Given the inherent complexity of the advice process, efficiency typically manifests in the margins.
A few minutes here, an automated email send there and you've saved what seems like a negligible amount of time in one instance – even if it makes a substantial difference in the aggregate. Surely, then, it would be unrealistic to expect any one factor to have a momentous impact on overall efficiency across different advice businesses.
Well, there might just be – according to the latest Advisely Index results, there's a clear dividing line based on protocols for client data entry. Those Index users whose practices enter client data only once are, on average, producing all types of advice documentation in around a quarter of the time it takes those entering data more than three times.
Putting this in absolute terms: for those advice businesses inputting client data more than three times, it takes 16.2 hours to produce a strategy paper, 16.5 hours to produce a basic SOA, 17.2 hours to produce a complex SOA and 16.5 hours to produce review documents. If they're only entering data once, by contrast, it takes 2.8 hours for the strategy paper, four hours for a basic SOA, 7.2 hours for the complex SOA and 2.4 hours for review documents.
Don't wait, consolidate
These findings reinforce the point made by Advisely Index top-performer and Inspired Money founder Conrad Francis in his recent Advisely profile, where he emphasised the importance of having a single “source of truth” for client data across the entire business. He noted that reducing the complexity of client data management – not to mention opportunities for duplication and errors – freed him up to spend more time "getting straight into the deeper conversations" with clients.
Of course, it would be disingenuous to discuss this result in a vacuum; part of the reason client data might end up getting inputted multiple times is because of inconsistencies between different software platforms used by the business. Reflecting this, those Index participants using a single software platform are also consistently more efficient across all measured aspects of advice document production.
They're nearly 60% faster at producing a basic SOA than those businesses using two or three software platforms, for example, and 76% faster than those using four or more. For strategy papers, the difference is even starker: single-platform businesses are 85% faster than those using two or three platforms and 141% faster than those using four or more.
Where to next?
If your business is currently dependent on multiple software platforms, consolidation might seem like a daunting (and expensive) task. As we discussed back in March, the first step before making any decisions about how to proceed involves conducting an audit of your current systems.
From there, you'll need to determine what functionality (if any) would be lost via consolidation onto a single platform. If you're unsure as to where to start here, though, that's exactly what the Advisely Index benchmarking test was designed to address.
If you haven't done the test yet, go here – you'll be prompted to create an Advisely account if you haven't already – and take the five-minute test. You'll receive customised feedback based on your results which will help you determine what aspects of your advice process could benefit from more software support and automation.
For further insights, consider exploring Advisely's growing library of resources aimed at maximising the value of your advice technology:
- Saving time by automating the client review process
- A data-driven approach to client segmentation
- Why you may be overdue for a tech audit
- How to simplify client onboarding using technology
Advisely Team
