To help you with your preparation, here are 10 important questions…as well as the answers we at White Glove (WG) would give you.
Since there are no printing, postage or mailing list costs, digital marketing costs roughly half that of traditional direct mail. You’ll not only spend less, but you’ll also receive more value because digital marketing effectively targets highly qualified prospects online. And with WG, you’re paying only for households who actually attend your seminar – and to sweeten the pot, we’ll give you all the registrations, so you can follow up with the no-shows and mine for clients… FREE!
One of the great appeals of digital marketing is that digital ads are designed to intersect with your ideal clients online on the social media platforms, websites and search engines where high net worth individuals are already going for retirement planning information. In other words, digital marketing connects with highly qualified prospects when they are most receptive to the information. And WG spends millions of dollars to engage and build rapport with high net worth investors across the country.
In the simplest terms, the best practices are 1) a well-rehearsed, professional presenting style that telegraphs that you are a trusted professional and 2) a well-organized, educational message that isn’t a cleverly disguised sales pitch. WG provides the content and training to ensure you are ready to do your best. WG also provides pre-event content, confirmation emails and follow-up messaging to initiate prospect engagement early.
Every digital marketing firm invests time and money developing its proprietary algorithm for targeting highly qualified prospects. At WG, we are constantly tweaking and refining that algorithm to ensure we always find your ideal clients. In our case, we expand our reach beyond social media to also include search engine platforms and key websites.
The difference is night and day. Direct mail is expensive (with print, postage and mailing list costs), intrusive and ineffective. You can expect no more than a 1% response rate, which means to fill just one seminar, a mailing house will need to send out 10,000 invitations.
Digital marketing is 100% digital, highly targeted and intersects with prospects when they are receptive to learning more about retirement financial planning. You’ll also find that digital marketers recommend educational venues rather than traditional dinner seminars. At WG, we find that libraries, community and college centers create a more professional atmosphere and appeal to serious investors who are looking for more than a free meal.
Like most firms, WG can plan either an educational event or dinner seminar. That said, we encourage clients who haven’t tried hosting an educational seminar to be open to the experience. You’ll not only save on the cost of meals, but you’ll also be speaking to people more focused on what you have to say than on how their steak is cooked. Educational seminars send a message to prospects that you’re a financial planning professional who is invested in community education.
Every company will have some guarantee in the event of falling short on registrants. Only WG’s no-risk, triple guarantee protects you and your business three ways: 1) guaranteed registrants, 2) guaranteed attendees and 3) guaranteed success*. With WG, you pay only for households in attendance (not registrants). Should we have to cancel your event due to inclement weather, you owe WG nothing. You’re responsible only for any venue charges. Our Success Guarantee is truly unique. We promise that upon purchasing 50 households, if you have not booked a single new client within 120 days, WG will hold a new seminar event for you for free. You only pay for the venue.
If you follow the WG method – digital marketing, educational venue and polished presentation style – we expect 65% to 70% of households in attendance will express interest in follow-up appointments. And while your closing rate will vary, our clients regularly report 3 to 1…4 to 1…even as high as 6 to 1 return on investment. Expect both digital marketing and educational venues to deliver cost-savings, while our ability to deliver highly-qualified, engaged prospects will help increase your success rate.
Vendors will vary widely in their training and support. Some digital marketing firms focus only on delivering registrants and expect you to lean on your IMO, FMO, Broker-Dealer and carriers for training and support. At WG, “we don’t clock out until you have a client.” To start, your dedicated rep serves as your personal Seminar Coach – ready to offer advice, critiques and assistance. In addition, we can supply 1) professionally developed PowerPoint presentations, 2) business mentoring and presentation coaching with seminar expert Frank Maselli, and 3) attendance at WG Host University – our annual multi-day training and best practices-sharing event.
You will want to clarify EXACTLY who you’re paying for. While most vendors charge you by the registrant, at WG you pay only for those in attendance. There is no charge for no-shows, although we supply you the names of all registrants and encourage you to follow up. There is untapped gold in those lists. In addition, ask every vendor whether you are paying for individuals or households (buying units). WG charges only for households in attendance. And that’s the bottom line.
Reach out to your dedicated White Glove representative to take advantage of the power of triple guaranteed seminar marketing.
If you don’t have a WG rep, give us a call at 844-949-9497 or email us at info@whitegloveworkshops.com.
*To take advantage of the WG success guarantee, you must attend or commit to attend Host University and/or be a Platinum member.
