Press Release
401Konnect Teams with Larkspur Data and TAG to Offer Full Turnkey Sales Solution
Palo Alto, Calif., December 18, 2002 - 401Konnect, announced today that Larkspur Data, the Technical Answer Group, and 401Konnect have collaborated to launch a powerful new service. The new Premium Services Package gives advisors full turnkey support for qualified plan prospecting, sales and service. "What we saw in the past was that advisors had to subscribe to a host of different products and services in their efforts to close more business and effectively service their accounts. What we’ve done is combine all the tools a broker needs to prospect for new plans, compare service providers, print color reports for presentations and maintain and enhance their knowledge base", said Art Young, V.P. of Business Development of 401Konnect.
"We work with many of the premier distribution companies in the financial services industry," said David Gilbert, CEO of 401Konnect. "While they have been highly complementary of the 401Konnect data and service, many of these clients have asked for technical support for complex cases and situations, and for help in customer identification and acquisition. The new Premium Services Package was created in direct response to the changing needs of the marketplace."
"Larkspur Data offers a searchable qualified plan database that allows you to literally slice through the market, focusing only on those individuals or institutions that truly need your services. Once you’d found a great prospect though, you’ll probably want to look at your options. Who is their current service provider? How do they stack up against the competition? You’ll want to compare plans, generate full-color reports, and enhance your knowledge base so you’re better prepared for the appointment. With Premium Services, you’ll have everything you need to close the sale from start to finish", said Robert Morris, V.P. of Sales and Marketing for Larkspur Data.
Richard Carpenter of TAG Data adds, "We welcome the association with Larkspur Data and 401Konnect. Our experts with many years of experience, and our extensive database of questions and answers, including 19,000 government documents, can help brokers and advisors around the country support their customers quickly and accurately."
"Many of our advisors have asked for help in locating clients (Larkspur Data), finding the best provider product match for their client companies, preparing reports (401Konnect), and having a resource available for legal and technical support, (TAG Data). We have listened to our customers and are providing this premium, low-cost service to meet their end-to-end needs," added Young.
The ever growing market acceptance of 401Konnect’s approach to business, including exclusive focus on leveraging brokers and fee-based consultants in their sale and selection of products, has resulted in more than 55 contracts with securities brokers and insurance agencies throughout the United States. The company expects to have agreements with firms representing over 100,000 brokers and agents completed in the next few months. "We believe that the popularity of 401Konnect’s approach in many of the leading financial-distribution companies in this country demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach. Our users receive multiple benefits including comprehensive analysis and reporting capabilities for due diligence, expedited receipt of proposals, complete tracking of firm activity and the benefit of research on developing market trends as included for example in a recent market study, What Do Brokers Want in 401k Plans. 401Konnect’s carefully developed process allows brokers and advisors to tailor requests based on client preferences and a rapidly changing environment, which we think will be even more important in the future," said Gilbert.
About 401Konnect
401Konnect, Inc. is a privately held firm headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, dedicated to providing a frictionless 401k supply chain through a Web-based marketplace for brokers and benefits consultants. 401Konnect is led and managed by a senior team that includes the leading 401k researchers and advisors, as well as veterans of the financial industry and Internet development world. Through the 401konnect.com site, brokers and consultants can match and compare retirement plans in detail to meet their clients’ preferences, and the site automates the RFP process, saving time and money for brokers and plan vendors. For more information on 401Konnect, please visit the company information section of www.401konnect.com.
About Larkspur Data
Larkspur Data is the industry’s leading provider of targeted database marketing tools. Over the past ten years, Larkspur Data has helped thousands of sales and marketing professionals close billions of dollars in new sales. Their products include searchable databases of qualified plans, high net worth individuals and tax-exempt organizations. Larkspur Data’s most recent offering, DataMaster Pro, includes detailed information on nearly 1.4 million qualified plans nationwide. The product also contains enhanced call center data and supplemental investment information on nearly 150,000 plans across the country. DataMaster Pro is updated as often as once every seven days. Used by more than 75% of the industry’s top service providers, DataMaster Pro is the industry’s leading qualified plan prospecting tool.
About Technical Answer Group
The Technical Answer Group, Inc. (TAG) was formed in 1994 as the 'Consultant's Consultant' for Retirement Plan Issues. TAG Subscribers have access to the proprietary TAG database of questions and answers, over 19,000 government documents for research and the ability to ask our experts technical questions relating to Retirement Plans. TAG staff members each have more than 16 years in the field. Their expertise, coupled with the TAG Subscribers website means your time is saved by not having to research hard copy or surf the internet for questionable explanations.
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