WOULD YOU LIKE TO WAKE UP ONE MORNING, TURN ON YOUR COMPUTER, AND DISCOVER that you have two new clients with a million in assets waiting to do business with you?
It’s happening now with robo-advisors and Simon Roy of Jemstep shares how.
Having great technology is one thing, but leveraging it can be a whole different ballgame. Simon and I discuss how to build a business, leverage it with technology, wrap it in a human relationship, and deliver great results for clients.
As a successful entrepreneur and business executive based in the heart of Silicon Valley, Simon is someone well-worth listening to.
While I have highlights below, take the time to listen to the entire podcast.
Simon Roy
- President/Board Member, Jemsetp, Inc.
- Mentor – Stanford Ignite Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business
- Strategist and investor in early-stage technology companies
- Former McKinsey & Co. consultant
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Show Notes
- What does it take to build a successful business? No one formula but these help. One, surround yourself with quality people who complement your skills, but also challenge you. Two, associate with people who you actually want to spend time with. Three, be able to deal with ambiguity and pivot when needed. Four, solve a problem that people are willing to pay for.
- Advisors should consider a “freemium” model to engage prospects rather than “asking them to take the big leap from no relationship to turning over all their assets for a 1% fee.”
- One of the unspoken keys to success of robo-advisors is they make it easy and comfortable for prospects to take that first step toward a relationship. Prospects give some information, get some value in return—all without feeling like they’re imposing on a human advisor. With no human involved, prospects don’t have to feel “bad” about saying no to an advisor they just spent time with. You need to make it much easier for clients to take that first step with you.
- Despite the exponential growth of technology, what won’t change in the future? “The value of human interaction. We’re primitively wired for the need to connect and while technology can help, we need the advisor on the other side to help complete that solution.”
- Go beyond technology. Simon says, “For me the true north is forget the technology. It’s what are the problems that people are dealing with and make sure that you’re creating a solution that can help resolve those problems, can relieve some of those pain points. Do it in a way that you can feel good about and do it in a way that you can sustain a business from. Ultimately, it’s about being able to develop a solution that adds value to your clients and the technology is just a means to that end.” Well said!
- How do you engage someone in an online financial conversation? First, ask a series of questions to understand the prospect and their needs. Second, make it “real” to the prospect be aggregating their actual portfolio holdings. Third, give immediate value to the prospect by providing an objective analysis of their portfolio. Oh, and do it for free–that’s the front-end of Jemstep’s service.
- It’s one thing to have the technology that allows clients to onboard online. The big question is, how do you fill the funnel to drive prospects to your site? Simon shares how advisors are doing it.
Resources & Other Links
- Jemstep (website)
- Skype (conferencing and communication tool)
- Evernote (never lose track of anything again)
- Uber (best way to get from point A to point B by car)
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