When creating an advisor website, you want to ensure that you are putting content on your site that is going to attract leads, speak to your audience, easily convey what your firm does and what you are offering, all while doing this in a succinct way without too much clutter. When it comes to creating your perfect website, advisors have the opportunity to work with our copywriting team in order to create content for their website to clearly convey their unique message.
However, there are some words and phrases that we see often, and while they have their place on many websites, sometimes they are better off when phrased differently or we try to deter advisors from overusing them. So, today, we are going to dive into why advisors use jargon on their website so often and what some of the most overused phrases are plus words or phrases that should be used instead.
Why Do Financial Advisors Use Jargon?
So, why are advisors using jargon in the first place? There are a few reasons that these phrases are often seen on advisor websites.
They May Be Unsure
When creating an advisor website, many people may not be quite sure what to put on their website, so because of that, they just go with what they know. That may mean using financial jargon and phrases that may not be common knowledge to the everyday customer.
They Want to Appear Knowledgeable
While using “big words” and financial terms may make you appear more knowledgeable, it might just confuse and intimidate your potential clients. While there are many words that should include and may be necessary to show or explain the services that your firm offers, there are some phrases that are better off not used on your site just so that you appear more knowledgeable.
They Want to Be Like Their Peers
If advisors see their competitors with financial jargon and overused phrases on their website, then they are more likely to use the same types of words and phrases on their website, as well.
They Are Used to Using It In Their Everyday Lives
Financial advisors are integrated into the financial world, obviously, as it is their profession and they use these phrases every day. While it may be common knowledge to them, using these types of phrases on your website may intimidate prospects who don’t know that much about finances.
Now that you know more about WHY advisors overuse certain phrases, let’s touch on what they are with words that you can use instead.
10 Examples of Overused Jargon
When it comes to creating a strong advisor website and boosting your online presence, we encourage advisors to create content that will show their offerings in a way that is easy to read and digest. When doing this, we encourage them not to use certain words. Here are 10 examples of overused jargon that we see advisors use plus words and phrases to use instead.
1. Fiduciary
While it’s completely appropriate to include that you are a fiduciary firm on your website, with the passing of Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), every advisory firm by law is required to act in the best interest of their clients, so that can no longer be something that sets your firm apart from other firms. Before this passed, a financial advisor wasn’t required by law to act in the best interest of their clients, so when a firm put that on their website, it truly did set them apart from others. Now, every firm is required to act as a fiduciary for their clients.
As we said, you can still include this on your website, but it no longer should serve as a stand-alone reason or service that sets you apart from others.
How Should You Set Yourself Apart?
Since including that you are a fiduciary no longer makes you different from other firms, there are some other ways that you can set yourself apart from the competition and they can be seen in the video below.
1. You Should Cater to a Specific Niche
When you are trying to grow your advisory firm, you are going to have much more success if you cater to a specific niche. If you cater to a specific audience, then it will not only add more value to your marketing dollar but will ensure that you get more quality leads.
2. You can leverage an FAQ page
Frequently Asked Questions pages are a great way to present information and offer answers to those that are looking to learn more about your firm. When you include an FAQ page, this can not only save time, which boosts user experience, but it can also ramp up your SEO rankings and serve as a customer service page for your website.
3. Show your Credentials
It’s okay to be proud of what your firm has accomplished, and you can showcase that on your website. This builds trustworthiness and shows your prospects that you are a trusted and reliable source, making them more willing to work with you. Include an “As Seen In” or “Accolades” section on your website so that visitors can see your credibility.
Twenty Over Ten client, Wood Tarver Financial includes an “Accolades” section that shows all of their awards, so when somebody sees this on their website, they will see that they are an accredited and trusted advisory firm.
2. Live More, Worry Less
This is a phrase that many financial advisors put on their website, and while that’s the ultimate goal that people want to achieve when working with an advisor, it’s often easier said than done. Additionally, it’s fairly overused and vague, so it really doesn’t hold a lot of meaning when someone puts this on their website.
Instead of just saying the above phrase, focus more on your firm’s specific offerings and how they can address your audience’s specific pain points. Use the same sentiments, but make it more specific to what your firm can do to address specific problems that your niche is facing.
Twenty Over Ten client, JC Wealth Management Group, LLC tells their prospects that they are here to help them with expanding your business, managing your portfolio or preparing for retirement, and no matter what you are looking for, they are here to help with that.
3. Let Us Be Your Financial Quarterback
This phrase is overused and also doesn’t explain exactly HOW an advisor serves as your quarterback but rather makes the blanket statement.
Instead of saying that you can serve as someone’s financial quarterback, tell and show the exact steps that you should take when it comes to offering the financial guidance that your clients need.
Twenty Over Ten client HJN Advisors show their five-step process where they say, “Here’s What Working Together Will Look Like” with a brief description of what each step entails.
4. Comprehensive Financial Planning
A comprehensive financial plan addresses your entire financial picture, so while you want a financial advisor who can help you with all of your financial issues, what is a better way to say this without using a phrase that has been used so many times?
Rather than simply saying “comprehensive financial planning” show the exact services that you are offering plus what each service entails so that prospects will understand what you get before working with you.
Twenty Over Ten client, CHL & Associates showcases their services that they are offering clients to help them plan for a stronger retirement. They tell prospects what their specific services will be, such as:
- Providing for your loved ones
- Establishing an emergency fund
- Investing appropriately for your goals
- Developing an estate plan
- Reducing debt
They then say what their financial planning services include plus ongoing client services, which is much more effective than simply saying comprehensive financial planning without providing any real examples.
5. Telling What Your Services Are Without Actually Showing
While you want to list out your services, if you simply put each service but don’t go into detail, then this may leave your prospects guessing about what exactly they will be getting.
By including a services page on your website, you can go into detail about each service so that prospects know exactly what to expect. You could go even further and offer case studies, which are a great way to take a deep dive into one specific case. This helps you to paint a clearer picture of your services and offers clients and prospects a more in-depth look at what they can expect when they work with your firm.
As you can see above, Twenty Over Ten client, Simplified Wealth Management has not only a simple infographic but the services that are offered are broken down into five sections with the different options underneath. At the bottom of the page, prospects can reach out to find out more about their services upon seeing a strategically placed CTA.
6. Saying that Your Firm Is Trustworthy and Has Integrity
When working with a financial advisor, clients hope that they will be working with someone that has integrity and is trustworthy, so this goes without saying. Rather than just saying that your firm is trustworthy, you can show testimonials from clients who had a great experience working with you or you can include an “As Seen In” section where you were mentioned in legitimate news sources.
Twenty Over Ten client, Quarry Hill Advisors includes an “As Featured In” section on the homepage, that includes many reputable sources such as, MarketWatch, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal and more. Additionally, there are two awards on this page, as well, and showing this on your page rather than saying it is a much stronger way to show that you are a firm with integrity.
7. Client-Focused
While you want your prospects to understand that you are focused on your clients, saying that you are client-focused is fairly redundant. When people hire a financial advisor, they are expecting to work with someone that is focused on them, so it is fairly pointless to put this on your website copy.
Go into detail about how you can help your clients and what you will do for them as their advisor if they hire you to handle their finances. It’s much more productive to show rather than just tell, as this goes much further.
Whether you are nearing retirement, at retirement or already retired, Wallis Financial Solutions has an answer for you. The information below each audience they serve is short and sweet, telling prospects what they can expect if they are at this stage, followed by a call-to-action enticing visitors to book a call with them to find out more.
8. Building a Stronger Financial Future
Much like the “live more, worry less” quote, saying that you help clients to build a stronger financial future is too vague without mention of any real actionable steps.
Instead of just saying the above phrase, follow the same course of action as we mentioned for the “Live More, Worry Less” phrase. Focus more on your firm’s specific offerings and how they can address your audience’s specific pain points. Use the same sentiments, but make it more specific to what your firm can do to address specific problems that your niche is facing.
9. Goals Driven
When you say that you are “goals-driven” what exactly do you mean by this? We are all motivated by goals, so saying this is fairly redundant.
Rather than saying that you are goals-driven, provide an example of why you have chosen this profession or why you have chosen the specific route that you have chosen as a financial advisor.
Twenty Over Ten client, Life After Grief Financial Planning has an incredibly moving back story and it really paints a picture of why Christopher Dale, CFP® chose to work with people that have experienced immense loss to help them get their financial life back in order. You understand why he is so goal-oriented, what he has been through and how he can really help others.
10. Innovative
While you want prospects to know that you are cutting edge and offering innovative financial services and offerings, this is an overused phrase that we see being used a lot on advisor websites, so it is more “fluff” and doesn’t offer too much value.
Use a synonym such as creative or original and then SHOW exactly why you are a creative and original firm. What is setting you apart from the competition?
That’s a Wrap
And that’s a wrap! We help clients create compelling advisor websites that are unique to each firm, and it starts with creating strong content that shares exactly what you want to portray in a way that is different from the competition.
Struggling With What Content to Share on Social Media or via Email?
We are offering access to our content for advisors to use via Lead Pilot for 7-days completely free (even on our month to month plans).
About the author
Blair Kelly
Blair is a digital marketing assistant at Twenty Over Ten and has a passion for uncovering what drives online traffic and the highest engagement. She follows more animals on Instagram than humans and her greatest achievement is her daughter, Grey.
