Did you know women refer clients at a rate three times higher than men? How about that three out of four widowed women leave their financial advisor within one year of their spouse passing away? Moreover, many experts believe the number of female-controlled assets will climb from $10 trillion in 2024 to $30 trillion by 2030. (That’s trillion with a T.) Women are becoming more involved in their finances, and — as the data suggests — live longer than men.
We’re no mathematicians, but that should tell you that financial advisors need to focus their attention on female clients. Need some more convincing? Here’s why you should host a women’s only event — and the big mistake financial advisors make when trying to reach female clients and prospects.
Making the Right Approach
Here’s the big mistake advisors make when trying to reach women: they treat them different.
Advisors aren’t treating women poorly, but there’s a mindset that, in order to reach them, an advisor must talk about topics that are important to only them. But topics that are important to women are the same ones that are important to men.
Remember that stat about the trillions of dollars? You don’t come close to that number without being involved in all matters of personal finance.
Hosting the Event
So, what’s the secret to hosting a women’s only event? Don’t change your content, change your delivery:
- For mailers and invites, use colors that research suggests resonates with women, like blues, greens, and purples.
- Capitalize on a woman’s expanding role in their family finances by speaking to their sense of empowerment. These are their decisions too!
- Consider the ways to eliminate objections (i.e. “I need to talk to my husband”) ahead of time. One way to do so is by telling the room not to schedule an appointment if they’re not serious about keeping it — you have a lot of women who could really benefit from this time to meet.
Increasing Your Prospects
There’s another bonus to hosting a women’s only event, and that’s the chance to double the amount of buying units in the room. Encourage a prospect to bring a friend. Now, instead of them bringing their husband and representing one household, they bring another prospect with similar concerns and potentially a similar need for a financial advisor.
If this changing landscape makes you nervous, we have bad news for you: it’s not going away. Embrace it! Empower your female clients and prospects with knowledge and respect and watch it pay off for them and for your practice.
For more tips on hosting seminars for all demographics, be sure to check out some of the other videos on our Impact YouTube channel, including our House Rules episode on how to keep clients during the Great Wealth Transfer.
