Last week, we revealed that only 28% of adviser/planner websites are getting their team pages right.

If you missed that blog, we recommended that your website has:

• A team page with everyone on it
• An individual page (not a pop-up) for each member of the team.

However, our research of 500 websites showed that only 140 (28%) have this combination.

That’s a lot of websites that need updating.

It also begs the obvious question; what should you include on your team’s individual pages? We said we’d answer that question this week. So, true to our word, here goes.

Let’s start with creating individual pages for each of the advisers/planners in your team.

#1: Pictures of you

Adding your picture will help to create an immediate connection with a prospective client who visits your page.

The image needs to be authentic. So, we recommend dressing as you would to meet a client for the first time. And…smile! You want to welcome people, not put them off.

High-quality images make websites sing, so no shots taken on your iPhone please.

Get a professional in to take pictures of every member of your team. And while they are there, get some group shots and stock images done.

By including a more personal image too, perhaps taken in your downtime or with your family, you can show a different side of your personality and continue to build that connection.

#2: Job titles

If you don’t include a job title, you’re making life harder for both prospective and existing clients.

You have to be authentic though.

Give an accurate job title that clearly describes what you do. If you offer a financial planning service, then call yourself a financial planner. If that’s not what you do, then “adviser” might be a better option.

If you’re a director, but also an adviser/planner, then give both titles. Simply describing yourself as a director or partner isn’t particularly useful, especially if the visitor is looking for an adviser or planner.

#3: Contact details

Some people, perhaps existing clients, might simply visit an individual’s page because they need contact details. Others might not yet be clients but want to get in touch. Either way, make your contact details easy to find.

We recommend including your office telephone number, email address, and postal address. If you’re happy to be contacted on your mobile, include that number too. Email addresses should be clickable from mobile devices, as should telephone numbers.

We’ve heard some people argue that including contact details on team member pages just plays into the hands of recruitment consultants.

We disagree.

Firstly, recruiters are far more likely to use LinkedIn than your website to find candidates.

Secondly, if your team are happy, feel fulfilled and well rewarded, you have nothing to worry about if a recruitment consultant contacts them.

#4: Social media links

To be honest, we’re on the fence with this one. In fact, if pushed, we’d suggest not including links to your social media profiles:

• If people click them, there’s a good chance they will get distracted by their notifications and forget they were ever looking at your profile
• Everything someone needs to find out about you should be on your website anyway.

#5: Details of your expertise/specialisms

People want to work with experts, not generalists. That means the individual team member pages should explain the specialisms of the adviser/planner.

There are a couple of ways of doing this:

• By listing the areas of planning/advice you or your team member specialises in
• By explaining who you specialise in working with.

The best websites go one step further.

Elsewhere, not on the individual adviser/planner pages, they explain what you don’t do and who your service isn’t right for. This approach demonstrates authenticity, confidence, and genuine expertise.

#6: Your accreditations

If you’re Chartered, Certified, or a Fellow, that sets you apart. So, make sure the appropriate logos are prominently displayed on the individual’s page.

You need to go further by explaining why it sets you apart, what you had to do to get it and, most importantly, how it benefits your clients.

You could do this by linking the logos to a:

• Pop-up window that contains that information, or
• An individual page elsewhere on the site that showcases all your accreditations.

#7: Your VouchedFor Top Rated status

Each year, VouchedFor produces a guide to the country’s Top Rated advisers. The guide is distributed in The Times with entry based on a range of criteria including the number and quality of reviews an adviser/planner has on their platform.

If you’re included in the guide, you should display the appropriate logos on your website. If you’ve been included in consecutive years, you should display all the logos to demonstrate the consistently high quality of service you deliver.

Again, the logos should be linked to a pop-up or individual page which explains how you qualified, why it sets you apart, and the benefit to your clients.

#8: Personal information

Too many advisers/planners believe that their clients (and prospective clients) are only interested in them professionally.

That’s not true.

We do business with people we know, like, and trust, which is why we recommend including some personal information on the page. Try to avoid the obvious clichés and display the information in an innovative way. Lists work well, as do Q&As.

Even if you’re sceptical, believe us when we say that it’s very powerful.

To prove the point, I need look no further than a conversation I had with Andrew Neligan when we were recording a CPD session for FT Adviser earlier this week.

Andrew explained that, when a prospect contacted him a couple of weeks ago, they’d referenced the personal information he gave away on the site and said how much it resonated with them.

#9: Press coverage

Being quoted in the press is an excellent way of demonstrating your expertise and credibility, while differentiating you from your peers.

Include the logos of the publications you’ve been quoted in as well as links out to the articles themselves, making sure they open in a separate browser window.

Not sure how to get more press coverage? Our webinar with financial services PR expert, Dom Hiatt, is a treasure trove of ideas.

#10: Social proof

Showing the benefit of working with you will always beat telling.

Consequently, you should include social proof on your page.

You have several options, including:

• Client videos: Videos of your clients explaining the value they get from working with you are incredibly powerful.
• VouchedFor reviews: Paying subscribers to the directory can embed a piece of code on their website which elegantly displays their VouchedFor rating and the reviews. It acts as a pop-up on your site and doesn’t take the visitor to VouchedFor, which is why we recommend including it.
• Google reviews: This is harder than VouchedFor reviews but it’s still possible.
• Client survey results: If you or your firm has run a client survey, include some of the results on your page. For example, revealing the proportion of your clients who would recommend you to others makes a powerful statement.
• Awards: If the awards you have won are specific to you then you should add these here, along with a brief explanation of the award and, if appropriate, what you had to do to win it. Remember as well, not all awards are equal!

#11: Qualifications

Adding your qualifications to the page helps to demonstrate your areas of expertise and that you’re willing to develop your skills/knowledge above the minimum required.

We recommend adding a list of your qualifications to the foot of the page (perhaps hidden behind a reveal), including the full title (not just RO1, G10, AF3) and, crucially, an explanation of what the qualifications mean to your clients.

#12: Links to the FCA Register

At a time when financial fraud is big news, making it clear you are regulated by the FCA will help to reduce the anxiety levels in some prospects.

Links out of your website should be kept to a minimum. However, we always recommend including a link to your page on the FCA register or, if that’s not possible, a link to your firm’s page.

Again, as with all links to external websites, make sure it opens in a new window so both your site and the FCA’s are open at the same time.

#13: Display your Statement of Professional Standing

Every adviser has an SPS, but very few make theirs available to clients and explain why it is important. So, we recommend uploading your SPS to your website and explaining its significance to visitors.

This, along with including a link to the FCA register, shows you have nothing to hide, reduces anxiety in prospects who might be a little nervous, and sets you apart.

Next week…

In the final blog in this three-part series, we’ll take a look at how to build pages for other members of your team.

In the meantime, if you’re one of the 72% of firms that don’t have both a team page and individual pages for each member, we’re here to help.

Drop an email to hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 895 300, we’d love to have a chat.