Seminar last night
In the midst of all the “what’s going wrong and this economy/market/Milky Way Galaxy sux” that we’re all dealing with, I thought I would share some positive mojo, and maybe encourage us all in the process.
Did my normal "Maximizing Your Retirement Plan Distributions" seminar last night at a local cafe, the one I do about once a quarter. The seminar is the preapproved RJ Powerpoint already in the system. Sent out simple invites to all my A & B clients, one page preapproved RJ letter on the system, nothing fancy. Got 25 signed up, and 20 actually showed up last night, including 4 new referral prospects. I get everybody settled in and happy with their food, then I start the program. Set the agenda, talk about what we're going to cover, encourage them to ask question all along the way, then launch into the Powerpoint. Remember, I've got 4 new high 6 figure rollover prospects ( Florida DROP, 401k and a TSP guy) in the group, and 16 existing clients that I know well and have worked with for quite a while, and some of them are now looking at retiring a 2nd or 3rd time with new rollover bucks. So, we're cruizin' through the program, hitting all the rollover mechanics, and one of my existing clients (small credit union IRA transfer to me years ago, but still working and contributing to current 403b) raises her hand: Her: "This isn't really a question just on what you're talking about right this second, but I just wanted to say something about what's going on right now." Me (a little bit confused): "Okay, go ahead." Her: "I just wanted to say that we all know that this is a really bad time right now in the economy, and the whole world, and the market, and nobody really knows when things will get better. We're all really confused and scared and we don't know if we'll ever be able to retire the way we thought we could (at this point she starts to break down and cry, I mean really CRY), but I just wanted to say I'm so thankful that you are staying in touch with all of us and at least talking about what's going on. We know you can't fix it, but you're doing what you can with what we've given you to manage, and we appreciate that. Thank you for helping us understand this." Me: silence, then "Wow, thanks." By the time she got done, every other woman in the room was also crying (that silent estrogen clarion call that also announces when it's time for them all to go the bathroom together), and one of the husbands actually got up and shook my hand and gave me that quick manly shoulder hug thing. I'm standing there stunned. Got my composure back, finished the presentation, we did a full hour of Q&A after, and have meetings already set with the 4 prospects. What's my point? My point is this: Our clients really need us right now. They WANT to need us, and they are hungry for info, encouragement, a plan, an explanation, something. They will respond with amazing reactions, things we probably don't anticipate. Referrals, new $, a stronger bond with existing relationships, etc. Get in front of them and let them know you're on duty. They know we didn't cause this pullback, and as long you didn't blow somebody completely to bits with a 100% allocation to FNM, they're probably not as bad off as they think they are. And that's all I have to say about that.Wow, that’s a great story, and great feedback. It’s good to get some positive karma going on this board right now. Thanks.
Bump … great story.
That’s awesome, very inspiring !
Anyone else having success with seminars? I have one planned for the end of march…
Thanks for sharing. I’d be very interested to know if you actually close any business from this seminar. It’s great to educate and provide an avenue for folks to vent, but are they actually willing to move/re-invest money when push comes to shove? I’ve been doing one “micro seminar” every week since the new year. Getting great response, highly qualified new prospects. My closing ratio is significantly below what it’s been over the past ten years, though. Frustrating.
When you say “micro seminar”, what are you doing?
I am hosting a casual Q&A dinner at the best local restaurant weekly. No formal sales presentation, just an introduction, conversation and Q&A. Sending invites to specific households in the very best neighborhoods in town. I’ve been getting between one and four couples per week (I cap attendance at 10 guests; this way, all I do is reserve a table a day ahead. No need for a special room or any special treatment at the restaurant.)
I'll keep you posted. Since one of the new prospect couples brought their credit union IRA statements with them to the meeting and gave them to me to start transferring when they mature in a week, I feel pretty good about my closing ratio on this one. I've got a meeting set with them Monday am. Typical small credit union IRA, but they've got other stuff coming, and bidness is bidness. Here's the thing on this...Even if I closed zero new biz, I still feel like the $300 I spent on this was a good investment, because of the furthering of the bond 'twixt them and me. But I do think there will be a tangible return on the investment, as well.Thanks for sharing. I’d be very interested to know if you actually close any business from this seminar. It’s great to educate and provide an avenue for folks to vent, but are they actually willing to move/re-invest money when push comes to shove? I’ve been doing one “micro seminar” every week since the new year. Getting great response, highly qualified new prospects. My closing ratio is significantly below what it’s been over the past ten years, though. Frustrating.
“Even if I closed zero new biz, I still feel like the $300 I spent on
this was a good investment, because of the furthering of the bond
’twixt them and me. But I do think there will be a tangible return on
the investment, as well.”
I totally see your point. However, I have really been trying to not allow myself to slide into that mindset too much lately. In my case, I worry that it will lead to complacence and avoidance behavior. I’m trying to get more critical of myself and my business and tangibly grow it in this tough environment. For me, making contacts, creating prospects is fine, staying in close touch with clients is fine, but I’m demanding results of myself. Because of this, experiencing a lower than usual closing ratio is very frustrating. Each week, my goal is to tweak my approach in order to CLOSE NEW BUSINESS (period). Good luck!
Kudos for doing the seminar. I hear from my clients that the “blast 5000 invites out” approach is creeping back into fashion. I refuse to do any more of those.
[quote=YHWY]I am hosting a casual Q&A dinner at the best local restaurant weekly. No formal sales presentation, just an introduction, conversation and Q&A. Sending invites to specific households in the very best neighborhoods in town. I’ve been getting between one and four couples per week (I cap attendance at 10 guests; this way, all I do is reserve a table a day ahead. No need for a special room or any special treatment at the restaurant.)
[/quote]
YHWY
I am doing one of these in a couple of weeks. I have three couples coming and have invited them each to invite a friend. I actually have someone from my Equity Strat Group joining us to talk about equitymarket and a wholesaler to talk about fixed income market, i am going to talk about my process. Honestly, at this point have no clue how i am gonna present it. I’m not a big fan of pitchbooks but dont want to give myself the opportunity to ramble too much.
Anway, question… in a small group like that, do you find folks feeling a little intimidated, or uncomfortable?
And whats the strucuture you use, what do you talk about specifically?
This is the first time i’ve done a client event of ANY size, i am thinking i need to get it down and do it once a month or once every six weeks. Trying to find some strucuture
In my case, I don’t go in with anything prepared. In every case, I was not the one to bring up business. In each case, the prospects initiated the topic and were VERY candid about their situation and what they were looking for. My goal is to simply get in the presence of folks who invest (significantly). From there, the prospects should tell you what they want. If they ask a specific question, give a specific answer, but sometimes, the best strategy is to shut up, wait and listen. Good luck!
Did you not have success with these in the past??Kudos for doing the seminar. I hear from my clients that the “blast 5000 invites out” approach is creeping back into fashion. I refuse to do any more of those.
I had some success but they seemed to run their course. You end up getting a lot of plate lickers and the time and money that goes into it seems disproportionate to the results. Then again, if you are good at that sort of thing and have the results to warrant the time and effort - good for you!
I do plenty of seminars and they can definitely work wonderfully, but attendance always slides when the markets struggle. I think you are seeing some clients consider a change in their investment strategy and their broker/firm, but the money in motion has been slow. Investor confidence is totally shaken and even the most sincere and educated broker is having his/her integrity questioned. Communication and education is crucial, but how do any of us explain what to do going forward, and why clients should remain optimistic?
[quote=Sellout21]
I do plenty of seminars and they can definitely work wonderfully, but attendance always slides when the markets struggle. I think you are seeing some clients consider a change in their investment strategy and their broker/firm, but the money in motion has been slow. Investor confidence is totally shaken and even the most sincere and educated broker is having his/her integrity questioned. Communication and education is crucial, but how do any of us explain what to do going forward, and why clients should remain optimistic?
[/quote]Good post, relates to what i am thinking a lot of recently.
Nobody can deny, that this time it really is different. Yeah, its not so different that the markets wont come back, and when they do, like always, most investors will be caught flatfooted and in cd’s treasuries and other mattress strategies. But the fact is this is obviously bigger than anything we’ve seen in terms of investor confidence, and massive losses. I heard a number today, that was astounding - $40 trillion in market losses worldwide. I dont think its gonna be another 3-6 months before the next bull roars. (i’m sure i’ll get bashed by some for these comments, all i can say is eyes wide open.
So what DO we tell clients. How DO we invest their money from here on.
There are a lot of smart people who think that we are facing years and years of stagnation both in the economy and the markets. Not sure i agree with that assesment, i just dont know enough - i’m not an economist. But i;ve heard it from people that are worth listening to, besides Roubini.
We MUST be out marketing, and doing a seminar, or a dinner, or whatever gets us in front of traffic, be constructive, the only way for us to handle this if we want to stay in the business. I’m planning on doing them. And talking to people about the need to be tactical. I am not willing to put clients money into the hands of the “Consults” money managers who buy in their selected style and stand in front of a moving freight train no matter what. I am either gonna find managers that are tactical and proactive or i’ll continue managing the money myself. Thats how i’m taking a proactive approach.
Curious to hear what everyone thinks about this and how it will affect what they do for clients, how they do it, what your conversations are with clients who thought they had a high risk tolerance, and have already been hurt pretty badly, and how the new environment will shape or change the opportunities in and future of our profession.
Good post Bob. And I agree with you–the people who think the bull market is just around the corner are out of their minds.
You always have to be at least riding the wave, if not in front of it. It’s imperative that the client knows you’re making moves that make sense, and why. I don’t care if you’re a bull or a bear, you have to be proactive–nothing quite like clients getting statement after statement after statement and realize you haven’t moved them out of their investments, and they haven’t gotten a single phone call. Ripe pickings for a guy like me.
I was at lunch in January with some of my SB buddies, and one of them said that he believed we were in a trading range of 8000-9000. Putting aside my amusement of how much conventional wisdom comes from CNBC, I asked him what he was doing, considering we were at the high end of that range. Are you selling your clients’ positions, moving them to cash? Well, no–he said. And I asked him, if you honestly believe we’re dropping more than 10% from here, why not? Well, because it’s too much trouble, blah blah blah.
It makes me sick to my stomach to hear that kind of crap, all day long. The same retards who ride their bank stock all the way to zero, and talk among themselves pretty certain that the markets are going to keep falling, will sit there and tell their clients to stay in for the long haul, we’re coming back any second, blah blah blah. If the public had any idea the conversations that take place between brokers at the office and in the restaurants–and the dissonance that takes place when it’s the client on the other side of the conversation, instead of a money manager–there would be lynchings in every city in America.
I like a more tactical strategy, but the problem is two fold: 1) it takes more time and energy away from gathering assets and growing your book. Trying to actively manage a client's portfolio by yourself and actively prospect is extremely difficult. 2) if you try to outsource tactical management, it's hard to find long term track records. Even with the best tactical managers you are going to be selling 'relative performance' over the past 3 or 5 years. It might have lost less than other funds or indices, but still looks lousy to a prospect.
[quote=Sellout21]
I like a more tactical strategy, but the problem is two fold: 1) it takes more time and energy away from gathering assets and growing your book. Trying to actively manage a client’s portfolio by yourself and actively prospect is extremely difficult. 2) if you try to outsource tactical management, it’s hard to find long term track records. Even with the best tactical managers you are going to be selling ‘relative performance’ over the past 3 or 5 years. It might have lost less than other funds or indices, but still looks lousy to a prospect.
[/quote]I dont find that running the money takes as much time as you think. I run three models, (should probably run 4 or 5 but not there yet). And i use the block trading system to scale it and a discretionary platform. So when i want to make a change in model 1, in 30 client portfolios, its no phone calls and one trade.
[quote=Sellout21]
Investor confidence is totally shaken and even the most sincere and educated broker is having his/her integrity questioned. Communication and education is crucial, but how do any of us explain what to do going forward, and why clients should remain optimistic?
[/quote]That’s the million dollar question. My confidence has been shaken in the past advice I’ve given and it’s tough to ask investors to act when I’m not sure what to do. Also, I have to get them to buy SOMETHING, or else I don’t get paid.
I’ve been selling munis, but I have this nagging feeling that they will come under stress when cities and states start coming under budgetary pressure in the next couple of years, or if we go back to runaway inflation.
The long term answer for the mom and pop investor will likely be insurance, imo. We have to find investment vehicles that will help our clients insure their retirement goals, and then of course we have to believe as advisors that those insurance companies will hold up.
But at the same time, when somebody asks me where the safest place for their money is, I still believe that if you had 20 blue chip stocks – Coca Cola and PG and JNJ, GE, etc., maybe with some up and comers that you believe in – that that portfolio is safer than anything else, including treasuries. I think we’re going to see the currency and/or treasuries devalued, either through inflation or defaults, and I want to hold a hard, income-producing asset.
Great discussion here.
I second Sportsfreakbob, I run 3 models, that each have 3 subsets, so technically I run 9, but the investments are similar, just the percentages changes, so it’s not hard to change nor does it take long… and yes they are all on a discretionary platform…
[quote=Sellout21]
Even with the best tactical managers you are going to be selling 'relative performance' over the past 3 or 5 years. It might have lost less than other funds or indices, but still looks lousy to a prospect.
[/quote] Agreed. Relative performance is worth something for about 12-18 months, but after that we better be working on a solution. Tactical vs. strategic, active vs. passive, long term vs. short term, all terms we have lived and died by over the last couple of decades. FAS vs. SKF, is this our new reality? If so, how do we explain these concepts to our clients? I submit that perhaps our true new reality is that we must approach this with a Hippocratic Oath on our clients' behalf, with the mindset that we must 'first do no harm.' Who among us hasn't questioned, I mean honestly questioned, all the truisms we trained with lately? Our clients deserve the best we can provide them. We owe it to them to have, understand and communicate a strategy to navigate through this. That's what we can be doing seminars/workshops and meetings about.so maybe the new asset allocation is core (fixed income) vs tactical (pursuit of
higher returns and protection of capital with actively managed ETF;s, as opposed to stocks vs bonds.
The portfolios I run consists of a fixed, indexed,active,managed futures,quantitative and tatical(not really different from quant index or active, kind of a combo of all 3).. Last year, fixed(stayed fixed)..quant got beat to hell(-44%) active did ok (-29, -21, -8) index(yep same as everyone else's index) tactical (-13, i will take that and say thank you) managed futures(+30 kicked rear).. total -10.. in a moderate portfolio... not bragging...
I hate the idea that people have that active vs passiv, long vs short... is a zero sum game(someone wins, someone losses)... Can't the index do well and so can active, can't a long term strategy work just as well as a short....... Lastly I think people need to start combining techincal indicators (like traders do) in managing their portfolios.. It helps..Any one else doing seminars lately??
I’ve got four seminars lined up for the next month. I had decent success in the past, my challenge is filling the seats with qualified prospects. Assuming I get the right people there, I’ve learned that to generate business, there has to be a call to action. Without it, people just think you’re a great guy/gal.
I made the mistake a couple of times of taking a wholesaler and lost control of the meeting. The last thing you want is your guests to want to do business with the wholesaler and not you. Hard lesson learned, but you gotta lose a few to start winning.
We did a seminar this week:
2000 invites mailed 19 signed up 15 showed, mix of clients and prospects. 2 new prospect appointments. Not a home run, %s could be higher, but worth the time, effort and $. 1 new client generally makes it break even within the first year. People are shell shocked, but willing to listen. Next we'll see if they're willing to move. I've committed a budget to do these monthly for the rest of the year (or the end of free market capitalism, which ever comes first). It's time, in my opinion, to get aggressive, both in prospecting and investing. Mountains of money may be made by those willing to step forward and make a stand. If you are passive or apathetic, you will be washed away. Best of luck to all...........Northfield, with those numbers, wouldn’t it make sense to jsut invite a few clietns to dinner, and ask them to bring friends/coworkers that might be interested? To get one or two new clients out of 2000 invites seems like a lot of work. Now, if these are 1mm+ clients, then of course. But if they only have a few hundred thousand, it seems that there are easier ways.
Yes, Ice, that’s the strategy. The client “bring along a friend” dinners are ongoing, but you can only go to that well so many times.
We are also committed to the seminars (your math is right on). And also starting a direct mail campaign (a la Bill Good).Pioneer shareholder dinner meeting last night at local high end northern Italian eatery. Pioneer wholesaler picked up full cost for 25 clients and 1 prospect. Covered every fund that our clients had in that room, plus I did 10-15 minutes on gen. economy, recession, blah, blah. No crying, but tons of good q&a and a couple referrals at the end of the evening.
My cost: Zero American dollars (sorry, I lied. I bought a piece of killer ricotta cheesecake to- go for my wife after the wholesaler had already paid, so $6.95) My return: Zero immediate production. One prospect at the dinner and 2 referrals to follow up with. Two existing clients telling me when their next cds come due at the bank, and the fact that they want to do some of that bond fund the wholesaler was talking about. My conclusion: I'm going to go through my entire mutual fund wholesaler group and do one of these every month or two and stay in front of my people. I rode my bike to work today, so I'm leaving now. It's really nice in FL.Did one last month… 2000 invites mailed, 1000 calls= 8 buying units=5 prospects=4 appts=$1.5M in assets…
Doing one end of March(just in time for quarterly statements) mailing 4000, calling an additional 2000(normal calls, just my out is,"would you like to attend our educational seminar at end of month? I will call you back if we have room available, gives me reason to call and puts a**es in the seats if the mailing doesn't work)Is that $1.5mm new assets gathered onto your book as new investments, assets “discovered” but still at another firm, or “other”?
Combo… $1.5MM assets discovered(have statements) $400K has already been xfered. So I have about 1.1MM left… plus the 5th prospect who has at least $250K… The other 3 appts needed follow up appts(idiots didn’t bring up to date statements 2nd qtr 08, but that way I know they aren’t watching it and neither is there advisor) so have some set for next week with $800K, other $300K didn’t seem interested, but said he would like to meet beginning of April…
[quote=Sportsfreakbob]
[quote=YHWY]I am hosting a casual Q&A dinner at the best local restaurant weekly. No formal sales presentation, just an introduction, conversation and Q&A. Sending invites to specific households in the very best neighborhoods in town. I’ve been getting between one and four couples per week (I cap attendance at 10 guests; this way, all I do is reserve a table a day ahead. No need for a special room or any special treatment at the restaurant.)
[/quote]
YHWY
I am doing one of these in a couple of weeks. I have three couples coming and have invited them each to invite a friend. I actually have someone from my Equity Strat Group joining us to talk about equitymarket and a wholesaler to talk about fixed income market, i am going to talk about my process. Honestly, at this point have no clue how i am gonna present it. I’m not a big fan of pitchbooks but dont want to give myself the opportunity to ramble too much.
Anway, question… in a small group like that, do you find folks feeling a little intimidated, or uncomfortable?
And whats the strucuture you use, what do you talk about specifically?
This is the first time i’ve done a client event of ANY size, i am thinking i need to get it down and do it once a month or once every six weeks. Trying to find some strucuture
[/quote]
SportsFreakBob,
This may be too late of a response for your specific event, but it may help others.
With a small group I find people are more open than in a 15-20 person setting. If the specific individuals are hesitant to initiate conversation, I lob out a discussion topic or question that I’ve been hearing from clients in one-to-one appointments (thus it’s probably on the minds of several guests that evening). Then I jokingly tell them unless they offer up their own discussion topics I’m going to monopolize the entire evening with what I want to talk about. That gets some chuckles and loosens them up. (Damn, I’m funny! )
What’s been successful in a ‘free-format’ evening for me has been to go around the table and ask people what specific questions or concerns they have. Those are written down by the guest speaker or myself, and then the evening just flows from discussion point to discussion point. It provides an opportunity to address specific questions, to put the current situation in relative (historical) terms (this is painful, but is done so people don’t think we’re in for Depression 2009), and to provide some education and to reinforce the need to stay invested, but to ensure everyone is appropriately invested and balanced per their unique situation. Really, some of my most successful events have been these free-format dinners where we toss the canned presentation to the side and just address specific questions.
Some things I do with my dinners that have increased their effectiveness is to draft an agenda for myself, list some specific goals for the evening (ie # appointments, referrals, $'s generated, etc) and come up with one or two key phrases that I’m going to repeat throughout the evening. These key phrases will hopefully resonate with the guests and will also trigger a desire to schedule time with me to review their investments.
If I’m having a wholesaler (‘guest speaker’) speak that evening I make sure we meet beforehand to go over my agenda. I show them the key phrase and explain my goals for this event and get their buy-in to mold their presentation so that it will dovetail in with my goals and my desired outcomes.
Hope this helps.
CR.
Colorado Rep= good stuff thank you. And not too late for me, my dinner is mid March.
What have people been using as their “call to action”, this seems to be the item that makes the seminar successful, especially if you are in front of only prospects.
[quote=ColoradoRep]
What’s been successful in a ‘free-format’ evening for me has been to go around the table and ask people what specific questions or concerns they have. Those are written down by the guest speaker or myself, and then the evening just flows from discussion point to discussion point.
[/quote]
Are these clients and friends or prospects? Also, how are you getting the follow up appointment?
[quote=Squash1]What have people been using as their “call to action”, this seems to be the item that makes the seminar successful, especially if you are in front of only prospects.
[/quote] The most frustrating seminars I've ever done have been some of the best attended. In another thread we were talking about the JNL turn-key seminar that several of us have done, and I've always gotten a lot of people to that one and the MetLife one, but the 'call to action' is so broad and amorphous that my closing ratio on those is pitiful. Lots of plate lickers, lots of "that was really good information." My best calls to action come from the retirement plan rollover seminars and the investing for income seminars. The people that come to those have an acute, time-bound need, and the call to action is coming from their own bank statements when they see the maturity dates on their cds, and on their own FidelVanPutPrincFargo 401k statements that are getting crushed while they have noone to talk with, other than Mr. Press 5 For Current Balance.I have done well with alternative investments(because most firms outside other indys can’t offer the ones I use (Private Reits)). They are great in this market because they are currently paying 6.5% and since they are private the principal doesn’t fluctuate(well not on the new ones that have just started in the last 3 years). and they are monthly pay…
I also have hit a nitch by telling people they should roll over part of their 401K even if they still work their(if their plan allows)... Last month a guy who has over 900K in his 401K at his current employer, rolled out $250K to get a better selection and test me out.. But not all plans allow it..[quote=etj4588]
[quote=ColoradoRep]
What’s been successful in a ‘free-format’ evening for me has been to go around the table and ask people what specific questions or concerns they have. Those are written down by the guest speaker or myself, and then the evening just flows from discussion point to discussion point.
[/quote]
Are these clients and friends or prospects? Also, how are you getting the follow up appointment?
[/quote]
About 50% clients, 25% guests/friends of clients, and 25% prospects. I also invite CPA’s that I’m trying to develop relationships with so they can see the useful content of my monthly events. The follow-up appointment is tough to nail down, but I bring my calendar with me and attempt to schedule appointments right then and there, before guests leave. I really believe that using an agenda and repeating key phrases has helped increase my follow up appointments.
I also try to do some one-on-one chatting (aka ‘schmoozing’) with first-time guests to get a sense for them personally as well as financially, then try to lead them to wanting an appointment.
Hopefully my key phrase has struck a chord with them and they think they really need to take advantage of an appointment with me.
CR.
Interesting that you invite CPAs… Have you made any connections with them??
[quote=Squash1]Interesting that you invite CPAs… Have you made any connections with them??
[/quote]Out of 10 that I keep in frequent contact with (monthly mailings + lunch every 2-3 months)...not really. 8 of the 10 don't RSVP to my events and don't show up or send their clients.
After 2.5 years one CPA and her accountant are starting to bring guests (referrals) and have introduced me to individual clients as well as business owners.
Another CPA has come to a few events on his own.
CR
That was a great story, i’m sure You felt pretty good after that. I don’t mean due to the mist in the air from the crying but just that you were part of something bigger than what you could of imagined. SAVING their money, even if it still lost some over the last year it likely was not near as much as the market itself. Their are some horror stories out there i’ve read that were opposite of yours.
Talk of seminars on here reminded me of "the power of the seminar". If a seminar is done correctly it can have a huge impact to your business. I've conducted seminars for 10 years now. I remember back in 2003 when a colleague of mine made the comment that seminars were dead and would never come back again. 6 years later for our firm they are going strong. I think our approach is a little different than what i've read here. We do them monthly and 95% of the attendees, usually 50-60 of them, are completely new prospects so not usually too many existing clients. Maybe we should invite them too. Kind of an addition to regular client meetings away from our office. Take care allAny update on AdvisorControl.com? Love Sinnead O’Conner by the way.
LOL, we probably should keep that one on there for good. We are slowly getting things up loaded. The main video is complete on the main page, let me know what you think. Also in the free stuff section we have a video of a seminar we did last month, quality is not the best on that one but we’ll be doing another in June so will try and make it better. We should have a lot more on the site over the next couple weeks.
Where is the free stuff section?
There’s a big link on the main page now. All that’s in the free stuff section is one live seminar that’s butchered to hell in editing. We’ll be putting the invite, ppt, and handouts on there for that particular seminar in the next week.
I love how I look like Ray Charles in the video and even wave my stupid head all over like a blind man. Now I know why most people don’t put video of themselves online.
J
Jason,
Is your website a backdoor attempt to sell formula folios to advisors? Be honest. I had a friend who received an email saying they could buy into your proprietary system, and they better act quickly, because it would soon be released to the advisor community. Well, I'm assuming this is the advisor community, and advisorcontrol.com is just about trying to hawk your wares while making us feel privelidged for getting free stuff. Sound about right? BTW, I tried watching your video on the homepage. It took 30 minutes to download on a T1 and then didn't even play.howie,
I believe Jason is attempting to sell their proprietary portfolio management strategy, but that their marketing tips are free. my guess is that they will continue to contact you if you get their free stuff so that they can eventually sell them the system. btw- I don't have a problem with that. And Jason - I know you said that you just got the site up and running - but you guys should have waited until you got it working right. We are totally redoing our website and until it is fully functional, it stays offline.I’ve got no problem if the site is what it says it is and adds true value (it actually sounds kind of cool). However, the seminar that I saw doesn’t add value unless you want to buy his product. Why would they give away their marketing tips free when they are selling those through advisor marketing systems? Doesn’t make sense to me…and seems like no one would pay for what they could get there for free…
Yeah, I can’t watch the video either. I think it hogs too much bandwidth or something. It’s all jumpy.
[quote=Moraen]howie,
I believe Jason is attempting to sell their proprietary portfolio management strategy, but that their marketing tips are free. my guess is that they will continue to contact you if you get their free stuff so that they can eventually sell them the system. btw- I don't have a problem with that. And Jason - I know you said that you just got the site up and running - but you guys should have waited until you got it working right. We are totally redoing our website and until it is fully functional, it stays offline.[/quote]@Morean -
Since the site is free - I don't really care what people think. It's an experiment - plus I do what I want and tend not to care what others think.
The input is appreciated, though.
Nothing is for sale. There will be no system for sale. Some people may want to use our 3rd party money management - but most won't. No big deal.
@Howie -
The one video in the free stuff section does require massive bandwidth as it's over an hour long. It will be redone with mp4 so that it does buffer and play pretty soon.
Think of the site like a blog that chronicles the work of a million dollar practice. Nothing will be held back. As far as I know, there is no one willing to give access like this to what they do to make their practice grow. I hope people take it at face value (it's free).
This is important to all:
Content of seminars matters very little. Getting people there and then motivating them to see you is all that matters. What people should take from that video (if they get it to play) and others of our live seminars is the process. You can literally plug whatever content you want into the presentation so long as it builds trust and desire.
So if you have something cool that you like to share with prospects and you feel very confident that it will likely improve their investment psychology and strategy - but that out there. The most important part of my seminars is what happens to get them there and the last 10 minutes of the presentation that guides people into an appointment.
Be that as it may - having something unique that has worked well doesn't hurt. Doing something different when everything that is common hasn't worked will get response.
So get creative. Using what we do as a template, create something that works for your practice. Create a plan for success and do it. The biggest problem most have is they do nothing and swear it doesn't work or make some other lame ass excuse. Get out there and do something; it's a killer time to get new clients. More than anything we're just trying to give advisors motivation and some shortcuts to creating their own success.
Lastly...
If there is anything people on this board what to know that would make for a good video or report, shoot me a pm and we'll work on getting it done and on the site. I'll make sure it's no bs, step by step instructions and not some hidden sales pitch for a product or service.
[quote=howie]I’ve got no problem if the site is what it says it is and adds true value (it actually sounds kind of cool). However, the seminar that I saw doesn’t add value unless you want to buy his product. Why would they give away their marketing tips free when they are selling those through advisor marketing systems? Doesn’t make sense to me…and seems like no one would pay for what they could get there for free… [/quote]
I licensed stuff that is a few years old to AMS and have nothing to do with it. Everything we’re giving away is stuff we’re using right now. We’ll even document each seminar so you can see what we spend, what kind of people show up, how many appointment, clients and AUM are gathered.
Since I don’t make any money or have anything to do with AMS I have no reason for holding back. Just keep an open mind and enjoy. Maybe we’ll put some of the marketing companies that want to get into your wallet out of business. That would be cool.
Why can’t I find the video… under the free stuff it asks for a password, how do i get that?
[quote=chief123]Why can’t I find the video… under the free stuff it asks for a password, how do i get that?
[/quote]
Check your spam folder - it looks you didn’t confirm your email for the mailing list. Once confirmed you’ll get a password.
If you can’t find the original confirm message than just re-sign up on the main page, then confirm, then you’ll have the password within a few minutes.
J
[quote=howie]
Jason,
Is your website a backdoor attempt to sell formula folios to advisors? Be honest. I had a friend who received an email saying they could buy into your proprietary system, and they better act quickly, because it would soon be released to the advisor community. Well, I'm assuming this is the advisor community, and advisorcontrol.com is just about trying to hawk your wares while making us feel privelidged for getting free stuff. Sound about right? BTW, I tried watching your video on the homepage. It took 30 minutes to download on a T1 and then didn't even play. [/quote]I never sent such an email and have no idea what your friend is talking about.
There is no backdoor. Our portfolios are already available for 3rd party use and have been for over a year - so I'm just as confused as others on this thread. 3rd party management is like anything else; some use it, some use funds, some do it themselves. That doesn't really matter to me, though it's nice, I'm just trying to do my part to help people out.
I could see if I could dig up the email to post (from JF), but if you're designing a site to help out advisors then I'm all for it....you've got some good experience to share and whenever someone is genuinely interested in helping it will always be met with suspicion. I look forward to seeing the rest of your site...
BTW advisorcontrol, your video is up and working now. Looks good. I’ll be checking back in with your site as you update it.
You mention in the paragraph above the video about seeing the invitations… Do you have plans to post an example on the website?
It is our endeavor for the site to have all of our marketing material, techniques and so forth on the site, eventually. Of course this will all take time. We will be sending out alerts via email once a new item of interest has been uploaded to the site. If anyone has something they would like us to cover in a video type format please send us a private message. We will be more than happy to look into doing a video on how we have been successful in handling the topic. Such as how to handle questions at the seminar setting, or how to increase the likelihood of appts., is it best to book at the seminar or later? You name it; we've likely been through it.<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Where is your update online?
Uploading the latest live seminar right now - it should be live in the “free stuff” section within the hour. Enjoy responsibly.
Will you be making the invites available for download?
Source URL:https://www.wealthmanagement.com/forums/clients/seminar-last-night