He said: “When we started Yellowtail, we had plenty of capacity and relatively few clients, so we turned to Unbiased as a source of leads.
“Back then, in 2006, its model was simpler, more affordable, and surprisingly effective. However, as Unbiased evolved, expanding their services to include directories for lawyers and accountants, and frequently changing their pricing and lead delivery methods, the user experience deteriorated.
“At the same time, the quality of leads we received declined significantly. Ultimately, we decided to stop using Unbiased.”
Yellowtail then tried VouchedFor but found the leads they received from the service didn’t match the quality the firm had initially experienced.
“One downside with VouchedFor was the constant need for client reviews to maintain visibility in their algorithms. This requirement didn’t align with our low-volume business model, where we could go months without taking on a new client.
“The lack of frequent reviews seemed to work against us. Eventually, we realised that our best clients were coming from referrals by existing clients.
"We shifted our focus to quality over quantity and invested in our own marketing to make it easier for potential clients to find us,” Hall explained.
He also mentioned the firm using BoringMoney which Hall said Yellowtail has had “sporadic success” with.
However he emphasised client referrals have continued to be the “most valuable” source of new business.
On the other hand, Hannah Cowell, an IFA at 2plan Wealth Management, said she would recommend VouchedFor to anyone.
She said: “I’ve been with VouchedFor since around 2014. The honest reviews I’ve received help future prospects to decide whether they will want to use my services. It’s like a 'Tripadvisor' for financial advisers.
“It’s also nice to hear feedback of initial meetings who haven’t become clients yet, and also those who have become clients too. It’s paying for itself too as the fees I charge cover the costs of being part of VouchedFor.”
Cowell believed being self-employed and starting off with no client bank, using the service has helped her to grow her business.
In response to the claims made, Unbiased said it encouraged advisers to respond rapidly to responses saying it sees a better conversion rate with rapid responses rather than those that wait up to 48 hours.
A spokesperson said pricing based on asset levels has been the case since 2022 due to higher value leads costing Unbiased more to source and the fact advisers can generate higher returns from higher asset value customers.
