Many advisors offer workshops and seminars for their prospects and clients. We all know that seminars are tools to educate and inform people about a subject. But have you considered seminars specifically for women? Women want to understand how to handle their money and how to become a "woman of wealth."
The average woman will live alone for 19 years — due to becoming a widow, divorce, or not being married — and knowing that she will have to handle all of her own financial matters for a long time is definitely an incentive for a woman's specific agenda.
There are a variety of seminars that are focused on women and financial planning offered in the industry. Most of the major financial firms have invested in such seminars to be used by their advisors to market to females. Product-driven seminars, however, will not be as successful as educational seminars about concepts and ideas. Women are astute about being "sold" a product but will listen if presented with an idea and a process that will answer their questions and solve their financial problems and meet their needs.
Focusing on specific female market segments can also help you, the advisor, to be successful. Examples of segments could include:
- Working with divorced women concerned about their lower income and less stable financial situation after their divorce.
- Working with high-net-worth women who are single from widowhood or divorce and establishing their estate plan.
- Businesswomen who want to have business succession programs and retirement plans put into place.
Preparing seminars to meet these specific topics and showing solutions to these issues can also be a truly rewarding experience.
The place or venue may be just as important as the topic. Consider using several formats and venues depending upon the audience. Conduct "lunch and learns" at corporation conference rooms or invite a small group of your current female clients to your office for lunch. Local colleges, universities, community clubs and churches are all places to offer topics that interest them.
