As a financial advisor, you’ll spend most of your time meeting clients, doing research into the best recommendations for their needs, and managing your own development, qualifications and regulatory requirements. That doesn’t really leave time for the day-to-day running of your business, and things can start to get overlooked while you concentrate on helping your clients secure their financial future. So what could you outsource to a virtual assistant in order to help things run more smoothly?
Why outsource?
It’s common for business owners to want to retain control over all aspects of the business. But in reality, this isn’t always practical – or even desirable. So it makes sense to outsource some of your tasks to a team who can take them on, carry them out efficiently and free up your valuable time so you can get on with servicing your clients and growing your business. Here, we’ve highlighted 6 everyday tasks that an independent financial advisor could outsource straight away:
1. Promoting awareness of your services and booking meetings
The independent financial advisor market is a crowded one. You need to stand out from that crowd, sharing information and showing potential clients how you can help them. So your marketing and social media approach needs to be carefully planned and executed to encourage potential clients to get in touch and book an initial meeting – and an outsourced resource can manage this for you – see Step 2 below for more on this.
When they do, a good diary management process will help to keep your business running smoothly. Scheduling meetings and organising time in the office to catch up with paperwork, prepare reports and recommendations and catch up with your business means it’s essential to have a well-organised diary. This is an easy thing to outsource and means you’re always confident you know what’s next in your day with no double-booking.
2. Website and social media management
The world of financial advice is a competitive one. You need to be active in your chosen target market, and this might include improving your presence on social media sites, and ensuring that your website is up-to-date and gives accurate information that is compliant with FCA regulations. Many advisors end up doing this late at night or over the weekends, eating into leisure and family time and often without a plan or strategy. Outsourcing these tasks can help to maintain a consistent and valuable online presence that boosts your reputation and helps to build your business.
3. Client Relationship Management
From keeping track of prospects to managing regular reviews with existing clients, virtual personal assistant services can help you manage your key client relationships. You may have software that helps you to make sure your clients are seen on time and have the updates and information they need. You can give your virtual assistant access to this system and they can manage basic client management for you. If you have just invested in a new system, a good VA can help you set it up to make sure you get the best out of it.
For an IFA, client management also covers follow-up letters, regulatory paperwork, information on funds and options and review papers. Putting all this together takes time and is easier to outsource than to do yourself.
4. Recording meeting notes and actions
You have a responsibility as a financial advisor to accurately record the content and outcome of the conversations you have with clients. Writing everything up can take precious time that you could be spending with another client, or on business development. You can use a virtual personal assistant to write up those notes for you, adding them to your client relationship management system if you have one, or just to your client’s electronic file. This service saves you masses of time that can be better spent on your business.
It’s vital that your notes are recorded accurately, so that your recommendations are based on a clear understanding of what your client’s wants and needs are. Outsourcing to a professional means you can be confident that you have an accurate chain of communication from your initial meeting to all the way through your relationship.
5. Bookkeeping
Keeping control of your own finances is just as important as managing your clients’ financial planning. Bookkeeping is a skill that makes sure your accounts are always up-to-date and reconciled, making your business accounts much easier to manage. A good virtual PA service can help you to keep on top of your books, highlight any issues and make sure they are in order when your accountant needs to see them. A good outsourced service can work with all the standard accounting systems, including Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent and Kashflow.
6. Seminar and event planning
It’s common for financial advisors to run dedicated financial planning seminars or wider events for their client base, professional partners or as ways of bringing in new business. It’s time-consuming to find and book venues, organise invitations, manage the attendees list and ensure everything runs smoothly on the day. Outsourcing these tasks gives you precious hours back, which you can then spend on the things that really matter to your business.
Time to outsource?
If you are a financial advisor and you’re ready to free up valuable time by outsourcing some or all of these key tasks, perhaps now is a good time to talk to a specialist virtual assistant. If you’re short on time, or worried you’re not keeping on top of things, and need help with outsourcing feel free to call us on 0800 994 9016 or use our contact form in the menu above.
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