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November 10, 2020 at 04:05 PM
Think back, before COVID-19, to your educational events.
Many of them were elaborately planned, face-to-face events that required a lot of coordination, cost and team resources. I’m sure that you will want to get back to at least some of these in-person events in the future. However, the disruption caused by COVID-19 opens opportunities to re-imagine your client education plan.
People who we doubted would adapt to a virtual world actually have thrived! Older clients who we thought would resist virtual meetings are embracing the opportunity to stay informed and safe.
Let’s look at the opportunities that the new world affords. Consider these four steps and related opportunities as you build your 2021 client education plan.
Virtual educational events are easier to plan and less costly than face-to-face events, so you can provide more frequent programs to your clients and prospects.
1. Build a Deeper Educational Series
The benefit of added flexibility and frequency is that you can target your clients with more focused education. Although some advisors have conducted in-person educational series in the past, typical face-to-face events are held in a single session – one topic, one session.
Unfortunately, real-world adult learning is better presented in multiple sessions. The takeaways are “stickier” and last longer. Consider a few sessions that tie together to expand the depth and breadth of the topic.
2. Host Highly Focused Educational Events
Again, more frequent events allow you to diversify and dive into more niche education. In the past, you might have held a retirement preparation event that covered everything from savings and investing to Social Security planning.
Now, because of the reduced logistical load and cost, you can easily hold more focused events, one on “Social Security Decisions at Retirement” and one on “Retirement Planning for People 10 Years from Retirement.”
3. Bring in New Experts
Virtual meetings now can include speakers and experts you would not have been able to bring in for physical events. The logistics are simple and less expensive.
Outside speakers who live across the country can have a regular workday, take a break and present at your event in the evening. Travel time is no longer an issue.
You also might be able to afford to bring in an outside expert who may have been previously priced out of your budget for travel costs or higher presentation fees at an in-person engagement.
Dr. Gerry Herbison is an executive business coach at Carson Coaching.