Last week I presented “The Keys to the Ladies Room” to a group of both male and female financial advisors.  The purpose of the presentation was to help all the advisors become more effective at connecting with the affluent female market.  What they learned was so simple yet so amazing. While they came looking for tools and resources they got something totally different.

While all my presentations are designed so that you leave with something done and ready to implement, this presentation I knew had to be all that and MORE.  I had to create an environment that was different.  So instead of the standard set up we had white table cloths with pink tulips in glass vases on each table. There was a bouquet of flowers on the podium and pink napkins at the banquet table, my famous “pink” journals provided to all the participants took it to another level.  Our efforts to change the environment had more of an impact then even I imagined.

When women walked in the room she smiled expressing pleasure at such a nice setting, when the men entered you saw the hesitation and you knew they were wondering“What have I gotten myself into?”. We had changed the rules. Instead of the typical environment developed by men for the male client we created an environment by women for the female client.  This was probably one of the most compelling points of the presentation. Even the female advisors had lost sight of what makes women feel more comfortable.  We have gotten so lost in the business world developed around men we have just conformed.

If you plan to work and want to develop great relationships with your female clients then maybe it’s time to start thinking PINK.