I was speaking with several attorneys recently who said they've stopped doing workshops or seminars. Some said the advisors they work with were concerned clients were no longer willing to attend them. My experience has been the exact opposite. My workshops in the last three months have had double the attendance rate from 2009. Let's examine some of the reasons why I believe this is true.
Chet Holmes International did a multimillion dollar study to identify why people hire you or buy from you. The number one reason people buy is they must be convinced what is being offered will actually derive a benefit for them. Workshops provide a safe environment for the general public to come and learn about you, what you have to offer them (educate to motivate) and how you can help them. Another primary benefit of a workshop, it is a great opportunity to begin creating a trusting relationship with the perspective client.
Interestingly, the Chet Holmes survey indicated the second most important reason people buy from you is they must be convinced you will actually be able to provide the product sufficiently so they will derive the perceived benefit. In my experience, clients don't have a clue whether you know what you are doing or not. What they typically rely on is their instinct of whether you appear trustworthy. A workshop is a phenomenal opportunity to begin to create and build a working trustworthy relationship with potential clients. It is critical you be as personable as possible in your presentations and create an environment where the participants feel important and listened to.
The Chet Holmes survey indicated the third most important reason people buy from you is they are satisfied you will provide good customer service. The survey revealed this was the most difficult to measure because service was from the perspective of the consumer, not the provider. So, in these trying times, we must go above and beyond in customer service. Return calls immediately, get rid of voice mail, and answer the phones directly; increase their confidence by providing stellar client services.
The fourth most important reasons why people buy from you, according to the survey, was consumers must have options, and fifth most important in the buying decision was price. Interestingly, only 14% of the people in the survey cited price as their No. 1 concern. In my experience, most lawyers focus on their price; thus creating a practice that focuses on the 14 % rather than the 86% who want to see the value of what is being offered, be sure you can provide it, be confident in your customer service, and have options.
The workshop, when properly done, illustrates all the factors to get hired. A workshop is a way for you to show your knowledge of general ideas and concepts that impact the participant (identify their pain) and provide solutions to eliminate or minimize it. Show them what is possible, and how they can derive the benefit. Lastly, provide options. I recommend for you to have two platforms, a standard planning and personalized planning. Standard planning can accommodate those people more concerned with price, and the personalized will attract those who are more concerned with solutions. Be sure to distinguish the two and be able to simply identify the impact to the client of each.
Another great advantage of workshops is, it is a time management tool. By bringing groups of 25 people together in one sitting, you are able, in one two hour session, to convey your message, build relationship, and show value which equates to less than spending six minutes per client rather than the one to two hours individually with each client. Therefore, as a time management tool, the workshop not only helps bring in clients to you, but it also helps weed out those that are not ready or do not actually need your services. The good news, it still acts as marketing and branding to inform those not ready; who you are, what you do, and that you are there if ever they need you or if it comes up in conversations with family and friends.
The key elements to a successful workshop are as follows:
Make it about them. When you begin a workshop, you must make it about the participants. I greet them each personally and warmly when I open the workshop. I always personally serve them cookies on a tray to illustrate I am there to serve them when I begin the workshop, I ask them what they want to learn during the workshop, and write it down on an overhead, white board, or flip chart. This helps you immediately get into the participant’s perspective and tailor the conversation during your presentation to accommodate the individual questions of the participants. Do not answer their questions then. Take them down and address them as you go through your presentation. This will demonstrate your commitment to answer their concerns and help them feel listened to and important.
Set Expectations. In your opening, you must set the expectations for the attendees. Review the full agenda and tell them you will be answering all their questions and only ask for one thing in return, their evaluation. I make them three promises. One, the workshop will go quickly, two, they will learn a lot, and three, they'll have some fun, and I ask that if I keep my promises they will agree to complete the evaluation and let me know how I did. I actually get their verbal agreement up front by asking is that acceptable and pause and wait for their collective "yes".
Your presentation. Do not teach the law. Do not teach how trusts work. Do not teach them all your brilliance. Merely, show them, in simply terms and stories, how estate planning impacts their lives on a daily basis. For example, we have a simple story about Biff and Bambi. We simply state that many clients are married a very long time and, at some point, their spouse may die. The question is, when the surviving spouse is grieving, will the Biff, the pool boy, or Bambi, the bar maid, be there to get them thru their grief? Without getting into all the legal technical ramifications of remarriage and the risks, a simple reference to Biff, the pool boy, and Bambi, the bar maid, helps clients appreciate one element that estate planning can do, protect their assets for their children in the event of their passing, and their spouse's remarriage. Over 90 percent of the clients consult with us indicate a desire to protect against a remarriage. Interestingly, they giggle and say, “I don’t want Biff and Bambi get my stuff”. This truly is getting into the client's perspective and showing the value you can do by using simple stories rather than typical legal “mumbo jumbo”.
Identify unforeseen risks. Your presentation must also identify for them the risks that they do not see. Some examples include:
- If a beneficiary became disabled;
- If the client became disabled:
- The children became divorced; etc.
Closing. At the end of the presentation, I go back to the questions they ask, put them on the overhead, and confirm I've answered each one of the questions to their satisfaction. It shows them you are committed to them and you kept your word. I then remind them of the three promises I made, and I ask them collectively if I kept each of the three promises. After they've answered yes, I reply “great” and I ask they keep their promise to complete the evaluation and let me know how I did. At that moment, I also explain how as a thank you they are offered a free consultation and they are able to put that on the evaluation. I have found that this process has had a tremendous impact in building relationships, setting expectations, and giving the client confidence what I am able to provide for him. Overwhelmingly, I have found workshops are working now more than they have in the past, but you must get into their perspective.
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