Client workshops offer an excellent opportunity to strengthen client engagement. An informative, interactive workshop can be regarded as a gesture of support that helps clients make financial decisions.
Workshops also offer a chance to provide valuable expertise from a range of perspectives, says Bev Moir, senior wealth advisor at Scotia Wealth Management in Toronto. Moir recently held a workshop that included professionals from various fields to ensure a range of topics was covered.
Moir wanted to go beyond the traditional format of offering basic financial literacy topics. “We tried to make the workshop interesting, and not entirely run of the mill,” she says.
The following are lessons from Moir on how you can approach putting on an engaging workshop for your clients:
> Tailor your workshop for a specific client group
To narrow your focus, Moir says, identify the clients you enjoy working with the most.
Unlike seminars, workshops are designed for participation. With that in mind, Moir invited only her female clients, which also is her target market.
Even though the clients you invite may share common characteristics, recognize that they will have reservations about disclosing personal details with strangers. Moir found that members of her female-only group were more comfortable opening up and asking questions that reflect their circumstances than they would have been in a mixed group.
> Think of a unifying theme
Design your workshop with specific issues in mind, and consider how they might appeal to your clients. Plan to offer concrete ideas for dealing with the issues discussed.
Moir structured her workshop on the common life changes that people experience, such as divorce, separation and job loss. “It was meant to be a motivational workshop,” she says, adding that the goal was to help participants feel in control of their financial circumstances.
> Include different perspectives
Tap into your centres of influence (COIs) so that clients will have access to a variety of perspectives. Think of how you might broaden that network beyond your typical COI.
For example, Moir enlisted the help of an image consultant and a health expert as well as a family lawyer. Each person spoke on certain aspects of the life transitions clients might be experiencing. The lawyer talked about the role of pre-marriage contracts; the image coach talked about looking your best for an interview or networking event.
What helped most was that they all drew on their own personal experiences, which resonated with the attendees, says Moir: “We were living, breathing examples.”
> Open up space for dialogue
Allow time for in-depth discussions, and limit the number of clients to keep things intimate.
Moir’s workshop had 20 participants. In hindsight, she says, they might have benefited if there had been more time to break into small group discussions and delve into strategy-building exercises. But the tradeoff might have been reducing the number of speakers or the time allotted to each one, she says.
Another option would be to extend the length of the workshop if you want to include several speakers. “We packed a lot in the half-day workshop,” Moir says. “What we would do differently is allow for more networking.”
This is the second part in a two-part series on clients workshops.
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