Robo Technology's Promise Redux: It’s About the Clients, Stupid

Of course, Steve is absolutely right. Most advisors do need to spend more time with their clients, not less. In fact, based on my recent experiences, doctors need to spend more time with their clients, too.

The point that I apparently failed to articulate is that information that is increasingly gathered—and analyzed—by digital technology will help advisors to make the most of their client meetings. The tech will help yield greater insight into clients' wants and needs, and facilitate more in-depth insight into how those wants and needs might best be met. 

In my July 13 blog about convincing clients that their advisor is on their side, "Trust: Being a Good Advisor Is About More Than Expertise and Information, Harvard-trained negotiation and mediation specialist Raphael Lapin put it this way:

"It's not enough that the advisor know their clients' needs; The client also has to know that you know and understand their needs, concerns, and risks. You need to demonstrate your understanding by explaining the client's needs and checking for accuracy.

"As this information-development stage takes place, the client is becoming more assured that you understand them." 

In my view, today's digital technology will increasingly do much of the "leg work," freeing financial advisors to spend more time on the kinds of conversations which create relationships that no digital program can match.