Generation Gap Hinders Advancement Of Advisor Technology

By Ben Pousty
Corporate Insight Blog

A recurring theme throughout the 2009 NAVA Marketing Conference was the need to increase the implementation and utilization of new technologies in the annuity industry. A number of speakers and vendors pushed the idea that resources such as planning tools, online sales platforms and video conferencing can help reduce costs, increase distribution channels, drive up sales numbers and help advisors give clients better financial guidance.

After attending several panels and forums focusing on advances in technology geared for advisors, I noticed a palpable level of resistance to these new products and concepts by older advisors, generally over the age of 40. On more than one occasion, industry veterans brought up the lost art of the “face to face meeting,” the sales practice that has defined their careers. In another session, a vendor conceded that Millennials or generation Y (newer advisors under 30) would likely be the most avid users of the new technological advancements going forward.

While traditional meeting and presentation methods are still effective and used extensively, it’s clear that the older generation of advisors is - for the most part - not interested in using new technology. FRC Research presented findings from a series of surveys that clearly show a lack of advisor website usage (a majority of advisors said they use advisor sites 1-2 times/week for less than 30 minutes) and highlighted the continued reliance on wholesalers for information and marketing materials.

Given the complexities both in annuity product design and the account opening process, the annuity industry is a prime candidate to adopt and utilize online resources. Numerous tools and platforms that can assist advisors in their everyday tasks and make them more efficient in the sales process are currently available or in development. From my experience covering the online annuity space and interacting with advisors, I can tell you that the annuity industry has not yet scratched the surface of what new financial technologies can offer.

Going forward, it is essential that advisors recognize the advantages that financial planning tools, sales platforms, automated straight through processing, etc. can offer their businesses. It is important that vendors change the conversation and position their technology as a complement to the practice of personalized service, a hallmark of the profession.

If it’s true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, then this seems to be a good time the annuity industry to establish a strong foundation of technology for the next generation of advisors that will sell their products in the coming years. After nearly 14 years (since the launch of Windows 95) of exponential growth and usage, you would think the Web wouldn’t be such a scary place anymore.