CI Assante Wealth Management wanted to deliver an intelligent, user-friendly experience to their growing clientele. But their scheduling process was getting in the way.
The challenges
Streamlining scheduling for hundreds of financial advisors
Asiya Khan was helping to implement a solution. As the Branch and Business Practices consultant, she knew how much the advisors and their teams were struggling.
“We got a lot of feedback from our advisors about booking,” Asiya said. “As much as 40% of their admin team’s time was spent trying to schedule client meetings.”
The process started with back-and-forth emails, trying to align availability. When a meeting was booked, the details needed to be recorded twice, both in Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce CRM. And finally, assistants needed to set their own notifications to manually send appointment reminders.
With over 800 advisors meeting with clients located across Canada, these booking tasks started to overtake other important functions.
“If we didn’t solve the problem, we’d have to hire more bodies,” Asiya said. “It was taking one person the bulk of their day just to manage scheduling for a team, and we still needed someone to support the financial advisors.”
Worst of all, the clients were feeling the pain.
“We had a client approach us to say, ‘When I book a dentist appointment, they just send me a link. Why can’t it be that easy for you guys?’”
Asiya and her team knew there was a better way. They set up Calendly’s Teams subscription plan to streamline booking and bring the firm’s attention back to their highest priority: serving clients.
The solution
Client-friendly booking meets advisor-friendly business
Calendly demonstrated its worth right out of the gate. When Asiya and her team had to book training sessions for advising teams from coast to coast, Calendly’s scheduling automation platform made it effortless.
“We would laugh, saying, You want a meeting to learn more about Calendly? Here’s my Calendly link.”
The advisors were blown away by how easy it was to get started with Calendly, and how quickly it dissolved all of their scheduling angst.
“Once that word of mouth went around, with advisors sharing their experience with other advisors, adoption blazed through,” Asiya said.
CI Assante’s initial order of 100 licenses quickly expanded.
“We really blew up with more licenses in the pandemic, because everything went virtual,” she said. “Everybody was scared to meet face to face, and Calendly had those integrations to Microsoft Teams and Zoom. It was a game-changer.”
An effortless way to prioritize client well-being
Calendly’s flexibility was a huge boon to the firm’s clients. Advisors could offer multiple Event Types with one link, allowing clients to choose whether to meet virtually, by phone, or in-person.
“It was a big win for the advisors to be able to give clients those options. And with our team schedules, they could even choose to meet with a different advisor. In the finance industry, we always strive to put our clients first.”
Making that client experience so easy was a proud differentiator for CI Assante.
Enormous efficiencies of time and money
Calendly’s Workflows – which automate reminders and follow-up notifications – slashed the time that advisors and their assistants spent booking meetings, freeing them to focus on clients, and eliminating the need for more hiring.
Workflows also helped modernize the firm’s communications.
“Setting up a Workflow and being able to assign it to many different Event Types saves the advisors significant time and money. We even started using the thank-you email as a digital business card.”
Simplifying the most complex scheduling
Another big win for the advisors was using Meeting Polls to easily schedule three-way meetings with clients and their accountants at tax time.
“We’ve got advisors over the moon,” Asiya said. “It used to be very hard to get responses from everyone before the time slots we offered got taken, but now it’s one and done. It’s gold.”
With all the ways Calendly has saved money and increased client reach for CI Assante, it’s easy to see why the advising teams and their clients are happy.
“It was a big win for the advisors to be able to give clients those options. In the finance industry, we always strive to put our clients first.”
The result
323% return on investment
CI Assante has achieved a thrilling 323% ROI with Calendly, including more than $343,000 of savings in administrative costs over the last 3 years.
Calendly’s scheduling links and workflows have saved their advising teams an estimated 13,607 total hours so far.
With this reclaimed time, the firm has been able to increase availability for billable work without substantial increases in assistant costs. On average, each advisor can now reach 143% more of their client base.
“Scheduling meetings was a big pain point with advisors, but we solved that with Calendly. Now, they’re able to focus their time and energy towards things that matter more.”
In finance, every tool and resource needs to earn its place, and Asiya says that Calendly’s worth is unquestionable.
“For me, it’s a no-brainer. Our advisors are happy, and our clients are happy. The cost of Calendly is pennies to the dollar compared to its value.”
Asiya Khan
Manager, Branch and Business Practice at CI Assante Wealth Management
Calendly’s scheduling efficiencies are helping CI Assante’s advisors continue to grow their books while delivering an outstanding client experience.
Ready to explore what Calendly can do for your bottom line? Sign up for a free, 14-day trial today.
