07 Mar Choosing the right CRM system

This article will identify and explain some of the different software and tools available to Independent Financial Advisers in order to efficiently advise their clients and help meet  regulatory requirements. The changes in legislation shortly upon the IFA's means that Independent Financial Advisers are now under huge pressure to ensure everything is in place, to meet the regulatory requirements of RDR (Retail Distribution Review), TCF (Treating Customers Fairly), just to mention a few. In  order to survive they  need to have a firm understanding  of their customer’s overall short, medium and long term situation, and IFA’s need to  use their resources effectively to  demonstrate  to the regulators that they give  best advice to their clients and document all of the process . In order to do this effectively, IFA’s need to determine which system will help their clients with the most efficiency, given the various systems at their disposal, which all individually cater to specific needs and requirements. One such system is Intelligent Office by IntelliFlo, one of the leading Practice Management Providers. This system is particularly beneficial to businesses where the clients overall  situation is managed and is constantly updated to give the live and up to date situation. IntelliFlo’s Intelligent Office prides itself on its speed and ease of use due to the fact that data need only be entered once and can be used and reused as the client sees fit. This is predominantly helpful for keeping the portfolio current and up to date, as all data is gathered with very little effort. One advantage that Intelligent Office has is that it’s extras are much more simplistic than other similar programmes, who’s interfaces can be sophisticated to the point of confusion. However, the drawbacks to this are while the interface would be simplistic to an expert, to a novice the prospect of navigating Intelligent Office can initially be daunting This would probably pose no problem to a regular user, who would be able to deal with the diverse functionality. However IntelliFlo insist that the interface can be tailored to suit the user, so the problem is somewhat avoidable, despite how steep the learning curve is. Another system commonly used by IFAs is Assureweb.  This service is one that provides  online quotation  services.  One of the great benefits of using Assureweb and other such quotation platforms such as the Avelo Exchange is that it integrates with Intelligent Office and other systems, so that all the records may be stored in the clients record within Intelligent Office in one place, and serves as a reference  which also ensures  consistency and reliability. Intelligent Office is used for day-to-day tracking of the whole picture of a clients holistic planning, Assureweb, is  more of an aid, as to which contract would be the most appropriate for the client’s needs  depending on a number of requirements and factors.   The needs of clients may require a wider scope of the market in order to fully assess where the business should be placed.  Fortunately for the IFA there are many systems in place that fulfil this role; most notably the Capita Synaptic Comparator Tool. This system allows the IFA's to compare  all aspects of the market and view all the related charges, which then allows them to achieve the most efficient and cost effective solution for the client. In conclusion, IFA’s will now be relied on as heavily as ever by the clients, and will therefore need to be increasingly aware of both client’s needs and  to demonstrate the research which has taken place to ensure the best contract for the client. Whilst there are numerous programmes available, it is up to the IFA to choose the most efficient system to achieve the best results for the client’s needs.