A Prescription for an Ailing Seminar

A Prescription for an Ailing Seminar

The Seminar Coach.biz

Over the past 15 years of serving as a marketing consultant to the financial advice industry, I have experienced one constant. That constant being the following conversation:

ADVISOR: John, I am a firm believer in marketing and I like to do seminars. HOWEVER it seems that when it comes time to set up the appointment after the event, I never have enough people schedule an appointment. ME: When do you start to mine for appointments? ADVISOR: Typically the next day. ME: That’s the problem.

Now, I know many of you are reading this and are formulating a prescription for this advisor’s seminar ailment. However if your prescription is that the advisor should start mining at the seminar, I’ll suggest we go maximum strength. My maximum strength prescription is to start mining BEFORE the seminar.

Seminars have been much maligned over the past 15 years. We constantly hear about the lunch bunch and the lack of appointment setting after the event. I suggest that the reason for this malady is that we are inviting the Lunch Bunch and those not inclined to meet with us. My advice, stop inviting those people! I have detailed the steps to increase the likelihood that you will have attendees that are qualified and motivated to meet with you. I have one caveat. That is that you not allow fear to stop you from trying something different. One of the requirements of enjoying the benefits of this prescription is courage.

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow. ~Dan Rather

Pre-Seminar Worksheet

I have had the pleasure of working with advisors who have built tremendous books of business through seminar marketing. At some point, they decided that they were going to feed a group of strangers that had no inclination to meet with them after the fact.

They worked to devise a method in which they could weed out (as much as possible) those attendees. They created the Pre-Seminar Worksheet. This document was sent to invitation recipients whom have called in an RSVP to the seminar. The document is a 10 question worksheet. It asks about the experience the individual has had with the investment markets, the breakdown in percentages between taxable, tax-free and tax deferred. It also uncovers three very crucial bits of information that will help the advisor understand whether or not this person is a good candidate for the event.

The first question, “How have you made financial decisions in the past? It then provides several multiple choice options (self research, attorney, CPA, broker, friend etc.) This information begins to paint a picture of whether or not this person is the decision maker.

The second question, “What concerns you most about your portfolio today?” This is a powerful question for obvious reasons. This may lead you to spending more time on one topic versus another during the seminar. For instance, if you get an overwhelming response that “guaranteed income” is the biggest concern, you would obviously display your industry leading knowledge on ways to “guarantee income”.

The third question, “Select your ideal method of working with a financial advisor”. This is another multiple choice question. The options are Fee-Based or Annual Percentage Fee based on account value (it is worded that way because not everyone is familiar with investment jargon), Per Transaction, Pay-for-Advice or Other, please describe. This question sheds light on the type of relationship the prospective attendee is willing to work in. This may discount them completely.

Of course, the fact that they are willing to complete the form is a great sign for their level of seriousness. If they are unwilling to complete the form, they are most likely not going to take meeting with you after the fact seriously. Remember what I said about courage. If you are going to have them believe that you are not just another financial advisor, then you must begin to establish yourself as such. This will certainly be something that separates you in the mind of your prospective attendees.

Seminar Workbooks

I always like to read the comment cards that are left behind after one of the seminars I am monitoring. People leave such nice messages when they have been fed and are off the hook. Those messages about how informative and fun are the kiss of death. FEAR should be dripping off the message left behind. Fear accompanied by the phone number and meeting time is the goal.

I believe that by taking our abstract topics and boiling it down to “their world” is a great way to get your audience to understand the impact of not acting on the information being presented. Getting into details about the specifics of how workbooks should be designed is a topic for another day. Suffice it to say, that the workbook should be broken into the points being made in your presentation. The audience should have the time and ability to insert their own information at critical points of the workbook. It should bring to light the shortcomings of their current plan, if any. The workbooks also, serve as a reminder of their fears for those who haven’t set up an appointment with you well after the seminar.

A less dramatic reason why workbooks improve appointment rates is that they improve information retention rates. Studies have proven time and time again that retention rates dramatically improve if the information is presented in multimedia. The workbook provides the thirds media. The first being the verbal presentation, the second being the visuals and the workbook provides the kinesthetic.

Evaluation Sheets

It would be hard for me to fathom that there are seminar professionals not using evaluation sheets of one kind or another. They provide the necessary back up for expense reimbursement and also provide compliance with backup. However, the evaluation form can be a powerful ally in setting the after seminar appointment.

If we have done a sufficient job with the pre-seminar worksheet and magnified their fears with the workbook and presentation, our attendees should feel a sense of urgency. The evaluation form is the perfect platform for them to tell you which day and times are best to meet. This is a form of the ever popular assumptive close.

One of my clients begins the assumptive close after the presentation. He essentially walks the audience through a post seminar meeting. He details what paperwork should be brought along, he details the client evaluation report which he prepares and sets a time expectation. In his opinion, the “best time to meet” portion of the evaluation form is a meeting commitment. If times overlap, he simply adjusts the length of the first meeting.

So back to my ailing seminar prescription, insert three action steps: 1. pre-seminar worksheet 2. the workbook and 3. “best time to meet” evaluation sheets and call me in the morning with your success story.

John is the founder of The Seminar Coach.Biz. He lives in Tampa Florida with his wife and three boys. John has been helping financial professionals break through the barriers of mediocrity for over 15 years. He can be reached at jlomba@forcelife.com