How Do You Know If You Need New Tech?

Having served advisors with their back-office and planning needs for more than 10 years, I'm often asked about new software or new solutions to help advisors solve challenging issues. This has been happening more over the last couple of years, with many new financial advisory-focused software products emerging.

Some products offer the latest tech with AI capabilities that you may or may not need. Some are trying to be your all-in-one solution for CRM, financial planning, or marketing. It may seem that you need this new product because the demo will show how easy it is to set up and run the system to its full capabilities. 

But before you decide to purchase a new software product, you need to think about why you are getting it and what problem you are trying to solve. Here are some guidelines to help you decide whether to completely replace your software product or add a new component.

Replace or add on?

If you are looking to replace your CRM or implement new financial planning software, ask these questions:

• Are you using your current software to its full potential?

• What are you looking to solve?

• Will this system completely solve it?

• Does someone on your team have the time to fully understand its capabilities and maximize its use?

• How much are you willing to spend?

  
  

When looking at it this way, you might find your current software will work. Or, if you do need new software, determine the specific questions to ask during demos to see if it works the way you want.

You don’t want to get a new product, transfer the data, and later find out it won’t work for you. It may be that setting it up correctly was harder than you thought, which could lead to spending money on consultants, not having the time, or not solving the issue you set out to solve in the beginning. These constraints are important to understand before looking for new software, as they will save you time and money to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Sometimes you don’t need completely new software – adding a new component that solves a specific area may be easier and more cost-effective. This is very common, as there might be an area you can expand into to generate additional revenue or better support your clients. Here are more of my suggested questions:

• Will it make the firm more efficient?

• Does this cost too much to solve the issue?

• What else can the system do that might replace another piece of software in the firm’s tech stack?

After you answer those questions, try a product out for a month, put the renewal date on your calendar, and see if it works for the firm. If you don’t have the time or energy to try it out, have someone on your team test it and report what they thought of the software.  

This will do several things - ensure the product does what you want, allow you or the team member to see how it fits within the firm, and if client-facing, see how your clients like it. This is important, as you may have heard of the software from another advisor who says it's amazing. But this one might not work for your firm because you have a different client base or a different process that doesn’t require it.

Build from scratch?

Another option - instead of buying software that doesn’t fit your needs – you or someone on your team could create the system using AI tools. This may take more time, but the advantage is that you will understand your new system better and be able to implement it more easily in your business, fixing the exact issue you're trying to solve.

When building a checklist of what you are looking for, consider the capital you have, the time it will take, and the current systems that might solve the issue. This will help you and your firm find or build the system that solves your issue, saves you headaches and time spent trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and will make your firm more productive in the long run.