Ask financial advisors to describe their biggest business challenge, and more than 80% will tell you "they do not have enough qualified leads to talk to each month." More than 80% also say "they do not have an effective solution for this problem." The percentages are probably higher than those noted in this article.
In the absence of a current lead generation strategy that works, a similar percentage also say their main source of new leads are referrals from friends, family, current clients, and centers of influence. But, pressed a little further, they admit the referrals are few and far between and barely cover their losses due to normal client attrition. And, perhaps more importantly, they only convert an average of 40% of referrals into revenue-producing clients.
This article will discuss how digital marketing for financial advisors can be your best source for generating leads and growing your business. But, like anything else when you are marketing financial advice, it is relatively complex because investors are very cautious when interacting with financial advisors.
This article will have seven chapters to help make the web your best source for connecting with prospective clients:
- Why is the internet the best way for investors to find financial advisors?
- Why is online the financial advisor's best source for new leads?
- Why is credibility an important marketing characteristic for financial advisors?
- Why is trust an important marketing characteristic for financial advisors?
- How can financial advisor lead generation be improved online?
- Why build your own lead generation company?
- Who is responsible for converting leads into potential clients
Put yourself in the investor's shoes. You just moved to a new city. You have no local contacts. You are seeking local financial, tax, and legal advice. What is the fastest, easiest way to find these professionals, learn more about them, and maintain anonymity simultaneously?
"If the internet is the best way for investors to find financial advisors, then the Internet is the best way for advisors to find investors."
Source: Paladin Digital Marketing
Most financial advisors are preoccupied with the internet's ability to produce leads for their services. That is a powerful application, but it is not the most important application from the investors' perspective. The more important application is the ability to learn more about financial advisors without having to contact them.
In other words, people have a lot of ways to find financial services, but online is the best way to learn more about them and protect their identity at the same time. This is much different than the past when investors had to talk to advisors to learn more about them. Those days are long gone.
Why is online a financial advisor's best source for new leads?
At the risk of being redundant, the internet is the best source for new leads because that is where your target audience is likely to go to find and research financial planning services. It's also increasing at a rapid rate.
Where would you go if you were a duck hunter? That's right, you would find a local watering hole that was frequented by a lot of ducks. You may also do additional research to find out if the lake you selected has a large bird population.
Why conduct research? Reduce your risk of making a mistake. Nothing is more boring than sitting in a duck blind with your Labrador Retriever, and there are no ducks.
In this case, the web is the source of that information. All of the data is at the fingertips of the user.
Why is credibility an important marketing characteristic for financial advisors?
This is where it gets interesting. Investors are seeking financial experts who can help them achieve their goals. What they see on financial advisor websites and what they see when they Google search their names impacts who they contact for interviews.
The more credible the financial advisor, the higher the probability investors will contact them to schedule introductory interviews.
What makes a financial advisor credible? Investors seek financial experts, so several credentials equal credibility: education, experience, certifications, teams of specialized professionals, and objective references.
A lot of this information should be made available on financial advisor websites.
Why is trust an important marketing characteristic for financial advisors?
That's because investors want financial experts they can trust. This is a challenge for investors because every financial advisor claims to be trustworthy, but very few advisors can prove they are trustworthy.
Two marketing tactics worth mentioning are full disclosure and documentation.
For example, a financial advisor provides full disclosure for all of the fees and commissions that will be deducted from the investors' accounts. This information is not withheld from investors, making them ask the right questions to get the information they seek.
Another example is the documentation for key information that impacts the investors' selection decisions. Verbal information may be a sales pitch, and no written record exists. If there is a dispute, it is the investor's word against the advisor's. The advisor will win, which is another disclosure issue.
How can financial advisor marketing results improve online?
It is probably too strong to say the information on the internet is enough to motivate investors to select particular financial advisors. But, it is reasonable to say the information can certainly influence which advisors are interviewed by investors. This critical first step impacts the advisors' opportunity to market their services to investors.
Conversely, if investors don't like what they see online, the advisors do not get the opportunity to market their services. This is a one-time opportunity. There may not be any secondary opportunity.
Why build your own lead generation company?
You may be familiar with the lead gen companies that produce and sell leads to financial advisors. They use search engine strategies like SEO and SEM to produce the leads they sell to multiple advisors.
You could use the same financial advisor marketing strategies to sell your services to investors. You and your investors are better off when you deal with each other. No one is in the middle of gathering data and selling the information to multiple financial advisors.
Investors are better off finding financial advisors online, learning more about them, and initiating contact with the best advisors. They are not limited to financial advisors who have agreed to pay the lead generation company's fees.
Who is responsible for converting leads into the ideal client?
The role of the website is to convert visitors into qualified leads. It is the financial advisors' responsibility to convert leads into revenue-producing clients.
The more investors are convinced they have found the right financial advisor online, the easier it will be for the advisor to convert leads into clients.
What are the top five characteristics that investors are looking for?
The advisor:
- Practices full disclosure with documentation
- Is a trustworthy financial expert
- Provides the services that investors are seeking
- Works with clients like the investors
- Provides a safe environment for the investors' assets
The financial advisors' websites are more than a delivery system for information about the advisors. They are an important part of the sales process that has a major impact on the financial advisors' marketing results.
