Data, technology and your business proposition
Segmentation appears to be a RDR buzz word, but it implies that your data is accurate and that you have defined your business proposition. So, perhaps taking a step back for a moment, let's consider:
Your data
Data cleanliness is next to Godliness. Adviserwise recognises that there is a lot of work to be done when it comes to technology and there is an investment in your usual costs and training, but consideration of your current data and its worth must be paid. Having a system full of inaccurate, out of date information will slow you down and impair your use of electronic services such as online valuations (also known as Contract Enquiry).
To help towards getting your information cleaned, please find:
Practical Guide to contract reference number formats: Industry research has found that the number one reason for the failure of online valuations and commission is the incorrect formatting of contract/policy numbers held within an adviser's back office system. Working with the industry's leading product providers, this guide supplies the formats to help you achieve improved efficiencies.
Practical Guide to understanding contract enquiry error codes: When you get an error message, it's not always clear what the next steps should be, so we've asked the product providers to spell it out for us in this Practical Guide.
Your Business Proposition
Finding the right technology platform to support you, you need a clear understanding of your business proposition. How are you going to operate? What is your target client? How are you going to reach them and then continue to serve them? Will you have a speciality? Making sure that you are confident in your approach, the requirements for the supporting system should come easy, and so then should the right solution to help you through the RDR changes.
Adviserwise has a range of guides that are freely available to help work through different back office systems:
Choosing a Back Office System: Making sure you understand all the options, and more importantly how you see your business growing, will play important factors in making sure you choose the right back office system.
Business Practice Management: A guide written by AT8, eCommerce consultancy, gives a more detailed overview of the systems in the market and their likely costs.
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