Delivering Unprecedented Personalized Service
Addressing the needs of individuals, families and corporations in central Massachusetts, Girard (G9) Financial Group, LLC is an independent, full-service financial planning and investment firm specializing in total asset management. Its offerings include but are not limited to: investment, estate, education, insurance, and income tax planning.
Girard Financial Group “walks the walk” by delivering highly personalized counsel to its clients.
The Importance of In-Person Client Meetings
A major contributor to the firm’s success is the value it places on in-person client meetings. From initial “get to know you” sessions with prospects to annual portfolio reviews, and from planning for major life events (e.g. funding college or retirement) to pre-set meetings every 90 days with businesses– office visits with Girard team members provide an ideal venue for constructive conversations.
Founder & President Daniel F. Girard Jr. LUTCF has been a longtime proponent of face-to-face meetings, saying they help clients to “go from a place of confusion, frustration and fear to a state of clarity, control and confidence.”
Online Appointment Scheduling Creates Successful Client Meetings
Girard first began using Engageware following the 2008 financial crisis. At that time, clients were naturally concerned about the future of their portfolios and retirement accounts. After the downturn, Dan Girard knew that meetings with clients would provide an ideal opportunity to discuss their financial status, adjust goals and strategies, and help restore confidence.
Prior to its adoption of Engageware, Girard Financial Group scheduled appointments through the standard method of setting a meeting time through phone tag, and back-and-forth email exchanges — a process Girard describes as “time consuming and inefficient.”
Fast Forward to Today
Engageware has become an integral part of how Girard runs its practice, manages workflow, and engages with clients. “If we didn’t have Engageware, we’d be lost,” says Dan Girard. Whereas staff used to spend valuable time hitting the phone to set up meetings, Engageware has dramatically reduced the need for outbound outreach. And, according to Girard: “Increasingly more and more of our clients don’t call to book their appointments, they just go to our website and find a time that works for them. Confirmed appointments just show up in my calendar.”
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Start your Free TrialEnhancing Client Engagement and Service
For maximum connectivity, the Girard Financial Group offers clients a range of “have it your way” options to book appointments with advisors including:
Company Website
- Visitors to the Girard Financial Group website will find a “Meet Our Team” section prominently displayed on their homepage, with a prompt to “Schedule an office visit” hyperlinked to Engageware, where clients schedule meetings in three quick steps.
- Similarly, each advisor’s bio on the site’s Our Team section features a “Schedule an office visit” link that shows available time slots on the appointment calendar of that executive.
Email & Newsletters
- Email signatures of all of Girard’s employees include a Click! to SCHEDULE button or a To schedule a meeting click HERE… hyperlink directly to that individual’s calendar.
- Every month, Girard Financial Group emails an opt-in Newsletter to a list of thousands of clients, prospects, and others. Beyond sharing helpful content, the GFG Newsletter also prompts clients to “visit www.GirardFinancialGroup.com to view our calendar and schedule a time to meet.”
A Powerful Referral Engine
Girard Financial Group sets a strong example for others by following “best practices” advocated by Maribeth Kuzmeski who cautioned financial advisors in an NAIFA Advisor Today Magazine article writing: “Referral acquisition is no longer reliant on word-of-mouth.”
Girard communicates regularly with clients and enlists them in growing the practice. This sentence from a recent Newsletter says it all: “As always if you know anyone who could benefit from the provided information please forward along!”
Dan Girard is bullish about online appointment scheduling, saying: “I don’t know how other financial planners survive without it. Time is money and spending less time worrying about the logistics of setting up appointments gives us more time to meet with clients.”
About Girard Financial Group
Founded in 1999, by Daniel F. Girard Jr. LUTCF, Girard Financial Group is an independent investment and insurance services firm headquartered in Millbury, Massachusetts.
As “Personal CFO” to its clients, Girard Financial Group is involved in coordinating important aspects of their lives including retirement planning, asset and risk management, estate planning, children’s college education, as well as corporate benefits and insurance.
The firm addresses its clients’ needs with independent objectivity, through what it calls a “holistic” approach, bringing together new ideas, professional experience, and knowledge to work for the benefit of the client.