Both authors not only write about technology they are also very successful fee only advisors who use it extensively in their practices. David Drucker is based in New Mexico and Joel Bruckenstein in Florida. But what makes them so unique is how they run their practices almost all of it is virtual.

In the context of a financial advisory business, concrete things are offices, staff, face-to-face meetings and financial plan documents.

Yet all of these things have virtual counterparts that can be substituted for the "real" thing if clients will accept these substitutes without perceiving a diminution of service. If clients will accept virtual services, it is just possible that adopting a virtual firm business model or at least some aspects of it. It might be the key to a profitable, long-term survival in the face of new competitors with much deeper pockets.

In no way are they saying their way of working is the way to go for everyone. Drucker is the only employee of his company. With lots of help and delegating the major portion of every important function in his firm to someone else, he works from home and still is able to attract clients with million dollars plus net worths.

• (a) outsourcing
• (b) paperless systems
• (c) Application Service Provider models (online systems for accomplishing tasks previously done with desktop or manual systems, for example financial planning software, proxy voting, postage, continuing education etc…

At first they were both met with the usual skepticism, how could they breach their client's confidentiality by sending critical data to application service providers or virtual workers? They also said they would be jeopardizing the security of the data if they removed the trusty old paper medium.

While none of these issues are true, never did they doubt what they were doing. Now that they have tested out the virtual office and proven that it works to them, they counsel other advisors on how to move more rapidly.

David Drucker says that the tools for a virtual office don't have to be very fancy or expensive. You are going to need a modern computer, a dependable network (if you have employees) a high quality scanner and effective scanning software.

A client relationship management package that ties together client information (emails, correspondence, scanned images, etc.) and routes client workflow among employees and/or virtual work partners. Along with a reliable backup system such as an external drive or DVD burner, all of this for a sole practitioner (i.e. absent the network) could be had for less than $5,000.

David Drucker recommends that the first steps to take if you decide to go virtual is to move your paper files to digital files, i.e. begin scanning paper to get all of that information into a system from they can retrieve it quickly and easily to better serve clients.

Look closely at each employee job function. Where are the training deficiencies, the bad fits? Where are the inefficiencies, for example, an employee who has been in a position too long and is now being paid a salary above the market price for their services?

Learn about outsourcing opportunities to replace these workers. Employees don't necessarily have to be let go; they might be promoted into jobs more satisfying to them and more beneficial to the firm's owner.

The third step is to convert systems to accommodate virtual workers. If client data is going to be shared with offsite workers, it needs to travel a secure path, whether it be over a Virtual Private Network, a secure website to which it is uploaded or a GoToMyPC-type arrangement.

The last step is to integrate systems for digital retrieval of information. This is why a client relationship management system should be adopted from the advisor ties together all of their client information in one place on a PC or a network.

Any employee or virtual worker should be able to click on the client's name and see every transaction that has taken place for that client in chronological order, whether it is the notes of a recent phone conversation or the last portfolio statement that was sent to the client.

Drucker and Bruckenstein both say that not many years ago, a financial advisory firm with a website was a novelty. Now we perceive any business without a Web presence as a curiosity not to be taken seriously.

Advisors slow to adopt new technologies are being surpassed by many of their clients' own facilities at using new digital phenomena. In this climate, we need to promote both the perception and the reality that we can operate efficiently.

To purchase the book go here To subscribe to their monthly newsletter Virtual Office News There you will get the latest research on the various virtual office solutions and technology with articles by Drucker and Bruckenstein plus guest columnists every month.

As for the book, I believe that it is a a must read for everyone looking to cut paperwork, overhead and wasted hours in their practices.

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