Eric Clarke: The Integration Evangelist — The 2016 IA 25

“The advisor needs to recognize up front that their staff is going to need to not only switch from A to B and all the technology considerations for doing the conversion, but also the training consideration.”

Once the new technology is implemented in the firm and the team is trained on how to use it, Clarke suggests firms identify someone who can act as an “evangelist” for the new system in order to fully integrate into the day-to-day workflow. Whoever that person is, he or she should “not only be the expert” on that system, but every week should “do the things that an evangelist would do: Get out, send an email, promote some wins that your staff’s had with technology or that your clients have experienced. Share best practices, share the positive feedback, because often when you’re doing something new, our minds have a tendency to resist change. Having that evangelist promote and be a center of positive energy is really critical.”

That’s the same process Orion uses when it implements new technology: engage, educate, evangelize.

One of the most valuable benefits of technology for advisors is to reduce barriers of entry for clients, whether that’s through e-signature tools or video conferencing.

“There are lots of ways that advisors, when they look at their business models, can use technology to reduce the friction points,” Clarke said.

For example, some advisors on Orion’s platform are creating video statements, he said. “They’re providing the video commentary, then we overlay portfolio information into that video statement. I think you’re going to see a lot more things like that that are interactive, and yet advisors can do them at scale across their entire client base,” Clarke said.

Another clear benefit of technology: scaling costs as increased regulations make doing business more expensive. “We’re big believers that advisors need to use technology wisely so that they can not only efficiently serve their current client base but also their future clients.”

One of the unintended consequences of increased regulation is that the “smaller investor can be disintermediated. We’re hopeful that we can help our advisors, even in an increasing regulatory environment, serve smaller investors or those that might not be profitable served by a competing firm.”