The current COVID-19 pandemic is a multi-layered crisis. First and foremost, it poses a potential devasting health risk to our nation. But the social and economic toll caused by our necessary response to the threat has taken a terrible toll on every aspect of our economy from instability on Wall Street to business closures and lay-offs on Main Street.
Our industry has been heavily impacted by all of the above. We need to support the health of our community while super-serving clients who are understandably unsettled about their financial future.
In these turbulent times, firms that have deployed Benjamin, the industry’s premier cloud A.I. assistant, report an increased ability to meet heightened client expectations, including a demand for prompt and personal contact. Benjamin integrates these firms’ software tools and automates time-consuming and menial yet imperative tasks, giving advisors more time to foster value-added customer relationships through this difficult passage.
Here are some of the ways Benjamin is serving as a force multiplier:
Monitoring new monies. Benjamin tracks the creation of new accounts, as well as transfers and rollovers. It also flags any additional capital clients might add to take advantage of the market. With Benjamin on the job, it doesn’t matter which team member a client contacts about making a capital infusion, the client’s advisor and her team will be promptly notified of the move.
Watching cash positions. Benjamin can provide a morning re-cap of large cash positions. This information can help advisors understand which clients are in a place to either take advantage of a looming market opportunity, such as a dip in market valuations. Conversely, Benjamin can also generate a list of accounts or households that need to generate more cash in this challenging time. That information can be shown as either a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the portfolio. Benjamin’s robust communications functionality allows the firm to quickly notify clients of a trade made to improve their position, thus heading off calls and emails asking about the move.
Arranging client calls. Benjamin can schedule phone calls and communicate with the client to confirm the time and agenda. These sessions can be booked on-demand or based on different profiles – younger clients, clients taking an income, clients with a certain allocation, clients who have seen their portfolio drop by a certain amount, et cetera.
Handling meeting prep. Where was the client’s account at the beginning of the year? Where is it now? What trades have been made? All of this information and more must be at the advisor’s fingertips to have an effective and valuable conversation with her client. This is especially true now.
Benjamin can gather all the necessary information and deliver it for the advisor’s review before the meeting. This capability frees both advisors and their assistants to spend more time personally interacting with clients and handling more delicate tasks and comforting clients in these times.
Improving meeting follow-up. Back-to-back meetings are tough to juggle. Benjamin helps ease the workload by coordinating the notes from client meetings and calls based on information in your calendar. This function ensures that everything gets documented and follow-through tasks are scheduled and executed. Benjamin follows up with the advisor after phone calls, or video conferences and pushes the notes and next-steps into the CRM.
Sending notification texts to client groups. Firms and advisors have to make quick decisions in times like these to ensure that our clients’ portfolios stay aligned with their goals and objectives. Over-communication can help stave off reactionary emails and phone calls after such a rapid reaction move or non-move. Whether the firm needs to explain why it is continuing to hold Boeing as it drops off a cliff or trading out of BSV to create cash, Benjamin can quickly identify the clients who were impacted and allow the firm to send a text (and archive it in the advisors CRM) to explain and engage with that group.
Thee are difficult times. And while the current crisis will undoubtedly pass, more change, upheaval, and unpredictability lie ahead. With Benjamin’s powerful capabilities, financial advisors can show their clients they are providing the most responsive and highest degree of service, yet still have the time to listen and discuss what’s concerning them most about their financial future during these challenging times.
