Take events from average to awesome

(June 2003) Advisor and author Rod Burylo has interviewed and studied top performers from various professions across Canada and has discovered one common trait: their number-one objective is solid client relationships, not the sale of a product.

“That’s why I find it interesting that in so many circumstances, we will spend far more time learning about the products that we want to sell in our profession and far [too] little time figuring out how to build the relationship,” the Alberta-based Burylo told a roomful of advisors recently at the Advocis national conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland. “It’s like a pipeline — you build a pipeline, they say, and then you have it flow with products and services afterward.”

Awesome elevation

In the course of his top performers research, Burylo also discovered all of these outstanding professionals were also hosting client events, but ones that went well beyond the standard office seminar or tickets to a hockey game. “They have taken this [client event] idea and elevated it to an advanced form — one that I call ‘awesome client events,'” said Burylo.

As a young financial planner just starting out years ago, Burylo had his own event epiphany when the majority of conference attendees at his first seminar presentation chose to attend the concurrent presentation of a young Canadian adventurer who had just returned from crossing the Arabian desert by camel. “I realized that day that people didn’t care about my seminars about money — there’s a million people talking about that stuff,” said Burylo. “I realized that day that if people wanted ‘camel boy,’ then ‘camel boy’ is what I would give them.”

Host it and they will come

Burylo then went on to host a client event featuring a soon-to-be famous adventurer, Calgary’s Bruce Kirkby, and was amazed when 400 people turned up on the first night. “Did you ever think that you could have a lineup for the public and the media showing up in advance, people prepared to pay to participate in your client event?” asked Burylo. “I did not think that was a standard that was reasonable to attain.”

Having since hosted similarly successful events with speakers such as world-renowned animal researcher Dr. Jane Goodall, Burylo told his audience an inspirational tale about his dentist, who put on a sold-out, 4,000-person event featuring best-selling author Dr. Deepak Chopra that included a private reception and book signing for the dentist’s clients. “Do you think that I won’t be telling everybody about that story for the rest of my life?” enthused Burylo. “It was amazing, and that was a dentist — if he can do it, I’m sure you can.”

Stand out with outstanding events

To help other advisors host their own awesome client events to make them stand out from the competition, Burylo offered up advice in the following four areas:

1. Participants. Segmentation and inviting the clients who will bring you the biggest return is key, as is creating a sense of exclusivity. Burylo also suggested teaming up with a like-minded advisor to do a joint event or hosting an event with other allied professionals such as accountants, lawyers or real estate agent.

2. Venue and activity. Traditional venues like hotel conference rooms lack creativity and cost a lot to boot. Try to link the theme of your event with your venue. Burylo gave some examples of some creative Calgary locations he has either hosted or attended an outstanding event — the zoo, the planetarium and the tower of the ski jump at Olympic Park. A quick venue excitement test: “Write down as if you were going to invite the client to the activity venue and see if you can put an exclamation mark after it.”

3. Communications. Always send a creative invitation. Always ask for an RSVP. And always send a ticket for the event. “[The ticket] is not only a statement of value, it’s the kind of thing that sits on their fridge and gets shelf life, and it goes from being almost sure that they’re going to show up to 99.9% sure they’re going to show up.”

4. Lasting memories. Suggesting that a great speaker can “impact a client for life,” Burylo emphasized that advisors have the opportunity to give clients “something more important than their portfolio that they can take with them.”

• • •

For more client appreciation ideas and events, click here.

• • •

John Craig is Advisor.ca’s managing editor and can be reached at jcraig@advisor.ca.

(06/20/03)