Archive for October, 2010

To get the results you want from your seminars I encourage Financial Advisors to incorporate three different types of programs into their seminar calendar:

• Workshops
• Events
• Seminars

Each program creates a different atmosphere and can lead to very different results.  In today’s blog I’m going to share 4 tips to creating an effective WORKSHOP:

Workshops are educational style meetings designed to be facilitative. There can be three to 20 individuals in a casual setting, creating a classroom environment. This is a roll-up-your-sleeves, interactive event. The more interactive you make it; the more effective it will be in generating new accounts. Workshops tend to attract more serious investors, investors that don’t need the enticement of a good meal or new experience to attend. A good workshop can become a repeatable program, something you host on a regular basis. These become “feeder” events, great for those people who are just beginning a relationship with you.

Invitations for workshops tend to be less formal. Invites might even include “What you will learn:” sections, so the guests are more prepared to participate. You can send pre-work to the participants, a worksheet that asks questions, reading material or a checklist of items to bring with them. This pre-work reaffirms their commitment to attend, enhances your value and level of professionalism and better prepares the participant, which elevates the whole event.

Typically, workshops are not centered on a meal, but light refreshments can be provided. The participants are there to learn, not to be entertained. A conference room is highly appropriate for a workshop, creating a more classroom-like environment. As participants arrive, you can have them sign in and distribute worksheets or PowerPoint notes. I prefer worksheets designed

to be filled out during the presentation, complimenting the topic at hand.

In a workshop, it is important to set the tone early on. You can do this by asking the participants what they hope to learn at the event. Be sure to write everything they say on a flip chart. Although you have an agenda for the evening, odds are many of the statements will fall in line with what you plan to present. It is very important that when the formal presentation is over, you bring the attention back to the flip chart and cross off each item that was addressed. If something wasn’t addressed, ask permission to talk to the participant one on one. This process helps to ensure your participants leave the workshop satisfied they received what they came for.

In order to host an effective workshop keep these 4 tips in mind:

1. Quizzes and Games:  Providing quizzes and fun learning tools can help create a more open environment. Start off with games like “Investor Jeopardy,” ask investment trivia questions or even give a short quiz about the markets to help them realize what they need to learn.

1. Name Tags:  Getting the participants to interact with each other is critical to creating a facilitative environment.  Name tags eliminates the discomfort and encourages interactions Be particularly conscious of how the room is set up and how you can encourage the participants to interact with each other.

1. U-Shape:  I prefer to either set up my tables in a U-shape or place the chairs in a crescent formation. This allows all of the participants to see each other as they speak and encourages discussion.  The U-shape allows you, the presenter, to walk inside the U, creating a little more intimacy than if you stayed in front of the room. Often, I sit or lean on the end of the table, creating a less formal stance.

1. Flip charts:  You can’t have too many flip charts.  Flip charts and white boards is an effective tool letting the participants know you are really listening and value their feedback. 

 Watch for my next blog as I will share the tips to hosting “Events” .

 Financial Advisors can reap tremendous benefits by utilizing seminars as their primary business building tool.  While most advisors have little to no training I want to spend the next few blogs focused on what it takes to create and effective seminar program. 

Creating an environment conducive to your target market can dramatically impact the event as a whole. By creating a comfortable environment your guests are more receptive to your message, they become more engaged with the overall presentation, they feel a greater connection to others in the room all of which enhances your ability to build trust and confidence in your services.

 Location is one of the most important factors in creating a good environment.  In my former practice my target market was wealthy women in Newport Beach California, aged fifty and above. (For those that watch the TV show the OC, that’s where I built my business.) Considering my wealthy target market I held most of my events at a five star restaurant, The Ritz in Newport Beach, CA.  While many women might be uncomfortable with this 5 star environment it was ideal and attractive to my market.  Had I hosted my event at a library or local diner my audience would have been very different.

 In addition to the location there are 5 factors that can enhance the environment you create at your events:

1.  Seating: When guests are spread out and there is too much space between participants, you lose energy in the room. But, when participants are seated shoulder to shoulder, you will find the energy escalates along with the noise level.
2. Room Selection: When selecting a room, it is better to choose a room that has the potential for being too small vs. too large. It is always better to add tables and chairs at the last minute then to have empty tables or seats. Too large a room can destroy any chance of achieving good interaction with and between the guests.
3. A Packed Room generates tremendous energy and validates the participants’ decision to attend.
4. Greeting your Guests: Be certain to set up your room so that you can personally engage the participants. It starts the moment they arrive. How you greet your guests and then introduce them to others can have a tremendous impact on setting the tone for the actual presentation.
5. Assigned seating: By assigning seats, you are better able to control the environment and the flow of conversation. A great client sitting next to a perspective client enhances your reputation, as most clients love to brag about their advisors.
6. Where you sit: If you are not the main speaker, sit with your guests, take notes during the presentation and share your notes at the end of the event. This process helps you connect better with your guests, making them feel as if you are also one of them.

For the past 6 months I have been working with a female financial advisor who had hit a wall, she could not get beyond the $500,000 mark.  This past year she changed firms creating a new environment that might help her get through this barrier, yet she encountered the same problem.  It didn’t matter how hard she worked, how much she sacrificed or how determined she was to succeed success continued to be a struggle.  Everything she did was dominated by the desire to achieve production, as a result she was constantly stressed and anxious causing her to get sick, feeling negative at work and impatient with her family. 

While all of us are motivated in different ways I have found that the most common motivator for financial advisors is fear.  Fear of not making your numbers, fear of being rejected, and fear of not having all the answers.  As female financial advisors we can often add the fear of not being accepted, the fear of not getting approval or the fear of being different and not fitting in.  While fear under certain circumstances can be a great motivator overtime it can cause you to stall , get stuck and create a barrier to growth which is exactly what it did to my client.     

Today my client is making better decisions, is less anxious, is willing to walk away from business that does not fit with her principles.  The fear that once motivated her is now replaced with something else which she struggles to describe.   It is not tangible, it does not have a name and it is not something she can quantify she just knows that as a result of this new approach she is feeling better as a person, more connected as a mother and wife and more effective as a wealth advisor. 

By helping my client identify the core principles that drive her desires and actions she has become more focused on positive qualities setting a standard that is in line with who she is as a person.  This standard causes her to be more selective about with whom she does business.  Every decision she now makes is driven by her three business principles: 

1.  A thoughtful process;  This prevents her from making rash or pressured decisions while incorporating the big picture an important approach as a wealth advisor.
2. Integrity – Doing what you say you are going to do is not only critical for how she treats her clients and coworkers but what she expects in return.  
3. An Ethical Process:  By always focusing on what is right for the client first she feels more committed to her decisions and confident in her value.  This ethical standard permeates every aspect of her practice. 

Today these three principles are the guiding force that influences every decision she makes in her business.  These principles help her determine the clients she chooses to work with and the standards she expects from her co-worksers.  By applying these three principles she no longer makes decisions based on fear.   While she often falls back to the old way of thinking, worrying about her numbers she quickly reminds herself of the principles that drive her, immediately replacing fear with positive energy. 

 Call it the law of attraction or the power of positive thinking, call it what you will but this force is real, this force can allow you to achieve success beyond your imagination.  Eliminate the fear, identify the core principles that drive your practice and great things will happen.

This morning I received a call from Sheila a former coaching client and successful female advisor, she called to say she finally had an epiphany.  She told me that during our coaching she had struggled with my message. During my work with Sheila I continued to emphasize the importance of finding her feminine self and incorporating that self into her business.  Like most successful female financial advisors she perceived femininity as pink bows and soft voices, more as a weakness than a strength. What she failed to recognized was that it is through our feminine spirit that comes our strength and power as woman.  While we made some great strides during our coaching at refocusing her business we had hit a wall.  Today she called to tell me she finally get’s it and that she now understands where I was leading her and why.

This past week Sheila she was preparing for a presentation to over 50 affluent women.  While Sheila has given many presentations in the past this one opportunity was giving her a challenge, she wanted to present a good message but for some reason she was stuck.  As she does with most challenges Sheila turned to her bible for inspiration as a result her feminine voice began to speak and her message became crystal clear.  While different than any other presentation she had ever given she knew it was time to speak from her heart. 

Sheila’s presentation focused on Love and Money, she referenced the bible, quoted sources outside of the financial industry and left the women speechless.  Sheila generated more appointments from this one presentation than any other presentation she ever gave.  She did not sell, preach or motivate with fear.  Sheila spoke from the heart with compassion, encouragement and love.  She said the feeling was overwhelming.  It was at that moment that she understood where I was trying to take her during our coaching time together.