Part 1 of Scheduling Meetings: Infrastructure and Technology
My first position in the wealth management industry was a cross between a Client Service Administrator, Paraplanner and a Handyman at a boutique financial planning firm that served corporate executives. It was me and the Lead Planner / Owner. My least favorite job function was scheduling.
This was ten years ago and before Calendly or other scheduling tools were widely accepted. At that time, scheduling involved me emailing a client 5 dates and times that worked for us and then praying that the option they select would still be available by the time they responded. And of course, clients would fail to respond or ask for alternative dates and times which led to a back-and-forth email exchange that was incredibly inefficient and mentally draining. It was the worst.
When I launched my firm, I swore that our scheduling processes would be as efficient as possible. This was partly so I could eliminate one of my least favorite job functions but also because it benefits the client, too. Because a smooth scheduling process saves everyone time and energy. The series will cover how we spend less than five minutes per week dealing with client scheduling, including our philosophy, our technology infrastructure, and our specific processes for scheduling and rescheduling various types of meetings.
Part 1: Scheduling Meetings: Infrastructure & Technology
Part 2: Scheduling Meetings: Prospect Process
Part 3: Scheduling Meetings: Surge Meetings
Part 4: Scheduling Meetings: One-Off Meetings & Reschedules
Without further ado, on to Part 1: Scheduling Meetings: Infrastructure & Technology
Most firms have an investment philosophy, including mine. But I bet I’m one of the rare firms that has a documented philosophy for scheduling meetings.
Offer clients the smoothest and cleanest experience as possible while simultaneously setting our team up for success.
By making scheduling easy for the client, we increase the likelihood that clients schedule a meeting, which increases the likelihood we meet with our clients, which increases the likelihood that our clients fully participate in our service calendar, which (in my opinion) maximizes the likelihood of clients achieving their financial goals.
To put simply - scheduling is pretty dang important.
Our scheduling infrastructure is quite simple, but also quite detailed. It all starts with Calendly. Each type of meeting we will ever need is in Calendly with specific rules that ensure the correct meeting link is used for the correct situation. Calendly then drives our CRM, Quivr. Our meeting prep and follow-up processes are in Quivr for each type of meeting, from a Surge Meeting to an ad-hoc 30-Minute Phone Call to help a client with a 401(k) rollover.
Through Calendly, we must first build these specific meeting types and then build the corresponding workflows in our CRM. The scheduling process really includes three things:
Identify the need for a Meeting (Surge, Ad-Hoc, Rollover Call, etc..)
Schedule Meeting in Calendly (ALWAYS scheduled in Calendly)
Launch (automatically or manually) the necessary workflow or process for that specific type of meeting to ensure all prep and follow-up is completed timely and accurately
Step 1 is dependent upon your Service Calendar and the client’s specific needs. If you are reading this, I am quite confident in your ability to identify when you need to meet with your clients.
Step 2 requires building the various Meeting Types in your scheduling software. You must also adhere to a policy of every meeting gets scheduled through your scheduling software. This can occur by sending a client a link to schedule a meeting themselves or it could occur by a team member entering the meeting in the software after securing a meeting with a client via email or the phone. Regardless of who enters the data into the scheduling software, it must be entered. My specific Meeting Types in Calendly are listed at the end of this post.
Step 3 is twofold. First, you must identify the necessary prep and follow-up items for each time of meeting. This includes your entire prospect process, your Review Meetings/Surge Meetings, and your Ad-Hoc meetings. Next you must document these items in your CRM. In Quivr, we utilize the Meeting Module. The Meeting Module allows for all prep and follow-up items to be embedded right into your CRM so all prep and follow-up items display on your home page so you know exactly what items you must take care of. This ensures items do not fall through the cracks.
But by building the necessary meeting types in Calendly and the necessary processes in your CRM, a client can schedule effortlessly in the manner they prefer (through a link, an email, or a phone call) but you can guarantee that your process is kicked off and followed.
Next week we will begin covering our specific processes for scheduling meetings, starting with prospect meetings.
Until next week,
Steve
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What’s Quivr?
I’ve received quite a few questions about Quivr since launching this blog. As promised in the first few posts, I strive to make this content applicable and valuable to all readers regardless of your tech stack. But Quivr is a real thing and a real community. Our mission is to be the CRM built for the small but mighty financial planner that does real financial planning. Below are a few key features and how to learn more if you desire.
Access to the Quivr Community where we discuss all things operations and host weekly Office Hours to assist with implementing efficiencies in your practice. I’m an open book about my practice and so are the other community members. A rising tide lifts all boats.
Workflow Engine to create multi-person, multi-role processes natively in your CRM prepackaged with 30+ workflows that my firm uses
Task Template builder to create simple, repeatable tasks in an instant prepackaged with 25+ prepacked Task Templates that my firm uses
35+ client-friendly, compliance-approved reports summarizing specific financial planning data
Meeting Module that decreases meeting prep to five minutes
Store, retrieve, and report on all financial planning data
Schedule a demo to see Quivr live.
Calendly Meeting Types
Prospect Meetings
20-Minute Introductory Call – This link is only used on our website.
60-Minute Informational Zoom – This link is private and can only be scheduled through a link that only we have. Thus, only prospects in this phase of the prospect process can schedule this meeting.
60-Minute Plan Foundation Review Zoom – This link is private and can only be scheduled through a link that only we have. Thus, only prospects in this phase of the prospect process can schedule this meeting.
Surge Meetings
2023 Fall Planning Session - This link is private and can only be scheduled through a link that only we have. Thus, only client meetings that are in the 2023 Fall Surge are scheduled with this link.
2024 Spring Planning Session - This link is private and can only be scheduled through a link that only we have. Thus, only client meetings that are in the 2024 Spring Surge are scheduled with this link.
We always have the Meeting Type for the next two surges built into Calendly. These meetings are also set so they can only begin at certain times to keep Surge as efficient as possible. For example, on Mondays the time slots are 8:00-9:00, 9:15-10:15, 10:30-11:30, etc…
Ad-Hoc Meetings
15-Minute Phone Call, 15-Minute Zoom, 30-Minute Phone Call, 30-Minute Zoom, 60-Minute Phone Call, 60-Minute Zoom – These are separate links that are public, although not advertised, and can be scheduled by those with our company Calendly link. Most often, we email the client the link that we need them to schedule for. For example, a 401(k) rollover would be a 30-Minute phone call. Or an ad-hoc meeting for a client who changed jobs would be a 60-Minute Zoom.
Peer/COI Meetings
Coffee/Happy Hour Meeting – This link is very limited on start dates and times and I also include three options for locations that are convenient to me and my house. Selfish? Maybe. But it also makes it super easy to find a time and location.
