Your success is dependent on this trust, so it’s imperative that you demonstrate that you are a safe pair of hands.
A useful exercise to help you do this might be to try to describe your value proposition as if you have never actioned a single transaction.
Remember, in a robo-enabled future, clients will be able to access basic transactional-based advice easily and at a fraction of the cost, but the value of your expertise and intellectual property will persist regardless of technological advancements.
Putting it into practice
Once you’ve finalised your value proposition, you need to find the right providers to help you deliver your business strategy. To do this, I’d recommend you first think about your destination – where would you like your business to get to in the next five, ten, twenty years?
Transforming a business can be a long process, so it’s important to align yourself with the best collaborators to help you reach your goals. Determining where you want your business to be will allow you to choose a company you can trust and which aligns with your own views, values and principles.
I’d also recommend you look for providers that can demonstrate a strong track record of reacting to change. We already know that change is a constant consideration within the Financial Services industry, so it makes sense to choose providers that have proven their ability to not only react quickly and efficiently to change, but also help you to interpret and implement such changes within your own business.
And finally, I recommend that you look for providers that can add additional value to your business. As opposed to the traditional provider/consumer style relationship that is typically prevalent in the Financial Service industry, true collaborators will support both parties’ commercial models and add value to both businesses.
The scope for new opportunities is broad, and a quality ally for an adviser firm could help with market/customer insight; data analysis; project management; automation; networking; asset migration to name just a few.
The only word of warning is to beware of false economies – relying on a variety of cheaper processes can add unnecessary complexity and cost to your business while increasing risk.
Collaborating with Standard Life
I believe Standard Life can act as a strong ally and collaborator for advice firms whereby our collective efforts amount to greater client outcomes.
With us as your provider, you will benefit from our long, solid history of working with advisers and our strong team of experts who constantly monitor the industry and world economics.
We have everything you need under one roof – technical expertise, world-class investment solutions and two distinct platform offerings designed to cater to different segments of the market: Wrap is our bespoke service supporting progressive advisers to create long-term business value through comprehensive functionality.
