Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Now that COVID is endemic, you will be tempted to offer client events. When my coaching clients regale me of past events, the results are typically that it was fun or the clients had a good time. I ask how many appointments they booked or how much business they closed.
Most say none.
It never occurs to advisors that these events should be marketing machines. To build your business with 25 referrals per month and increased sales, read on.
My client, Bob Messina, had to find a new venue for his prospect dinner meetings. Business slowed because he couldn’t find the right venue. His favorite restaurant, the Five Crowns, was being remodeled and Bob tried several others with no success. He told me, “If we don’t turn this around, you will get fired as my coach.”
One month later, Bob had 25 appointments without spending a dime on marketing. Here is the secret.
We broke Bob’s clients into three segments: A, B, and C. He had 50 As, 100 Bs who could by definition become As, and about 200 Cs. We booked a five-star restaurant and invited the "A's." The budget can get extended to a nice venue when you don’t have to pay marketing costs. The topic was “How to Make Your Money Last as Long as You Do.” He sent out personal invitations to each "A" client with a note that they could invite friends who could benefit.
Three days after the clients received their invitation, Bob called to personally invite them to come. Approximately 65% said “yes” as a result of the verbal invitation. Attendance participation without the call was about 25%. You can double or triple the attendance with just a personal touch.
But here is when the magic happened.
Bob then mentioned on the call that clients could bring friends who could benefit from the topic. He even offered to put the client into a drawing for a free iPad. All the client had to do was provide a name and contact so Bob could send out a personal invitation. This prevented a lost referral in case the guest couldn’t attend.
Here are the results: 65% of Bob’s clients attended and 65% of those clients provided contact info for guests. If the referrals could make it, great. If they couldn’t, that was fine since Bob could call them using a referred lead script later. He could even invite them to another event.
The actual client event
Bob welcomed the group and introduced some of the clients who brought guests. He did a great job speaking on how to avoid longevity risk. There were 35 client households who attended and 25 guest households. Using our five-step self-rating evaluation sheet appointment booking process, Bob booked appointments with 18 guests and 10 clients who had more assets he could manage.
At the end of the event, Bob raffled the iPad for clients who brought a guest and a free dinner for two for the guests.
Making client events a prospecting machine
Previously in this publication, I mentioned an every-three-month client call process including:
- Catch up
- Update
- Bridge
- Referral
If you are like many financial advisors, you struggle to get referrals. But my clients mention an upcoming client event at the end of every three-month call. This takes the place of asking for referrals. Ambitious advisors will do an event monthly. The less organized advisors will do them quarterly. But if you want a constant stream of 25 referrals a month, the Messina event approach is your answer.
I would love to send you a free video of “The Messina Method.” Write me at [email protected] or call 714-368-3650. We will spend a few minutes talking about your goals for increasing your business this year.
Dr. Kerry Johnson is “America’s Business Psychologist.” He is the best-selling author of 17 books and a frequent speaker at financial conferences around the world. Peak Performance Coaching, his one-on-one coaching program, promises to increase your business by 80% in 8 weeks. To see if you are a candidate for this fast-track system, click on www.KerryJohnson.com/coaching and take a free evaluation test. You will learn about your strengths and what is holding you back. Or call, 714-368-3650 for more information.
Read more articles by Kerry Johnson
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
