Become Your Clients' one stop shop

The proliferation of new financial products and services has led to many changes in how the industry has marketed itself to consumers. Traditionally, insurance companies marketed their policies as being the best, banks tried to lure customers with higher rates on certificates of deposit and tax preparers vied to offer the best services for the lowest possible price.

Of course, using a product's best attributes within marketing campaigns is still relevant today, but service is rapidly overtaking product offerings as the primary criterion customers look for when choosing where to do business. This trend has naturally led financial service providers to offer comprehensive product and service offerings under one umbrella. There can be several advantages for both the provider and the customer in this type of arrangement, but planners need to carefully consider several issues before implementing this approach in their practices.

What does one-stop shopping entail?
The definition of one-stop shopping today includes more products and services than ever. The major sectors are:

• Cash management and other banking services
• Brokerage and alternative investments
• All forms of tax preparation and advice
• College and estate planning
• All major forms of insurance coverage, including life, health and property-casualty lines

• The latest mortgage and loan products
• Comprehensive financial planning
• Accounting and payroll services

This list will continue to grow as the borders between commercial banks, brokers and insurance companies become less distinct with every new product innovation. Much of this integration occurred as a result of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which established firm boundaries between brokerage, insurance and banking in the wake of the stock market crash of 1929. (For more insight, read What Was The Glass-Steagall Act?)

The One-Stop Shopping Advantage
There are a number advantages to offering comprehensive financial services to customers; they include:

• Revenues: One of the most obvious benefits is that one-stop shopping allows planners to generate much higher levels of revenue from the same customers than their competition. If a customer walks into the local office of a household-name insurance company, no matter how much the customer likes and trusts the agent, the agent will only be able to sell the customer insurance.
  
  On the other hand, a firm with comprehensive offerings can also make money from refinancing the customer, preparing his or her income tax return, opening a Roth IRA, and preparing a custom-made financial plan that shows how it all fits together. As a bonus for the customer, the custom-made financial plan could be offered for free as an incentive for the customer to use the other services. The additional revenue garnered from just one client allows a business to reduce the amount of effort required to prospect for new business. This difference in revenue is hard to beat, especially in today's flooded and competitive market. (To learn more, read Boost Earnings Through Financial Planning.)
  
  
• Customer Loyalty: A higher level of service will result in a correspondingly higher level of client trust. After all, if a client must give the planner his or her tax information, it is not hard to go ahead and get an estate plan completed as well. Furthermore, if a client wants to maintain a proper balance between insurance and investments, why not simply do both at the same place where they can monitor the balance directly?
  
  
• Convenience: If the client receives a comprehensive financial plan with a list of recommendations, it is easy to see the benefits for having them all done in-house instead of running around to a dozen other firms or agents to complete each item. This line of reasoning is hard to argue with, assuming that all services are provided competently and diligently.

Coordinating the Key Players
Of course, the ability to offer comprehensive services efficiently requires tremendous effort and coordination. Many different disciplines are required to build and maintain a practice that competently offers several services. Therefore, firms that pursue this strategy must hire qualified personnel for each service area offered.

For example, the head of a firm could be a Certified Financial Planner who does comprehensive financial, college and estate planning for clients. Another associate could then be licensed to transact all banking, brokerage and life insurance business, while another handles mortgages and perhaps property and casualty insurance. A health and long-term care specialist might also be involved, as well as someone who works chiefly with alternative investments. Finally, an accountant or CPA would be in place to handle all tax-related business and advice. (If any of these careers sound interesting to you, read Is A Career In Financial Planning In Your Future?)

Furthermore, the head of the firm must be knowledgeable enough about all of these services to coordinate and supervise them effectively. Supervision of this kind of operation will also require an intimate understanding of the laws regarding consumer privacy. This issue necessitates having each client sign a set of relevant disclosures allowing for the sharing of information between the associates at the firm in order to avoid legal liability. If a firm neglects this procedure and assumes that a client will allow the information provided for one service to be used for other purposes, the firm will be liable.

Spreading Resources Too Thinly
Another matter to consider is the possibility of a firm overextending itself by offering too many products or services. This mistake can be costly, not only literally but in terms of trust and liability as well. The firm must therefore carefully consider whether it is able to handle the administrative and supervisory issues that will come with each service that is offered. Failure to provide one branch of service correctly can reflect badly on the whole firm, and the liability incurred from a mistake in one area can drain resources earmarked to sustain other areas of the business as well.

Corporate Vs. Retail
Both large and small firms have attempted to offer one-stop shopping, with varying degrees of success. While larger firms have been able to provide more corporate support and structure for their offerings, retail boutique firms are generally more able to coordinate their services according to the customer's needs and circumstances. Large conglomerates typically have more bureaucracy and strict company policies, which make it difficult for them to match a smaller firm's level of personalized service. As a result, they tend to rely more on brand-name recognition in order to draw customers.

However, efficient coordination of financial services at the corporate level can be difficult. For example, all associates in a retail firm can readily confer with each other regarding a client's situation and come to a consensus on an issue much faster than employees who work in different branches of a conglomerate. In a smaller firm, virtually all of the relevant information for any given client will be readily available in one place that is easily accessible to all staff members - this is definitely not true for larger companies.

Conclusion
Providing one-stop shopping services can be both rewarding and demanding for firms of any size. Smaller firms must remember that they face the same legal issues pertaining to information sharing as their corporate counterparts, and larger firms need to recognize the amount of effort required to coordinate an individual client's needs between various branches. Either way, the firms that successfully integrate comprehensive services into their product offerings stand to benefit by increasing revenues while offering lower costs. And at the same time, customers can reap the rewards of lower fees and convenience. The ability to successfully integrate comprehensive services into a financial planning practice can give planners a substantial edge over their competition.

To read more on one-stop shopping, see New Services Usher In New Clients.

by Mark P. Cussen, CFP, CMFC

Mark P. Cussen has more than 15 years of experience in the financial industry, which includes working with investments, insurance, mortgages, taxes and financial planning. He has five of experience as a financial author and has written many educational articles for various financial websites as well as revising and updating training material for insurance and securities licenses. He has also worked in retail, discount and bank brokerage systems and is currently working as a financial planner for the U.S. military. Mark has a Bachelor of Science in English from the University of Kansas and completed his CFP coursework at the Bloch School of Business at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in August of 2001.

More from Investopedia

money lending article

Guma Davis Banda, the Managing Director and an Advocate of Guma & Co Advocates told The Independent that the provisions in the Act are as good as nothing since none of them today applies. "The ministry of Finance needs to urgently draw up guidelines to monitor the operations of money lenders," he said.

Already, Bank of Uganda (BoU) is working on a new regulation; the Consumer Protection Mechanism (CPM) to protect borrowers from being cheated or exploited by money lenders.

Robert Mbabazize, BoU's Assistant Director Financial Stability, says as of now however, the central bank has no mandate to regulate money lenders. It only deals with commercial banks and other microfinance institutions.

Another way out would be for commercial banks and microfinance institutions to embrace new technologies, like mobile banking, that move credit to customers far away from formal lending institutions and speed up the borrowing process.

BoU's Deputy Governor Louis Kasekende, made this point at the annual conference of the Association of Microfinance Institutions in May. He blamed the reliance on money lenders for quick money on two problems; the large segment of the population that persists outside the formal banking sector and the sectors failure to provide innovative products fit for the purpose.

He said only 26 per cent of the adult population above the age of 16 have ever used the formal banking sector like commercial banks, credit institutions and microfinance deposit taking institutions (MDIs).

He said, however, even those Ugandans with bank accounts take loans from informal credit institutions or individuals because bank loans are inaccessible and have lots of red tape. A senior official of one of the commercial banks conceded that the strict rules and procedures that commercial banks demand from customers to get a loan could be helping informal lenders to take off.

"You need to be a customer having an account with us in order to access a loan. You also need to be with business alongside security which would pay back the loan to us. If you don't have the above we advise you to get them and be served," the official said. That needs to change, because as everyone knows, all of us at one point might need to borrow money quickly. We should be able to get it safely from our bank and not be left at the mercy of a loan shark.

The effects of badwagon on financial issues

IF you have been managing your finances poorly, how easy is it to change and become more efficient?

This is a dilemma that most personal finance enthusiasts have to grapple with daily. The sad truth is that despite the volumes of financial management resources available, there is a worrying trend of financial distress among a big part of the population.

Even those that are familiar with the basics of money management are not applying the skills to their daily lives.

A number of people I have talked to have admitted that, while they appreciate the importance of prudent money management, it is difficult to practice what they know.

These people do not realise is that it is easier to cultivate financial discipline than facing the consequences of poor money habits.

If you are one of the diligent consumers of financial knowledge who do not apply the principles, hereunder are some issues you need to consider:

For starters, you need to change the way you think about money. If you have some form of income, your thoughts should revolve around aquiring skills to leverage what you have to grow your current net worth (assets-liabilities).

To move the process forward, stop tracking your expenses in your head. develop a recording sytem on paper or use the computer to track your money.

It is only when you apply this that you will appreciate the state of your financial health. Thinking differently helps in more ways than you can imagine. One of them is avoiding the ‘herd mentality’ approach to making crucial decisions about money.

Instead of simply following what others are doing, you need to do some homework before making decisions about money. For example, if your relative opts for a fixed deposit account as an investment, this is not enough reason for you to do the same. Remember, your financial state is not a replica of your relative’s.

Besides, you do not have the same investment objectives or risk profile. A fixed deposit account may work for them because it is one of the several options available, plus other assets that are generating passive income.

You should avoid being a copycat. The habit of setting up a business similar to that of everybody around town is a very bad idea. The fact that most people have set up such a business does not mean that it is easy to run and grow.

It is advisable that you have to do your homework first before you venture into any field.

In most cases, proponents of the ‘herd mentality’ tend to spend lavishly to keep up with the Joneses. Because your peers spend more than they earn, it is usually easy to ‘catch the bug’ and back the trend.

However, one of the lessons that can be drawn from the prevailing economic condition is that if you previously got away with extravagancy, you will not be lucky today.

Unless you cut out the excesses, your finances will always be a mess.

If you want to turn your life around, think differently and cultivate a saving and investing culture. This would be a big step in the right direction, especially when everyone around you is borrowing to buy the latest ‘toys.’

You should also avoid falling victim to the common excuse that you cannot streamline your finances because you are hardly making ends meet.

You could even consider using your accumulated knowledge and contacts to start an income-generating project. You will be surprised with your ability to translate these resources into big income streams.

Some of the things that you do not pay attention to, for instance, newspaper classified ads, are also a goldmine of information. You will be amazed by the ideas you could develop from the activities, products and services crammed in this section.

For example, if you are interested in micro finances, classified ads are a good source of information for deals, plus potential growth areas as far as location is concerned. This can be supplemented with discussions with investors in the area (micro finance) to help you make informed investment decisions.

Ultimately, changing the way you think is one of the effective ways to apply the accumulated financial knowledge to your daily life.

Donot sell your Degree but Use ur knowledge.

Millions of the students graduate from different universities in uganda equiped with updated informationa and knowledge which could be required to develop different projects for wealth accumulation but this has not been the case with uganda graduated. Most of them have turned up to be job seekers which shows the weakness on part of education system which many ugandans have critized the system blaming the ineffective part of it. But students should be ecouraged to use the technology and availability of micro finance loans to invet businesses in their respective countries thus selling their Skills and not Promoting their Degrees


Since you graduated, you've probably developed skills beyond what you learned in college. Therefore, you may not have to go back to college if you want or need to change careers. In fact, if you're looking to make a career move, you might be more successful if you look more broadly at your set of skills and learn how to sell those to employers outside of your current career and education niche. (For background reading, see Six Steps To Successfully Switching Financial Careers.)

Focus Your Career Goals
Do you already know what you want your next career move to be? If so, you can jump ahead to the section on creating a skills-based resume. If you don't, you have several options.

First, make a list of what you are looking for in a new career. For instance, are you thinking about changing jobs because you no longer want to sit in a cubicle for eight hours a day? Then your list should include something like "must involve being away from my desk at least four hours per day." Similarly, you may want to have a job that doesn't require a lot of overtime. Consider your preferences for required travel or working on projects in teams or independently. You may not get everything you want, but brainstorming is a great start.

Next, conduct research using descriptions of what you are looking for in a career. Ignore jobs you know are outside of your field of interest. For instance, if somehow "lion tamer" comes up in your search - and your friend's cat makes you nervous - you should eliminate it from any further discussion.

Based on your search results, narrow research to careers that fit at least five out of 10 things you want in a new career. Pick five careers for building a skills-based resume.

University career centers can help you with the following:

• Career tests to help you find what you might like to do next
  
• Job placement
  
• Resume review and workshops

Volunteering
Still not sure what your next move should be or need guidance in defining your career goals? Volunteer for a charity organization and/or call the career center at your old university for help. Remember to bring the list of what you are looking for in a new career position with you. (For more, see Should You Head Back To Business School?)

Volunteers at nonprofit organizations are often given as much responsibility as they want to have and extra guidance because they are working for free. You could learn leadership and training skills while showing newer volunteers the ropes or marketing and sales skills while helping to promote charity events. Let volunteer coordinators know what your skills are, so they can assign tasks to help you move forward. (For more, read Social Finance Careers: Creating A Better World.)

Create a Skills-Based Resume

Step 1: List all jobs you've held.
Jot down at least five tasks you performed in each job. For instance, working in teams to create ad campaigns, helping customers find the right products within your company's product line, making travel arrangements for industry conventions or negotiating prices with suppliers.

Then, under each task, write down how you completed this task. Not only will you see one-word skills such as "organizing" or "problem solving", but you'll also find the expanded details you need for adding specifics to your resume. You will not copy your job listings into your resume, but this exercise will be the basis for step three.

Step 2: Browse career sites for your skills.
Select the new career fields in which you are interested. Then, enter descriptions of your skills one at a time into the search box.This will help you determine the specific position titles that could work with the skills you have. Pick five job listings to mull over and study the full descriptions.

Step 3: Showcase skills that fit descriptions of your desired positions.
Pick two skills you possess that match the job listings you selected. Create separate skills sections for your resume for each position. For instance, a resume for an event planning position could list travel planning and problem solving as skills. Skills you could use for a merchandising manager position might include organization, negotiation and/or market analysis.

After picking two of your skills per job, add five to 10 bullets under each skill with your accomplishments in this area. The bullets should be similar to the bullets in step two, but your accomplishment listings will be more detailed.

Step 4: Format your resume.

• Put your name, address, and contact information at the top.
• Objective - Limit your objective to one sentence that specifies an objective directed at the specific position to which you are applying. Don't write that you are looking for new experiences in a creative field. Specify what you want to do for that company.
• Have a section for education below your skills. You want your skills to stand out more than your degree.
• Summary of your experience. List all your post-college jobs, your dates of employment and the city and state. If you have a lengthy career history, limit your previous jobs section to where you developed the skills in your resume. Volunteer positions can be included.
• Limit your entire resume to one page (To learn more, check out Resume Scribes Seal The Deal

source: investopedia.com
Godfrey.

how to start a money lending company.

Money lending business seems to be one of the booming business in developing countries both on small and large scale. although some of the businesses are not regulated and controlled by the financial authorities. Some countries have weak or ineffective regulatory framework.
Determining the best way to start a business can be a tricky endeavor, especially if you are new to entrepreneurship. Starting a money lending business is rife with various laws and regulations that need to be fully understood before you can officially open your doors for business. Proper planning will help ensure the success of your money lending business and avoid the possibility you will become another small business failure statistic. Everything from outlining a company vision to implementing infrastructure systems should be established to promote the health of your business.

Conceptualize your business. Take stock of other lending businesses and what you like and don't like about them. Make a list of pros and cons, and begin brainstorming things you would like to change relative to your competition. As part of your preparation, research possible avenues of credit extension or starting capital. This will likely be the biggest hurdle in the implementation of your business objectives unless you are self-funded. Find out how other lending company entrepreneurs in your area sought adequate capital.

Secure a line of credit from a financial institution. This should be discussed with your CPA and attorney as you want to ensure that you find the most attractive and manageable deal for your particular business needs. Negotiate an interest rate that will allow you to extend loans at a reasonable higher interest rate so you can begin making a profit immediately on your investment.

money lending business

Venturing into a money lending business is a pretty idea especially people need money nowadays. You need to focus on small market if you want to be competitive. It will be best if you will be starting up small.

Make sure that you have a presentable office so that your clients will not be scared in acquiring your service.

A money lending company is a kind of business that is becoming popular nowadays. This is due to the fact that people are now being affected by economic crisis. Money lending businesses usually provides people the opportunity to gain credit in different ways whether by means of credit cards, personal loans and other types. The market for money lending companies is already saturated by big banks, tycoons and other business that have enough money to lend people in need. If you think about starting your own money lending business but you fear that it will not work, then probably you might want to take the risk. There are money lending firms that focus on small market that offers money via check cashing, payday advance, loans and other credit service. Remember if you are starting this kind of business, it would be best to start up small.

There is now a high demand when it comes to money lending companies and it will be growing in the next years due to the fact that a lot of people consider borrowing money from lenders. Money lending companies are steadily increasing nowadays and they are often found in the high class market. Some of them are part or affiliated with big companies or stable organization. Credit services are proven to be popular as well in communities. If you are planning to open an individual lending business, you might want to serve in a wider area.

You need to charge fee for your services. If you are opening up an office you need to display the amount in your services so that your client’s will be able to see your rates. It is best if you have a nice and professional looking office space so that people will not be hesitant to go on in. Since you are catering to people who are looking for money, they might be feeling anxious and scared. Show them that your environment is friendly and you are the answer to their problem. When starting a money lending business, you need to decide if you want to operate in a bigger or small scale. It clearly depends on the type of loan you are offering. You can offer short term loan which have rate with small interest. If you plan to pursue home credit type of service, you can take small customers that may agree to pay on weekly basis. You can also offer a collection service where you will be the one to collect in their respective homes. You can earn profit on the interest rate depending on the type of loan that you offer.

Money lending business tips

Starting this kind of business takes a lot of effort and money as well. There are right and wrong ways to lend money. Proper documentation is essential in your business to keep track of the money flow. It should be well written kind of documentation. The help of a lawyer will make this a much easier task. Carefully draft the contract and discuss it with your lawyers thoroughly. This way you can avoid clients finding any loopholes in your contract.

In order to attract people, start strategizing a marketing plan. This way you can able to give incentives to your customers. Make sure that your build a good social network so that people can refer you to others. Obtain proper licenses from the government to operate legally.

Finding a good money lending company in Uganda.

With the increasing number of money lending companies in developing countries, the clients face challenges in finding out good companies to trust when deciding to borrow money in times of need. Many companies offer loans but with intentions of fulfilling their business objectives of accumulating wealth in short periods. Many of the customers of the predatory lenders have been victims of losing their wealth. Asimple loan could cause financial schocks due to the money spent from money lenders leading to long time debts thus many clients begin hiding from the lenders and money lenders suffer losses.

Many researchers have argued that "There are simple ways to know whether a certain lending company is predatory or not. Although there are many companies posting their offers online and they seem to be credible and reputable, trusting is still a risky step to prepare before taking"

Basing on the requirements and conditions,firstly, a good lender does not sound too easy. those that sound easy may not be genuine lending comapnies. Sound too easy refers to their "superficial tone of guarantee". there fore borrowers should avoid lenders who make a lot of promises without asking the required documents that may keep them safe from bankruptcy. Avoid downplays, as companies may offer you a big deal of instant cash but you need to pay a certain amount to get it withdrawn. They are predatory.

Good lending companies have low profit rates. The entire lending business revolves around interest rates. The accumulated interest from every loan represents their income. Interest is actually your payment for the service of having fast cash advance, so it is reasonable to pay them that amount. However, make sure you will not be charged more than what you are told at first.

Do not sign any document without understanding the mode of payment for the loan. Payment mode may vary according to the type of loan. Short-term loans like fast cash advances and payday loan usually adopts automatic payment mode. The bank shall automatically take the due amount out of the savings account of the borrower through the information he or she gives upon application.

A good lending company states all these information in the contract. Do not borrow more than what you need. While interest is directly proportional to the amount borrowed, youll end up paying for more interest if you borrowed more. Once the payment for the fast cash advances is taken out of your personal account as stated in your contract, there is no way you can retrieve it. That will give you another reason to borrow from a lender again and repeat the whole debt cycle

godfrey Bulondwa

micro finance:

Why have so many micro business as strategy failed to secure millions of people out of pverty? people have started the micro business in developing but no further developing. Although the poor people have been able to access finaancial services from private and govenmental Banks.
Having analysed how micro finance bank operate, one can conclude that micro finance has been taken as the leading tool or strategy by most developing nations in poverty eradication.
Depending on the iliteracy levels in developing nations, it would be of no use to invest millions of dollars in poverty eradication when other problems are not dressed up. people borrow money for other activities such as wedding, burrials, school fees which do not help in wealth accumulation. the govenments still have to educate the poor on which activities to tackle the poverty problem.

Money lenders has become another problem in developing countries.... being anew investment opportunities. most money lenders are not regulated by the financial authorities. most of the poor people has lost their properties to the money lenders due to defaulting.

welcome....

Dear customer,wellwishers,

I woul like to welcome you on this new platform where we shall be exchanging views, updates and all matters concerning GAASI Financial Services activities.

Watch this space!!

Kind regards

Bulondwa G - Chairman