As adviser directories Unbiased and VouchedFor go head-to-head in a fresh battle for market share, Financial Adviser spoke to those using the lead generation sites for the verdict on how they measure up.
Two websites, both alike in ambition, in adviser land, where we lay our scene, have in recent weeks fired up new advertising campaigns to attract paying advisers to their lead generation and marketing services, fuelling what has been dubbed the ‘directory wars’.
Last week, Unbiased unveiled a new brand and user tools, with a ‘multi-channel’ push to get the message out to consumers. When asked whether this was in response to similar moves by rival VouchedFor, head of adviser products Michael Ossei denied a conflict.
“VouchedFor is going for high-net worth while we are not that kind of business - we cater for everybody.
“It is not head-to-head, it is almost complementary,” he said, adding: “VouchedFor has put pressure on us to be out there and talk about our products.”
In April, VouchedFor launched a national televised advertising campaign across Channel 4’s network. The charm offensive followed in the wake of adviser anger VouchedFor had increased its prices in order to provide validated leads, after complaints it had been sending advisers unsuitable potential clients.
Unbiased has also come under fire recently for introducing a ‘Location Plus’ service, allowing advisers to buy the highest ranked listing in postcode districts.
A spokesperson said it “never has and never will make recommendations about which particular advisers people should choose”.
But Sense network’s head of marketing Philip Bray said the change “left a bad taste in the mouth”.
Unbiased | Lite | Plus | Plus Unlimited (only available to advisory firms who subscribed before Lite and Plus were launched) |
Monthly fee | £29 + VAT | £59 + VAT | £59 + VAT |
| Enquiry cost | £30 + VAT per accepted enquiry | £30 + VAT per accepted enquiry (first enquiry each month is free) | None, unlimited enquiries included within monthly fee |
Alex Whitson, chief marketing officer for VouchedFor, said it now has over 8,000 advisers, solicitors and accountants on the directory, with the average number of enquiries received by an adviser in 2015 being 27.
Unbiased declined to give details of its own breakdown.
When trying to get to the bottom of the cost of each service, Mr Bray suggested VouchedFor’s charging model is more complex, although he said this is because it offers a wider range of options, like having enquiries ‘validated’ and ‘qualified’, as well as allowing advisers to specify the level of client wealth they would like to target.
Vouchedfor | Verified | Unlimited |
Any level of wealth | ||
Monthly fee | £45 + VAT | £45 + VAT |
Lead cost | No enquiry charges Enquiries capped at 4 per quarter | Validated: £45 + VAT Qualified: £67.50 + VAT No maximum number of enquiries |
VouchedFor’s lead costs increase on a sliding scale as the amount of investable assets rise, with advisers paying £200 plus VAT for validated potential clients with over £500,000, or £300 plus VAT for unvalidated leads.
Mr Bray suggested as long as an adviser is not working in a very specific niche, using both directories is probably best.
“Advisers should start with one of the paid subscriptions for Unbiased and a free VouchedFor listing, only moving this to a paid subscription when sufficient client reviews have been posted. Then, I would monitor the effectiveness over time, say six to 12 months, whilst tweaking the profiles to optimise results.”
Sebastian Hurst, a Chartered financial planner with Plutus Wealth Management, said he turns a profit from using both and argues they are valuable tools in different ways.
“VouchedFor is a lot more expensive, and I think that puts a lot of advisers off in the short term, but if you stick with it, I think it’s worth the effort.
“VouchedFor can be frustrating, as it didn’t qualify clients correctly, so I’d get people coming through to me without the right amount of assets, plus it costs the adviser anytime someone makes an enquiry,” he said, adding “it has improved dramatically though and the company does take criticisms on board”.
“As for Unbiased, they benefit from allowing advisers to say ‘yes or no’ to potential clients, which is important because many people just don’t know what they have.”
Phil Stevenson, director at Ark Financial Planning, said he has used VouchedFor in the past, but is now only on Unbiased, stating the latter costs him approximately £60 per month per listing, but with three listings it costs him just over £2,000 overall.
On the revenue being on Unbiased generates for him, Mr Steveson said it is in the region of £20,000 per year, from between six and 10 leads.
“As for Vouched For, it was a totally different experience. We used it for around a year and costs were £45 per month, plus a payment for each lead that the site generated. Costs per lead could vary from circa £100 to £500 per lead, irrespective of the outcome.
“Not only that, but leads are fed through to you at an ever increasing rate and you have to accept them to keep up your listing and keep them coming through,” Mr Stevenson said.
“Once you sign up it is like becoming a mouse in a wheel, in that the faster you go the faster you have to go to keep up and you just can’t get off the wheel.”
Matthew Harris, director of Dalbeath Financial Planning, now also only uses Unbiased, arguing it is the better known name in the industry.
“However, we have been disturbed by Unbiased’s decision to charge advisers to appear on the ‘sponsored’ list of IFAs which is all most consumers see, and then to charge advisers again on a per-enquiry basis.
“This clearly shifts them away from being ‘unbiased’ and towards being just another seller of leads, which is a shame. As for VouchedFor, they are an even more blatant seller of leads to the highest bidder,” Mr Harris said.
“We are considering cancelling our listings on all registries and spending the money on direct advertising via Google and Facebook.”
Other advisers are also split over the services’ value for money.
Susan Hill, a chartered financial planner at Susan Hill Financial Planning, has adopted Unbiased’s Location Plus service at an extra £120 for 30 days, saying it brings in more leads.
“It is a very cost effective way of producing high quality prospects. I don’t know why Phil Bray of Sense is so against it, it works for some people, where it doesn’t then find something else.”
Steven Farrall, partner at Williams Farrall Woodward Financial Planning, said his Unbiased subscription costs £29 per month and yields about one enquiry per month. “We’ll keep on with it, but I will not join VouchedFor. I just do not see the value at the present time.”
Graeme Mitchell, managing director at Lowland Financial, is another one benefitting from the original Unbiased contract and also only getting about one enquiry a month.
“Vouched for is only to independent firms, and I’ve had to go restricted to focus on what I know best, so I’m not on their books, despite several calls from them to get me to join,” he added.
