Leveraging technology in your sales effort

At SunStar Strategic’s Annual Client Conference earlier this month, Ridgeworth Investments wowed the crowd with before and after shots of their communications materials – and did so with an iPad-based presentation. 

Traditionally, investment advisor commentaries, reports and client letters have been text-heavy, perhaps appearing even dry, plain and cumbersome to read by the average client or advisor. Even with the vast array of desktop publishing software available, many fund companies are still producing strictly text-dense materials.

SIMPLIFY  AND PERSONALIZE YOUR COMMENTARIES AND UPDATES

David Craig, Ridgeworth Investments' Director of Marketing, humbly admitted RidgeWorth was guilty of publishing “boring” materials as recently as 2008, showing the group a sample commentary filled with nothing but large chunks of text. In the last few years, his firm changed their way of thinking, which gradually begot a more interactive product.

“The most important thing is not you,” Craig said.
“Advisors only care about you if you can add value.”
This philosophy created a client-centric lens for creating new materials. 

2011 Commentary

Initially, to make commentaries livelier for advisors, they added color, logos, and color coding as well as  rearranged the sections to be tailored to audience preference.  Later, they integrated the report with their CRM data to showcase other Ridgeworth products being used by advisors at the recipient’s firm,  demonstrating RidgeWorth’s attention to audience.

“PRESENT YOUR PRESENTATIONS,”  DON’T MAKE THE VIEWER READ
They didn’t stop there, but applied the makeover to their pitchbook as well. The “original” page showed many slides overrun with text. He drew an important distinction between a “presentation” and and a printed leave behind, suggesting you use the notes portion of PowerPoint to detail the facts you’d like the client to have after you’re gone. (That version should not be handed out until the presentation meeting is over. )

Original

      Modified

“Don’t use text where your spoken explanation will provide far greater insight,” Craig said. This encourages audience engagement, eye contact and relationship building. If the page is cluttered and detailed, the audience will simply glue their eyes to your screen or papers. Upgrading the text-laden slides to be primarily images makes for a much more appealing presentation.

EMBRACE TABLET TECHNOLOGY
Still, RidgeWorth didn’t stop there. Given the dramatic rise in tablet use from 2010 to 2011, the firm opted to create an iPad app. Although originally designed for internal use by Ridgeworth’s sales staff, it proved incredibly powerful when speaking with advisors. When asked about a fund with which they were unfamiliar, the sales rep needed only to pull up the fund data on the app.

RidgeWorth iPad app

And then there is the “cool” factor:   conducting a sales meeting with an iPad gives an air of sophistication, which can only work in your favor. Given the internal success with their app, RidgeWorth adapted the app for use by all investors.  And, while “cool” is cool, Craig cautioned that even entry level apps can run between $30-$40,000 to develop.

Key Takeaways
Craig’s message was crystal clear:

·         Less is more—especially when it comes to swapping text for customized images and interactive links.

·         Put yourself in your reader’s shoes—if you wouldn’t want to read what you are currently distributing, it may be time to give your materials a makeover.

by Katie Bird