Finding an Independent Financial Advisor?

**Amy**

Thanks everyone.

I will ask around and see what I can come up with.

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

What's wrong with advertising? It's a client aquisition tactic that has been used for eternity.

I agree that some larger firms advertise over a wider area (you'd be surprised how many have dropped out this year though) and quite often charge extortionate fees and send somebody who 'covers their patch' or even try and deal with the clients over the phone, which never works for me as you don't get a true picture unless you meet the clients and spend time with them. But I advertise throughout Yorkshire and 3/4 of Lancashire as I see clients at their home and while Yellow Pages gives the least return of all paper Directories (1 completion from the Leeds Directory in an entire year, so I gave it up), their website is well used.

I have clients mainly within a 100 mile radius of Halifax (easy as it's mainly motorway) and so advertising over a wider area I can usually see an existing client at the same time as a new one.

Having owned an Advertising company in the past, I know how to advertise and without a shadow of a doubt the cheapest advertising is word of mouth. It's more often than not the best way to find a good adviser who people trust as the referer has used them, but I came across an instance once where a guy and all his friends had used the same IFA for their mortgages and were charged a fortune and certainly weren't given good advice.

I also came across a situation where somebody had used a high fee charging broker and they had referred their friends and family to the company just to get a £50 referral fee!

payless

Not knocking advertising as a positive for a business ( albeit I'm not a great fan of directories myself) ... but whether its a good way for a consumer to source a service provider , then I have my doubts

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

Anybody who doesn't advertise stands to lose their clients to companies who do.

Wimpey were the largest Burger Chain in the UK at one time, but how often do you hear of them now? They are still around.

You don't tend to hear of them because they were taken over by McDonalds and they stopped advertising them to push McDonalds.

McDonalds still advertise despite being a household name as do B&Q, The Halifax, Direct Line etc etc etc

payless

they were actually taken over by Burger King's partent at the time Grand Met...( who rebranded most UK sites BK) a few changes since , now Wimpy brand is owned by a South African firm ( with HBOS owning 25% !! ) ... mainly back to orignal table service.

That said I don't think the business model of a mortgage broker needs to be compared with that of a multi-national

dunstonh

That said I don't think the business model of a mortgage broker needs to be compared with that of a multi-national

Plus, not many mortgage brokers sell hamburgers. Although some may be heading to Mcdonalds for a job soon

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

Burger King, McDonalds whoever. I wouldn't recommend them:p

Oddgy

Any mortgage advisors in Northants & Cambridgeshire area?