Picture this…you need to send a quick update to your email list. You go to log into your email marketing system, but you can’t remember the password. You try one password. Wrong. You try another password. Still wrong.
By this point you’re panicking. You don’t want to lock yourself out of your account, so you admit defeat and click the Forgot your password button. Then you spend the next 15 minutes navigating to your email, resetting your password, and finally sending that update to your list.
Sound familiar?
Studies show that you’ll spend 12 full days throughout your life remembering and resetting passwords. 12 full days!
As much as I love technology, I’ll be the first to admit that having to remember dozens of passwords is a huge burden and a waste of time. That’s why I recommend every financial advisor use a secure password manager to store their information.
What Is A Password Manager?
A password manager is just as it sounds. It’s online software that stores and manages your online credentials. It’s mostly used for usernames and passwords, but you can also use it to store credit card information, bank account numbers, and secure notes.
This is how it works…
Once your password manager is set up, you visit a website like normal. But instead of logging into the website, you log into your password manager. Your username and password for that site will then automatically populate so you can sign in.
Instead of having to remember a different username and password for each site, you only need to remember the one password to your vault. It’s a huge time-saver.
What’s The Best Password Manager For Financial Advisors?
My favorite password vault for financial advisors is LastPass. It attaches to your web browser and can be used across all your devices. So if you use a Mac at work, a Windows machine at home, and have an Android phone, that’s okay.
LastPass stores all your information in one centralized location, so you can access it from anywhere. No more getting home and realizing a password you need is on your computer at the office. It’s a game-changer.
You also never have to type in a password with LastPass. All you have to do is log into LastPass each day using your master password. Then it will securely enter your information for each site you visit.
The basic version of LastPass is free, but you can upgrade to the premium version for only $3 a month. With password storage this cheap, you can’t afford not to use it.
Why Should Financial Advisors Use A Password Manager?
Every financial advisor needs a password manager in their life. Here are five reasons why:
1. Password managers boost your productivity.
Think about all the login information you have to remember on a daily basis: your website, your risk analysis software, your financial planning software, your CRM, accounting platform, social media profiles, email addresses, and the list goes on and on and on.
Now, imagine never having to remember those passwords again.
That’s the beauty of a password manager. Instead of having to remember a unique username and password for each account, you just remember one master password.
Suddenly, the frustration that comes with having to remember multiple usernames and passwords is gone. You can quickly and easily complete small tasks without getting caught up on whether you have the log-in info to complete them.
2. Password managers save you time.
Password managers autofill in your credentials for every website, which means you don’t have to waste brainpower trying to remember your password and you don’t have to waste time typing it in.
Even if you spend two minutes each workday logging into accounts, that adds up to 40 minutes a month and 8 hours over the course of a year—an entire workday! It doesn’t seem like much in the moment, but it adds up to a huge chunk of time.
3. Password managers help you keep your accounts secure.
Security best practices teach us that we need strong, unique passwords for every website. Some even say we need unique usernames as well.
But you’re only one person. How can you possibly remember so many usernames and passwords on top of everything else you need to do?
Once again, that’s where a password manager comes in. If you’re setting up a new account, your password manager will generate a unique password for you and store it in your vault. It’s usually a long password made up of random letters and numbers, so it’s almost impossible to hack.
4. Password managers protect you against phishing attacks.
Phishing attempts have gotten really sophisticated over the years. Now it can be almost impossible to tell which websites are real and which ones are fake.
Thankfully, a password manager helps with that. If you navigate to a website that isn’t legit, your password manager won’t automatically fill in your log-in information. It’s a surefire way to know if you’re on the right URL.
5. Password managers allow you to safely share passwords with your team.
Password managers are a powerful tool for financial advisors because they allow you to quickly and securely share passwords with your team. You can share your business credit card information with your assistant, social media passwords with your marketing team, or even your financial planning software credentials with a fellow advisor.
All you do is log into your vault, select which passwords you’d like to share, and then enter the email addresses for any individual or group who needs it. The usernames and passwords will then appear in their vault.
These passwords are encrypted, so they’re much more secure than if you wrote them down on a piece of paper or sent them via email or chat. The best part is, you can revoke access once an individual no longer needs them.
How To Share LastPass Credentials With Your Team
Wondering how to share usernames and passwords with LastPass? Our team created a quick video walking you through how to safely and securely share your credentials.
When a financial advisor works with Indigo, we use LastPass’s sharing features to get your log-in information for your social media channels and website. Watch this video to find out how to do it:
Harness Technology To Supercharge Your Productivity
In today’s information age, the technologies you adopt are the fuel for growing your business. Using a program such as LastPass is just one of many ways you can leverage technology to save you time and supercharge your productivity. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can complete small tasks when you don’t have log-in information getting in the way.
Want to learn about other tech tools you should be using as a financial advisor? Check out this podcast episode where I sit down with Indigo’s technology guru, Tammy Hawkins, and talk about all things productivity and technology. We go over:
- The top technologies for financial advisors
- How advisors can successfully implement new technologies into their firms
- How to embrace technology to improve client services
It’s an informative and engaging podcast you don’t want to miss.
You can also check out the technology section on our blog to read more helpful information similar to this.
Looking for more ways to improve your marketing as a financial advisor? Find more information on our blog. Or learn more about how we help financial advisors just like you grow their businesses with our Total Marketing Package.