WHY is this important?

 

When it comes to your best clients, you probably already really enjoy spending time with them and of course, want to attract others just like them.  When you commit to a tradition of predictable, client-focused, and engaging client events, you create a wonderful opportunity to spend even more quality time with your best client group.

 

With well-designed and well-planned client events, not only do you have an opportunity to engage with your best clients in a fun and interesting setting, but you may also meet your clients’ friends and family. This can make for a more enjoyable event, and you may have the opportunity to be introduced to future potential clients.

 

These tremendous value-added events can inspire conversations your clients have with others that create the ‘tipping point’ for friends and family who come to realize they have an underwhelming Advisor. This is definitely a brand differentiator in delivering a client experience that goes above and beyond client expectations.

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Who is this proven strategy designed for?

 

For Advisors who want to maximize events currently organized and hosted by their organization or CUSO, and/or want to organize their own events to further enhance their client relationships and meet prospective new clients.

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WHAT should you expect?

 

You will: 

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• Maximize client events being organized and offered by your organization

• Maximize client events being organized by CUSO

• Learn about various types of events you may want to offer to your clients on your own or engage your organization or CUSO to provide for your and other clients

• Decide which types of events are the best fit for your clients, your team, and your business

• Follow a well-defined process to successfully plan, deliver, and follow up for every client event

• Create an excellent first impression by sending an invitation that is inviting and which predisposes a client to want to attend your event

• Follow a process the day of the event to ensure event venue and logistics are ready to go

• Leverage your Strategic Partners by inviting and/or having them as guest speakers at events

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HOW to Take Action & Implement Successfully?

 

PART 1 – Choose Your Events

 

Events Organized by Others

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These are events fully organized and coordinated by someone other than you, such as your organization, the CUSO team, or other third-parties, that you have the ability to invite clients to attend.  Some of these events may be more inclusive and some may involve inviting a select group of clients. They may represent any one or more of the client events: Appreciation, Education and Lifestyle.

 

This is the easiest way to integrate events into your client experience without having to take on the responsibility for organizing and coordinating it.

 

1. Identify your organization’s calendar of events and build these into your client event offerings for the year – they may be one or more of the following - Client Appreciation, Educational, or Lifestyle.

2. Identify the CUSO Team’s calendar of events and build these into your client even offerings for the year.

3. Consider any other events hosted by third-parties you may be connected with that might be of value to your clients (ie. Aviso, NEI) and add them to your event calendar accordingly.

4. Once you know the events, be sure to include them in your Annual Client Experience.

5. Send out invitations to clients as soon as they are received by your organization or by CUSO.

   • We recommend invitations to events go out at minimum 3 to 4 weeks ahead of the event – your clients are busy and they also need time to plan accordingly.

6. Keep track of who is planning to attend so you know who to expect.

7. Send a follow up to all those who attended thanking them for participating.

8. Send a follow up to those who registered but did not attend saying you are sorry they couldn’t make and if possible, provide a link to a recording or any supplemental resources that may have been shared.

9. You can track clients who attend specific events in your CRM.

 

Events Organized by You & Your Advisory Team

 

1. Review Types of Events to get a sense of the different types of events you may wish to host in addition to those available by others as previously discussed.

   • You may wish to offer a mix of these events to ensure you are covering all aspects of your Ideal Client group. 

   • Be careful of consistently engaging only a subset of this group at the expense of alienating the others because you are choosing events that are too specific. 

   • It is also important that some of your events are intended for couples to ensure both individuals in the relationship feel valued and appreciated.  

2. Meet with your team to establish which type of specific event(s) you believe will be meaningful for your high value clients and manageable by your team.  There are so many different types of events for you to choose from, but we have provided the following lists to get you started:

   • Client Appreciation Events

   • Educational Events

   • Lifestyle Events

3. Strive to choose an event strategy that creates a ‘tradition’ your clients can look forward to in terms of the event theme and time of year. 

   • Consider the region or city you live in, and the demographics of your clientele, to ensure you are creating events that you know your clients would thoroughly enjoy in an ‘exclusive’ manner.

4. Identify how many events are reasonable over the course of the year for your clients and your team.

   • At minimum you should be doing client events once a year.  Many teams offer them semi-annually or quarterly – but be sure it’s manageable.

   • From time to time, you may be affiliated with a firm or strategic partner who offers an event to be available to your clients which you believe they will value.  This is a one-off event that does not need to be turned into a ‘tradition’ and will simply compliment your annual event strategy.  The same can be said for other extraordinary events that may come to your city that you want to share with your clients.  In other words: if a great opportunity comes up – take it!

5. When you create ‘traditional’ events, you build efficiencies around the process of scheduling, preparing, and delivering the events.  You will want to capture all of this in a process, so it is repeatable.

 

PART 2 – Prepare for Your Event

 

1. Use the Client Appreciation Event Checklist to fully prepare for your event.  This can be used for any type of event you plan on hosting.

2. If the event is something that does not already have a fixed venue (ie. a sporting event, gallery event, concert, etc.), choose your location carefully using the Event Location Checklist.

   • Think specifically about attractiveness and accessibility for your Ideal Client Group.  If they are older, they may not want to drive far, or drive in the dark during the event, and will prefer a venue that has plenty of easy-access parking and building access.

   • Virtual Events are becoming more popular for several reasons and provide many benefits.  These benefits include easy access, low-costs, and the ability to record for replay. If you are planning to host a Virtual Event, use the Virtual Event Checklist to ensure it is delivered professionally.

3. If you are dealing with a third-party for your event coordination, make sure you have a core contact name and number for everything related to your event.  In this way, details and requests are not lost in the shuffle.

4. Review Inviting Clients to Events to ensure you send out invitations that make an outstanding first impression of your event, so your clients not only want to participate, but are also eager to bring a friend or family member with them to enjoy the occasion.

   • Invitations for events should be sent one month in advance of the event.

   • Refer to the Invitation Card,  Invitation Email, and Invitation Letter samples.

5. Encourage your best clients to share your event with those important to them without asking them to.  Having access to potential clients for these events is always the second objective – the primary objective is always to show your absolute best clients a great time!  You can subtly encourage them to bring guests by simply including additional ‘tickets’ in their invitation. For example, if you invite a couple to your event include 4 ‘tickets’ in your invitation.  This does a few things: first it creates a better perceived ‘value’ of the event, it also serves as a tangible reminder they can keep somewhere in their home to remind them of the upcoming event, and lastly, they will automatically start thinking about who they can bring.

   • Review Event Tickets and create your own branded tickets.

6. Be sure to acknowledge each RSVP you receive by email to let them know it was received and confirm how many attendees they will be bringing.

7. Keep your attendee list up to date and accurate at all times.

8. One week before the event, review your checklist to make sure:

   • Your event attendee list is up to date.

   • You are on track for all critical tasks. 

   • You have sent a confirmation to any third parties assisting you with the preparation, delivery, or hosting of any aspect of your event.

9. Use the Event Confirmation Call Script to call each of your event attendees the day before the event.

10. If the venue is large, you may also want to email a map of the venue along with directions to the event location.

11. Make sure you are referring to the checklists to ensure everything is on track for event day (venue, food, Guest Speakers, souvenirs for guests, etc.).

12. If you are facilitating or introducing other speakers, have your script ready to go – it should be written down, practiced, and rehearsed!

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PART 3 - Event Day

 

1. Be ready and well rested – it is show time.  Your participants will match your energy so be inspired and excited.

2. Dress the part accordingly based on the event type, which may vary widely.

3. Show up early to ensure everything at the venue is exactly as it should be inside and out.

   • If the venue is larger, have signs in the lobby or entrance to guide your guests to the right place.

   • Have others on your team there to assist with various aspects of Event Day.

4. If there is technology involved, make sure you are launching and testing this well before event start (video, tv, PowerPoint, virtual aspects, etc.).

5. Start the event on time and have a great time with your best clients!

   • If there is an Agenda or timeline for the event, be mindful to keep on track as best as possible.

   • If required, have scheduled breaks so attendees can stretch, get a drink, or go to the washroom.

   • Have beverages and food brought in/served where appropriate.

6. Wind down the event on time.

   • Be sure to thank everyone for joining you.

   • Provide any ‘souvenirs or take-aways from the event.

   • Spend time saying good-bye to guests individually as they get set to leave.

   • Pack up all items that are yours and check for anything left behind by clients and bring those with you too.

7. The day after the event, send along a Thank You Card to everyone who attended the event.

8. Meet with your team to do a debrief on the event.

   • Discuss what worked well at the event and celebrate. Discuss what can be improved and take steps to implement for the next round

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