The 401K Study Group interviews innovators in the qualified retirement plan space and recently featured our very own John Pojeta Vice President of Business and Jason Levy Vice President of Client Services. During the show, John and Jason discuss the potential impact that technology like iPads and video conferencing will have on appointment setting and the financial services and insurance industries as a whole.
We are already seeing advisors using the iPad to go paperless and to bring an element of interactivity to their meetings. With the iPad in hand, an advisor can easily enhance a discussion with graphics and media or reference relevant data. And when it comes to closing a sale, a client can use an e-signature to enter into an agreement.
We are starting to see similar growth in the use of software like Skype and GoTo Meeting.
In the next five years, we anticipate setting more appointments that will use video conference software to combat the limitations of geography and distance. While this means more new business opportunities for financial services and insurance professionals, it also means increased competition. Potentially, every professional in the industry could be in competition with every other professional in the industry.
For the experienced professional, the opportunity in this scenario is twofold, and that might not be immediately clear. Video conferencing allows an expert to better develop a relationship with a potential client by facilitating a conversation that’s more personal than a phone call. At the same time, however, this new technology cannot completely replace the power of a handshake, making the in-person meeting just as valuable as it always has been.
The leaders in the financial services and insurance industries will be the professionals that leverage both avenues, competing locally and nationally. Video conferencing will make it easier to capitalize on referrals from local business—the product of a face-to-face relationship—that might not be geographically convenient. As a producer grows his or her national presence both through referrals and through appointment setting, he can use that reputation to grow more business locally and to spearhead new markets nationally.
Advances in technology will not replace the importance of service and expertise, but for the truly enterprising professional, it will provide more tools for demonstrating the value of the services that they offer.
Listen to the 401K Study Group interview with Jason and John to learn more.