Last year’s global pandemic put every business to the test, and TechGirl Financial was no exception. Victor Gaxiola and his wife Kim had worked in financial services since 2004, but together, they established TechGirl Financial in 2011 to serve a specific niche market: women in technology. Although the pair have always run a digital-first operation, the past year created unanticipated opportunities along with new challenges.

In a recent fireside chat with Brittany Nevares, Customer Marketing Manager at Hearsay, Victor described how the pandemic surfaced new client trends that paved the way for deepening connections during a time of uncertainty. Specifically, Victor shared how he leveraged Hearsay Relate—which enables secure, compliant texting—to nurture more intimate relationships with his clients.

As everyone conditioned themselves to habitual use of new technologies (Zoom much?) to get work done and maintain personal relationships, Victor encountered a double-edged sword.

With a decreased need to be local, geography was no longer an impediment to acquiring new business. “Technology allowed us to open our business to everyone, so that we weren’t limited to the Bay Area, but could also take on clients in North Carolina and Texas as well,” said Victor. However, this meant that his local client base was at risk of being courted by advisors outside his area. Nevertheless, he feels that while the rise of video conferencing afforded clients more selection and variety, it forced advisors to innovate, in order to stand out from the crowd. “This is where a niche focus like women in technology helps us differentiate our practice,” added Victor.

Zoom was a good proxy for client onboarding and reviews in the absence of face-to-face meetings, but to communicate regularly in between Zooms, Victor found that Hearsay Relate integrated seamlessly into his new business model, helping to drive deeper relationships.

“Relate was a game changer in terms of enabling us to make an intimate connection with clients and cut through the clutter,” said Victor. “Every day we’re bombarded with emails and marketing messages, but when it comes to texting, we’re a bit more selective as to who can text us and who we’re willing to respond to.”

Below, Victor shares three of his best practices for Hearsay Relate:

Effectively manage business and logistical transactions

Whether it’s appointment requests, confirmations, reminders, or signature requests, Relate helps you bypass an overflowing inbox to get transactions completed. “If you send a DocuSign request, there are times when the email is ignored; but send a text reminder through Hearsay Relate and it gets done,” said Victor.

You can use Relate to pre-program anything that’s logistical in nature. You can also plan for paperwork or administrative tasks in advance; for example, if there’s anything special that your client would like covered in a meeting, you can send information or pre-work ahead of time, to be better prepared.

Stay on top of your clients’ personal celebrations and milestones

Fortunately, you can also integrate Relate with an existing CRM to pre-program personal texts like birthday greetings, anniversaries, holidays etc., with Relate. Victor likes to get creative with birthday messages, by scheduling a morning greeting embellished with an emoji or image. These small touch points help nurture more intimate connections.

“It’s easy for anybody to understand how Relate helps from a communications and logistics standpoint,” said Victor. “But one day, we received a photograph of mountains and streams from a client in Colorado, who was out on a walk. This kind of unsolicited sharing enriches our relationship with our clients beyond the business,” added Victor.

For him, it’s a two-way street: The business of finance is personal, so it’s important to establish trust with who you’re working with. While he can share endless social posts related to finance, if Victor takes a photo of his dog or cat and refers to them as “the intern,” he gets much more engagement. “The human side—and the humor—goes both ways, and the more we do it, the more we get it back,” he noted. Many of Victor’s clients become a part of his and Kim’s personal lives, which he feels is an unforeseen benefit that Relate has brought to his business.

Establish communication best practices early on

When it comes to communicating with clients, Victor distinguishes between social media (used for scale) vs. Relate (used for 1:1 exchange). Depending on one’s book of business, it’s important to strike a balance between managing time and being efficient. With top clients, Victor ensures that he’s using Relate to reach out no less than once a month; some clients are on a weekly cadence.

Because three people on his team use Relate (himself, Kim and an Operations Manager), he uses a single Relate number, so that everyone can be in on the conversation. Relate allows users to assign a delegate, so it’s easy to see who’s responding and when. His team includes initials with each text response, so that even clients know who at TechGirl Financial is responding.

As the battleground for client attention continues to evolve, Hearsay Relate helps Victor and the team at TechGirl FInancial “get right to the point without any fluff,” while nurturing more authentic, personal client connections.

A huge thanks to Victor for sharing his insights and best practices for Hearsay Relate with Brittany!