When our client set out to revitalise its decentralised delivery of financial planning seminars, it banked on James Halliday Events to deliver a winning plan. Generation of leads and increased sales were the priority as we developed and implemented a unified approach of nationally coordinated events.
Connecting our clients brand with their customers was achieved through relevant, educational, memorable and interactive brand experiences. The result? An almost 70% increase in lead generation.
THE CHALLENGE
Previously, our client’s financial planners managed their own seminars at the branch level, an inconsistent approach that delivered inconsistent results. Our clients needed a way to improve consistency of seminar delivery so it could increase awareness of financial planning services, better educate customers on pre-retirement and wealth creation strategies, and increase appointments and sales with local financial planners at each branch.
OUR SOLUTION
At the end of the day our client wanted one brand voice to capture their target group to generate leads. We focused on delivering seminars that were about education, customer intimacy and customer experience. Our end-to-end approach included assisting with topic selection, direct marketing, call centre management, geo-demographic targeting and presentation development through to providing actionable items on leads and post-event feedback.
We worked closely with all stakeholders from financial planners to the bank’s senior management and marketing team to implement and manage a program that improved the effectiveness of the seminar content, message delivery, staging and all the pre- and post-event processes.
We implemented a public speaking training program that improved financial planners’ public speaking skills, ensuring message delivery is effective and on target every time. With 45 seminars per series in metropolitan and regional areas, we put in place a dedicated on-site team for each seminar, with direction, support and coordination from our national office.
Five years on, we continue to manage every aspect of each seminar, from strategic venue selection and set-up, invitations and registrations, to production of marketing materials, presenter’s schedules and running sheets for every participant. Our on-site specialists create a warm and friendly atmosphere that encourages networking and positive interaction between clients and customers. Our input doesn’t end when a seminar finishes. We manage lead generation forms and collate feedback to provide actionable results and ongoing tracking and evaluation.
THE RESULT
The seminar series transformation has been an outstanding success, over-achieving on all client objectives. The seminars have delivered a massive 68% increase in lead generation.
The seminars have built a strong reputation as an effective educational, marketing, lead generation and sales tool for the bank, and customers have embraced the series as a value-added service from this leading bank.
“James Halliday Events is crucial to the planning, implementation and execution of our Financial Planning Seminar Series. It is due to their event management expertise, passion for customer service and attention to detail that we have been able to achieve outstanding results every time.”
Sivea Pascale, Group Marketing Manager, Wealth St.George Bank