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As I work with advisors across the country, to help them get started attracting a steady stream of the ‘RIGHT’ prospects to them… the subject of ‘Dinner Seminars’ is always a hot topic. Most advisors are very concerned about the cost of doing dinner seminars. Many of them just can’t afford the upfront cost of $4,000 to $7,000 for the direct mail program, (or newspaper ads, inserts) and the dinner, before they make any money. Others tell me they have tried dinner seminars and all they got was a bunch of “Plate Lickers!” And, they don’t want to do dinner seminars any more. Then, there are the advisors that tell me that they just don’t feel comfortable speaking in front of a large group of people. It’s a very common fear. While there is no question that dinner seminars require you to invest a lot of money upfront, without the guarantee that you’ll make enough sales to cover that investment, there is also no question that dinner seminars are one of the easiest and fastest ways to be in front of large numbers of the ‘RIGHT’ prospects, everyday. When dinner seminars are done properly, they are one the best ways for you to take your sales to the top levels of the industry. However, when done wrong, dinner seminars can be a very expensive waste of your money and time. The ‘7 Main Keys’ to successful dinner seminars are: 1st - Make sure you are attracting the right people to your dinner seminar… If you want to have success with dinner seminars, you can’t afford to take short cuts with the invitation process. The only way to make sure you attract the right people to your seminar is to mail your invitation to the right people. The right people are those people who have a problem (s) that you can solve for them. You’ll need to determine who are the best prospects for your products and services. What’s their age? Do they own a home? What’s their household income range? Etc! As the old saying goes: “The Money Is In The List!” Most advisors are making a huge mistake by focusing on attracting high net worth prospects, which puts them in direct competition with every other advisor. Then, they wonder why these prospects want to talk to their Attorney, CPA, Stock Broker, etc. before they make a decision. There are many niches within the annuity and life insurance markets. You have the low, middle and high net worth people. Within those markets you have pre-retirees and retirees. Then there are CD owners, mutual fund investors, stock owners, widowed women, families with children, people in debt, home owners, IRA owners and the list goes on and on. Each of these niches has a different concern, problem, attitude, likes and dislikes. You have to decide which of these niche markets is right for your expertise, experience, knowledge and products. Example: When you use Newspaper Ads and Inserts there is no guarantee that the people who see your Ad or Insert and respond to you are the people that you want at your seminar. Example: You can sell mortgage insurance to anyone who owns a home. But are you making the best use of your time and money attracting and talking to single people, under age 25? Isn’t it going to be easier to attract and sell mortgage insurance to someone who is married and has children, etc.? 2nd - Don’t go cheap on the invitations… Yes, you don’t want to waste your money on very expensive fancy invitations with real gold inlaid lettering. But, you also don’t want to send out 5,000 invitations and have very little or no response. Your invitation needs to look and be professional. One of the biggest mistakes agents make is to print and send out the invitations themselves (or their company does it) to save money. Don’t kid yourself! You (or your company) will never get the response that a good, professional, experienced direct mail company will get. And, forget about using postcards to save money. The best postcard won’t get near the response that a good sales letter and invitation will get. They just can’t put enough information on the postcard to make it as effective as a good sales letter. There are a few good direct response mail companies. The one I recommend is the largest and most experienced in the industry - Response Mail Express (RME) www.responsemailexpress.com (Ask For Jennifer Lowery) 3rd - Don’t go cheap on the dinner… Many advisors ask if they need to provide a dinner at their seminar. The answer is a very definite YES, if you are trying to attract people who don’t already know you. Why? Unfortunately, it’s because everyone else is offering a dinner! However, you don’t need to use a five star ‘Gourmet’ restaurant. But, you don’t want to have your seminar at Burger King either. You want a popular restaurant in your area that is centrally located, easy to get to and serves good traditional meals. Italian restaurants and steak houses are two of the best. Do Not… use country clubs! And, don’t use hotel or business conference rooms. Some people will be intimidated and won’t come. You want this event to be non-threatening and relaxed. 4th - Follow-up on all responses… I highly recommend that you send a reminder card, with directions to the restaurant, to everyone who signs up for the seminar. I also highly recommend that you contact everyone a day or two before the seminar to remind them of the event. I would call everyone, even if you use the reminder service provided by most direct response mail companies. The more times you contact these people, the more likely they are to come to your event. 5th - Invite people that already know you… One of the most overlooked and best ways to improve the attendance to your seminar, and maximize the number of appointments you get, is to invite people that already know you. Invite your friends, relatives, your clients (and their friends), businesses you work with, members of associations you belong to, and anyone else you can think of to your seminar. It’s a very non-threatening way for you to show the people you know, what you do. It will help you to build a friendlier atmosphere at your event. And, they can definitely help to get the people that don’t know you… to trust you. 6th - Practice your presentation… One of the biggest mistakes advisors make is not practicing the seminar presentation. There’s nothing worse than having a presenter reading from their notes, or the screen, and never looking at their audience. How do you build rapport with your audience, if you never look them in the eyes? Why should these people trust or respect you if you do not come across as knowing your material. Aren’t they there because they are looking for advice from an expert? By the way, you don’t have to be a polished professional speaker, or joke teller, etc. But you do have to come across as knowing what you are talking about. The #1 Critical Key to Guaranteeing a Successful Dinner Seminar… You’ve invited the “RIGHT” people to your seminar. You’ve gotten a good response and have 50 good prospects sitting before you. You’ve practiced your presentation and are comfortable with it. Now, what can you do to guarantee that you set lots of appointments… right at the seminar?
*** You Must Get Your Have you ever been to a seminar and left disappointed. Was it basically a lecture? Did you understand how the information being provided related to your personal situation? People go to seminars because they need and are looking for help. They are looking for someone who truly understands their problems and concerns. They are looking for someone who they can trust. The reason that most advisors are unsuccessful with seminars is they tend to lecture to their audience. They talk over the audience’s heads, use technical jargon, talk products and give them too much information. Consequently, they fail to truly connect with their audience and fail to get them emotionally involved. You must write and speak at a sixth grade level! Then, even the college professors can understand you! You must ask questions throughout the seminar to get them actively involved and to get them thinking about how all of this information relates to their situation. If your prospects are even the slightest bit confused as to how the information you’re providing relates to them, then why would they want to set an appointment with you, or buy from you? We’ve helped many agents go from a disappointing 10-20% appointment rate at their dinner seminars, to achieving a 70-90% appointment rate, just by teaching them to ask the right questions during their seminar. (And, the people keep their appointments) When dinner seminars are done properly, and you get your audience emotionally involved, then you will take your sales to the top levels of the industry! By Lew Nason © 2007 Lew Nason,
RFC, FMM, LUTC Graduate - All
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