‍

‍

Seminars are one of the most effective ways to generate a steady stream of new prospects. However, with a plethora of options, heightened competition and changing consumer interests, it can be difficult to craft a winning strategy. One small misstep can derail a seminar campaign and hurt your pipeline.
‍

Whether you are a seasoned seminar host, or just getting started, your CreativeOne team is here to help you build a winning seminar strategy. Read our latest insights to uncover trends and opportunities to help maximize your seminar success in 2024.

‍

Choosing the right topic
‍

Consumer interest ebbs and flows based on hot-button topics like proposed tax legislation, growing national debt, inflation, and market volatility, not to mention the elephant in the room that is the looming presidential election. By focusing on what’s top of mind with consumers, you can use the current uncertainty to help drive better results for your seminar campaigns. You don’t have to tailor your whole seminar to a timely topic, but instead, work in timely concepts into both your advertising and your presentation materials to help take advantage of changing consumer interests.
‍

When it comes to the best-performing topics our top advisors are using, a hybrid presentation focused on both Social Security & Taxes is driving strong results. After previously using custom retirement content, we helped a struggling advisor boost his seminar performance 5x when he made the switch to Social Security & Taxes. By focusing on a topic everyone is confused by when it comes to Social Security, and layering in a timely topic that garners the interest of higher net worth individuals, this hybrid topic appeals to the right audiences.

‍

Estate Planning workshops have been driving strong results for our advisors who team up with attorneys as well, especially with changes to the estate taxes.

Dinner seminars deserve a seat at the table
‍

If you’ve had a bad experience with dinner seminars in the past, it’s understandable that you might be hesitant to reconsider. However, we’ve seen a surge in demand from consumers and if done correctly, they can still drive a higher ROI than other event types.

‍

A lot of the industry has shifted away from hosting dinner seminars, meaning there’s reduced competition despite the high consumer demand. We’ve found that serious prospects appreciate the convenience of attending dinner events and often need that little bit of extra incentivization of the dinner to take a step toward getting the retirement education they need.
‍

One of our Colorado-based advisors transitioned from educational workshops to dinners, and saw his seminar pipeline grow 3x when implementing them into his rotation. With dinners, you’ll immediately establish goodwill with attendees and give them an extra reason to schedule the all-important follow-up consultation.

‍

The beauty of working with CreativeOne is that we can leverage our in-house digital expertise to keep your advertising costs for a dinner seminar low while still filling the room up with qualified prospects. Often, you can run a dinner event, including food and advertising costs, for less than the cost of full direct mail campaign. This can help you achieve a strong ROI by getting in front of a fresh group of prospective clients you may have otherwise not been able to reach. Utilize dinners to reach consumers with different event type preferences.
‍

Reach a more serious prospect with two-day workshops

While you might be familiar with the standard workshop of having prospects come to a one-night event to learn about Social Security, retirement planning or taxes, have you ever thought about hosting a holistic two-day, classroom style retirement planning workshop?
‍

We’ve found that teaching a two-day workshop on a college or university campus helps attract a more serious prospect. They are giving up much more of their time showing a commitment to learning and a clear need for direction when it comes to preparing for retirement.
‍

As the expert teaching them everything they need to know to create a successful plan for retirement, the conversion rates to client are much higher than a typical workshop. Usually the assets are much higher as well.
‍

One of our Massachusetts-based advisors has been solely using two-day workshops and bringing in over $30MM a year in new assets with over an 80% conversion rate from attendee to client. Talk to your team at CreativeOne about how to get started with two-day workshop!

‍

Digital marketing or direct mail? Why not try both?
‍

Consumer preference varies depending on your market. If you’re struggling to drive leads via direct mail or digital ads, we’ve seen success with advisors taking a fresh approach to their marketing and adopting a new strategy. Think about this way: Different consumers will respond differently to different mediums. By utilizing both in your seminar marketing strategies, you can maximize your reach to new prospects in your area.
‍

Pay close attention to what your local competition is doing as well! For example, if prospect mailboxes are constantly inundated with flyers all promoting the same type of workshop, utilize a Facebook ad campaign to break through the clutter and reach your audience in a less-saturated advertising channel.
‍

Here are a few perks of each marketing method:
‍

Digital:

• Hyper-targeted audiences based on location, demographics (age, net worth, investible assets, etc.) and behaviors.
• More affordable advertising costs.
• 78% of baby boomers are Facebook users.^{1
  ‍}‍

Direct mail:

• Everyone has a mailbox.
• Higher attendance rates than digital.
• Mail piece serves as a tangible reminder of the event.
  ‍

Not sure what the best option is? Try a hybrid approach! By implementing both methods into your campaign, you can get the best of both worlds. Just be sure to track which channel your attendees and new clients are coming from so you can measure ROI for each channel accurately to inform future decisions.

‍

Looking for a packed house for a couple of event dates? Follow the lead of one of our advisors located outside of Sacramento and supplement your digital campaign with a mail drop, or vice versa. This allows you to preserve your marketing dollars by not paying for a full 10,000-piece mailer, while still prospering off the merits of direct mail.

‍

Figure out what works for your market and collaborate with your CreativeOne team to turn those findings into a sustainable strategy for long-term success.

What’s next?
‍

Ready to take these observations and incorporate them into your practice? Book a strategy session with us today to discuss how we can take these recommendations to develop a successful seminar marketing plan for 2024.
‍

Want to learn more about how to best set yourself up for seminar success? Download your 2024 Seminars Declassified Playbook for best practices and key considerations when it comes to planning your next event!
‍

¹ https://www.businessdit.com/baby-boomers-and-social-media/

‍