There are several counter-balancing elements to consider when planning your events for prospects. These elements must be aligned. The topic must be interesting enough to a large group, but narrow enough to generate real interest. The topic must be represented honestly to attract attendees, but with excitement and intrigue to get them to attend. You must engage with strangers (prospects) without alienating your existing clientele. The only way to see yourself successfully through this process is to plan properly so you can act decisively.

1. © 2015 Advisor Research Group Inc. | All Rights Reserved.
March 18th, 2015
Prospect Events:
Picking the Market & the Topic
Executive Summary
There are several counter-balancing elements to consider when planning your events for prospects.
These elements must be aligned.
The topic must be interesting enough to a large group, but narrow enough to generate real interest. The
topic must be represented honestly to attract attendees, but with excitement and intrigue to get them
to attend. You must engage with strangers (prospects) without alienating your existing clientele.
The only way to see yourself successfully through this process is to plan properly so you can act
decisively.

2. © 2015 Advisor Research Group Inc. | All Rights Reserved.
March 18th, 2015
Meat and Potatoes
Occasionally, someone hits on the perfect idea the first time with a brilliant flash of insight, and is able
to envision the entirety of something from the outset. Unfortunately, and realistically, it usually takes
several attempts with increased amounts of learning to arrive at the appropriate solution. Planning and
executing a client event will likely be this way, unless you have a eureka moment.
Ask yourself the question, “why would someone want to attend an investment seminar?” The only
logical and emotional response must be that they have a big enough problem that requires fixing. They
must recognize that it is fixable, and that they cannot do it themselves.
Step #1 – Generate a list of potential markets
Eventually you will reach out to this group, and you will need to do it relatively efficiently (notifying as
many as possible without spending a fortune), so think about clusters of people. The categories are
almost endless, and if you are having trouble identifying groups, examine your client-base and group
them.
Some examples are retirees, late-stage investors, empty nesters, professionals (doctors, dentists, and
chiropractors), business-owners, recent graduates of a veterinary college, members of a golf club,
residents of a neighbourhood, or visitors to a seniors’ centre.
Step #2 – Generate a list of potential issues for each market
Example issues for retirees or late-stage investors:
 Will I have enough to retire?
o “My parents didn’t save enough while they worked, didn’t plan well enough, and were
unhappy later in life. Their golden years weren’t golden. I don’t want that for me.”
 What happens when I leave work and start living off my savings?
o “All my friends seem to have this figured out, but for forty years I’ve been paid every two
weeks, first in cash, now with direct deposit. Where and how do I get money to live?”
 Why don’t my investments generate the returns that my friends get?
o “Can my existing investments earn more, otherwise I won’t make it!”
 Should I take the cash out of my pension and invest it myself or take the pension?
o “A colleague cashed in their pension, sold their home and moved where the weather is
great all year-round, why can’t I do that?”

3. © 2015 Advisor Research Group Inc. | All Rights Reserved.
March 18th, 2015
Step #3 – Pick a pairing of market and issue
There may be an issue that applies to more than one market that interests you, and may make it easier
to attract attendees with a larger population to draw from.
It is vital to pair the market and the issue. Without the two together you won’t know who to contact and
how to relate to them. An investment professional will struggle to attract investors to an event aimed
generally at reducing taxes because it isn’t narrow enough. Is it sales tax, income tax, estate tax,
property tax that can be reduced? An event for retirees to reduce income tax is sure to interest anyone
who isn’t a tax accountant.
Test your early choice for the event. Ask everyone you speak with – EVERYONE, “I will be running some
events to attract clients, what topic would make you attend?” Be sure to keep a list (name, group, and
topic) that will allow you to do several activities well. In addition to testing your topic:
 Invite interested parties personally, if their topic is selected.
 Call individuals about their issue, skipping the event, proceeding directly to a one-on-one
meeting, which is the goal of the event!
 Invite them, even if they didn’t express an interest, and you can ask them to attend or refer
someone.
Talking to anyone and everyone about the event will make it come alive for them and you. If your
planning occurs with you sitting alone in your office, no one will want to attend, including yourself.
If you believe that each day an investor isn’t your client is a waste of their time and money, then get out
and promote your event by the process to host it. And that begins with talking to as many people as
possible. Could there be any negative to having people see you enthusiastically representing yourself?
Step #4 – Write the headline for the event
If you are old enough to remember or have seen a period-piece when newspapers were sold on the
street corner, think about the newsboy shouting, “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” Or watch the local
television channel at 9:50 or 10:50 pm when they run a provocative promo for their upcoming newscast
to get an understanding of how and why this works better than a rational, explanatory introduction.
Your event needs a headline that is provocative, not just informative. Your goal is to initiate a
conversation that gets an interested prospect to attend. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate
your expertise at the event, and then conduct a one-on-one meeting to acquire them as a client.
So get bums in seats with something interesting, intriguing, and that makes prospects either question
their position or want to prove that they are well informed and prepared (if retirement is the issue, for
example).

4. © 2015 Advisor Research Group Inc. | All Rights Reserved.
March 18th, 2015
Informative Provocative
Rain showers expected tomorrow “Storm threatens town”
Find out if you’ll be ready to retire “RRSPs are killing your retirement dream”
Generating retirement income with dividends “Pay yourself, not the taxman”
Investment fees erode savings “Retire before your Advisor”
Commuted values in pensions are high “Unlock your pension, retire on your terms”
Almost any seminar that mentions tax-savings for an identifiable group will draw interest. It is
impossible to find people who feel that they receive value for their tax dollars, and everyone wants to
keep more.
To effectively deliver a tax seminar, or any other topic that isn’t directly related to investment decisions,
you may need to be the host and invite another expert be the presenter at the event. This is a method
to actively encourage referrals and begin to build a sustainable lead-generation process. Most referral
relationships do not succeed because they are too passive. “If I hear of anyone who needs your services,
I will send them your way” generates zero referrals in almost every case.
A joint effort with another professional, where expenses are shared, and both parties seek new clients
allow both parties to acquire new clients. Also, referrers can avoid placing their existing client
relationships at risk before they know the other party well. And avoid the “if I hear of anyone…” half-lie
to persist.
It is not necessary to limit your event to just the topics that you can handle on your own. Try to identify
the markets and issues that matter the most, and then examine how or who will deliver the content at
the event.
At this stage you should have your topic and its headline, so test it out. Tell your spouse, neighbours,
boss, colleagues, drycleaner, plumber “I’m hosting a seminar on [insert headline here], what do you
think?”
And keep a list of their names and reactions, too.
Bottom Line
1. Generate a list of potential markets
2. For each of the potential markets generate a list of issues
3. Identify the market(s) and issue(s) that interest you and your prospects the most
4. Determine the headline topic for your seminar
5. Book the venue!