Seminar marketing is a staple of the financial industry, but holding events that yield a worth-while return on your investment requires careful planning and fearless persistence. Many financial advisors try seminar marketing a handful of times and get discouraged, while their more successful competitors grow their client base more and more with each event. There’s no big secret to seminar marketing, however, we do have some tips to help you optimize your entire event process, from pre-planning to closing deals afterwards!

Pick the right audience

Who do you want to speak to? Maybe you’d like to present to people whose demographic info resembles that of your most profitable current clients. Maybe you’d like to expand and present to people who you aren’t like those you currently do business with. Whatever the case, identify who your seminar will be targeted at before you do anything else, because in each of the following steps, you’ll have to be considerate of your target audience.

Pick the right venue

You want to pick a venue that is not so large that you can’t interact with the crowd or keep their attention, but no so small that it feels uncomfortable. You also want your venue to appeal to your target audience. Choose a restaurant that you think your target audience is familiar with and fond of. Negotiate meal prices for three simple meals. Steak, chicken, and vegetarian is generally a safe bet.

Send appealing invitations

Direct mail marketing is the most powerful way to get the word out about your seminar. Make sure your invitations are printed on high quality paper and feature a tasteful, appealing design. Give your seminar a great title that explains what you’ll be talking about and what your audience will get out of it. A bullet-point list is the best way to let people know the topics you’ll be covering. Address issues that are relevant to your audience and include specific information like numbers wherever you can. Lastly, include a great call-to-action on your mailer that instructs recipients what to do next (call your office, register online, etc).

Have guest speakers

Guest speakers are a great addition to your seminar for several reasons. For one, it’s easy to lose your audience’s attention. Having a guest speaker or two to break up your presentation keeps your crowd interested. Another benefit to having a guest speaker is if they already have some kind of following or reputation, just having their name attached to your seminar is a marketing tactic in itself. Finally, personal stories make for great social proof, so if you have a client who has had a lot of success working with you, having them speak at your seminar could be a powerful selling point for your audience.

Focus on a relevant topic

You don’t want your seminar topic to be too broad, generic, or all-encompassing. Focus on a specific issue or topic that you know is of importance to the people in your target demographics. Many financial advisors find success marketing to niche audiences by holding seminars geared towards those audiences. When someone gets your invitation in the mail, the more specific it is to their situation, the greater shot you have at reeling them in.

Follow up

Many of your attendees will enjoy your presentation, take something from it, and then sit at home considering paying for your services until the spark dies out and they forget all about you. The best thing you can do to increase your conversions is follow up with your attendees by phone or email and ask if they have any questions they’d like to discuss one-on-one now that they’ve had time to digest the presentation. This is a great way to not only remind them, but to get a conversation started which will continue to grow your relationship with the prospect until they are ready to convert.

Be consistent

The greatest mistake you can make in financial seminar marketing is to give up too soon. Any successful advisor will tell you it took time to build brand recognition in their community and optimize their events. If you keep at it, it will pay off overtime. People in your community will begin to recognize your name, you’ll figure out how to appeal better to your target market, and you’ll get better at presenting! It’s a long term investment, but it’s well worth it to turn your name into a trusted brand and secure new clients on a regular basis.

Thanks for reading, we hope this article was useful and informative. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for more updates and financial advisor marketing tips! If you ever have a marketing-related question or want a comprehensive analysis of your marketing strategy, feel free to give us a call at 1-800-992-9663. We offer tons of services designed to help financial advisors grow their brands and generate quality leads. Learn more on our website. Get in touch with us and find out how we can help you grow your business!