Seminars and events are the ultimate tool when working with women. Just one engaging seminar can position you on the map as the go to advisor for women in your community and have a major impact on the growth and sustainability of your business.

Studies have shown that women work best in a community setting, are more receptive to learning want more financial education and prefer more interaction and meaningful communication from their advisor. A great presentation for women can accomplish every criteria in one fell swoop.

A seminar program designed for women can quickly strengthen existing client relationships, immediately start attracting new women to your practice and ultimately inspire three times more referrals from both women AND men, in fact in some cases men can be your greatest source of referrals promoting your event to all the women they know and love.

Seminars and events are much more than just an educational tool for women, if done properly seminars and events can:

• Brand you as the advisor of choice for women in your community; this requires a fun and appealing event for women hosted on a continual and consistent basis.
• Provide an environment where women feel safe by keeping your events small and intimate women are more motivated to share information with other participants which creates that bond and membership like experience. The more they share with each other the more they respect you.
• Highlight your commitment to women by hosting regular events specifically for women, participants begin to recognize your respect and concern for women and their welfare. Your events validate you really do care about women and it’s not just talk.
• Inspire more referrals and new introductions as women experience what you have to offer their natural tendency is to share a good thing with all the women they know. Whether they are your clients or not if they recognize and appreciate the event and your efforts they will gladly talk about you in hopes of helping other women.

But here is the catch…Today’s events for women MUST be different than the typical industry seminar programs.

• Women’s events and workshops should not be about volume, but about value.
• The focus should not simply be about closing for appointments, but creating great connections, referrals and new introductions.
• It’s not about promoting a product but engaging women in conversation, encouraging them to share their personal story and situation…This is when the magic happens.

We all know that not all seminars and events are not created equal. So as you develop your women’s event program it’s important to understand that not all seminars and events are the same nor designed to achieve the same objective.

There are often 4 different types of events for women all with a different objective:

1. Branding events: Like my Savvy Women Seminar it’s designed to be fun, unique, and engaging. A branding event is to be used over and over and over with the goal of getting EVERY woman to come once. Because of the frequency of the event the title of your branding event can reflect your core message and business brand. For example some have used my Savvy Women Invest On Purpose Seminar and as a result created a message and tag line Where Women Become Savvy with the Money as their mantra.

2. Workshops: These are learning environments where you pose meaningful questions about important topics encouraging discussions with all the participants. Think of a workshop like you would a classroom environment, it can be a more casual environment and does not require a power point, in fact a power point may diminish the benefits of an interactive workshop. Having a specific topic is often the focus of the workshop for example “How to Create Your Life by Design” (a component of the Savvy Women Seminar) this workshop would help women step through the process of how to create their life by design. The ultimate objective is that if they appreciate the process the next step to complete the process is to meet with you.

3. Qualifier Events: A qualifier event is one that allows you to focus on those that have substantial assets. In most of your branding events and workshops you can’t always exclude women simply because they don’t have the assets, something you must be mindful of. (By including them they show their appreciation by referring a friend to you that does have the assets). Hosting an estate planning event for women who have over $2,000,000 net worth can help you filter out those that don’t have sizeable assets and allows you to focus the conversation on issues more relevant to the higher net worth woman. Qualifier events work best when sprinkled in-between the workshops and branding events, which shows you to be inclusive of all women.

4. Specialty Events: These can be events that highlight achievements, events that emphasize client appreciation and or an exclusive event that if done effectively cultivates high quality referrals. This may not be the type of event that you mass market but reach out to key clients or acquaintances to be your special guest. Using a very high-end invitation and personal calls from you can have a big impact on the participation and opportunity to inspire more referrals. Some of the most common might be an exclusive event at Tiffany’s or a high-end spa, or unique guest speaker.

In order to make your events the most effective there are a few key points to remember:

• Keep women’s events small, from 5 – 15 participants, the smaller the event the more they engage and interact. This type of environment creates more intimacy and trust
• No need for large heavy meals – Women don’t usually come for the food but come for the network, support and companionship.
• Consistency is key – Random events do little to enhance your brand creating a consistent calendar of events is the key to getting referrals and more introductions.

As you decide which seminar and/or event works best for your needs, always remember women want an educational and supportive environment so that they can become more confident when managing their money.

Learn more about our Savvy Women Invest on Purpose event for women, it’s much more than just great content for women, we step you through the process so you become more effective at engaging the audience, encouraging stimulating conversation in a fun and intimate setting.

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