Consumer
Education Events
Consumer education events are powerful tools for building relationships with clients and prospects, but they require careful planning. The best practices provided below guide you through the key steps of the consumer education event planning process.
Best Practices for Hosting a Consumer Education Event
1. Adopt the Right Approach
- Focus on educating and engaging rather than direct selling.
- Establish trust and credibility by sharing valuable insights.
- Keep the content client-centric, addressing their needs and concerns.
- To stay on track, leverage the Consumer Education Event – Pre-Event Checklist.
2. Build a Strategic Invite List
- Start with existing clients and consider inviting prospects and referrals.
- Segment clients and prospects based on their knowledge level and interests.
- Consider limited attendance to no more than thirty (30) individuals, as more intimate settings tend to be more successful.
3. Choose a Relevant Topic
- Select a topic that aligns with your clients’ interests – a topic about which you are knowledgeable and are comfortable presenting.
- You may choose from the following list of Compliance approved PowerPoints (which contain approved speaker notes):
- Protect Your Most Valuable Assets: Prepare Your Business for the Unpredictable
- Secure Your Future: How a Tax-Favored Retirement Plan can Benefit Your Business While Maintaining Flexibility
- Strategic Advantage for Business Owners: Maximizing Your Tax Deductions while Saving for Your Retirement
- Staying Successful: Effective Benefit Strategies to Retain and Reward Your Best Talent
- Putting Your Priorities in Order: Estate Planning Essentials
- Securing Your Legacy for the Future: Estate Planning with Trusts
- Life Insurance and Your Estate Plan: Protect, Preserve, and Pass on Your Legacy
- Protecting Your Wealth with Confidence: Annuities Explained
- Demystifying IRA Required Distributions: What Everyone Needs to Know
- If you create your own PowerPoint or make any changes to the PowerPoints provided by Advanced Sales, you must submit your PowerPoint with script through AdTrax to obtain the required approval.
4. Consider Inviting a Guest Speaker for Added Value
- If you are not as familiar with the topic you choose to present or would simply prefer a co-presenter, consider inviting a guest speaker, such as another agent, a member of agency leadership, or a member of the NLG Advanced Sales Team.
- If you would like a member of NLG Advanced Sales Team to present, please contact your field leader.
5. Pick the Right Seminar Venue/Webinar Platform
- If in person, consider a venue that is easy to find, offers complimentary parking, is accessible for all, and comfortably accommodates your expected audience.
- If remote, consider popular virtual platforms, such as Zoom, GoTo Meeting, or WebEx. If you are a Registered Representative or Investment Adviser Representative with Equity Services, Inc. (ESI), please ensure you use firm-approved platforms and abide by the rules for those (see ESI’s Written Supervisory Procedures for current approved platforms).
- Consider requesting name and contact information upon webinar registration or at the seminar, but do not make this a requirement. Let the attendees share what they are comfortable sharing.
- Ensure a smooth user experience by testing the venue or platform in advance.
6. Select the Best Date and Time
- Ideal days: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
- Consider evening (6 PM – 8 PM local time) or lunchtime (12 PM – 1 PM local time) sessions for better attendance.
- Avoid holidays or long weekends when people are less likely to engage.
7. The Invitation
- Instead of a generic email, personalize invitations with the client’s name and a brief note on why they would benefit from the webinar.
- Use video invitations for a more personal touch.
- Leverage the Compliance approved HTML Invitation Email Templates provided to you by Advanced Sales.
- Consider using social media to promote this event. Be sure to follow compliance advertising and social media rules and procedures.
8. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
- Become very familiar with the subject matter. Study the slides and the speaker notes. You will note some of the speaker notes include a NOTE TO SPEAKER in italics. Where appropriate, these special notes provide additional practical or technical information. While it may not be necessary to share this information during your presentation, it is important for you to be aware.
- Contact NLG Advanced Sales if you have any questions or would like any clarification.
- Visit the Advanced Markets section of the Agent Portal for additional resources.
9. Practice Sessions & Tech Setup
- Conduct a dry run to test the slides and sound quality.
- If using one of the presentations provided to you in this playbook, be sure to review the PowerPoint in “Slide Show” mode to become familiar with the embedded animations and content builds.
- Invite one or two co-hosts to handle technical issues and moderate the chat (if remote).
10. Deliver a Professional and Engaging Seminar/Webinar
- Kick off with a warm welcome. If applicable, introduce the guest presenter.
- Maintain a structured flow. Plan for approximately 45 minutes of content and 15 minutes of Q&A.
- Ensure all statements comply with legal and tax advisory restrictions.
- WEBINAR RECORDINGS: If you are considering recording your webinar, please be aware that you must obtain explicit consent from all participants before recording. Without this consent, recording the webinar may violate state and local laws. Note that due to compliance reasons, recording a webinar is prohibited if a member of the Advanced Sales Team is a presenter.
11. Engage Attendees with Interactive Features
- Encourage attendees to submit questions in advance.
- Showcase short client testimonials on how life insurance helped them in real-life situations.
- End with a call to action to the attendees. If in person, consider providing an appointment sign-up sheet. We have created a Consumer Education Event –Meeting Sign-Up Sheet Template for your use. If virtual, be sure to provide your contact information so they may follow up with you.
12. Maximize Post-Webinar Engagement
- Leverage the Consumer Education Event – Post-Event Checklist.
- Send thank you notes immediately after the webinar. Consider sending handwritten thank-you notes as opposed to thank-you emails.
- Email all registrants with key takeaways, NLG available consumer brochures and videos, and the call-to-action. Leverage the Compliance approved HTML Post-Event Email templates provided to you by Advanced Sales.
- Offer a complimentary consultation as an incentive for follow-ups.
- Send a post-event evaluation to gather feedback.
13. Follow-Up for Long-Term Client Value
- Call attendees within 48 hours to address.
- Schedule personalized follow-up calls for clients who showed strong interest.
- Track your activity. Leverage the Consumer Education Event – Activity Tracker Template.
- In six months, call back those people who did not schedule a meeting and try again.
14. Evaluate and Improve
- Review attendance rates, engagement levels, and post-event survey responses to improve future events.
- Implement client suggestions to refine future educational events.
By incorporating these best practices, you can ensure your client appreciation webinar strengthens relationships, enhances trust, and ultimately drives business growth.
Presentations and Email Templates
To help you host a meaningful and successful client education event, we’ve created the following presentations—each with detailed speaker notes to guide you along the way. These presentations have been approved by Compliance for use with consumers. If you make any changes to the content of the presentations (including rebranding the template), you must submit through AdTrax to obtain the required approval. Be sure to include the TC number from our Compliance approved PowerPoint in your AdTrax submission.
For your convenience, we have also created the following Compliance approved HTML email templates for you to use as your invitations and event follow up communication. Note many of the HTML email invite templates contain embedded links to Consumer-approved videos on the subject matter. Similarly, many of the HTML email follow-up templates contain links to relevant Consumer-approved brochures. If you write your own communication, you must submit through AdTrax to obtain the required approval. If you change these approved templates in any way (including simply adding your DBA name), you must submit through AdTrax to obtain the required approval. Be sure to include the TC number from our Compliance approved HTML email templates in your AdTrax submission.
Protect Your Most Valuable Assets: Prepare Your Business for the Unpredictable
Secure Your Future: How a Tax-Favored Retirement Plan can Benefit Your Business while Maintaining Flexibility
Strategic Advantage for Business Owners: Maximizing Your Tax Deductions while Saving for Your Retirement
Staying Successful: Effective Benefit Strategies to Retain and Reward Your Best Talent
Putting Your Priorities in Order: Estate Planning Essentials
Securing Your Legacy for the Future: Estate Planning with Trusts
Life Insurance and Your Estate Plan: Protect, Preserve, and Pass on Your Legacy
Protecting Your Wealth with Confidence: Annuities Explained
Demystifying IRA Required Distributions: What Everyone Needs to Know
Other Sample Language
Post-Event Evaluation Questions
It is recommended that you send a post-event evaluation to all attendees to help you improve the overall learning experience you deliver. Be sure to communicate the purpose and value of feedback and evaluation to your participants at the end of your event.
Some sample evaluation questions include the following:
- How would you rate the content of the slides? Options: Excellent, Good, Average, Poor
- How would you rate my topic knowledge and presentation skills? Options: Excellent, Good, Average, Poor
- How likely will you recommend the webinar to your family and friends, with 1 being highly unlikely and 10 highly likely? Options: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
- Would you like to attend my future education events? Options: Yes, No, Maybe
- How was your overall experience? Options: Excellent, Good, Average, Poor
- Add some optional open-ended questions:
- What was your main reason for attend the event/webinar?
- How can I make future events/webinars better?
- What topics would you like me to cover next?
Post-Event Follow-Up Phone Script
If you determine it is appropriate to follow up with your attendees after the event/webinar with a phone call, consider using one of the following scripts:
“Hi ___________________, this is _________________ with __________________. I was calling you to thank you for attending the event/webinar and to find out if you had any questions about what we discussed or would like further information.”
OR
“Hi ___________________, this is _________________ with __________________. As I mentioned at the end of the seminar, I offer every attendee a complimentary consultation to see how we can apply the concepts we discussed to your individual situation. It can take as little as 30 minutes. Would you be interested in an appointment?”
Post-Event Thank You Note
It is important to thank your attendees for joining your event/webinar. If you choose to write your own note instead of using the HTML follow-up emails provided in this playbook, here is some sample language for your consideration:
Dear _________________,
It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday at our event/webinar on “[insert topic].” I’m looking forward to meeting with you soon to discuss how the ideas we shared can help your individual situation. In the meantime, feel free to call me if you have a question or need additional information. I can be reached at [insert phone number and email address].
Sincerely,
[Your name]
If you write your own communication, please submit your materials through AdTrax to obtain the required approval.
National Life Group® is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company (NLIC), Montpelier, VT, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest (LSW), Addison, TX, and affiliates. Each company of National Life Group® is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations. LSW is not an authorized insurer in NY and does not conduct insurance business in NY. Equity Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, is a Broker/Dealer and Registered Investment Adviser affiliate of NLIC.
Home Office: One National Life Drive, Montpelier, VT 05604 | (800) 344-7437 | www.nationallife.com
No bank or credit union guarantee | Not a deposit | Not FDIC/NCUA insured | May lose value | Not insured by any federal or state government agency
Guarantees are dependent upon the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.
FOR AGENT USE ONLY – NOT FOR USE WITH THE PUBLIC
TC7949039(0525)3 | Cat No 107967(0525)