You’ve most probably considered buying financial adviser leads to help your business growth.
Maybe you already have.
But is it a good idea or not?
We regularly hear horror stories from our clients about large spends on buying leads, with little, if any, return on investment.
It may sound like a good way to get more clients, but buying leads or any other off-the-shelf lead types may not be viable.
We believe there is a better approach – instead of relying on marketing strategies and infrastructure of lead sellers, you should focus on building your own lead generation strategy.
An infrastructure that would allow you to own and nurture every lead.
A prospective client will already know your business name when you make contact.
Below we have pulled together the pros and cons of buying financial adviser leads over creating your own lead generation strategy.
As Google Partners, we’re here to answer any questions you may have.
The pros and cons of buying financial adviser leads
Many third-party providers are trying to sell leads to financial services companies. Contact the company, buy some leads, and you’re good to go.
But is it as easy as that?
Converting these contacts into qualified leads is a difficult task.
The first thing to remember is that most people on this list have never heard of you.
You will struggle to build their trust.
Second, it is likely that other financial companies will have the same idea as yours.
You have a list likely to be in many other businesses’ hands.
You should also consider the compliance of third-party vendors who provide the leads to your company.
Do they care about quality?
How can you be certain that lead-acquiring vendors use the correct advertising and adhere to the FCA standards?
Many financial companies that buy off-the-shelf leads also neglect to invest in their digital marketing strategies.
If you get through to a lead you bought, what would they think of your marketing efforts?
Remember, first impressions as a financial adviser are paramount.
Developing your own lead generation engine
Building your own digital marketing and lead generation infrastructure is not done overnight.
Although it is an investment in time and money, you will benefit from it in the long run with generation of quality financial adviser leads.
You should start by ensuring that various tools and accounts are properly set up. These should include:
- Google My Business
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Google Ads
- Bing/Microsoft Ads
- Facebook Business Profile
- Facebook/Meta Business Manager
- LinkedIn Business Page
To engage online prospects, you will also need a strong website and brand presence.
You should consider refreshing your website if it needs it, and invest in the build of service specific landing pages built to convert.
Once you have all these assets, you are now in a position to create a strong lead generation machine that is both sustainable and effective, and best of all, all yours.
Consider the possibilities if your website was ranking in the top Google and/or Bing search results for your targeted keywords.
Instead of relying on prospects acquired from another business, your prospects would have visited your website or landing pages to learn more about your value proposition and content, and made contact… with YOU!
The best bit is, it doesn’t even have to stop there. You can take the data you acquire from website visitors and retarget this data across social media.
Retargeting has an extremely powerful ‘mop up’ effect in lead generation.
Around 97% of visitors who leave never return to a website. Although retargeting paired with advertising tools increases the chances for conversion by 50%.
By having your own lead generation strategy, you are also more likely to adapt your marketing strategy and rely on other channels if the regulatory landscape changes.
The rules around financial advertising are forever changing in recent years.
Companies such as META and Google are becoming stricter in their vetting process.
The FCA recently imposed a ban on third-party providers of financial adviser leads, preventing them from posting ads on Facebook or Google, and allowing only registered firms on their list to do so.
You have a greater chance of converting prospects by having your own strategy.
People who find you via Google searches, for instance, are likely to be further along the buyer journey, because they are actively searching for services similar to yours.
There are also opportunities to reduce your costs.
Let’s say you have five marketing channels that generate leads for your financial company.
You can analyse each one over time to determine lead volumes and cost-per-acquisition.
You can optimise any that aren’t performing well, and reduce your investment or totally throw them out if they’re not performing.
In Summary
In our opinion, financial firms should strongly consider investing in their own lead generation strategy, rather than relying on third-party lead generators.
Cold calling and intrusive marketing are becoming increasingly unpopular with today’s financial clients.
People prefer to do their own research and work directly with businesses.
Are you interested in creating your own lead generation campaigns?
As Google Partners, our tried and tested methods offer you the opportunity to nurture new leads and generate sales.
In short, the approach behind our bespoke in-house system, Financial Adviser Leads, is a method that, while still considered a selling technique, doesn’t actually try too hard to sell.
We would rather educate and engage with your potential prospects, building trust in your brand.
Every business needs to be confident that their lead generation strategy can deliver results.
With 61% of financial advisers saying lead generation is their top challenge, our team is here to apply techniques that will significantly improve your conversion rates.
Contact us to arrange a free consultation with the team to discuss some ideas.
