Tech is Cheap Harnessing technology to save you time, energy and clients

1. Tech is CheapHarnessing technology to save you time, energy and clients by Kevin Cork, CFP The Banff School 2007

2. NOT about MarketingNOT about Websites Using various forms of technology to: Increase the client service you provide Save money on administration

3. Implementing Technology • Reality is we have neither the time, energy or resources to implement huge, wholesale technological changes. • Suggestions outlined here easy to explore, cheap to set up and can be running in fifteen minutes.

4. Low Geek Alert High Geek Alert Warning: Geek Alert

5. Quick Quiz “Man, that is an old mouse!”

6. A) Client Service • Email Newsletters • The Electronic Touch

7. Email Newsletters • easy compared to paper • same cost and preparation time for 1 or 1,000,000 • less formal, more personable • can be sent more often • needs to be submitted to compliance

8. My BRIEFS • Do a client version and a subscriber version, written in HTML using templates • includes article I have written, fund industry news and links to sites-twice a month • almost 1100 subscribers, organized by Province, age etc, each section is tracked to measure reader response • Gotmarketing.com

9. Software Idea Outlook/Outlook Express • Create unlimited folders • Can create a database • Allows searches of emails and addresses • Spellchecker • Inbox tools to automate mail handling

10. Automated Mail Handling • For example, emails from Top Clients are highlighted in red, stuck in a separate folder and have a message pop up so I don’t miss them. • Can be set up to send an auto-response

12. The Electronic Touch “See, Preston, the new UL Illustrator 4000 now only takes three days to print that WHOLE chart!”

13. The Electronic Touch • clients have to feel like you care about them as individuals • clients also have to know you are giving their investments your personal attention • Have to take care of clients AND • have tolet the client knowyou are taking care of them

14. the Electronic Touch in action Fund manager leaving a fund The OLD Way: 8.5 hours • rip it out of paper • find 46 affected investors • photocopy it 46 times • address 46 envelopes • fold 46 pieces of paper • write 46 personal notes • buy 46 stamps

15. or…. • find it on newspaper’s website • e-mail merge it to same 46 clients with note on strategy in five minutes… you generate 46 INDIVIDUAL CLIENT CONTACTS with information that is directly relevant to them!

16. Online Service Idea • Sending links in email can get clunky if the URL address is too long • Use Snipurl.com -a free service • Trimark Government Income Fund • http://globefunddb.theglobeandmail.com/gishome/plsql/gis.fund_pro?fundname=Trimark+Government+Income&iaction=Get+Fund+Profile&pi_universe=PUBLIC_FUND http://snipurl.com/TriGovInc

17. Cheaper Administration • Cheaper Telephones • Cheaper PDFs • Cheaper Offices

18. Telephones "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." Western Union internal memo, 1876.

19. Cheaper Telephones • Primus Canada & Vonage offers VOIP service for approx $29.95 per month including 500 LD minutes • Competition increased with number transferability between Shaw, Rogers etc • Can use current cable modem to offer an additional phone line-direct line

20. Online Service Idea #2 • SkypeOut offers phone service service www.skype.com for $29.00 per YEAR unlimited calling in North America • use as backup phone line either with a phone or using your computer • Other Chat Software can speed communication Yahoo, AIM, ICQ

21. Cheaper fax lines • Telus offering Fax to Email service • Issue you a fax number, all faxes come to you as PDF email-picked up anywhere • Much easier to re-distribute, delete or store • Service is available to 604, 403, 780, 613, 647 and 514 area codes, or as 1-800 number • Service costs $12.95 for 200 faxes or $7.95 for 50 faxes per month

22. Cheaper PDFs • To email documents from specialized software such as Paltrak or Bellcharts, financial planning or insurance illustration software etc • Adobe Acrobat Writer is $430 • PDF995 is $9.95 (US$) easy to download • PDF Compatible from Standard Life disk

23. Cheaper Offices "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

24. Cheaper Offices Create virtual office for new needed staff using gotomypc.com or foldershare.com so that trusted staff can work from home • Outlook, ACT, Maximizer allows automated “syncing” to share databases via email • Foldershare links and syncs files on two or more computers

25. Cheaper Software • OpenOffice.org is free software that is about the equivalent of Office 2003 and has word processor, spreadsheet, database, and presentation software • Google Docs allows you to read, create and edit documents and spreadsheets anywhere and store them online docs.google.com

26. Cheaper Filing/Sorting/Finding • Evernote allows you to save documents, emails, webpages and search them as needed. evernote.com • Google Desktop quickly searches all the text in documents, web page history, PDF files desktop.google.com • INCLUDING deleted files, pages, emails, etc.

27. Summary • Email me for complete list of websites (OR have your brighter, more attractive and computer-savvy assistant do it.) • Any one of these strategies can save you time, money and energy -start with one Thank you! kevin.cork@theabsolutegroup.com