Smooth Sailing: Managing Review Meetings For Wealth Clients

Modern Salesforce Fixes for Wealth Management Firms

Nothing can compete with the thrill of the open ocean. Humans have been sailing for millennia, and the basic principles haven’t changed much.

The cries of the seagulls may evoke the bygone ages of Captain Ahab, but modern boats are outfitted with technology like radio, GPS and even sonar. This doesn’t detract from the adventurousness of cruising the waves; it only makes sailing more efficient and accessible.

Wealth management is similar. This relationship-driven business will always contain a personal element. Not only are client meetings a way to provide good service, regular review meetings are mandatory for compliance. The SEC has been known to levy hefty fines on wealth management companies that fall short on meeting with clients.

While the trusting relationships keeping wealth management afloat aren’t going to disappear despite the advent of robo-advisors, the behind-the-scenes meetings management process can benefit from a modern upgrade.

Find out how savvy Salesforce users smooth away the three main complications of managing review meetings:

1 – A Vast Ocean of Meetings

A wealth management practice can include dozens of advisors and thousands of clients. Keeping track of the meeting schedule for any one given client is tricky.

To further muddy the waters, most wealth management firms have a tiered classification system for clients. For instance, if a client invests between $100k and $500k, their advisor may want to meet them once a year. Meanwhile, a client that invested more than $1 million probably needs more attention, so it makes sense to meet them every quarter.

Now, personal preferences come into play. Some clients may not have time to meet as often as the firm recommends. On the other hand, the finicky and demanding sort can ask to meet even more frequently than company policy recommends.

All this adds up to a major headache: sorting out each client into the appropriate tier so the firm has a solid grasp on how many meetings to schedule.

The modern fix begins with feeding account balances – usually from a portfolio management system – into Salesforce. Based on the AUM across all accounts, savvy firms can build a Salesforce automation system that sorts clients into tiers effortlessly. Advisors would still be able to make changes manually for clients with unique preferences.

Think of this Salesforce automation system like carbon fiber sails on a boat: they don’t change the fundamental nature of the vessel, just boost the speed (and the cool factor).

2 – Staying the Course with Reminders

When a client is due for another review meeting, they’ll expect some sort of reminder. Yet coordinating with each client the old-fashioned way is enough to make advisors want to jump overboard.

Instead, an automated email can confirm the upcoming appointment.

This tech solution works by tracking last review dates. If Salesforce has both the last meeting date and the desired frequency of client meetings, it can easily predict the time of the next appointment. Then, the firm can decide on a threshold – for example, reminders go out one week ahead of time – and craft that email automation.
From the client perspective, this solution is convenient and intuitive, as the email also contains a booking link. The firm can make use of a tool like Calendly or Salesforce’s own Lightning Scheduler. Keep in mind that the latter can also be used by the client to self-schedule.

3 – The View From the Crow’s Nest

Just as navigating through dense fog is nerve-wracking, a lack of visibility across clients can make wealth management executives feel adrift.

The ideal fix is a dashboard displaying rankings for meetings compliance.

This last solution is pretty straightforward: the firm can create a Salesforce dashboard for a real-time, big picture view of client relationships. The display can be customized to suit the needs of the wealth management company.

For instance, the dashboard could label clients that advisors have already met as green. Cases where advisors are fulfilling compliance requirements but not company guidelines could display yellow. Clients that are overdue for their next review would be red. These red flag situations call for advisors to take the helm and swiftly book that next appointment.

Check Your Compass

The three aforementioned complications of managing client meetings can be resolved with Salesforce. Wealth management firms with strong development teams can even build the required automations alone. Others need to find a partner who can serve as a port in the storm.

However the implementation happens, the benefits are clear. Automation saves advisers time and energy. Clients don’t fall through the cracks thanks to a consistent level of service. Lastly, compliance worries fade away like a distant shore, since executives have real-time visibility into the status of review meetings.

Yet there are still a few concerns that might steer wealth management firms away from adopting Salesforce fixes.

Cost is an important consideration: the firm will have to pay for both the implementation as well as the appointment calendar app, whether Lightning Scheduler or Calendly. The other dark cloud is more subtle, but still significant. Trusting automation entails giving up control. For professionals who’ve been doing things the same way for years, setting up automated emails and dashboards is a big mindset shift.

Set Sail with Salesforce

If you’re considering hopping on board with automated Salesforce solutions for client meeting management, carefully think through the aforementioned points. That way, you’ll ensure your system is set up just right.

Your clients and advisors will undoubtedly have a better experience, but you could still battle through some storms along the way. For smooth sailing, enlist the help of an experienced implementation partner like Accelerize360.

Our team not only lives and breathes Salesforce, we also understand wealth management. Read more about it to get info you need about our industry expertise.