New kasina study cites Mobile Content, Web Conferencing, Multimedia-Enhanced Presentations, and e-Mail as key to improving Sales’ effectiveness
NEW YORK, JUNE 5, 2006 – Asset management sales teams must learn to better leverage e-business tools to effectively communicate with the extensive universe of financial advisors, says a new whitepaper released today by kasina, a leading consultant to the asset management industry.
The study, “Improving Sales: Helping Wholesalers through e-Business Tools,” notes that limitations in time and resources make it impossible for even the largest wholesaling organizations to reach a small fraction of the hundreds of thousands of advisors in the marketplace. It recommends that firms support these outreach efforts with appropriately applied e-business tools such as Mobile Content, Web Conferencing, Multimedia Enhanced Presentations, and e-mail.
“While most firms have invested, to some degree, in advanced e-Business tools, many of these have been relegated to the �electronic graveyard� and are used rarely or ineffectively,” said Lauren Lisher, a consultant with kasina. “Given the size of the advisor universe and the competition for assets, firms need to make sure they are fully utilizing these potentially powerful tools.”
The whitepaper provides a detailed analysis of the current state of four e-business tools.
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Mobile Content, defined as data accessible on the road through a PDA or similar device. The report concludes that many firms are doing a good job of providing basic mobile access to CRM information, but are rarely capitalizing on the opportunity to provide other critical sales data such as an advisor�s investment history, key product selling points, and information on competitors� offerings.
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Web Conferencing, which add a “live” element to improve the quality of interactions with advisors. Here, firms must substitute one-way information pushes and take more opportunities to engage in dynamic, real-time conversations.
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Multimedia-Enhanced Presentations, while embraced by many firms, are often ineffective due to poor execution, notes kasina. Simplifying and targeting the content in these vehicles are among the specific actions firms can take to maximize the impact of these tools.
e-Mail, the most ubiquitous e-business tool, is often ineffective due to mindless over use, says kasina. Only 25% of advisors see value in the e-mail they receive from firms today, clearly indicating a need for change.
“It�s possible to spend a lot of money developing e-business tools without realizing a corresponding return in productivity,” said Lisher. “This whitepaper was created to provide a roadmap to help asset management firms maximize their investments in this technology.”
The full kasina report �Improving Sales: Helping Wholesalers through e-Business Tools,� is available for purchase at: www.kasina.com.
About kasina
kasina is a management consulting firm that is focused on helping financial services companies create intelligent relationships with their investors and intermediaries. By combining knowledge of distribution trends, technological innovations, and marketing strategies, kasina aids leading asset management firms with front-office efforts and publishes a regular schedule of cutting-edge industry research. kasina�s client list includes 18 of the 20 largest asset managers in the United States and leading firms in Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. An overview of services offered by kasina is available at www.kasina.com.
