Synchron: Advisers must embrace technology

In order to deliver advice that meets the needs of increasingly demanding clients and which meets more stringent compliance obligations, advisers must embrace technology, according to Synchron Director, Don Trapnell.

“Effective use of available technology is now critical in all aspects of the advice business,” Mr Trapnell said. “Using technology in the client engagement and education process, for example, is one of the ways advisers can ensure they are protecting both the client and themselves. We believe that by protecting the client, we protect the adviser and therefore adopting new practices in terms of technology is now essential in our compliance process.”

Mr Trapnell said technology is also essential in the marketing process, which is the reason Synchron engaged Tim Reid of Small Business Big Marketing to speak at the Synchron National Conference last month. “Tim showed Synchron advisers how they could leverage the technology they already have available to them to market and engage their current and potential clients,” Mr Trapnell said.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Reid said, “Advisers now have similar capabilities to big companies in terms of marketing and should be podcasting and constantly innovating to engage their clients. To market effectively, you no longer need deep pockets.”

Mr Reid also said advisers who are not using technology to share their knowledge may be doing their clients a disservice. “From the most basic to the most complicated, advisers can educate and inform their clients and potential clients via blogs, books, podcasts, social media updates, forums and presentations,” he said. “Someone has to take responsibility for educating prospects and clients so it might as well be the adviser.”

All advisers can achieve great marketing results, according to Mr Reid, if they take the initiative. “Podcasts and videos are powerful tools and all advisers can create them using equipment they already own such as a smart phone,” he said. “Technology means that as small businesses we can now all punch way above our marketing weight.”

Mr Trapnell said Synchron has always encouraged its advisers to become early adopters of new technology. “In 2010 we issued, at Synchron’s own expense, the latest iPads to all delegates at the Synchron NextGen conference and ran the entire conference on the iPad,” he said. “At our national conference this year, we upped the ante, introducing a Synchron app which kept delegates up-to-date with sessions, events and each other.”

Synchron also recently produced a video which is designed for advisers to educate their clients on the consequences of non-disclosure in the life insurance process.

As a licensee, Synchron has itself put in place leading technology which enables it to deliver on its promises to its swelling number of advisers. “We place significant emphasis on the use of technology within our licensee business,” Mr Trapnell said. “It is one of the reasons we are able, for example, to continue to pay our advisers daily. We believe we are still the only licensee in the country to do this.”

Mr Trapnell said he believes that helping advisers to embrace leading technology is one of the many reasons Synchron continues to attract new advisers and overcome competition in the non-institutional advice space.