Website dos and don’ts

“Given that the Internet is affecting nearly everything, I have turned to a web-based referral service for clients that lists the names and qualifications of financial advisors.

“If I put my name on this site, the issue I face is how to project credibility. The referral service does a broad background check on all the advisors it sponsors. I have been an advisor for some time, with all the credentials, except the certified financial planner designation. Despite that, the issue that keeps coming up is my credibility; potential clients who search the website for an advisor seem to want to see a big name or fancy office to create a feeling of safety.

“I recognize that, had it been a close friend of a potential client that made the connection, I would have a substantial amount of credibility to start with. But in talking with two other advisors who have used this web referral service, it seems that they have had more success in translating leads into appointments with potential clients. Any suggestions on what I might do to boost my credibility?”

– Building credibility before the first contact

The importance of establishing initial credibility with prospects is nothing new. Fifteen years ago, I talked to a successful advisor named Don who used a highly effective approach. Whenever Don scheduled an appointment with a prospective client, his assistant would courier a pre-meeting package to the prospect containing a cardboard folder with a one-page bio on Don and his team, a page on his firm and two articles that Don had published in the local newspaper.

Attached to the folder was a short, handwritten note from Don: “In advance of our conversation next Thursday, I thought you might find this background information helpful. Should you have any immediate questions, please feel free to give me a call.”

As a result of this pre-meeting package, cancellations and no-shows dropped dramatically. Even more important, sending background information in advance made the initial conversation about his credentials shorter. It also allowed Don to get into the client’s situation more quickly, which made meetings more successful. In fact, this strategy was so successful that Don adapted it for use with referrals. As a result, he saw a spike in the percentage of those he contacted following a referral who agreed to meet. The big difference was that the package went out in advance of his initial call.

Thereafter, whenever he got a referral, he sent the prospect his information package before making any other contact, including the short note: “One of my long-time clients, Dan Richards, mentioned that you might be interested in sitting down to discuss briefly the investment climate today and some decisions around your finances. I will give you a call early next week. In the meantime, you might find this background information helpful.”

When I got the email from Michael that I mentioned in my lead, I touched base with Don. Fifteen years later, Don’s assistant is still calling a courier to deliver Don’s pre-meeting package to older prospects in advance of their first meeting. But for younger prospects (those in their 40s and 50s) Don sends an email with a link to his site. He has found that many prospective clients in this age group prefer to check out Don online, in part because his website provides substantially more information than the written package sent to prospects.

– Are you in a time warp?

With that conversation in mind, I logged onto Michael’s website. I was directed to a page on his broker-dealer’s site that had Michael’s photo and a short welcoming message, followed by a long list of the services offered. When I clicked on “About me,” I saw a template that had Michael’s credentials under headings for securities licences, insurance licences, advisory licences, professional designations, education and affiliations.

Michael’s website reminded me of many advisor websites I see today. Strictly speaking, there was nothing wrong with it. All the information is factually correct. But there also wasn’t anything right; the information had no impact and there was no chance for people to engage with links to additional information or external resources. In fact, it felt like I was in a time warp – that this was a site from 2003 rather than 2013.

So, my first advice to Michael is very simple: in the short term, borrow from Don’s success by sending background information on yourself, your practice and your firm to referrals before contacting them. At the same time, Michael needs to develop a web presence that will inspire confidence when prospects look at it.

– The basics of a credible website

Your website needs to have a contemporary look and feel. But just looking good isn’t enough. Earlier this year, AdvisorWebsites.com, a Vancouver firm that specializes in building sites for financial advisors, audited slightly fewer than 900 advisor websites and found that:

– 92% were not optimized for mobile devices;

– 70% had run-on sentences and overly long paragraphs;

– 65% had fake happy people in their banners;

– 50% required more than three clicks to access information;

– 32% had no phone number;

– only 5% had a clear call to action.

Toronto-based Iconic Group Inc., an other leader in creating websites for advisors, performed an analysis of 350 advisor websites. It found that the average web visitor to an advisor’s website is there for 2.5 minutes, typically viewing between two and three pages.

Here’s where prospects spend time when they visit an advisor’s site: “Home” page – 15 to 25 seconds; “About us” – up to two minutes; “Services” page – 30 to 45 seconds.

The “About us” page is the second-most visited page after the home page. It is the most important page for prospects but also is visited frequently by returning traffic and clients. Advisors should write their bios in a way that lets their personalities shine through and touches on points that differentiate them from other advisors. Education, work history and credentials are great, but most advisors have very similar backgrounds. If potential clients can relate to your bio on a personal level (community, charitable organizations, hobbies), there is a greater chance of getting them to contact you.

If you’re in the early stages of thinking about your website, consultant Wendy Cook identifies two approaches: “For the budget-conscious, there are a number of advisor-centric web-development companies that offer templates for sites. Costs range from several hundred to a few thousand dollars, plus modest monthly support and/or hosting fees in the range of $20-$60.

“If your budget allows you to go with a high-end website designer, it can be an excellent use of your resources. In general, reasonable pricing is in the range of $4,000-$6,000 for an initial build, plus the same modest monthly support and/or hosting fees as with an off-the-shelf development service. If a service costs more than that, you may want to explore closely whether it’s worth the cost.”

– Getting mileage from your site

To get the most from your website, you need to update it regularly. You can have clients sign up to receive notifications of these updates. Cook notes that these short updates add a sense of energy and engagement to your site.

Another method is to use “newsfeeds,” in which an ongoing series of articles appears on your home page. Cook identifies two benefits to having newsfeeds. First, it creates a sense of vitality on your site. Second, it will make it more likely that your website will show up in Google searches by interested investors.

None of us are short of competing demands for our time, energy and resources. As a result, it’s easy to defer updating your website. Just remember that existing and prospective clients are unlikely to tell you that they found your website boring and out of date.

If your website is lacking and you decide not to give priority to redesigning it, be clear about the potential cost of the negative message you are sending.

Dan Richards is CEO of Clientinsights (www.clientinsights.ca) in Toronto. For more of Dan’s columns and videos, visit www.investmentexecutive.com.

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