by: Andrea Bullard
The vast majority of financial reps have businesses that are "people-dependent." This is a huge problem because people make mistakes, people leave the business, and people do not always agree on priorities.
This problem creates the following:The majority of financial reps have to continually ask their staff questions regarding customer service, underwriting, appointments, etc. because they have not created a concise communication system. Every time they ask a question, it costs them time and money.
The majority of financial reps have not created an exact system for their paperwork, files, and paperwork flow. They and their staff lose papers, and files and spend time looking for information. Again, this costs them both time and money. In addition, it robs them of "peace of mind."
We are in the Information Age. Therefore, staff are getting information from e-mails, voice-mails, phone calls, the U.S. Mail, and verbal requests from the rep. Most staff work from a tedious, long, "to do list" which is probably generated from a company chosen client management program. Therefore, they are working extremely inefficiently going from customer service to proposal work to underwriting in a course of one-half hour. Most staff need help in organizing and prioritizing their work so they can maximize productivity.
Most financial reps do not have a system which allows one of their staff to take the responsibility of making certain all the case prep is finished 5 days before the next appointment. Most reps are personally handling this aspect of their business. Thus, cases are being prepped an hour before meetings and the rep continually feels "overwhelmed" because there is so much to manage in his practice. He does not have a system for delegation and management of case prep.
Most financial reps do not have an accountability system for their assistants. Rather, they rely on trust. For example, assistants generally handle all the customer service work for a financial rep. I often ask reps how they know what customer service is needed and whether or not it is being completed and accurately recorded. Inevitably, the financial rep will respond by stating that the assistant handles customer service and does a good job. In our litigious world, trust is a dangerous way to run a business, especially when you are dealing with money and finance. If a client is going to sue, he will sue you, not your assistant.
Communication is a key to success in every business. Every business should have an Employee Manual communicating rules, vacation days, sick days, etc. Very few financial reps have an office manual written specifically for their business.
Every business owner should have hiring procedures that will lead to great employees. Again, most financial reps have no hiring systems. Hiring, therefore, is not strategic and can lead to selecting the wrong individuals for your team.
Lastly, most financial reps will not take the time to create office systems because they do not know how to organize and systematize their business or are not willing to spend years on creating these systems.
Our office systems will help both the new and veteran financial rep. Once you have implemented these you will have more time, exact order, paper and files flowing away from you to your staff, a paperless desk, exact communication among your staff and finally, more peace to do what you love to do---just see people.