him and requested he fill out all the details. This tool basically generates a report which helps the client to see his savings index, debt index, protection index and retirement index. After getting the report, he called and said his indexes all look good and he didn’t immediately require the amount. So he reinvested the amount for another five years, and thus I retained my client.
—Plabita Priyadarshi, Mumbai, India, 9-year member
Indirect contact
I usually use KaKaoTalk messenger to communicate with clients. The public, particularly the younger generation, is getting more and more accustomed to indirect contact using a messenger app rather than contacting or meeting directly, and the success rate of telephone calls is falling. When I have to prospect or make new sales to existing clients, I make a list early in the morning and send them text messages saying hello and explaining why we need to meet. Calling them upon their response to this message reduces both our burdens, and the rate of closing a sale increases.
—Jae Seok Park, Seoul, South Korea, 9-year member
Map it out with the team
If you map out your processes by yourself, you miss a lot. I have sessions with my staff and re-engineer our processes with them. In doing this, I saw more with the team than I would have solo, and we rebuilt the processes around our clients so we became more customer-centric.
—Jose Victor Vuilleumier Valdez, LUTCF, FSCP, Jalisco, Mexico, 10-year member
Cooperation is key
To establish mutual referrals for clients, I work with a banker, an investment consultant and a property agent who handles overseas property investments. This cooperation enables me to not only assist clients in solving insurance problems, but also gain access to other professionals when making financial planning for clients. With the assistance of the other professionals, I can solve more of clients’ financial planning problems and make diversified financial arrangements. In addition, I have also received many referrals from bankers and property investment consultants that have expanded my client base.
—Chan Mou Hon Terence, Hong Kong, China, 14-year member
Yes, no, maybe
Here is a way to reduce the number of switches in your day. If you can do that, you can radically decrease the amount of time it takes to complete pretty much everything. One simple system is what I call the “yes, no, maybe list.” You sit down with a gatekeeper and list the people to always let through — your best clients, your spouse — in the “yes” column. In the “no” column is anyone who is getting in the way of or interrupting your work. And then the “maybe” column is “check with me first,” such as your mid-level clients.
—Dave Crenshaw, 2020 Top of the Table Annual Meeting speaker
