Effective client workshops

A client workshop can be a powerful way to get your clients involved in financial education activities and help deepen the relationships you have with your clients.

Before launching into your next workshop, you should consider what you can expect to achieve.

“Workshops aren’t seminars,” says Rosemary Smyth, founder of Rosemary Smyth and Associates in Victoria. “Workshops are much more about participants, and [your role is] facilitating their learning experience.”

Workshops also demand that you get in touch with your extroverted side, to help you encourage participation among attendees. To overcome any nervousness you might experience in hosting a workshop, Smyth recommends taking incremental steps. Offer to lead one session for a colleague or invite speakers to your event to share the stage with you.

And to prevent your event from becoming an anxiety-inducing exercise, keep these tips in mind when hosting a client workshop:

> Design it with purpose
Identify your target audience and focus on an issue that members of this group might be facing at this stage in their life. Select handouts and devise activities based on a theme they can relate to, whether it’s retirement planning, estate planning or insurance.

“Some advisors say, ‘I’m just going to wing it’,” says Smyth. But your clients should have a clear understanding of what they can expect to learn and the perspectives they’ll hear about.

> Stick to the agenda
If you have a full slate of activities planned, it’s easy to run into overtime. Develop a schedule that people can follow and that will keep you on track, Smyth says. Participants should not feel trapped in a session without knowing when it is going to end.

> Plan for a breakout session
Some attendees might feel uncomfortable sharing their experiences with the group. Set up a time for participants to mingle and become more familiar.

“If you’re bringing random people together, you want to create that space for people to share,” Smyth says. “Have time for them to pick out their group.”

For example, you can devise a topical quiz and build a discussion around it.

> Anticipate questions
Know your topic inside out. “It’s important to become that expert,” Smyth says, “and not just read a few articles.”

Block out time for questions and make sure you are well prepared to handle any comments and questions that should arise.

> Accommodate various learning styles
Make the workshop an interactive experience that appeals to the various ways people process information. Ideally, Smyth says, plan for a range of activities that have visual, auditory and physical components.

> Provide evaluation forms
Feedback is crucial in order to help you determine what you are doing right in your workshops, and where you need to improve. One way to give people an incentive to fill out their evaluation forms is to offer a door prize, Smyth says.

This is the first part in a two-part series on client workshops. Next: Lessons learned from an advisor’s own workshop experience.

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