Six advisors found digital solutions for growing their businesses ...

COVER STORY

TECH TALK Six advisors found digital solutions for growing their businesses. Jay Palter drilled down to see how they did it and how you can, too

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Over the past decade, mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and notebooks have eclipsed desktop computers to become the most widely used consumer technology on the planet. So what has all this digital technology done for your business lately? We spoke with six advisors who are using technology effectively to move their businesses forward in the 21st century. What emerges clearly from these stories is that no matter what kind of practice you run, the future is digital.

Natalie Jamison

TWEETING FOR AUM

ILLUSTRATION: DREAMSTIME; (Natalie Jamison) LINDSAY BARROWCLIFFE, SMALL ANT PRODUCTIONS

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alfway through her 20-year career as a financial advisor, Natalie Jamison decided to refocus her practice on answering the financial questions her women clients consistently asked her. Online social networking was one of the key strategies Jamison employed to reach her target market. And her platform of choice was Twitter. Tweeting under the handle @womenandwealth, she has amassed a following of more than 3,000 and has built many valuable relationships. Originally, she used Twitter as a way to stay informed about relevant news of the day. “Eventually, I found that it was a great way to start conversations, gather opinions, and improve my public image,” says Jamison, associate director, wealth management at Scotia Wealth Management in Oakville, Ont. Jamison is highly strategic about how and why she uses Twitter. She says she only spends 15 minutes a day on it, sometimes in five-minute increments, so it’s manageable within her busy schedule. More importantly, she uses Twitter to educate people by sharing relevant information that pertains to their financial lives. And she’s discovered that paying attention to and complimenting others who are sharing great information is one of the best ways of building her own following and reputation — a strategy that also works in life, she points out. In 2009, Jamison started tweeting out financial tips on Fridays (using the hashtag #FinancialFridays) and continues to this day. She also tweets about her personal interests, such as parenting, cooking, and kickboxing. “When I showcase not only my professional side but also my personal side, then I am more likely to attract followers with similar interests. This is how connections start,” Jamison says. Jamison dabbles in other social networks, as well. She uses Facebook for maintaining strictly personal connections. And she tries to stay active on LinkedIn, “because people will Google you and your LinkedIn profile comes up first.” Her LinkedIn profile showcases her awards and commitment to philanthropy, and Jamison thinks this has certainly contributed to her winning some new clients. But it’s her relationship building on Twitter that has

delivered the most benefits. Jamison points out that while her time investment is very small, she has developed many local contacts and referral sources — and considerable new business. “Approximately $3 million in assets under management have come to me as a direct result of being on Twitter.” Coordinates

Twitter: twitter.com/womenandwealth Website: jamison.ca JUNE / JULY 2016 FORUM 13

COVER STORY

Lawrence Ian Geller

PAYING IT FORWARD

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Ron Malis

CARVING OUT A NICHE

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on Malis entered the advisory business almost a decade ago, after a previous career in the non-profit sector. Working as a financial advisor for Independent Financial Concepts Group Ltd. in Toronto, Malis has sought to establish a niche of working with parents of children with disabilities. Starting with a custom-designed website and a social media presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, Malis focused on developing virtual seminars, or webcasts, to grow his reputation and his practice. Aiming for four to six webcasts per year, Malis plans each event to run about 60 to 90 minutes, during which he makes a presentation and then opens it up for questions from the participants. In addition to a good webcam and some lighting, he uses GoToMeeting (which costs $50 a month) for the webcast, and EventBrite (free, since the event is free) to register participants. To promote each webcast, Malis sends an email to his list of several hundred people, including a number of disability organizations. Since the webcast is educational, these organizations will often share the event with their members. Facebook postings made by Malis and others in the disability community help further spread the word. Typically, anywhere from 25 to 50 people register for each event, of which about 50 per cent actually show up to the webcast. “Webcasts are really helpful for me,” Malis says. “Calls come anywhere from a few days to a few months later. One recent lead came through a family member that was on the webcast.” For Malis, these webcasts are one of his primary and most effective prospecting methods. Coordinates

Website: ronmalis.com

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awrence Ian Geller owns and operates For Advisors Only Inc. (FAO), an email discussion board and website that features news and information about the insurance and financial services industries in Canada and elsewhere around the world. In addition to overseeing the operation of the site, Geller also invests as much as a full day each week reading and reviewing online news sources with a view to sharing that content with his list. An insurance industry veteran based in Campbellville, Ont., Geller was an early adopter of digital technology. As far back as 1995, Geller and several agents in the U.S. contributed to the forerunner to FAO, called FBOExchange (For Brokers Only Exchange), as a way to share information of interest with financial advisors. FBO grew to 8,000 subscribers and was eventually sold by the owner to the U.S. National Insurance Association. Picking up where FBO left off, Geller launched FAO in 2000 with only 150 members. Today, Geller updates the FAO website and email list about 10 times each day. His subscribers include 1,800 individuals or shops that receive these updates either in real time or as nightly digests, plus an undisclosed number of read-only list members. Last year, Geller created an FAO LinkedIn Group that has already grown to more than 1,200 members.

PHOTO: (Ron Malis) AVITAL ZEMER; (Christine LaLiberté) RANDAL KURT, BEMOVED MEDIA INC.

FAO doesn’t earn Geller any real revenue. In fact, over the years it has cost him money to operate, though now the costs are largely offset by a combination of sponsorships and donations from members. There is no doubt that Geller’s early adoption of digital tools has enhanced his profile and reputation in the insurance industry. When pressed on the benefits FAO has contributed to his insurance practice itself, Geller gets philosophical. In his early years in the business, he describes going to an experienced colleague and asking for help. Geller says he got the help on the agreement that he would share his knowledge and experience with others. FAO is part of Geller’s commitment to serve his industry and fellow advisors and pay his experience forward. His 40-year track record doing just that is proof positive of his success. Geller also operates websites for living organ donors and for the recipients of organ transplants where he posts curated content, and a website for those interested in buying or selling insurance and financial services practices. When asked how he makes time for FAO, his other activities, and his practice, Geller speaks about three things that work for him. First, he concentrates on one to-do item at a time and then moves on to the next thing instead of attempting to multitask many things. Second, his clients tend to be busy professionals who prefer conference calls and emails over face-to-face meetings. This allows him to dedicate his time that would otherwise be spent in traffic. Finally, Geller is an insurance specialist, with a focus on living benefits and fully guaranteed insurance products. This allows him to work in an arena that he knows well without constantly having to reinvent the wheel. A former mentor once told him that some people have years of experience, while others have one year’s experience over and over as they constantly try to reinvent themselves and their practice. Geller prefers the former. Coordinates

Website: foradvisorsonly.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/groups/3672866

Christine LaLiberté, CIM, FCSI

DIGITAL TOOLS FOR A TRADITIONAL PRACTICE

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hristine LaLiberté set up her first website back in 2010 and filled it with information to help her clients and prospects build their knowledge and financial literacy. The website worked well for its time, but by 2015 a rebranding was in order, says LaLiberté, a senior investment advisor and insurance advisor at HollisWealth in Surrey, B.C. Employing beautifully crafted photography and video production, LaLiberté is able to stand out from the crowd of advisors who are using stock photography or making their own talking head videos on the cheap. LaLiberté’s online branding conveys an intimacy and personal touch that she embodies in her practice. Facebook is the social network of choice for LaLiberté’s practice. Her clients skew a bit older and therefore are more likely to be on Facebook, where they stay connected with their adult children and grandchildren, than on any other network. Clients connect with her, as well as each other, on Facebook, creating relationships that tie her clients together as a community. LaLiberté also leverages the business network LinkedIn to stay visible among her key centres of influence and like-minded peers. She actively shares relevant content and regularly publishes her own views. Since becoming more active and visible on LinkedIn, LaLiberté reports an increase in requests to write articles and speak at industry events. The key takeaway from LaLiberté’s online success is this: Even traditional practices that don’t have a particularly digitally savvy client base can still use digital tools served up in a way that older clients want to use them. Coordinates

Website: insightfulwealthgroup.com Facebook: facebook.com/InsightfulWealthGroup

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COVER STORY Shannon Lee Simmons, CFP, CIM

THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES hannon Lee Simmons thinks she may have cracked the code for building a fee-only advice business. Combining one-on-one consultation with DIY personal finance education courses, Simmons has built a digitally savvy practice that portends the future of the financial industry. Simmons launched the New School of Finance in 2011 and the online school in the fall of 2015. She has a three-month waiting list. When I ask her what’s wrong with the “old school” of finance, she explains that her clients are looking not only for new modes of interaction, but also for advice that suits their way of living. They may have a two-car garage, she explains, but they don’t necessary have two cars in it. Simmons leverages digital technology in every aspect of her business. Her website offers DIY online courses — some for free and others for a fee. She markets the online courses via her email list of almost 5,000 and has a 40 per cent conversion rate from free to paid courses. Her quirky videos — such as the one where she promotes the tax preparation course in a song she wrote and sang to the tune of the Game of Thrones theme — helps encourage people to share the emails with friends. Clients can sign up on the New School of Finance website for a consultation that Simmons often delivers via such web conferencing tools as Skype or Google Hangouts. As much as 20 per cent of her current fee-for-service advice is provided via online consultations, which is helping her grow a big base of support in the Vancouver area. (Simmons is physically based in Toronto.) It may come as no surprise that Simmons is a big social media user, but unlike most other advisors she’s not a big LinkedIn user. “It’s not where my target market is, so it’s not where I hone my brand or showcase it,” she says. 16 FORUM JUNE / JULY 2016

Of course, Simmons is active on Twitter, but it’s her use of Instagram that is truly innovative for a financial advisor. Her Instagram account @therealselfies highlights the real, unspoken costs that are often lurking behind the lifestyle sharing on social media. For Simmons, this is about visualizing financial advice. It’s also about showing the personal side of the professional advisor. “Social media shows how passionate we are about our craft. I want people to know I’m a super money dork,” Simmons says. As for return on all this investment in

digital, Simmons points to her online courses that currently generate 10 to 15 per cent of her revenue and are growing and scalable. And 80 per cent of her business is word-ofmouth enabled by digital tools and social networks. After releasing her free tax planning video, she booked a month of appointments in eight hours. Now, who wouldn’t want a response like that? Coordinates

Website: shannonleesimmons.com Twitter: twitter.com/shanleesimmons Instagram: instagram.com/therealselfies

PHOTO: (Shannon Lee Simmons) ROSTYSLAV RULOV

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and social media advertising, particularly on Facebook. The response was extraordinary. Even though Dahmer is based on Ontario, 60 per cent of his leads came from the western provinces. In order to serve these prospects, Dahmer utilized GoToMeeting for the Step Two consultation meetings. The unique nature of the Emeritus business structure has them actively serving clients across the country. This initiative generates a substantial portion of the company’s new client business. As Dahmer puts it, “It’s a lot more fun having new prospects chasing you, as opposed to having it the other way around.” 

Doug Dahmer, CFP, TEP, MBA

RETIREMENT INCOME PLANNING

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oug Dahmer has been helping clients optimize their retirement income for many years. As CEO and founder of Emeritus Financial Strategies™ in Burlington, Ont., Dahmer set out to create more public awareness around the concept of a Retirement Income Planner. As boomers redefine retirement, they are looking for greater expertise as they transition from their saving years to their spending years. With that in mind, Dahmer built a Canada Pension Plan Optimization process divided into two distinct phases, each supported by powerful projection tools: Raising awareness of the significant financial implications of not mak-

ing the right decision of when to start your CPP; and prescribing to individuals their optimal CPP start dates. Marketing of his pension optimization calculator combined traditional media relations, newspaper articles, blog posts, banner ads on news sites,

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CPP Optimizer: cppoptimizer.com Website: emeritusfinancial.com

JAY PALTER is a digital and social media strategist, specializing in financial services businesses. He can be reached at [email protected].

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