With half the world seeming to watch the other half through Skype and other online video tools, you would think that I would have no trouble finding financial advisers who use video conferencing effectively in their practices.
Wrong.
I have yet to find many advisers who have mastered the powerful, albeit imperfect, medium, which is why I think that you will find the experience of Greg Gilbert interesting.
His adoption of video at his Oakland, Calif.-based Infinity Financial Services — and his making it an integral part of the firm's marketing and client service processes — may be a function of his location and target market: executives at up-and-coming technology companies in nearby Silicon Valley.
Whatever the reason, video is working very successfully at Infinity.
Prospects and clients seem to like video because as busy professionals, they find it too difficult to arrange their schedules for in-person meetings, especially a session with an adviser that they think may not lead anywhere anyway. It is far simpler to click a link.
To make video possible, Infinity's advisers use either the Adobe Connect or Cisco WebEx meeting services, from Adobe Systems Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc., respectively. The choice is based on what is needed for the particular call.
Both services allow advisers to stream live video of themselves easily, as well as share a view of their desktop with prospects and clients by e-mailing them a link to click on.
Mr. Gilbert said that while he prefers the look and feel of the WebEx interface, the Adobe Connect service allows him and his advisers to give brief access to their desktops to clients. The access allows clients to type in account access passwords themselves.
Ironically, Mr. Gilbert has found that it doesn't much matter if the client uses a webcam during a call.
“Part of building credibility is them seeing you,” said Mr. Gilbert, who added that getting the client end of the video call up and running can add a lot of unnecessary complexity because so much depends on hardware and software compatibility, as well as the vagaries of their Internet connection.
Because Infinity's advisers use the services regularly, they have overcome most glitches.
Once the video connection is made, initial meetings are pretty straightforward.
Infinity's advisers can aggregate, in real time, the prospect's account data using Intuit Inc.'s ClientCentral service and then feed the data into
Finance Logix
financial planning software from Oltis Software LLC. As I have noted in the past, this software has proved popular with advisers because it can be used to perform colorful, intuitive and interactive consultations with clients.
What makes Infinity's use of video noteworthy isn't so much its mix of technologies but its process and marketing approaches.
Mr. Gilbert, a certified financial planner, started out as a broker with Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., moved to LPL Financial for a few years and then set up Infinity with a partner as its own broker-dealer in 2004. He said that his initial $500 planning consultation, which is usually waived, is key to landing clients.
WOOING PROSPECTS
“So far, we've used video with 300 prospects and, sure, many of them say, "No thank you,' but quite a few come back and take it to the next level,” said Mr. Gilbert, who operates his own registered investment advisory firm through Infinity. The hybrid structure allows his firm to provide fee-based advice as well as commission-based transactions.
To find prospects for Infinity's initial video planning call, the firm's business development group uses social media, especially LinkedIn, and traditional name-gathering methods. After e-mails, phone calls and a collection of some basic personal information from the prospect, an appointment is scheduled with Mr. Gilbert or another adviser.
After a prospect becomes a client, the video engagement continues.
Those calls usually are made with Cisco WebEx so that the firm's advisers can use the many tools in
Morningstar Office to help clients come up with an investment strategy that meshes with their needs. The adviser and client then can reset allocations and adjust portfolio holdings immediately.
Infinity's experience demonstrates that if the underlying business practices make sense, technology need not be perfect or even all that cutting-edge to make a major difference in an adviser's business.
Related stories:
How technology can convert do-it-yourselfers
A solution for financial advisers who are tired of client data entry
A better(ment) mousetrap for the mass affluent?
A different approach to high-tech planning
E-mail Davis D. Janowski at djanowski@investmentnews.com.
