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Old 12-09-2018, 06:48 AM
 
Location: northern New England
5,419 posts, read 3,977,659 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike1003 View Post
I treat these guys the same as timeshare salesmen...No respect
I agree with you - same as what I said in a previous post - if you have to bribe people into listening to your sales pitch, why is that? You would think if timeshares were that great (or the annuities) word-of-mouth advertising would be plenty good enough to keep all the salesmen busy.
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Old 12-09-2018, 06:51 AM
 
17,270 posts, read 11,123,264 times
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I think anyone who would attend one of those "free dinners" with absolutely no intention of buying anything does so because they have way more time on their hands than they know what to do with. It must be a reason to just get out of the house and see other human beings.
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Old 12-09-2018, 07:00 AM
 
105,919 posts, read 107,880,197 times
Reputation: 79508
Quote:
Originally Posted by VTsnowbird View Post
I agree with you - same as what I said in a previous post - if you have to bribe people into listening to your sales pitch, why is that? You would think if timeshares were that great (or the annuities) word-of-mouth advertising would be plenty good enough to keep all the salesmen busy.
why ? for the same reason most industries do it

in our business we do trade shows , open houses and sponsor training sessions to non customers . all to make them aware of who we are ,what we do and draw interest in our products that result in sales . customers can buy anywhere , they need a reason to come to you or do business with you or perhaps never heard of you . .

meals only go with the information that is presented , to hopefully get you as a customer or create a bigger customer .

none of this way of marketing has to do with scamming customers or poor products . even our estate attorney who is one of the biggest in ny runs seminars to introduce just who they are and what they do to as many potential clients as they can ..
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Old 12-09-2018, 07:06 AM
 
17,011 posts, read 21,695,741 times
Reputation: 29111
Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP View Post
The biggest question for the OP from my perspective was if the steak dinner was worth his time and effort.
Nope........Any "investment" opportunity they offer you after the promise of a free dinner is a red flag! Like time share pitches to get a free TV. They are using the gift to lure in idiots, figuring if they fell for the free gift gag then they will probably fall for the pitch also!
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Old 12-09-2018, 07:13 AM
 
105,919 posts, read 107,880,197 times
Reputation: 79508
again , it depends . our financial planner sponsors all kinds of seminars with food , nothing lavish , just to get more people familiar with who he is and what he does . i recommend him highly .

this is just how many industries market because not everyone heard of them nor knows what they do or why they may even be of use to them .

you can't generalize at all

Last edited by mathjak107; 12-09-2018 at 07:27 AM..
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Old 12-09-2018, 07:24 AM
 
3,083 posts, read 1,556,029 times
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Poor product or otherwise, I try not to take advantage of someone who is trying to earn a living. I attended one of these free steak dinners and the gentleman who was sponsoring it was new to the profession and was trying to grow his business. I only attended because I mistakenly thought it was sponsored by the financial services company of whom I am a client. He gave a very good presentation.

Most of the attendees practically ran out of the room after the dinner and I felt it dishonest to attend under the pretext of being interested.
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Old 12-09-2018, 08:12 AM
 
Location: Philadelphia/South Jersey area
3,677 posts, read 2,542,930 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VTsnowbird View Post
I agree with you - same as what I said in a previous post - if you have to bribe people into listening to your sales pitch, why is that? You would think if timeshares were that great (or the annuities) word-of-mouth advertising would be plenty good enough to keep all the salesmen busy.
lol, nonsense. If that was the case there would be no such thing as advertising at all. Why do companies spend billions upon billions of dollars to advertise.

Budweiser and coca cola spent 5.0 million bucks for 30 secs of your time. what, you think they did that because "word of month" keeps them in business??

Disney even 20 seconds has a commercial telling you how "magical" your life will be if you only plunk down thousands of dollars to stay there. of course those commercials don't tell you the negatives.

advertising is advertising, whether it's paying for your meal or convincing you your life will be so much cooler if you drink their beer.
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Old 12-09-2018, 08:18 AM
 
105,919 posts, read 107,880,197 times
Reputation: 79508
all business's have ways of different marketing . with competitors with similar goods and services it is an on going battle to win market share no matter what business you are in .

it is all about getting more and more familiar with , interested in and buying from you rather then your competitor .

it gets tougher and tougher as the products become more and more similar . it becomes even more important to get new customers to hear what you have to say as the products all being similar take a back seat to the services and knowledge you offer . especially when you are not a household name .
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Old 12-09-2018, 08:30 AM
 
3,083 posts, read 1,556,029 times
Reputation: 8180
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
again , it depends . our financial planner sponsors all kinds of seminars with food , nothing lavish , just to get more people familiar with who he is and what he does . i recommend him highly .

this is just how many industries market because not everyone heard of them nor knows what they do or why they may even be of use to them .

you can't generalize at all
Given the nature of the FA relationship, these presentations are often the best way for the advisor to showcase their knowledge, personality, listening skills, responses to questions, etc. In other words try to establish trust.
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Old 12-09-2018, 08:34 AM
 
105,919 posts, read 107,880,197 times
Reputation: 79508
exactly --this is why most of these comments are ridiculous about products selling themselves .

you need to market and sell yourself first to as many customers as you can before you can sell them a thing or perform a service . it ain't easy to do when you hang up a sign on your door and few know who you are or what you can do for them .

our attorney writes as many articles as he can for publications as well as do so many seminars . his business thrives and grows on networking that way ..

my son , who is a corporate labor attorney does as many golf outings as he can fit . they do presentations of all sorts at fortune 500 companies so they can attract clients and show what their capabilities are . they are one of the top labor law firms in the country with 900 attorneys and this is how they go to market
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