Leveraging The Benefits Of Event Marketing

He adds, however, that translating a successful presentation into appointments depends on quick follow-up. "It's absolutely essential that we get in touch with participants soon after the event, preferably within 24 hours," says Daroff. "That has to happen."

Asking for an appointment is not the sole purpose of the post-meeting call. Daroff also solicits feedback on the gathering, information that can be used to enhance future meetings, and to inquire whether attendees have additional questions. He also calls those who didn't attend to explain what they missed and to determine if they might have preferred a different topic, location or time.

Nearly as valuable as calls following the event are those that precede it. Daroff, for example, will contact registrants to ask whether they have questions they want the presenters to address while maintaining their anonymity at the meeting–a gesture, he says, that many appreciate. Fasani, too, calls to ask about special food requirements, to extend invitations to family and friends, and to confirm those who will be attending.

Potentially as rewarding as seminars for professionals and clients in the for-profit world are those events directed toward non-profits and their benefactors. Pacific Advisors, an office of Guardian Life, New York, regularly hosts seminars on behalf of charities to apprise their top donors of opportunities to make planned gifts and, in the process, minimize their estate tax liability.

Pacific Advisors President Kelly Kidwell, who joined Buckley on the marketing panel at the GAMA LAMP show, says the charitable planning arena represents a huge opportunity for advisors because so few of the nation's 1.4 million charities are served by a financial professional–and because a still-small percentage of the entities have the requisite resources to solicit planned gifts.

"Less than 2% of charities have departments devoted to planned giving," says Kidwell. "As advisors, we can be that marketing department, delivering on an outsourced basis the educational workshops, the expertise and the inspiration to motivate patrons to upgrade from one-time donations made during capital campaigns to lasting gifts."

How significant is the investment in event marketing and how much of a return can one expect on that investment? The answers to these questions, sources say, will depend in part on the outlay in time and expense the advisor deems appropriate as part of an overall marketing plan. The go-to-market strategy may entail other methods of client prospecting, including cold calling, referrals obtained through centers of influence and leads exchanged with other professional firms. Also to consider are the type of events being contemplated.

AXA Advisors' Tampa office budgets $25,000 annually for event marketing, which translates to 50% of the firm's overall marketing activity. Results vary, but Fasani observes that advisors are meeting the firm's objectives if they manage to see 10 people, secure follow-up appointments with 7 and do business with 4.

Daroff attributes 80% of Baystate Financial's growth (annual revenue has spiked to $25 million from $2 million since 1996) to its professional alliances, including the marketing events it hosts on behalf of the partnering firms. Given Baystate's target market–business owners with investable assets ranging from $2 million to $10 million–winning the business of even a single attendee will pay for the cost of the gathering, And, says Daroff, to the extent that costs can be shifted to the partnering firm, the greater will be the payback.

"One of my best friends, [Leimberg Information Services President] Steve Leimberg, counsels using other people's money, other people's credibility and other people's mailing lists," he says. "When a bank invites their business clients to one of our events, we're doing all 3, while also providing a value-added service to the bank."

One advisory practice that relies entirely on its own resources is Peterson and Tracey Financial Services. Based in Milwaukee, Wis., the firm allocates an estimated 90% of its marketing budget to retirement and estate planning seminars for the firm's target demographic: pre- and post-retirement boomers with net worths ranging from $250,000 to $5 million. To reach these prospects, the firm spends on average between $8,000 and $10,000 per "seminar set," which typically covers the cost of some 5,000 direct mail pieces and dinners that can run upwards of $3,000 each.

Michael Tracey, a principal at the firm, says the effort generally yields between $4 and $6 per dollar invested, depending on the advisor(s) hosting the program. "My yield is higher than that of others on staff–probably 50% of my prospects become clients," he says. "But at age 61, I share a common life experience with many of the folks I'm trying do business with."