When it comes to structuring a business for long term success, it’s worth thinking outside the box. This is something Graham Cross at Helm Godfrey has mastered, thinking strategically about future challenges and solutions rather than just focusing on the day-to-day requirements of the firm.
Many leaders within adviser firms realise they need to embrace technology to better meet the varied needs of their clients. The temptation is to look for a system that comes with built in bells and whistles, with the promise this will be easy to adopt and use.
While a ‘one size fits all’ solution may seem to offer a quick fix, the reality is that switching technology is never as easy as you think. It takes a significant investment in time and money and, importantly, requires buy-in from your whole team to fully engage with the new technology to help them perform better.
Start with a vision
So, having set a vision of how he wanted Helm Godfrey to perform, Graham set about finding partners who would be able to work together to create a system that is designed to specifically meet the needs of his business. In a recent article for NextWealth, Graham outlines his thinking and his choice of partners.
Each of the partners have one thing in common: flexibility. This is not just flexibility in the type of technology they offer but also in their mindset. Rather than starting with an off-the-shelf offering and trying to shoe-horn Graham’s vision into it, the partners have taken the time to understand where his firm is heading and what services are required to do the job. Each partner has worked together to find solutions that are designed to specifically work for Helm Godfrey and its clients.
Take time with design
The reality is that, in spite of promises by some back-office providers that their system ‘has it all’, it does take time to configure any system to make it work for individual firms.
Where Graham has been so smart is in recognising this and deciding to spend the time to design a system that is bespoke to Helm Godfrey, choosing partners with the specialist skills, services and flexibility to provide exactly what the firm requires.
Will it have taken him more time and effort? Possibly a little. Will it deliver his vision? Without a doubt…and we at PortfolioMetrix are delighted to have played a part in helping Graham achieve his goal.
