The Prospecting Professor

"I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar"

Do you remember Helen Reddy's 1972 #1 hit, "I Am Woman"...(I am woman, hear me roar...in numbers too big to ignore)? Oops...maybe I'm dating myself. And I didn't really like that song anyway.

Well, 33 years later, Wall Street likes the lyrics. Maybe it has something to do with that women earn $2.1 trillion annually, own 48% of the nation's companies, and make up about 40% of the high-net-worth market. Either way, you can expect to see a lot of marketing directed towards women. Recently, Merrill Lynch developed a Women's Business Development Unit, Neuberger Berman formed a membership-only networking alliance called Women's Partnership, and Citigroup has created a series of billboard promotions with un-macho taglines like, "Hugs are on a 52-week high".

In an excellent article in the February 21 edition of National Underwriter, entitled "Financial Services Seminars For Her", Susan Sweetser of Massachusetts Mutual makes the case that seminars are a particularly effective method of marketing to women. Her points are worthy of some extended discussion.

In the first place, Ms. Sweetser makes the point that seminars may be especially effective for women because of the manner in which they process new information:

• Women value advisors willing to invest the time in developing a professional relationship. Women need to feel comfortable with prospective advisors, and expect the advisor to earn their trust.
• Many women are repulsed by standard industry tactics like "disturbers", i.e. alarming statements designed to motivate (scare) them to take action.
• When an advisor presents a plan of action to a women and she responds, "I need to think about it", BELIEVE HER! Although many women are more inclined to follow through with a plan, they want time to mull things over, and perhaps reviewing it with a valued friend/family member. Arm twisting won't work, and is likely to be counter-productive.

Given all of this, seminars are a good way for advisors to introduce themselves to prospects. Seminars give the women in the audience time to 'measure' the advisor. Seminars can begin to answer the questions that many prospects have like: Is this someone who I can trust? Is this someone who will listen to my opinions and concerns? Is this someone who I can confide in? Is this someone who I will enjoy talking to quarterly? Monthly? Weekly? Moreover, since women are earning 60% of the bachelor's degrees, seminars honor the quest for new information that many women posses.

Some other great points that Ms. Sweetser addresses:

• Forget about the prototypical seminar template! You know what I'm talking about. Boring invitation to a sterile hotel conference room by the airport where the attendees will sit down to eat a rubber chicken entree and listen to a wholesaler drone on about the fund-du-jour.
• In contrast, consider a fun, unique venue...where the guests can mingle and relax. Some examples: a wine tasting, at an art gallery, at a museum, a chocolate tasting, etc. Choose a venue where the advisor can stand out and show their class and creativity. Prospective clients love classy advisors!
• Keep the content short...and pithy. Most presentations are way too long. People are busy, and can't retain much anyway. The sad fact is that 24 hours after a presentation, all content is forgotten except maybe 1-2 points.
• Connecting with each seminar attendee is critical. Greet everyone who enters the room. Be gracious in your comments. Look people in the eye. Thank them as they leave. You know...things that your mother taught you.
• Classy and/or unique invitations are a must! Dull, standard-issue invitations announce a dull, standard-issue seminar...and send a clear message to recipients, "Not worth my time". Many women today have very hectic schedules, and must be persuaded to insert your seminar into what is already going on in their lives.
• Finally, don't try to do too much. The bottom-line objective of a seminar is simple...the advisor simply wants permission to contact/visit the attendee again. Given that the sales cycle from prospect-to-client can be 7-10 total contacts...the seminar may be the first step of a 10-step process. Patience is a virtue here.

Bonus Thought! Do you have an upcoming meeting or event? Looking for a room? Check out this great website! www.eventective.com This meeting and event space search engine will enable you to search for available meeting rooms by: room layout, location, square footage, etc. A great place to begin a meeting room search.

Seminars: Boring or Unique?

Here's a seminar idea. Why don't you book a seminar on financial planning at one of the hotels by your airport? Just think of the ambiance that you could create...hotel conference room...fluorescent lighting...buffet table...rubber chicken. And the novel topic...financial planning. How unique! Don't you think that your best prospects would jump at the chance to spend an hour with you at the Holiday Inn off the interstate?

Here's a better idea. Why don't you just light your hair on fire? The reality is that the type of seminar that you do brands you...good or bad. Do you want to be known as the person who put together the generic seminar in a dreary hotel room; or would you like to leave a decidedly different impression?

Here's a different approach. Think about an event that your ideal prospect would WANT to attend...an interesting venue that puts people in a good mood. Remember, one of the central objectives of any seminar that is intended to attract prospects is quite simple...which is to create a favorable impression that allows you to contact them again. I submit that Conference Room "A" at the Hampton Inn is not the best venue to achieve this objective.

How about joining forces with one of the local purveyors of oriental rugs, and host an event at their shop? They invite their best clients/prospects...and you can as well. Working with an oriental rug dealer will allow you to weave together a theme on topics that refer to the area of origin for the rugs, i.e. Turkey, Iran, India, Pakistan, China, etc. Global investing is a possibility for your topic, yet you might have a brainstorm on a topic more creative than this. If you wanted to extend the co-marketing even further, you could also invite a local wine/cheese merchant to supply and discuss their wares. However, you should be cautious about inviting too many marketing participants...you don't want to confuse your guests with disparate and unrelated topics.

FYI...here's a link to the Oriental Rug Importers Association if you are at a loss as to where to start. However, I would concentrate on building a relationship with a dealer who you like, and who buys in to the benefit of collaborating on a joint marketing project.

On another related topic, there's a great piece today in Horsesmouth...an article entitled "7 Offbeat Prospecting Strategies."  I highly recommend it.