ACT! by Sage for Financial Profession

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The ACT! for Financial Professionals 11 release makes all of the new features in the core ACT! product available in the financial-services specific version of the product. Following the lead of ACT! 2009 (11.0), this release takes a “you asked, we listened” approach as we’ve focused on introducing new and improved features to areas of the product our customers use every day. We have concentrated on Microsoft® Outlook® integration, associating related contacts, improving lookups, printing, and more—all in an effort to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The direction of this release was determined largely through research that was conducted with current core ACT! customers, including numerous face-to-face interviews, usability labs, and surveys. We feel confident this release will satisfy customer priorities to ensure ACT! for Financial Professionals is easy to use and intuitive, helping them to be more productive.

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ACT! for Financial Professionals 11 release goals include:

• Significantly improve commonly used areas of the product to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Introduce new features to commonly used areas of the product.
• Provide the ability to establish and view relationships between contacts.
• Improve application start-up and operational performance, driving positive opinion of ACT! for Financial Professionals quality.
• Continue to differentiate ACT! for Financial Professionals and ACT! Premium for Financial Professionals to the install base, focusing on key product differences in messaging. 

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ACT! for Financial Professionals is primarily designed for financial advisors and their assistants, with brokers, other administrators, and managers as secondary targets. Financial Advisors (FAs) want to maintain a competitive edge with their peers and are typically the ones driving the decision to purchase a solution to manage their contacts. Often, the purchaser and the end-user are the same person, so messaging needs to both communicate value and demonstrate how ACT! for Financial Professionals can make them more successful as financial services professionals.

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The current economic environment for financial services professionals is clearly challenging. To determine the impact on their use of contact management, we can gain some insight from a recent study of the ACT! for Financial Professionals installed base[1] (details of the study results are listed below under Research Conducted). This study validates the fact that using ACT! for Financial Professionals can give advisors a competitive advantage, and help them navigate the challenges presented by the current economy. Specifically, this study indicated the following:

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[1] Due to small sample size of the study, this data should be used for background information only and should not be quoted directly in any customer-facing material.fficeffice" />

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• 68% of survey respondents are using ACT! for Financial Professionals as much or more than they were a year ago (32% are spending more time in ACT! for Financial Professionals).
• 32% of survey respondents just started using ACT! for Financial Professionals in the past 12 months.
• No respondents reported spending less time in ACT! for Financial Professionals.

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• 71% of respondents cite finding client data and communications fast for better service as the most important functionality provided by ACT!
• Managing daily tasks and activities is listed as the number one challenge advisors face, followed closely by Retrieving client and prospect information when needed; 74% of respondents reported that ACT! is helping them overcome these challenges.
• Retrieving past communications with a client is listed as the least significant challenge advisors face which may suggest their use of ACT! for Financial Professionals has completely removed this as a challenge.

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• Succeeding in an Economic Downturn: Even given the current economic outlook, studies suggest that popularity for technology such as ACT! for Financial Professionals is growing as advisors recognize the need to use every tool at their disposal.
• ffice:smarttags" />Independence from Brokerage Firms: Financial Advisors are very protective of their client data and “book of business,” and need to maintain full control of it so if needed, it can move along with them if they move to a new brokerage firm. Because of this, marketing efforts should focus on the individual advisor or advisor team, rather than targeting the large brokerage firms.
• Finding Client Information Fast: Several of the survey responses indicated that finding client information fast is the most important function for which they use ACT! for Financial Professionals. Their clients expect them to remember all kinds of details about their finances and family situation and having this information stored and easily recalled in ACT! is a significant enabler for them.

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·         World-Class Contact Management: ACT! for Financial Professionals offers a world-class, proven contact management solution that is already tailored to fit the way financial services professionals do their business, and can be further customized and personalized to fit your specific needs.

·         Lookups and Search Capability: Data is easily accessible through dozens of search options and robust keyword search. Competitors have limited searching capability that do not let you search on all fields.

·         Ease of Use: ACT! for Financial Professionals inherits all of the ACT! core functionality which is recognized in the industry as exceptionally easy to use. User-friendly features include single views with filters and tabs, suggested workflow, intelligent defaults, and consistent, intuitive interfaces.

·         Affordability: Many competitors require monthly subscription or membership fees that add up quickly over time. ACT! for Financial Professionals only requires a one-time license fee that is relatively low, with even lower upgrade prices. Additionally, the overall cost of deployment is low as the product can be implemented and configured without extensive involvement from IT or outside consultants.

·         Superior Mail Merge Functionality: Unlike competitors, merging letter and e-mail templates to contacts is done with just a few clicks. Other products require additional steps and installation of components before letters can be merged, and frequently place limits on the number of contacts that can be merged at one time.

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Grow your book of business with a complete picture of every client relationship and their network

ACT! by Sage for Financial Professionals is a comprehensive contact and client management solution that provides a complete picture of your client relationships. Given recent market turmoil, managing every relationship and network effectively is even more crucial to attracting and retaining clients, and ACT! for Financial Professionals helps you do just that. fficeffice" />

 

Access relationship details instantly to impress clients with your memory of their unique financial and personal profile details; leverage their friend and family networks; stay on top of your schedule; foster client loyalty with personalized communications and tailored service levels; and collaborate better with assistants and partners. And with all client interactions tied to the contact record with a date and time stamp, ACT! even helps you satisfy compliance requirements!

 

Take advantage of ACT! for Financial Professionals to keep every client relationship in focus—so you can grow your book of business and maximize your earning potential!