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Conducting More Effective Seminars
Building trust is one of the biggest challenges facing salespeople today; getting past that barrier people put up around themselves. People generally don't want to share personal information, especially investment information with strangers. I can't say that I blame them.But how do we explain the Facebook phenomena? It would seem there are times when people are willing to talk about themselves. They like to brag about themselves, what they're good at; last week's golf score, the best way to grill a steak, what their kids scored on their S.A.T.
People actually do like to talk about themselves; they just don't want to do so with strangers. Once you realize this you've taken a big first step in breaking through the trust barrier.
In late 2011 we surveyed top producers across the country asking them what they'd like to improve on in the New Year. A significant majority said they'd like help conducting more effective seminars.
Many advisors view seminars as "dog and pony shows" where you send out invites, rent some space, feed people and browbeat them with PowerPoint slides, Lipper averages and investment advice. Based on past experience they don't have the confidence that this technique will work.
The technique will work, the problem is they haven't established any kind of relationship; they haven't built any trust. And people know when they are going to be "sold". This makes it very hard to get them to attend and even harder to convert attendees into clients.
Taking A Different Approach
So how about taking a different approach? We spoke with an advisor who's having tremendous success using a far less threatening method. His concept is simple. He finds things that people in his target market are truly interested in and then invites them to a seminar on THAT topic.
For example, he ran a series of seminars on how to put together the ultimate backyard barbecue. He hired a chef from a local restaurant to talk about grilling techniques and cook a few steaks. This cost him about $200 (steaks included). He printed out recipes in little take-home binders and prepared a few tasty side dishes. After the discussion, food was served and while everyone sat down to eat he gave a short talk about himself, his family (who he'd brought with him), the importance of financial planning and his own capabilities. This informal seminar was held in a local park. This allowed him to interact casually with members of the community while providing a service they all enjoyed.
Another idea he's found incredibly effective is the S.A.T. prep seminar. He does this one at a local school or church hall. Again, the concept is simple. Find someone in the area who helps kids study and prepare for their college entrance exams. Pay this party to attend your seminar and give a 40-minute talk on how to prepare for the S.A.T. Make sure they can deliver quality content (this will reflect on you). Afterwards serve some coffee and pastries and give a short talk on financial planning for college. Emphasize your desire to provide this service to the community where your kids are growing up.
Seminars of this nature can be fun as well as informative. More importantly they enable you to break through the trust barrier. Be creative. You don't have to use either of these ideas. These are just two suggestions that have worked well for another advisor.
This is the fun part of sales and marketing. Think about services that people in your community need and run with it! Mention that the event (seminar) is being sponsored by you or your firm and leave it at that. Avoid being stuffy you don't want people to get the feeling they are being sold.
To help you kick off the New Year, Larkspur Data is offering a special for this week only. We'll give you access to 2,500 high-net-worth prospects in your area, backed by our unconditional guarantee (call for details) for just $295 (regular price $595 for 4,000). You'll also lock in a special 66% discount on any subsequent purchases throughout the year. Finally, you will be entitled to a free one-on-one consultation on your next seminar or prospecting campaign with our in-house marketing expert.
Call us at 800-282-4567 or email us at Info@larkspur.com today to take advantage of this offer.
Best wishes for a healthy and productive 2011!
We recently posted the results of our 2011 Prospecting Survey
You're invited to review the report on our Sales Forum
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