Editor's Note: This post was originally published in October 2016 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
In a 2024 Paladin survey, 85.3% of financial advisors said they were dissatisfied with the results that were produced by their websites.
Additional survey questions confirmed more than 90% of the aforementioned 85.3% of these advisory firms were not sure why their websites failed to produce any results of infrequent results.
76.7% of the advisors were inclined to blame their websites for the low productivity. However, 23.3% were inclined to blame their lack of online visibility for their low website traffic and lead flow. The 23.3% of financial advisors would be right. Websites do not generate their own traffic. Internet visibility produces the traffic that financial advisor websites need to generate leads.
Some advisors may even conclude digital marketing does not work for them. They believe they are too small to achieve any meaningful results. This is a big mistake. One of the biggest trends on Google is increasing numbers of people are using the Internet to find, screen, and contact all types of professionals: Financial advisors, CPAs, attorneys, doctors, etc. Think of your own use of the Internet to find and vet professionals and other service providers.
In this article, we document the top seven reasons why financial advisor websites fail to generate leads
Websites Are Not Sales Brochures
Most financial advisors have used “Outbound Marketing” tactics for decades. By definition, Outbound Marketing means financial advisors use telemarketing and other tactics to initiate contact with financial advisors. Outbound is generally considered an invasive form of marketing because financial advisors were contacting people who did not want to be contacted.
Inbound marketing is just the opposite. Investors use the information they find on the Internet to screen and contact financial advisors. In general, this tactic is not invasive because contact is initiated by investors.
This is a major marketing opportunity, created by the Internet, and a challenge all at the same time. financial advisor websites have to be able to convince visitors to initiate contact with them. Unfortunately, most advisor websites are similar to sales brochures. They deliver basic information, but they do not convert visitors into leads. Consequently, very few financial advisor websites generate a steady flow of new leads each month.
Pro Tip: There are three types of financial advisor websites. Those that deliver information, those that generate leads, and those that do both.
Time On Site Limits Productivity
Paladin has researched the performance of hundreds of financial advisor websites. What we found creates a major marketing challenge for most financial advisory firms.
Financial advisor website home pages (above the fold)) have 10 seconds to develop a first impression that creates the initial interest that keeps visitors engaged on their sites. For example, did the investor come to the right website? Does the advisor provide the services the investor is seeking (planning, investing, risk management)/
If visitors engage, the typical financial advisor website has 2 minutes and 32 seconds to deliver information, build credibility and trust, and convince visitors to give up their anonymity and submit their contact information.
Pro Tip: Go to Google Analytics to view your Time On Site statistics.
Deliver The Right Website Content
When investors are seeking financial advisors on the Internet it is realistic to assume they will be visiting several websites and not just yours unless they are predisposed to select your firm and are seeking validation. When they visit multiple advisor websites they are seeking information that helps them compare financial advisors to each other.
These categories of information can include:
- About Us
- Our Team
- What We Do
- Who We Serve
- About Our Custodian
- About Our Compensation
- Resource Center
Not only do you need to deliver the right information, you need intuitive navigation so investors can find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Our surveys show investors will not search websites for information. They will simply move on to the next financial website.
Pro Tip: Building credibility and trust in a few minutes or less is the key to success.
Transparency Is No Longer An Option
Too many financial advisors assume they can withhold information on the Internet and investors will not know the difference. This business practice can be a big mistake.
When investors visit multiple financial advisor websites it is relatively easy for them to identify advisors who are practicing transparency and advisors who are withholding information. For example, one financial advisor website has content that describes their compensation practices and another does not.
Does this sound familiar: “You can trust our firm, we are financial fiduciaries who are required to put your financial interests ahead of our own”. However, you withhold any information that you believe will cause investors to exclude you from their searches for financial advisors. This contradiction is a risky proposition.
Pro Tip: Advisors will have to be more transparent to market their services on the Internet.
What Are The Best Free Offers On Financial Advisor Websites?
Financial advisors use several types of free offers on their websites to encourage investors to give up their anonymity and contact them. Most of them do not work.
For example, the offer could be a free plan or portfolio review. In this case, financial advisors have free offers on their websites that require investors to divulge personal financial information to someone they just found on the Internet. Very few investors are inclined to do that.
Many of the free offers are thinly disguised sales tactics that are supposed to motivate investors to initiate contact with financial advisors.
There is a wide range of valid free offers that do work: eBooks, webinars, checklists, etc. The best free offers will provide solutions to frequent financial pain points. For example, many investors are concerned about running out of money late in life. An eBook or webinar could address their concern by providing a realistic solution.
Pro Tip: Free offers have to resonate with investors to be effective. And, the more intriguing the offer, the higher the probability investors will give up their anonymity to get it.
Don’t Take Safety For Granted
Unfortunately, the financial service industry has developed a relatively bad reputation for aggressive sales tactics. This could be based on the investors’ personal experiences, the experiences of friends and family, or headline news when big fines are levied against brand name firms (2008). The natural reaction of investors is to be extra cautious when they deal with the financial service industry.
Financial advisor websites should go out of their way to make visitors feel safe and comfortable. For example, an advisor may have a page that describes their code of ethics or business practices. Or, a description of the ways you protect investors’ contact information.
One important tactic can be to publish a page on your website that describes the role of your custodian. In particular, if the custodian happens to be one of the big four: Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing, or LPL. This is a layer of security that can make a potential client feel safer.
Pro Tip: Safety is primarily a state of mind for investors. There is no way financial advisors can prove they are trustworthy on their websites. They can claim to be trustworthy, but so does every other advisor on the Internet. Financial advisors should make all of their website information as transparent as possible.
Leads Versus Contacts
A lead could be investors who are seeking financial advisors they can interview. They may visit eight advisor websites, contact four of them for interviews, and select one to advise them on their finances. This numbers game is the foundation of most financial advisor sales funnels.
There is another type of investor visiting financial advisor websites. This investor does not have an immediate need to interview financial advisors. They are seeking particular types of information - for example, someone who is about to retire and wants to know the steps that help them minimize financial risk during the transition years.
This second type of visitor is a contact who will be added to your drip list. You will use email marketing to build credibility, and trust, and stay in touch until this type of investor is ready to start interviewing financial advisors.
Pro Tip: Do it right and you should have a competitive advantage when a contact becomes an active lead seeking the services of a financial advisor.
