A few weeks ago, I sat down with Bob Mazzarella, our new CEO, and former president of Fidelity Brokerage Services. The following was Bob's view on mobility spending in the advisor space.
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The ability to view a composite
of market data, portfolio and performance reporting, alerts, and access to
customer contact information greatly enhances an advisor’s ability to serve the
client. That level of account insight also delivers a message to the client
that his account is well cared for at all times, regardless of the whereabouts
of his advisor. That level of account insight also allows the advisor to
allocate less time to serving more clients, while allocating more time to
prospecting. This reallocation of the advisor’s available time results in a
larger book of business and reduced client attrition, which, combined, amounts
to increased margin and net revenue for the firm.
As firms decide how to spend
money, too often the decision is slowed as a result of budget, with statements
such as “I don’t have the budget” or “I have to cut costs.” However, in an
environment in which there is a need to increase business, firms have to look at
how spending relates to revenue growth. A CFO, faced with the opportunity to
spend money that will gain a customer and more revenue won’t hesitate to do so.
Firms must look at the money spent to acquire customers more as a “cost of goods
sold” rather than an expense item on the budget. Mobility has been proven to
greatly enhance the ability to increase net revenue, clearly defining the
expense as a cost of goods sold, and removing the concern of where it falls in
a budget plan.
The implementation of a mobile
solution begins with adding more time and ends with adding more revenue.
Technology will, as it always has elsewhere, change the way advisors do business.
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What do you think about this?