I'd like to share one thing I consistently see missing from most adviser's websites that literally negates most of the point of having one in the first place, and what you can do to fix the issue fast.
First, let me give you an overview of how I think about generating advice prospects.
The 3 Funnels
When I work with businesses on their marketing there are 3 marketing funnels that work best for advice firms.
- The first one is what I call a referral funnel that's generating referrals from clients or the people who endorse you.
- The second one is a partnership funnel. In other words, working with other complementary businesses to promote each other in such a way that connects you with their clients and vice versa.
- The third one is a digital funnel, the main benefit of which is essentially if you get it right, it does a lot of the work for you while you're sleeping, and builds and builds and builds the longer you work at it.
Now what's interesting is people often think about these as operating separately and in isolation.
The truth is that they are interdependent and interact with each other at certain key points, which means having three in place is really key if your goal is to accelerate prospects' journey from "maybe" to "now".
And this is where the issue lies because most adviser's websites miss one key thing; something that captures an email address.
The "why" of this is the fact the vast majority of visitors to your website are unlikely to book a meeting with you. They're maybe not ready, just shopping around, stuck in procrastination mode or didn't understand what you do from the site enough to take the next step.
Many of them are likely to cross that threshold at some point, but if that's the only touchpoint you'll have with them between now and that point of taking action, well, who knows whether they'll choose you?
If your site doesn't have some offer that entices clients to exchange their email and join your marketing list, in return for a slice of value, then you're missing the point of the traffic in the first place.
Why do you want the email? Well, once you have the email, you can start the process of marketing to them. You can build a dialogue, stay top of mind and start the conversation that will ultimately - whether it's 3, 6, 12 or 24 months later - that ends with them engaging you to get advice.
The Missing Piece
Which means you need a lead magnet (or value bomb, white paper, downloadable - whatever we want to call it).
Something that jumps out at a visitor and says:
"Here's something valuable you can have and get from us which gives information or helps you in some certain way, in return for an email address."
So, that's what's needed, which leads to the next obvious question.
What works and what doesn't work for advisers when it comes to lead magnets?
Well, if you're going to build a lead magnet, value-add, PDF downloadable thing, there are certain things that are going to work and certain things that are not . And you can save yourself a lot of time and energy (and sometimes wasted money) if you get this right from the start.
There are 3 main principles. I call them SPA...
S - Short: The first thing is, it needs to be short.
When we're online, our attention spans shrink. I read recently that the average person's attention span has dropped from 15 seconds to 8 seconds. Our ability to focus isn't getting any better.
So, when your lead magnet page after page of information, it may all be good stuff, but what do they see?
Lots of pages.
Do you know what they're going to do? They're going to save it into a folder somewhere and they'll say "I'll read that later" (which we all know they never get around to).
Conversely, I look at it and think "I can read this in 5 minutes", it maximizes the chance that I'll read it and maybe even achieve our secondary purpose (because the primary purpose is always to get the email)
P - Problem solving: It has to solve a problem I care about.
What do I mean by this?
If we agree the whole point of this tool is not to convert, but simply to entice the visitor enough to give you their email (and so begin that dialogue), what becomes the most important feature?
The promise on the cover
People are going to download your lead magnet because it solves a problem that they know they have. If it's talking about everything they need to know about superannuation, you're assuming that people's problem is there's a lack of information about superannuation.
If you use Google keyword searches, you'll know this is not the case.
In other words, if you can have a lead magnet that targets something that they're already thinking about, like:
• How can I save money on my mortgage?
• How will I know if I've got enough?
• How will I know if I'm paying too much?
• How can I find out what other people in my situation spend?
They're likely to act on impulse, grab it from your site and give you the email address.
Then you can start.
A - Actionable: Here's the funnel ninja tip. It has to be actionable.
James Clear's excellent book, Atomic Habits, talked about the fact there are 2 ways we approach things; motion and action.
Motion is when we buy a self-help book, or sign up for a diet course. The action of buying the book makes us feel better, even though we've not actually done anything yet.
Physiologically, it actually gives us the same experience as if we go out and do the exercise actually implement the stuff.
This is a problem because it doesn't actually help us address the problem at all. We feel like we're taking steps to do it when actual fact we're not.
In order to get the result, you need to put something into action.
If your tool can be so specific and so clear that someone will grab it and say: "I'm going to put this into action" and it gets them a result, they're going to come back to you thinking "What else have you got?"
Example
Let me give you a clear example and one of the best I've ever heard. I think Ramat Sethi actually put this forward.
It was a mortgage broking company that had a script that you could download, phone up your bank, read the script, and they will give you a discount rate mortgage.
See what I mean?
- Short,
- Solved a real problem
- The person who phoned the bank got the discount they came back saying: "That was brilliant. Thank you."
...and then the value starts.
Getting it done
Now in terms of actual format, here's my big tip for you. Don't overthink it. The best lead magnets are produced using PowerPoint or Keynote because it means I can:
- get them out quickly.
- make them visual,
- test easily and often
I don't spend long on my first drafts, because until it's got traction it doesn't need to be polished. We're just testing.
So, what works?
- Checklists,
- quizzes,
- simple templates,
- tool,
- scripts,
- webinar recordings,
- Infographics
If you're getting this you'll know though, it's about the promise, rather than the format.
Digital Marketing is a great opportunity. It's an opportunity because firstly, it's repeatable. If you work hard consistently and you do it in a way that makes sense for you over time you build digital highways that support and complement your other funnels.
But the one key thing and the most important part is this piece.
This is the thing that's going to get you the email which is going to enable you to start a conversation and most importantly it's gonna make sure you don't have to spend a fortune on social media. But in getting this right is funny enough, it's not about printing everything you know in a white paper.
It's about picking something that you know solves a problem.
Make it simple to consume and ideally making it about that one action that they can take which is going to get a result.
Do that test it, play with it, and you'll find that digital funnel piece coming into play very, very quickly.
I hope this has been useful. If you're interested, we will have a lead magnet on our website right now you can jump in there,
you can jump on to the homepage and kind of see how it all works. It'll send to your inbox and get an idea of the process but also the format otherwise.
I hope this has been useful to you. If you like it please share it, if you really like it.
Related:
Articulating the Value of Your Advice
