Mastering HNW Seminars Attract, captivate, and motivate a wealthy audience
BACK OF THE NAPKIN
You’ve spent the last few weeks planning your first prospecting HNW seminar. You’ve sent out hundreds of invitations to the most affluent of neighbourhoods and have already received a surprising number of RSVPs back in the mail. With your event just a week away, it would appear that everything’s moving along nicely! But have you considered everything? And are you truly prepared to capitalize on this tremendous opportunity to grow your business? The success of your seminar will depend on the execution of several important moving parts. The reality is, a well-attended seminar may provide a momentary illusion of success, yet generate very little (if any) in the way of financial reward. In fact, this scenario probably unfolds more often than most advisors would like to admit. So, let’s step back and get clear on the ultimate goal of your seminar.
The ultimate goal of your seminar is to accomplish just one thing...gather new assets! Based on my experience with hundreds of HNW seminars over the last decade, I want to share with you what I believe to be the three critical phases of the “Seminar Continuum”. To maximize the potential for success, each of the phases must be executed with precision.
ATTRACT
CAPTIVATE
MOTIVATE
Get them to the seminar
Grab and hold their undivided attention
THE MAGNET
THE MESSAGE
THE CALL-TOACTION
PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
MOTIVATE Get them to change what they’ve been doing
Remember, it’s NOT the goal of your seminar to: X Fill a room with people
X Make new friends
X Feed the hungry
X Educate an audience
X Entertain a group of diners
X Practice your event-planning skills
The Seminar Continuum
Phase 1: Attract You can’t run a successful seminar without an audience! The Attraction phase is concerned with getting the right people to your event, and involves all of the elements that will collectively serve as your seminar “magnet”. Things like: 1. Your Seminar Invitation 2. Your Seminar Topic 3. Your Seminar Venue Whether you’ve purchased or compiled a list of wealthy prospects, or have simply identified an affluent neighbourhood to target, it’s now time to advertise your upcoming seminar. The research shows that high-quality, wedding-style invitations are opened by the majority of recipients. Invest your marketing dollars here to greatly increase the odds that your message will reach the eyes of your intended audience.
Once your invitation has been opened, you will need to grab the reader’s attention with a headline topic that surprises them, intrigues them, or blatantly appeals to their self-interest. Avoid using worn-out industry terminology and lifeless financial jargon when you’re developing your topic headline. For Example: Instead of: “Prudent Asset Allocation Principles” | boring, flat, jargon Consider: “Take the Fear out of Investing!” | emotional, hopeful, interesting Instead of: “Effective Financial Planning” | boring, flat, jargon Consider: “The Secrets of Wealth Creation” | provocative, instructive, interesting Follow your headline with 3-5 bullet points to expand upon the main topic and layer in additional elements of interest. Your objective here is to appeal to your reader’s curiosity and leave them wanting more.
In addition to your seminar “topic”, some of your prospects will place a lot of importance on your chosen venue as a reason to attend. For a dinner seminar, your venue should be recognizable, have a reputation for quality food, and should carry some degree of “cachet” in order to appeal to the affluent.
Close off the session by clearly articulating what they can expect from you after the seminar. Manage their expectations by explaining that you will be contacting each of your guests in the next 24-48 hours to answer any questions, or discuss the unique challenges they may be facing.
Keep the ultimate goal of your seminar top-of-mind during the Attraction Phase. Avoid the temptation to blindly accept all interested parties just so you can fill the seats. Instead, be sure to qualify all invitees by clearly stating the following on your invitation: “Please note: this event is ideally suited for investors with a minimum of $(insert amount) of investable assets.”
There are many other “operational” considerations around the planning and execution of a successful seminar, but a clear understanding of the three phases of the Seminar Continuum will keep you focused on the core fundamentals necessary for success.
Phase 2: Captivate Now that you’ve attracted a room full of qualified guests, your next objective is to grab and hold their attention for the duration of your seminar! To accomplish this, your spoken message will need to be interesting, relevant, thought-provoking and direct. Build rapid rapport with your audience by focusing on their emotional needs. Avoid the temptation to “sell” the services that you offer, but rather address what your audience needs to hear with respect to preserving and growing their wealth. Captivate them by displaying a deep understanding of their internal challenges during volatile times, and introduce them to how you consistently resolve these issues for your clients. Inject emotional semantics into each aspect of your discussion – using terms like “safety, protection, comfort, peace of mind, growth, and preservation”. Once you’ve made the emotional connection, the technical elements will simply provide logical support for the listener’s growing interest in you and your offering. Be cautious when inviting a guest speaker to attend your seminar. It’s absolutely essential that the focus of your audience remains on you as the expert and the go-to professional. All too often, a talented guest speaker will make a strong connection with an audience, while the advisor goes home largely forgotten.
Putting It All Together…
Sample Agenda
Seminar Materials
• Greet guests as they arrive
• Projection screen
• Show them to the private room
• Laptop computer
• Welcome your guests
• Projector
• Outline housekeeping items (washrooms, etc)
• Back-up copy of slideshow on USB key
• Explain agenda for the evening
• Remote slide advancer
• Wait staff takes orders and serves appetizers
• Power bar with long cord
• Introductory comments
• Rectangular table for laptop, projector, materials
• Initial presentation by host advisor • Introduction of guest speaker • Q&A session • Closing comments
• Flipchart, easel, markers • Handouts and/or take-home packages • Evaluation cards and pens
• Distribute evaluation cards • Guest sign-in sheet • Provide a take-home package
Phase 3: Motivate Once you’ve captured the attention of your audience, and have made a genuine emotional connection, it’s time to motivate them to change what they’ve been doing with their wealth. Remember, up until now, their financial strategy has not involved you! Take the time to summarize the key points from your main discussion. And, in the process, ask the audience some carefully worded questions to force them to formulate internal responses and to create doubt around their current approach. Position your team’s wealth management process as the missing piece in their financial picture. Install a sense of urgency, by highlighting the “pain” they may experience by not taking action…and the degree of “pleasure” (or payoff) they will enjoy by making a change.
Grant Shorten is Director of Strategic Insights at Renaissance Investments. He offers insights and approaches that will work with your clients and have an immediate impact on your practice. www.advisor.ca/togo Podcast > Three steps to the perfect seminar Video > Mastering HNW Seminars
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