Category: Financial Advisor

Every business can reach its level of potential only if that business is led by a number of important strategies and techniques and talking about initiating a business of a financial advisory, it may sound a small business, but if you exactly know how to extract the actual potential then this business can do wonders for you.

Business can be opened anywhere start by renting out a home office or a small commercial place so that you can offer your services and suggestions to your clients. In this era, where people are more seeking out for financial advisors, more and more people are trying to play their fortune in the field of investments, so a financial advisor websites is a must thing that one must keep in mind!

Though, if you are already experienced in the field of financial advisors then putting up this business will be very helpful for you as well as for your business. It may sound very tempting, but before you make up your mind about this business, there are certain things which you must be fully aware of.

So, let’s get going with some of the tips which will help you to start your own business.

• Costing:

Starting a business initially requires a lot of costs, which may include renting of a place, buying furniture, advertising, etc. You need to pretty sure of extra expenses which you feel might affect your budget so work accordingly so that it’s not your business who suffers at the end.

• Licensing & Training:

Getting a genuine license is very important as it helps to build up your trust with your new clients earning a professional degree or two bits of help in enhancing g your way to tackle your clients in a much-sorted manner. It not only adds credibility to your business but also helps to enhance the reputation for your business.

• Appropriate Business Model and Services Offered:

After you know where you can actually target your audiences the next thing that one must be focussed about is the type of services they offer to their clients. At times, some financial advisors work on commissions so as to earn more while on the other hand, there are many advisors available who work strictly on fees.

• Liabilities:

Stepping into any business brings a whole amount of liabilities with them and this is what you are supposed to accept not fear of. So, go through all the rules and regulations before you step in!

Bottom Line!

Everyone wants to start their own financial advisors business, but for that, a financial advisor website is must things which will help your clients know about you! So, work well and embrace your techniques of handling customers.

To be a victorious financial advisor, one needs to take care of many things apart from money, as website holds the most important and significant role while promoting a business at a global level. The main reason why financial advisor website design is an important aspect is that it helps your existing as well as new clients to understand your way of working and dealing with your clients which eventually helps you to decline the rate of customer churn.

When you are wise and gentle with your viewers, you automatically turn your viewers into clients, which helps you to enlarge your business circle. Talking only about the business, at a certain point it becomes important for you to integrate some of the new techniques so as stay updated and ahead of your competitors.

The competition does exist in every industry and sharp-witted companies do negate their competition by following some of the best yet simple things to make their business a tough cookie for its competitors.

So, let’s begin!

• Set Your Goals

Before you start with your business it is always a must thing for you to set your goal, because if you haven’t set your goal, yet it will be tough for you to reach to the level that you always wanted to.

• Explore Your Targeted Audiences

One must always have the sense to understand the type of audiences they want to target to. Go through the demographics and statics and understand well where you can have more of revenue and work accordingly.

• Understand the Requirements of Your Client

Understanding the requirements of the clients helps you to give them what they want and what they are actually expecting from your business. So always try to understand what your client wants from you!

• Enhance Your Skills as a Techno-Advisor

Try to increase your knowledge in the field of technology as well as it will only help cope up with your competitors.

• Make Technology Part of Your Skills

Technology plays a very important role in surging up the revenues for your business. Start to integrate new tools into your website to give your users a better website experience. Through which you can share much of the relevant information about your business with users.

• Work Well With Pricing

Before you start to put the prices for your services, it is advised that one must do ample of research with its competitors, because this will only enlighten you up with the best value of the money. The prices that you set must be economical so that people can use the services of your business without any hesitation.

• Work With Innovation

Never back off when it comes to taking risks, use good and innovative services and tools with your services so that you can provide an additional feature to your clients.

• Give Your Business a Room to Grow

A business only emerges as best when you don’t suffocate it with discipline and rules, but by giving it ample of room to grow. By taking suggestions from others only help your business to grow.

• Get Hold of Your Customer Services

People love it when they get additional services and you can add your customer services as an add-on. It will not only help you to retain and engage your clients but will also help to build their trust in you.

• Work With Simplicity

Your main aim should be to gain the trust of your clients as a financial advisor so that they can invest in your strategies without any hesitation. At times the professional indulge their clients into some complex charts and statics which will only create confusion. So it’s always a better option to stay simple with your thoughts and strategies.

Customer reviews – they’re the key to building trust online.

For many financial advisors, including a review section on their site seems time consuming and daunting.  After all, do online reviews really help your business?

Yes.  And in ways you don’t even realize.

Here are some important things to know about online reviews and how they help your business:

CUSTOMERS LOVE REVIEWS:

A recent study showed that up to 88% of online consumers trust reviews over any other form of messaging. These consumers valued the wealth of information that reviews provided, which gave them useful information to help with their purchasing decision.

ALL REVIEWS LEAD TO BETTER CONVERSIONS:

It’s not just good reviews that make a positive impact.  Sites that include negative comments engender a sense of transparency and honesty that consumers appreciate.

In fact, a glut of exclusively good reviews only creates distrust.  As Yelp told PracticalEcommerce,when business-owners use only self-selected, overly positive reviews, it creates bias in the business listing.

“A bias,” said Yelp,“that savvy consumers can smell from a mile away.”The key is to use all of your reviews – no matter their message – to create an online presence.

This is information that customers value and that value increases conversion rates.

REVIEWS ARE GREAT CONTENT AND GREAT EXPOSURE:

Financial advisor websites that incorporate reviews also increase their on-site ranking.

Search engines, like Google, consider reviews to be unique content, giving you better authority and relevance that increases your search ranking.

While many consumers trust and use Google, recent research showed social media to be even more effective.68% of consumers will post review on social media platforms, like Facebook, which are also incorporated into the Google platform.

By using social media platforms for financial advisor reviews, you are exploiting omnichannel brand exposure and getting far more bang for your buck!

REVIEWS MAKE YOU MONEY

Harvard Business School recently reported that consumer reviews have the power to increase revenue by 5 to 9%.

It’s true!  Reviews literally make dollars and cents.  And for savvy financial advisors that should make a lot of sense.

To learn more about customer reviews and how AltaStreet can help you, reach out here.

Today’s financial clients are busy people, often unable to spend a lot of time in your office catching up, no matter how important the subject. Clients typically prefer to have easy access to information, communicating from where they want, how they want, to make the most of their own time and resources. The same holds true for your staff, who have to act quickly with the information they have.

Intranets and client portals make this a simple and effective part of your business offerings, keeping your clients happy and your company’s success ever-rising.

What is an Intranet?
Intranet software positively impacts your clients but is not something they directly access. Instead, an intranet is an in-house system that enables employees to safely and quickly share up to date information, even in a time crunch.

Financial companies are often dealing with rapidly changing, highly time sensitive details that have to be communicated to staff and then to clients. With an intranet system in place your employees can easily share and access resources along with information about customers and their needs, so when a customer arranges a meeting or requires an update, the pertinent details are available at each staff member’s fingertips, with up to the minute accuracy and the security and stability your company needs.

Intranets also help get processes and applications running smoothly and staying that way, Different wealth management programs and policies require various levels of approval. With an intranet, you can streamline this workflow so that a client is not waiting any longer than needed.

With a well-designed intranet network in place every member of your staff will have the resources they need, and the ability to send information along, with an effective and efficient system that will keep your clients satisfied at every step.

What is a Client Portal?
This is where your company can take a forward-facing approach to meeting your clients’ needs, and providing self-service as appropriate. A client portal allows a similar level of resource sharing, but between staff and financial services clients instead of staff to staff.

With a client portal, your customers can log on and access and share documents, services and information needed to make wealth management decisions.

This is an easy way to share confidential information securely, and provide clients with what they need without requiring an in-person visit, or even a telephone call or an email. Of course, if a client needs more information they can get in touch at their discretion, but the details from the portal can often be enough to answer questions, securely and with easy access at any time.

Client portals can and should be fully integrated into your existing website and branding, so they are an integral aspect of your offerings.

Intranet services and client portals are just a few of our offerings, proven to add value to your company’s site. Let’s work together to make your financial services the best they can be. Contact us today!

You’re giving a motivational presentation to your staff. You are wooing potential business partners. Only, you discover that your Powerpoint presentation pages are in the wrong order. You panic. In fact, your entire presentation is just words from a Chinese menu.

Well, yes, this scenario could have you waking up in the middle of the night. But it’s not the worst nightmare. Surely.

Isn’t the worse nightmare getting back to work after giving your presentation, only to realize that you don’t have any clients? This is a real scenario for too many financial businesses. It’s the unfortunate reality for businesses that fail to maintain a proper online presence.

You may be a traditional financial firm with traditional practices and values, but you will have noticed that more and more of your potential customers are not traditional. They like smartphones and wearables and they want to do business with you online. If you’re not there to meet them, they’ll keep surfing.

Today’s customers want customer service, their way, and they want it now. For an increasing number of financial clients, this means being able to interact with a financial advisor’s web presence, which provides 24/7 access. If they don’t get it, don’t expect a telegram or a protest outside your building. Expect tumbleweeds.

Why does a financial advisor need a web presence?

Since more and more people are using the web to do business, you need to be online to compete. A well-maintained web presence will help your business in many ways, including by:

Improving discoverability – with an effective web presence, you can spend less time looking for customers, because your customers will be coming to you. By keeping your website current and employing certain tried and tested techniques, your website will attract people via Google, other search engines, and networks.

According to Google, more than three-quarters of people who search for a business via a mobile device visit that business within a day. More than a quarter of them then perform a transaction.

If people can’t find you – if you’re not even showing up on searches for “financial advisors near [LOCATION]” – you are losing business.

Establishing trust – A website is a sign that a business means business. It is where many potential clients go to find out more about what you do and who you are.

If two financial advisor websites are identical except has an up-to-date blog and a downloadable, this well-maintained site will have the most traction. A site that has not been updated for weeks is like a dusty shop window with the lights off.

“It could be open, but … let’s try this other store first; the one with the welcome sign and people inside.”

Improving customer service – If you only offer customer service by phone during business hours, you are missing out on the potential customers for whom this is not enough.

In our experience, some prefer to communicate via texting, instant messaging, Skype, or email. Your job is to know your customers well enough to know not only what they want, but how they want it. Then give to them.

With a robust internet presence, you can chat with clients and potential clients in real-time using various applications. You can be on the right social platforms for your clients – whether that is LinkedIn, Facebook, or another site or app – so that you can interact with them in a way that is most suitable and convenient.

How to Wake from the Nightmare of a Tired Internet Presence

If your website is working as an online business card or brochure, it’s not working. The internet allows so much more than digital versions of static, print marketing, and clients demand much more, so here are some tips for maintaining and optimizing your web presence.

Optimize your branding – while your internet is not just a business card, it should still be consistent with your other marketing efforts. Your emails, brochures, downloadables, and letterheads should feature consistent branding to help establish trust. Your website is no exception. Don’t risk a cheap, DIY template solution to do a good job with your branding.

Be contactable – Make sure that you have a contact page with more than a phone number. Why wouldn’t a business make it easy for clients to get in touch? Include email and any social networks you and your ideal customers use.

Also, consider an online form so that it is as easy as possible for people to reach you for quotes, advice, or more information.

Perform SEO – Search engine optimization refers to the techniques used to help your site achieve higher rankings with search engines. The good news is that the more advanced SEO gets, the more it aims to provide good experiences for your visitors. Good SEO practices will improve the speed of your site, the helpful keywords you use, and how people in your town or city find you.

Optimize Conversions – A good website will attract many visitors. A great website, however, can also convert them into clients.

You can use analytics to see how your visitors find your website, where they land, how long they stay, and where they go afterward. All this information, and more, can be used to create supercharged pages that give your visitors what they want and encourage them to take action.

Maintaining a website is a cost-effective way to bring a lot of business your way. And note that this is not random traffic-generation. You can build quality traffic and reach out to people who are already interested in exactly what you are offering.

Updating your website can be a lot of work, but with a revamped framework and a clear digital strategy, it will work for you 24/7/365. We have the skills and experience to help you maintain the perfect financial advisory website.

We understand finance and digital marketing inside out. If you want to grow or streamline your business the smart way, give us a call at (216) 894 5193, email us at dan@altastreet.com, or use our online form.

LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker/dealer* and leader in the retail financial advice market, has selected AltaStreet Financial Websites and Marketing for inclusion in LPL Financial’s Vendor Affinity Program.

The Vendor Affinity Program was designed to help its more than 14,000 advisors reduce the complexity and costs of running their businesses. The program consists of a centralized repository of vendors that have agreed to provide their products and services to LPL advisors at discounted prices. AltaStreet offers LPL advisors creation of custom websites across a range of budgets.

AltaStreet is a leading provider of advisor-centric technology solutions including custom website design, custom back end development and automation technology for financial services companies.

“At AltaStreet, we approach work with our clients through a lens of true discovery in an effort to uncover stumbling blocks and obstacles our clients face when using the Internet to market their business, generate leads, acquire clients and add revenue to the bottom line,” said Dan Stark, director of Business Development at AltaStreet. “The technology solutions we offer can significantly cut costs and boost revenues and ultimately help clients thrive in the digital world.”

“We recognize that technology is a major contributor to creating increased efficiency and driving greater productivity in our clients’ businesses,” said Victor Fetter, LPL Financial managing director and chief information officer. “Being able to connect LPL clients with leading technology solution providers adds a new dimension to the level of service and support we can provide to clients to help them manage and grow their businesses.”

AltaStreet was founded in 1998 by CEO Robert Sheinbein, a former financial advisor who created technology automation to serve his own office. As an advisor managing a family’s multi-billion dollar portfolio, Sheinbein could see the tremendous value the automation provided. With a unique perspective to be able to deliver technology solutions that solve advisors’ unique needs, he parlayed his experience into building complex back-end systems for a variety of companies and began AltaStreet. His financial services industry experience separates AltaStreet from other businesses in the website design and development space, as the company blends Sheinbein’s perspective with that of experts in business, marketing, sales, branding, websites and technology to create a premier company providing custom website design, custom website development, and web marketing services to the financial services industry.

AltaStreet is an industry leader in the custom website design space, specializing in design, development, SEO, branding and logo design. The company’s programming skills can support a range of needs, including social networking tools, shopping carts and payment gateways, with the proprietary tools for supporting compliance needs.

About AltaStreet:

AltaStreet Financial Websites and Marketing was founded in 1998. AltaStreet is a leading provider in custom website design, custom development and automation technology for financial services companies. They often function as an outsourced CMO for the companies they help. AltaStreet’s solutions provide a very high return on investment for their clients. In the space they operate in, where their clients need credibility, image matters. What does your website say about you?

For more information about AltaStreet, please visit http://altastreet.flywheelsites.com

About LPL Financial:

LPL Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA), is a leader in the retail financial advice market and served approximately $486 billion in advisory and brokerage assets, as of May 31, 2016. LPL is one of the fastest growing RIA custodians and is the nations largest independent broker-dealer (*based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine June 1996-2016). The Company provides proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to more than 14,000 independent financial advisors and over 700 banks and credit unions, enabling them to help their clients turn life’s aspirations into financial realities. Advisors associated with LPL also serviced an estimated 45,000 retirement plans with an estimated $121 billion in retirement plan assets, as of March 31, 2016. LPL also supports approximately 4,200 financial advisors licensed and affiliated with insurance companies with customized clearing, advisory platforms, and technology solutions. LPL Financial and its affiliates have more than 3,400 employees with primary offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego.

For more information, please visit http://www.lpl.com

Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial. A registered investment advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC.