Writing a 'What We Don't Advise On' Page That Doesn't Sound Unhelpful

17 September 2026·3 min read

Quick answer: Pair every exclusion with a redirect — what you don't advise on, plus who does. "We don't provide standalone insurance advice, but we work closely with [type of specialist] who can help" filters out the wrong enquiry while still leaving the reader with somewhere useful to go. That pairing is what keeps the page from sounding like a rejection. ✨

Here's a page most financial planning websites are missing 💖: a clear, upfront list of what you don't advise on. It feels counterintuitive — why would you want to narrow your own funnel? — but a page like this saves everyone time, filters out mismatched enquiries before the discovery call, and signals a level of clarity that builds trust before the first conversation even happens.

What Most Financial Planners Get Wrong

Most practices either don't have this page at all, or write their exclusions so vaguely ("we specialise in holistic advice") that a prospective client can't actually tell whether their situation fits. The result is a steady trickle of discovery calls that end in "unfortunately, that's not something we help with" — a wasted call for both sides.

The Formula

For each exclusion: [What we don't advise on] + [why, briefly] + [where to go instead].

Example: "We don't provide advice on direct property investment. It sits outside our licence, so if that's a focus for you, we're happy to recommend a specialist we trust in that space."

List three to five genuine exclusions this way — specific enough that a reader can immediately tell if it applies to them.

A practice specialising in pre-retirement advice: lists "standalone risk insurance advice" and "aggressive short-term trading strategies" as exclusions, immediately clarifying its focus and reducing mismatched enquiries by a noticeable margin.

A practice working mainly with business owners: excludes personal budgeting coaching, redirecting instead to a specific resource, which keeps the practice's discovery calls focused on the strategic work it actually wants to be doing.

The Mechanics: Where This Page Lives

Link to it clearly from the main services page and, ideally, from the enquiry form confirmation itself — "before we call you back, here's a quick page on what we do and don't advise on." This does some of the filtering work before the call even happens.

💡 Clarity filters better than vagueness ever will: a specific "we don't do X" attracts more of the right enquiries than a broad "we do everything" ever does — it signals focus, not limitation.

Mistakes to Avoid

Writing exclusions so vaguely they don't actually help a reader self-select
Listing an exclusion with no redirect, which reads as a dead end
Hiding the page somewhere a prospective client is unlikely to find it before enquiring
Using this page to avoid ever saying no on a call, instead of as a genuine filter

Please note: general information, not financial advice — any statement about your licence's scope should be checked against your current AFSL and authorisation.

Frequently asked questions

Won't this page put off potential clients?

It puts off the wrong ones, which is the point — it tends to attract more of the right ones by demonstrating clarity and focus.

How many exclusions is too many?

Three to five genuine ones is usually the sweet spot. A very long list can start to feel like a disclaimer rather than a helpful guide.

Should this page be linked from the homepage?

It doesn't need top-level navigation, but it should be easy to find from the services page and enquiry flow.

What if our scope of advice changes over time?

Review the page whenever your AFSL authorisations or focus areas change — an outdated exclusion is worse than no page at all.

Keep reading 🤍

Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

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