Business first, technology second

Most financial advisory practices operate like three separate businesses under one roof. They have a financial planning process, a client engagement process, and various technology tools – but these elements rarely work together. This creates inefficiency, compliance risks, and missed opportunities that competitors are starting to exploit.

Here is the secret: when you properly align your planning process, client engagement model, and technology stack, you create a competitive advantage that becomes very difficult for others to match.

The problem hidden in plain sight

Many South African advisory practices struggle with alignment because they start from the wrong place. They see a flashy new CRM system or AI tool, get excited about its features, and make the purchase. Only later do they realise the technology does not fit their actual business processes or client needs.

This backwards approach explains why so many technology implementations fail. The practice has invested significant money and time into systems that end up being used as expensive digital filing cabinets.

The root issue is not knowing what problems you are trying to solve. Before looking at any technology, you need clarity on your current challenges:

• Where do clients get frustrated with your process?
• What manual tasks eat up your advisers’ time?
• Which compliance requirements create bottlenecks?

Without this clarity, you will be overwhelmed by options and make decisions based on features rather than fit.

Why alignment matters more than ever

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has moved beyond tick-box compliance to focus on fair client outcomes. The upcoming Conduct of Financial Institutions Bill will require practices to show consistent, defensible advice processes across all client interactions.

Manual, paper-based systems that rely on individual adviser discipline will not meet these expectations. Regulators increasingly expect systems that can provide comprehensive audit trails and show they have quality control.

Technology and artificial intelligence have become the only equaliser in this environment, as Anton Swanepoel of Trusted Advisors shared with me, and I cannot agree more.

Smaller practices can now compete with larger firms by using technology to automate compliance checks, streamline workflows, and deliver consistent service quality.

The aligned practice advantage

When your three core elements work together, you create what industry experts call a ‘high tech, high touch’ model. Here is how it works. Your financial planning process defines the structure:

• The six-step framework ensures thorough, compliant advice
• Your client engagement model brings this process to life through meaningful conversations and trust-building activities
• Your technology enables both by automating administrative tasks and providing the data insights needed for personalised service.

The magic happens when all three work together. Client information entered once flows automatically through your CRM to your financial planning software to your client reporting tools. This eliminates double-handling, reduces errors, and creates capacity for higher-value activities.

More importantly, this creates a feedback loop. Your technology captures rich data about client interactions and outcomes. This data helps you refine your processes and identify new service opportunities. Your improved processes generate better client engagement, which produces even richer data.

Others using isolated systems cannot match this level of efficiency and insight.

Overcoming implementation barriers

The biggest barriers to alignment are not technical, but psychological and strategic. Many use their age or perceived technology limitations as excuses for avoiding necessary changes. Others claim they lack time or resources to implement new systems.

These excuses miss a fundamental truth: the cost of not changing far exceeds the investment required for alignment. Practices that continue with manual, disconnected processes will find themselves unable to compete on service quality, efficiency, or compliance standards.

The solution is a phased approach. Start with establishing a robust CRM as your single source of truth. Once this foundation is solid, add your core planning tools. Then add client-facing technology like secure portals. Finally, experiment with AI tools to boost your capabilities. Each phase builds on the previous one, creating sustainable progress without overwhelming your team or budget.

Bonus tip: Speak to your existing providers, present the problem you want to solve or process you want to implement, and ask them to show you how they do it. In most cases, your existing system can already do what you need.

My final thoughts

Alignment is about creating systematic competitive advantages. When your planning process, engagement model, and technology work together seamlessly, you free up time for the high-value human interactions that build lasting client relationships.

The question is not whether you need alignment, but how quickly you can achieve it before your competitors do.

Stay curious!