Why switching back to face-to-face events got our referral numbers back on track
Virtual calls have become part of everyday life. They provide our advisors with simplified scheduling, flexibility and time efficiency, all while maintaining a close relationship with our clients. These services were indispensable during the COVID pandemic, giving us the capacity to provide a sense of calm to clients during a financially and socially chaotic period. But while Zoom calls have become embedded into our profession, nothing replaces a firm handshake or a shared meal. Even the most engaging Zoom call feels as though there is a time limit, whereas meeting for a coffee or a beer always seems to foster more natural conversation.
Before the pandemic, we ran monthly Lunch and Learn sessions with clients at the Thornhill Golf and Country Club. We had educational speakers and our own CI Assante Wealth Management advisors give financial advice talks before providing a buffet lunch for attendees. These events were not cheap, costing us $5,000 to $6,000 each time. But the value was found in client retention and referrals, as our lunches added a deeper bond with our existing relationships, which in turn gave them the confidence to refer us to friends and family.
We had to halt our in-person events as the pandemic raged. At first, we tried drive-in movie nights and virtual cooking classes, though they of course lacked the crucial social benefits of our pre-pandemic luncheons. Without the ability to meet in-person, we pivoted to webinars and social media, dedicating all our marketing budget to those two spheres. But few of our clients were interested in virtual events, and we often found ourselves speaking aimlessly to a screen with a small number of attendees.
When we noticed our referrals tumble, it was an obvious decision to bring back face-to-face interactions. Clients were happy to hear we were offering in-person events again, and we were excited to see some familiar faces outside of our office. But costs had skyrocketed since COVID – what used to be a $6,000 buffet lunch was now $10,000, prompting us to shift to a light lunch and hold our events quarterly rather than monthly.
Finding a balance between prioritizing our online presence and maintaining in-person interactions has been challenging, though we believe we have finally found a sweet spot which appeals to our diverse client base. After decades of face-to-face interaction, most of our long-term clients got used to seeing our faces and wanted to return to in-person meetings as soon as they could.
Another advantage of our in-person events is that we can introduce potential clients to our team in a natural, social environment. If a friend or neighbour has passed on our name, bringing them to a lunch allows prospective clients to meet our staff and other clients who can tell them what to expect from our services.
For many of our retirement age clients, those in-person events were a day to look forward to – many made friends at our Lunch and Learns, while others found it a good excuse to get out of the house. They had spent enough of their time on a screen and had little appetite for the webinars we were offering, while our social media presence was still in its infancy. With retirement age clients naturally pulling money out of their portfolios, keeping a steady stream of referrals is essential to our practice. We know the quality of service we provide and the satisfaction existing clients have with our work, but we must remain proactive by recruiting new clients. So while our growing online presence has begun to pay off with a younger, more tech-savvy audience, we realized that by putting all our eggs in a technological basket, we had excluded a significant portion of our client base.
We have even noticed an increased performance in the portfolios of clients who meet with us regularly in-person, another proof point to the timeless benefits of face-to-face interactions. Our advisors are encouraged to prioritize meeting clients in-person to build that interpersonal connection which is so key to our success.
These past few years have been an excellent learning experience, one which showed us the value of blending increasingly exciting technological advances with old fashioned luncheons. While it can be tempting to turn all your attention to virtual communication, a Zoom call can never replace the warm feeling of getting together with old friends.
Rob McClelland is a Senior Financial Advisor with Assante Capital Management Ltd. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Assante Capital Management Ltd. Please contact him at (905) 771 - 5200 or visit www.tmfg.ca to discuss your particular circumstances prior to acting on the information above. Assante Capital Management Ltd. is a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization.
