Voices

iPad Advantage: Adding a Client Over Lunch

Now that I'm entering my second week of running my own RIA, it's time to get out there and find clients. While I have prepared many avenues in which to do this, one worked out quite well already.

A family friend is a teacher and I met with her husband yesterday for lunch. He is a manager at a large pharmaceutical company, and told me a while ago that he was looking for a financial advisor. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but was interested in my approach given that my company only works with teachers.

We met for lunch at a casual restaurant, and talked and ate for 90 minutes. We caught up on life and then started talking about what he was looking for. It turns out that he has worked with a friend who is an advisor at one of the retail-brokerage outlets but was looking for more one-on-one attention. I explained my services, but soon realized a visual representation might work better.

I then pulled out my iPad (non 3G, so it I also hooked it up to my MiFi in my bag) and took him to my website. My website is built using Wordpress and has been built using a “responsive template." This means that it resizes automatically to any screen that it is shown on and retains functionality. I was able to take my prospect through my website and services, and allow him to use my compare services grid just by touching the screen.

Technology certainly is a big help. We can do things over lunch that used to take multiple meetings.

Read More: Using Technology to Expand a New Practice

Dave Grant, CFP, a Financial Planning columnist, is the founder of Cary, Ill.-based planning firm Finance for Teachers. He’s also the founder of Fee Only Consulting, which focuses on developing the skills of Gen Y planners. In addition, he’s the founder of NAPFA Genesis, a networking group for young, fee-only planners.

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