The Best of Asset-Map: The Top 10 Most-Read Blogs of 2021
2021 has been an interesting year, to say the least. We were finally able to safely attend events and see friends and family. But during it all, we kept going forward!
In the spirit of year-end roundups, we wanted to share our top 10 blogs of 2021!
#1 - The 2021 T3 Survey Results are In—and Asset-Map Comes Out on Top
One of the deepest and most widely-read wealth management software research reports released its 2021 edition, and we’re loving the results.
Click here to download the 2021 T3 and Inside Information survey results to read the report for yourself.
In this blog, we’ll draw your attention to Asset-Map’s placement in the Financial Planning software category.
#2- 5 Questions Every Financial Advisor Should Ask During Every Meeting
The difference between an average advisor and an excellent one is often a thin line between which of the two is a better communicator.
Being a great communicator isn’t all about talking, of course; you have to know when it’s time to listen.
But some clients themselves aren’t good communicators. If you want to provide the best possible financial advice, you also have to know how to pull information out of them.
In other words, you have to know how to ask the right questions.
To help you make the most of every meeting, here are the five essential questions that advisors should ask during every client meeting. Read the blog here.
#3 - 3 Things Every Advisor Should Do to Increase Referrals
Nobody likes the fear of missing out. Whether you’re overhearing your friends talk about a movie you haven’t seen (spoiler alert!) or listening to your neighbors discuss how nearly everyone on the block has been going to the same dentist for years, feeling excluded stings.
So how do you make your firm the buzzworthy talk of the town that people don’t want to miss out on? It starts with a solid referral process.
Easier said than done, we know. The challenges brought about by the pandemic added an extra layer of complication to the referral process last year, leading to an overall decline in requests industrywide.
#4 - 8 Essential Pieces of the Modern Client Experience
The modern client experience is a combination of multiple factors:
digital and in-person interaction
24/7 and office hours only
one-on-one and mass communications
How these factors are combined varies from firm to firm, but there are eight essential elements of the modern client experience that every advisor should focus on optimizing if they want to grow.
#5 - Welcome to the Next Evolution of Asset-Map
This redesign is the result of years of internal discussion and feedback from our best-in-class subscribers.
You can think of these changes as a minor retooling of some core aspects of the user experience as well as a fresh set of clothes for a product that has grown considerably since version 2.0 over five years ago.
Find out about the next evolution here.
#6 - The Financial Advisor’s Complete Guide to Retention and Growth
Building a long-term firm requires determination, patience, a little bit of luck, and a lot of planning.
One of the top ways you can work toward building a long-term firm is by hiring long-term advisors and employees. The longer people stay with a firm, the more loyal they become. There are countless positive benefits of building a solid hiring and retention plan.
The cost of turnover can be anywhere from 50% to 200% of an advisor’s annual compensation. Losing employees is hard for any firm, and losing highly skilled employees can have ripple effects throughout your company long after someone leaves.
#7 - 3 Ways Restaurants Can Teach You to Be a Better Financial Advisor
The restaurant industry had a hard year. One study found that by December 2020, nearly 17% of restaurants had closed in the past six months, in large part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the restaurant industry, and the people who work in it, are resilient. I know, because I was once a busboy.
Even in a time like today where the industry is struggling, there are still many lessons that financial professionals can take away if they look to the industry for inspiration.
I’m confident that in the coming months, restaurants will stage a big comeback. As they do, keep your eye on which ones stand out the most.
Read our blog to find out three ways they do it, and how you can apply their principles to your own financial advisory practice.
#8 - The Value of Cash Flow Planning with Target-Maps
Have you ever run into a situation where a client has asked if you can help them quickly determine if they can reach a new goal in light of the other financial commitments they have?
For example, let’s say they're already planning for retirement, funding education expenses for their two kids, and paying off their home mortgage ten years early.
But the day before your meeting they saw a lake house listed at a great price. They want to know how it will impact their other goals if they buy that second home.
In most cases, you might need to take time after the meeting to go back and review their plan, run some calculations, and then present an updated plan to them. Meanwhile, your client is sitting at home waiting for an answer.
Helping clients to understand their financial situation and see the possible gaps in their plan is just the first step in using Asset-Map to influence your conversations.
Read more about the full value of Target-Maps and how they support your planning process.
#9 - Post COVID-19 Shifts in Financial Advice: The Delivery of Financial Advice in 2023
The delivery of financial advice will never be the same. The pandemic of 2020 made sure of this. We should be grateful.
Since the dawn of time, financial advice has been delivered by advisors and the like via the brick & mortar and belly-to-belly model. This included things like driving to clients’ homes, meeting at the advisor’s office, sharing paper presentations, using whiteboards, going to networking events, cold calling, and of course the dreaded door knocking.
Read the blog written by Derek Notman, Virtual CFP and Founder of Conneqtor.
#10 - How to Build a Client Experience that Makes Your Job Easier
More than 300,000 people are currently classified as “personal financial advisors” in the US, and that number will likely surpass 400,000 within a couple of years. It can be hard to stand out in such a large (and rapidly growing) crowd.
To capture attention, independent advisors rely on a veritable alphabet soup of certifications in addition to identifiers like “fiduciary” and “fee-based,” but for our money, the top differentiating factor we see advisors wielding successfully comes down to one thing:
Client experience.
But putting together the right client experience is about more than just picking what delights your clients—it has to serve both you and your firm. If you build an incredible experience that takes up all your time, inevitably you will suffer as you add clients.
Look at the three core elements that can help you create a client experience that serves your firm, improves client relationships, and makes your job easier at the same time.