Q&A with Kelli Hueler: - Napfa

The Efficient planner
boulders exist—obstacles, hurdles, things
that cause delay or inaction—when
beginning the financial planning process
and ongoing? If Steve Jobs had been a
planner, what would iFinancial Planning
look like: What would make it smooth,
intuitive, easy, and a joy?”
I wanted to hear about what parts
of my process made things easier for
them, because I wanted to be sure I
did not change those. But then we
spent some time brainstorming ways in
which I could change other processes
or could adopt new tools to make for a
better experience. Their feedback was
very rich, and I spent a few months
evaluating and integrating it. One
outcome: They asked me to adopt an
online tool to manage their to-do lists,
and I’ve since begun using Do.com.
Meanwhile, Bill Prewitt has asked his
board a series of questions about his firm’s
interactions with clients. “Sometimes,
valuable feedback is simply positive
feedback and the assurance that you do not
need to change anything,” he observed.
His questions over the years have
included:
• Is the staff accessible and responsive
in person, by phone, by e-mail?
• When a staff person you want to talk
to is not available, how do you feel
about talking to someone else?
• Would you like to get information
through By All Accounts? (Prewitt
added that this question “gave us an
opportunity to market it a little.”)
• How confident are you that your
records are kept confidential and
that your relationship is treated
confidentially?
• A staff member is attending
graduate school for two years and
will continue to manage portfolios.
What concerns come to mind and
how to best tell other clients about
this? (The firm received generally
positive feedback because board
members recognized that the
staffer’s training would ultimately
be beneficial to them; the only
concern they raised was about
accessibility to him if they had
questions.)
• At another time, Prewitt asked
board members for comments about
potential changes in appearance and
delivery (e-delivery) of quarterly
reports. “We showed report formats
side by side and let the board make
a choice,” he said. “They suggested
we limit additional changes so
clients could grow comfortable. On
a related topic, we asked if our new
format was clear, understandable,
timely, and accessible, and we
learned that they like the new reports
on Portfolio Services.”
Marketing
Boards can also provide input about
a firm’s marketing methods. The average
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Napfa advisor ocToBEr 2012