Organizing an event takes careful planning. “Well-prepared and executed events can shorten the sales cycle significantly and put you miles ahead of the competition,” says a whitepaper by Flex Shares, the US based financial advisory firm that gives a roadmap to creating memorable client events.
These tips will help advisors make a failsafe plan:
Have a clear business purpose: Be clear about why you are holding the event. To select the right event, make sure it matches your organization’s style, culture, geographical focus, taste, logistics and budget. For example, if you want to promote savings habit among youngsters, it is better to hold an interactive workshop with real life case studies at an e-commerce or IT firm having large young workforce.
Create smart goals: Organizing events require a strong, thoughtful and measurable strategy. By deciding on a metric for evaluation in advance, you will be better equipped to determine if the event was successful. For example, your goal can be getting 20 enquiries post event. Whatever the metric is, list it ahead.
Choose appropriate topics: Your client’s time is precious. Make sure that the topic is interesting and fresh. Do research on topics that can add value to your target audience. In case your event is immediately after a major event like implementation of GST or Brexit, having topics related to these events will increase the number of attendees.
Work within your budget: Develop a financial plan for your event that includes the anticipated budget. To start with, you can draw up the list of expenses in the order of priority. Also have a reserve amount to meet last minute expenses.
Creating the “Why”: Advisors must start promoting the event before the actual date. Make sure to tell your target market what they will learn, who they will meet, why they should be there and what they will miss if they do not attend. For example, if your event is aimed at inculcating saving habit in youngsters, your mail can have one-liners like ‘How to save for exotic holidays’ or ‘How to plan for early retirement.
