It’s becoming a Skypified world

That thought has been running around in my head for a few months now.  An experience that I had trying to get to a conference recently really drove the point home however.

Skype is now the world’s largest telephone company. Most people know it as an online video conferencing solution which allows you to use a WebCam with friends and family to keep in touch. While it does an excellent job, particularly with the new high definition cameras that are available today, Skype has morphed over the years to become a world-class business communications tool.

So back to the story.

Nancy and I had the honor of attending an elite  conference in the South Pacific a couple of months ago. While these conferences are popular with members of the financial services community, both for leisure and learning, it’s getting harder and harder for both financial services companies and financial services advisors alike to justify them.

Apart from the obvious concern over the optics of attending such lavish events, the costs and time involved are starting to outweigh the benefits.  Fortunately, I came away from this one with one additional benefit.

We were layed over for three days in Los Angeles thanks to a volcano in Iceland that grounded our plane in Paris.   Accordingly, we spent three days staying at the Hyatt Andaz hotel which was home to legendary stories of all night parties from some of the most famous rock bands of the ’70’s.

While we waited out our time waiting for the skies to clear we stumbled upon not only the famous Sunset Blvd but also the set of 77 Sunset Strip which was the definitive show my mother would watch so many years ago.

What I found interesting however was that due to our unexpected delay, we had time to investigate new software.   After a few days, I came away with the ability to utilize video conferencing to not only keep up with things back at the office but to proactively meet with clients online while we waited out our stopover.

In the end, we made it to the conference and it was enjoyable.  The biggest lesson learned however may have been how we can use modern communications technology to save ourselves and our clients time while helping the environment by creating a little less pollution.

Accordingly, since I’ve been back we’ve been increasing our overall Skype usage with our clients doing some online financial reviews. It’s an ideal tool because all information is encrypted and everyone saves time.

While I’m not ready to say that I’ll never attend another conference, one of the major benefits of this one was this newfound capability that is helping us bring our clients higher levels of service and greater convenience.  I’d like to see all of our partners in the financial services world increase their usage of these types of tools.

If you’d like to try a Personal Financial Skype Review, call Nancy or Simone and ask them to schedule one.  We can review your portfolio and your situation. Of course, if you’d prefer to do it the old-fashioned way we are available at the office whenever you need us.

E. & O.E.
Mark