August is Back to School Month. That makes it a fitting time for financial advisors to load up their fall marketing schedules with educational events. As a lead generation strategy, a well-executed educational event can be highly effective for a variety of reasons. In this blog, we’ll discuss a few of those reasons and then share some ideas for specific educational events that can deliver a huge bang for your marketing buck. Let’s start with three reasons why educational events are often so effective.
- You Have More Credibility
One of the major drawbacks for financial advisors when hosting a traditional dinner seminar to generate leads is that prospects today are savvier. Many see the free meal as simply an enticement to get them to attend an event that will probably end with a sales pitch. Whether that perception is accurate or not, it can have a negative impact on both attendance and appointment-setting ratios.
An educational event avoids this drawback by casting you in the role of financial educator rather than seminar host. You instantly have more credibility in the eyes of attendees. Rather than potentially seeing you as a “salesman,” who has lured them in with a free dinner, they see you as a serious financial professional who is passionate about sharing their knowledge.
- They’re Cost Effective
Another major drawback of traditional dinner seminars, of course, is the cost. Between the expense of food and postage, the upfront investment often means that unless your conversion ratios are well above average, you’ll end up in the red. Competition also adds to the expense. The fact that many advisors lean on seminars as their primary prospecting strategy means you need to spend more on advertising to cut through the competition and ensure good attendance.
Educational events can help ensure a better return on investment by limiting your upfront costs. Rather than reserving a special room at a restaurant and paying for food, you can take advantage of free or low-cost venues like public libraries and community centers. Depending on the event, you may also be able to lean more heavily on cheaper, but still well-targeted, advertising strategies like social media and email.
- They Differentiate Your Practice
In a digital world full of generic financial content, live educational experiences set you apart. Hosting consistent, quality events shows that you care about your community and are invested in financial literacy. This can help differentiate you and your business in a way that consistently attracts qualified prospects and motivates them to seek you out. In a nutshell, educational events are strategies better designed to attract new business, while seminars are more of a traditional “chasing” method.
With all this in mind, here are some market-proven educational prospecting events to consider:
Educational Workshop
The most obvious and common alternative to a dinner seminar is an educational workshop. In addition to having more credibility as an educator, a workshop can give you the opportunity to dive deeper into your material, answer more questions, showcase your knowledge and personality, and build rapport with your audience. What’s more, workshops often attract more serious, and therefore better, prospects. Since you know they’re not there for the food, you can be sure they’re more focused and genuinely interested in what you have to say. Workshop topics that typically draw well include Social Security, RMDs, and Estate Planning.
Adult Education Class
Teaching a financial course through your local adult ed program can allow you to maximize all the benefits of a workshop and take them to a whole new level. As a classroom teacher, you are automatically well-positioned to command the respect and trust of your audience. Plus, you have much more time to build rapport and help them understand how the information you’re providing applies to their situation.
Guest Speaker
Member clubs and organizations are always on the lookout for guest speakers. Hosting a talk on a compelling financial topic for the right audience, which you can identify through your existing client base, lets you showcase your knowledge and connect with qualified prospects.
Financial Literacy Trainer
Although many companies want to provide their employees with knowledgeable financial literacy training, most lack the resources to do it. Chances are, at least one of your clients works, or has worked, for such a company and can help you arrange a training course for current employees.
Federal Employee or Veterans Benefits Specialist
If you have the knowledge, you can help government employees or military veterans understand and maximize their benefits and align them with their broader financial strategy. This highly valued educational service can put you in a solid position for attracting well-qualified leads.
Summary
Educational events aren’t just about sharing information — they’re about enhancing your brand, establishing credibility, attracting high-quality leads, and growing your practice in a meaningful way. With a well-planned strategy, educational events can become some of your most powerful and reliable marketing tools!
