Seminar marketing
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Anyone tried using either www.seminarinnovations.com or www.seminarsuccess.com to fill up a seminar? I was putting 20k inserts into the newspaper to come to a dinner seminar with mediocre success, but the prospects are drying up.
I have done “insert seminars” where I didn’t feed people and had it at the library where as many as 30 people showed. I have also had them where 7 people showed up. A wholesaler told some of his brokers use the companies I mentioned and get between 50-100 every month in a competitve area
You’ll get a good response rate, but about 90% of them are platelickers and all your competitors are using the same companies. These people are getting invited to 10 dinners a month.
The inserts cost about $700 to get printed up and $700 for insertion. If I am paying $700 for “insertion” it better make me breakfast!
[quote=bumble1]If I am paying $700 for “insertion” it better make me breakfast! [/quote]
[quote=entrylevelFA]You’ll get a good response rate, but about 90% of
them are platelickers and all your competitors are using the same
companies. These people are getting invited to 10 dinners a
month.[/quote]
Not ten, but certainly I get an offer for a seminar maybe 1-2x a month.
I goto most of them, unless its a far drive or the food is really bad.
Memmorable seminars
An indy seminar (for estate/trust services) held at the local Marriot.
This guy/team ran an excellent senior seminar down to a T. Not
slick/canned but very organic and low key. Gave out a very cheesy self
published book
An ML seminar (way too much food was served, brazilian steak house was nice. But how can you talk about retirement income when people are running around with swords full of meat?)
An RBC Dain seminar at a local italian chain. Total disaster. For some reason the broker clicked out of powerpoint so you could see the speakers notes on screen.
Some LPL indies at a local sea food place. The seminar was ok, but they
mentioned way too many topics and were unfocused. Don’t reveal that you
just passed the CFP exam by covering it in 45 minute talk.
A Wachovia guy who used Dorsey Wright/Dow theory strategies to give a
talk on the “technical condition of the markets.” A disaster as most of
the audience didn’t understand and those that did started talking about
very crankish market theories and the price of copper.
I’m really surprised the indy companies LPL/RJ etc don’t set up a mail
shop inhouse. Maybe I’m an expert, but I can recognise the RME mailers
from a mile away.
Its tough to survive on an Assistant Professors salary- he welcomes the free dinners. ALLREIT is that guy who always comes to the seminars- alone- and spends the first twenty minutes thinking how much smarter he is than the person in the front of the room, and the next twenty minutes asking ridiculous questions in the sole attempt to trip up the speakers and make himself look smart to the rest of the attendees...
He's also the guy who sticks around afterwards to chat with the brokers... "It was a very informative speech and I will be looking forward to meeting with you in the near future to discuss my accounts.. I am happy with my ML PBIG account but my Goldman portfolio has been a disappointment... I have about 7MM in cash that I wish to speak with you about..."
All in an attempt to give the FA's a hard on and to stroke his perception that he's important....
[quote=blarmston]
Its tough to survive on an Assistant Professors salary- he welcomes the free dinners. ALLREIT is that guy who always comes to the seminars- alone- and spends the first twenty minutes thinking how much smarter he is than the person in the front of the room, and the next twenty minutes asking ridiculous questions in the sole attempt to trip up the speakers and make himself look smart to the rest of the attendees...
He's also the guy who sticks around afterwards to chat with the brokers... "It was a very informative speech and I will be looking forward to meeting with you in the near future to discuss my accounts.. I am happy with my ML PBIG account but my Goldman portfolio has been a disappointment... I have about 7MM in cash that I wish to speak with you about..."
All in an attempt to give the FA's a hard on and to stroke his perception that he's important....
[/quote]
That is the funniest thing I've read on this board. I find the rediculous questions are usually centered around 1 BP movements in treasuries or international currency. I've had a platelicker tell me he had $20MM, just to find out he was a broke alcoholic. I hate platelickers!
[quote=RULiquid]what is a platelicker?[/quote]
A platelicker is someone like Allreit, who goes to a seminar for the free food with no intention of EVER being a client. They consistently do this. Reasons why they will never invest with you: Already happy with their advisor, have family in the business, ARE DEAD BROKE, or according to Allreit, ALREADY WORKING IN THE BUSINESS (That could possibly be the worst of them all). Platelickers are a waste of time. It would be my suggestion that if you find one, invite them to a future seminar (a fake one) at a restaurant across town, but don't actually show up...I would be curious to know if they did though!
[quote=blarmston]
He’s also the guy who sticks around afterwards to
chat with the brokers… “It was a very informative speech and I will
be looking forward to meeting with you in the near future to discuss my
accounts… I am happy with my ML PBIG account but my Goldman portfolio
has been a disappointment… I have about 7MM in cash that I wish to
speak with you about…”[/quote]
Mien Gott, it's as if you came along with me.
Except for the fact that you probably have about $2100 in a TIAA-Cref 403B account at the state university…
I'm fairly new to seminars but have tried RME, the old NF Comm and Advisor Marketing Systems. Advisor marketing have been the best so far. The only drawback is you have to buy a 'system' to have them do the seminars that contain the powerpoint and a video of them doing a seminar. When I bought it the price was only $750 but its over $1k now. http://www.advisormarketingsystems.com/product_detail_full.p hp?id=22
Beware of RME - theres were the worst because tons of people would RSVP the cancel last minute; or worse - they'd show up and talk/sleep/fart during the seminar. No joke - one lady had gas so bad you could hear it loud and clear in a room with over 50 people in it!
I have had lots of professional plate lickers show up at events. I did a few dinner sems and one chooch who happened to be an annoying doctor fell asleep within 3 minutes of my presentation starting. HE then woke up when his cell phone started ringing and proceeded to answer his cell phone and talk for about 2 minutes. It took every ounce of my self-control to keep from smashing him over his head with my laptop. To top it off, he annoyed the other guests at his table with lame stories about how great his is (a lady who signed on wth me told me so). The finale was when he wrote," Will consider appointemnt in the future, I will call you" on the evaluation form. My carma came when he attempted to RSVP for my next seminar and I ripped him a new one . . .F*** platelickers. I am a little bitter.
THe icing on the cake was when he of
[quote=entrylevelFA]
That is the funniest thing I’ve read on this
board. I find the rediculous questions are usually centered
around 1 BP movements in treasuries or international currency.
I’ve had a platelicker tell me he had $20MM, just to find out he was a
broke alcoholic. I hate platelickers!
Anytime you have public seminars you are going to have platelickers. I
think its pretty clear that there is no real way to avoid them, short
of charging admission. But the meal is the hook that gets people in the
chairs. Just a cost of doing business.
What I’ve found is that if you give invited seminars, you have an interested audience, and no “external” platelickers.
As for tricky/disruptive questions. The key thing is to not to take questions during the presentation.
Only take questions at the end of the prepared remarks (which is why you
have ready pens and pads so people can take notes). And know your
material cold, you want to have about 10x more knowledge that what you
are going to cover.
Ideally you have a confederate start off the questioning, since the
first question is critical to establishing positive momentum during the
Q&A. Same thing if the Q&A stops, you want to have someone
pickup the ball.
[quote=bumble1]
I have had lots of professional plate lickers show
up at events. I did a few dinner sems and one chooch who happened to be
an annoying doctor fell asleep within 3 minutes of my presentation
starting. HE then woke up when his cell phone started ringing
and proceeded to answer his cell phone and talk for about 2
minutes. It took every ounce of my self-control to keep from smashing
him over his head with my laptop.
To top it off, he annoyed the other guests at his table with lame stories about how great his is (a lady who signed on wth me told me so). The finale was when he wrote," Will consider appointemnt in the future, I will call you" on the evaluation form. My carma came when he attempted to RSVP for my next seminar and I ripped him a new one . . .F*** platelickers. I am a little bitter.
THe icing on the cake was when he of
[/quote]You just stop the show, and then ask the guy to leave the room. If you want to be super slick, have an assitant ask him to leave the seminar after he's out of earshot. Be very cool and collected. The whole room will agree with you.
In general seminars are going to attract boring people who having nothing better to do than attend free seminars. But the platelickers are a minor nuisance relative to the value of the real meat which is the 20% of the audience that are not there just for the food.
So, when you show up for your free meal at one of these things, how do the advisors tell you to eff off?