How data entry automation empowers investment bankers to focus on deals

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Manually updating CRM records is exhausting and time-consuming. The more time your dealmakers spend on data upkeep, the less time they have to do what they were hired for—expanding relationships and closing deals.

A clunky CRM doesn’t just cause headaches for your team, it can cost you mandates and revenue. The beginning and ongoing growth of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are upgrading the traditional, time-sucking ways of maintaining data and following traditional, linear sales processes.

We sat down with Chuck Guy, Managing Director at Dara Lane Capital, to talk ‌about automating your CRM, how to extract value from your data, and, ultimately, how to close more mandates using that data.

No time to read right now? Watch and listen to our full interview with Guy instead.

Implement a simplified data enrichment process

Automating your relationship and mandate management process is all about simplifying and enriching your data to make your team faster and more efficient.

Capturing information from calendar invites, email information, and historical interaction data should be simple. Intelligent, automated CRM platforms also have to make it easy to then find these details (and more). “Data enrichment doesn’t have to feel like a fishing expedition. A lot of valuable information is already public.” Guy said.

Public data sources are an invaluable asset to your investment team. Relationship-focused CRM platforms integrate directly with both public and private data vendors to present and share enriched datasets directly alongside your team’s information.

Build stronger relationships with customers and investors

The idea of technology replacing elements of the relationship management process can seem impersonal. The reality is that automation can make your interactions more personalized and have a positive impact on relationship building.

Automation is not the opposite of personalization. Closing deals requires much more than surface data ‌you collect on your own. It requires in-depth information on your clients.

“At Dara Lane Capital, we work with two sides: investors and early-stage companies.” Guy said. “Automating our data entry has helped reduce the time we spend working on and closing deals with investors by nearly 70% and with early-stage companies by almost 30%.”

This level of automation fundamentally changes how teams work. Your dealmakers’ time is better used for making meaningful, personal connections with investors and companies alike.

Overcoming resistance to innovation

While AI and automation are a common topic of conversation and a trend in the M&A world, few banks are implementing it for themselves. For most firms, not much has changed since the early days of Excel. Traditional CRMs are closer to file cabinets than new technologies. If you don’t put the data in yourself, it’s not there. It takes a lot of time and money to manage well.

Some banks are still hesitant to let go of control and accept the new way to work, but industry-leading automated tools integrate into existing workflows. They aren’t disruptive to anything but the status quo. They work the way bankers work and make existing processes more efficient without dismantling them.

“Our inventory is time. If we aren’t using our time wisely, we’re losing money.”

Making a change at scale takes time. In order to prove the value of the technology before adopting it, you have to understand exactly how and where your team can use it. One frequently overlooked value that these tools have is that you can use them to build your brand as a forward-thinking, efficient team. Improved operations make your team better at their jobs, and proving that efficiency to clients can be the difference between choosing you or your competition.

“Our inventory is time.” Guy added. “If we aren’t using our time wisely, we’re losing money.” With automation and AI tools, bankers can be prepared for the opportunities to come.