A picture is worth a thousand words.
Over time, Michael Kitces of XY Planning has noticed something wrong with most advisors’ websites. Fixing it is simple but the change can make a world of difference in conversion rates.
Put a picture on your website.
It sounds incredibly simple, but it’s amazing how many advisors have no photos whatsoever on their sites.
There’s no way to see what they look like.
I hear a lot of advisors say things like, “Well, that doesn’t matter because my business comes from referrals.” But it still matters. The reality of consumer behavior these days is, “I don’t care if I was referred to you. I’m still going to type your name into Google.”
First, they want to make sure no stories about criminal activity come up.
Second, they’re hoping to see some kind of website that validates you as a professional. They want to see you: someone who looks professional, who they might want to do business with.
We are social animals. We are very visual. As human beings, we crave a visual connection with people. We like to be able to see each other and interact visually.
If you look at the studies out there, you’ll see that website visitors connect much more readily to visuals than a wall of text.
When I get to the bio page for most advisors, what do I see? A giant wall of text with no picture. How can they hope to connect with potential clients?
You’ll never know how many million-dollar prospects who were referred to you by someone checked you out online, didn’t connect, and moved on.
At a bare minimum, you need a picture up there—and not just of you. You need a picture of your staff, as well. If your clients are going to interact with people other than you, they want to know who those individuals are. We all love to put a face to a name.
www.PinnacleAdvisory.com has headshots for all employees, with full bios.
These should be professional headshots with uniform backgrounds—not personal photos provided by your team from their family vacation, or cropped from wedding photos where you can see the other person’s shoulder! You’re trying to convey your professionalism in order to convince people to invest in you—sometimes large sums of money—so hire a photographer.
You can find some amazing ones on Craigslist. I once got a political photojournalist whose work has been in the New York Times for an entire day for just $600.
This is remarkably inexpensive, and delivers a 1,000 percent ROI once a prospect decides you’re trustworthy based on your photo.
Now, take things up a notch.
A picture is the bare minimum.
The ideal is a video.
We can all relate to a picture but we relate even better to a video.
Think of all the things that normally happen in that first interview with a prospect.
They’re trying to figure out if they like you, how you communicate, if they trust you, if they’re connecting with you. If they don’t like you, it won’t go anywhere.
A video on your website introduces you to your prospects, so that first-meeting business is already done. If they book an appointment with you after seeing your video, they’re very close to doing business.
And if they don’t feel a connection while watching the video, they probably won’t schedule a meeting—thus saving you an hour of time trying to make a deal that would never happen.
At Michael’s firm, every advisor has a two- to three-minute introductory video on the website in which they say a little about who they are and why they do what they do.
A full bio page for one of the partners at Pinnacle Advisory Group.
Quite often, they get inquiries through their website that say things like, “I was referred to your firm. Came and checked out your website, looked at all the advisor videos. Really liked Jake. Please have him contact me.”
And just like that, a complete stranger has visited the website, looked around, and bonded with a specific advisor who they’re now asking to do business with.
Summary
Even if you are referred to someone, chances are they will still research you online. If you have an outdated or, worse yet, NO profile picture, there’s a good chance you’re losing prospects.
Fortunately, this is an easy problem to fix by investing in a quality headshot for everyone on your team. You can take things a step further by recording short videos featuring each member of the company.
The Takeaway
- Hire a professional photographer to take a headshot of you and any staff and partners.
- Include the headshots, along with a brief profile, on your website.
- Add a two- to three-minute video for each person for maximum impact.
One Response