Unbiased.co.uk’s unique Professional Connections service goes live
· Unbiased.co.uk’s unique Professional Connections service has gone live, allowing participating IFAs, mortgage brokers and solicitors to link up with other professional advisers across the UK to expand their current business network
· Professional Connections has already had over 60 searches from professionals seeking other businesses to link up with in the first three weeks since the service went live
· Users of the new service can now start linking up with business partners both locally and around the country
· Sign up to Unbiased.co.uk’s enhanced advertising package to take advantage of the Professional Connections service
Unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website, announces its recently launched Professional Connections service has now gone live. Professional Connections allows professional advisers to link up with other IFAs, mortgage brokers and solicitors – both locally and across the UK – who are currently outside their professional network. Unbiased.co.uk announced the launch of this service in September to allow interested IFAs, mortgage advisers and solicitors to pre-register their details. Since the service went live three weeks ago it has already had over 60 searches from professionals seeking other businesses to link up with, and the full search and connection tool is now available for signed up users under www.unbiased.co.uk/find-an-ifa/ifa/professional-connections.
The service provides access to a range of professional advisers, generating new business leads, mutually beneficial joint ventures and quality referrals. Only IFAs, mortgage advisers and solicitors who have subscribed to Unbiased.co.uk’s enhanced advertising package can opt into the Professional Connections service.
The launch of Professional Connections is the latest development from Unbiased.co.uk, which has been running a consumer facing ‘Find an IFA’ service for over 20 years. Earlier this year, Unbiased.co.uk re-launched as the professional advice website, building on its experience in matching UK consumers with IFAs best suited to their specific needs, to consolidate a ‘find a mortgage adviser’ and ‘find a solicitor’ search all on one portal.
IFAs, mortgage advisers and solicitors who are interested in having a profile page on Professional Connections need to subscribe to Unbiased.co.uk’s enhanced advertising package. A basic listing on Unbiased.co.uk’s ‘find an IFA’, ‘find a mortgage adviser’ and ‘find a solicitor’ consumer searches and the over 70 white label versions of these is free of charge and open to all IFA, mortgage adviser and solicitor firms. However, by paying an annual fee of £249 to subscribe to Unbiased.co.uk’s enhanced advertising package gives IFAs, mortgage advisers and solicitors an enhanced listing on the consumer searches, as well as a profile page on Professional Connections.
Benefits of the enhanced advertising package include:
- Enhanced, colour listing on the consumer ‘find an IFA’, ‘find a mortgage adviser’ and ‘find a solicitor’ searches, that include a ‘call me back’ facility, ‘send me info’ facility and website and email enabled links
- A profile on the Professional Connections page
- Monthly reports via email detailing how many enquirers have viewed your entry or clicked on any part of your enhanced profile
Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk comments: “Professional Connections is a unique service through which IFAs, mortgage advisers and solicitors can reach beyond their traditional networks. It is also a cost effective marketing tool to help professionals to promote themselves to consumers in an increasingly tough financial environment. We strongly encourage all professionals to take advantage of our Professional Connections service and sign up now in order to enhance their current business.
“IFAs and mortgage advisers who currently already subscribe to Unbiased.co.uk’s enhanced advertising package receive 14 out of every 15 consumer enquiries via the ‘find an IFA’ and ‘find a mortgage adviser’ searches, instantly highlighting the new business generation this package offers. Those professionals who have already signed up to the service have been extremely pleased with the increased productivity experienced through quality business leads and their website*. Professional Connections will further improve the opportunities available to IFAs, mortgage advisers and solicitors to receive new business leads that could otherwise be lost. Joining Unbiased.co.uk’s enhanced marketing package gives a wide range of additional marketing collateral to all IFAs, mortgage advisers and solicitors”’
ENDS
For further information on Unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website pleases contact:
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Karen Barrett, Chief Executive |
Anna Schirmer/Jennifer Comerford/ Anna Moulds |
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Unbiased.co.uk |
Lansons Communications |
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020 7833 3131 |
020 7294 3682 |
Sign up to Unbiased.co.uk’s unique Professional Connections service, allowing IFAs, mortgage brokers and solicitors to find and link up with other professional advisers across the UK to expand their current business network.
For expert commentary or case studies from over 200 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should visit www.unbiased.co.uk/bluebook to search the Blue Book Media IFA database.
Top tips for journalists when using Blue Book online:
1. List and store all your IFA contacts in one place. As well as having access to the whole Media IFA database on the Blue Book, you can also separately list your favourite Media IFAs. You can add confidential, personalised post-it notes with extra details to Media IFA profiles. These will be saved and always appear every time you log back into your account.
2. Email broadcast Media IFAs. The Blue Book allows you to email individual favourite Media IFAs for personal commentary or alternatively email a group of your favourite Media IFAs for a collection of opinions on a topic. You can use the Blue Book online to conduct a straw poll on a specific topic for instance.
3. Online coverage generated by Media IFAs. Each Media IFA profile contains links to their most recent online coverage. This allows you to see what topic Media IFAs have been commenting on recently, allowing you to make a more informed decision as to which Media IFA you wish to speak to.
4. Each Media IFA has a star rating. This is calculated by how many journalist’s favourites lists each Media IFA appears on. The more journalist’s favourites lists they appear on, the higher their star rating. Look at the ‘top rated’ list to find out which Media IFA has the highest star rating.
5. Journalist recommendations. The Blue Book gives helpful suggestions as to which Media IFAs other journalists have on their list of favourites. Each Media IFA profile has suggestions as to other Media IFAs you may find useful.
6. Broaden out your contact list of Media IFAs. Overall, the Blue Book online is designed to help you widen the pool of Media IFAs you can contact for commentary or help with articles you are writing. Sign up to the Blue Book now in order to take advantage of all these features.
Notes to Editors
Unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website
Unbiased.co.uk is the free and confidential UK-wide search service matching consumers with the most appropriate local professional advisers for their needs. In 2008, Unbiased.co.uk fulfilled over half a million searches for local, professional advice.
The portal currently houses three professional advice searches: ‘find an IFA’, ‘find a mortgage adviser’, and ‘find a solicitor’, and is inviting accountants to sign up for its ‘find an accountant’ service. These searches enable consumers to find relevant professional advisers by postcode, area of specialism and payment method, amongst other options.
IFA Promotion, the organisation behind Unbiased.co.uk, is now in its 20th year, and was set up to promote the benefits of independent financial advice to the consumer.
Unbiased.co.uk’s product provider sponsors
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AEGON Scottish Equitable |
Lincoln |
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Alliance Trust |
Lockton |
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Aviva |
Lutine Assurance Services |
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AXA Life |
MetLife |
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Bright Grey |
National Savings & Investments |
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Canada Life Ltd |
Opinium Research |
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Cardif Pinnacle |
Prudential |
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The Children’s Mutual |
Royal London 360° |
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Clerical Medical Investment |
Scottish Life |
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Friends Provident |
Scottish Widows Plc |
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Invesco Perpetual |
Standard Life Assurance Company |
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J.P. Morgan Asset Management |
Zurich Intermediary Group |
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Legal & General |
Registered Office: Unbiased.co.uk is the consumer brand of IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB. Registered in Scotland: No. 114606
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