When financial advisors speak to participants at plan sponsors’companies, they are seen as instant “experts,” the go-to person forall the participants’ 401(k) and investment needs.

However, many financial advisors do not realize their potential,and they don’t make the most of their meetings with planparticipants. For every dollar made on 401(k)s, there are sevenmore on the table that can be picked up from plan participants. Alladvisors have to do is to provide their audiences with theEdu-tainment Experience. ™ This process engages potentialindividual clients, giving them both the knowledge and theopportunity to begin an advisor-participant relationship with thefinancial advisor.

The 401(k) education process has become a rigid and lengthypresentation of charts, graphs and statistics accompanied by anenrollment kit with even more numbers and charts. This can leaveparticipants feeling frustrated, anxious and hesitant to makedecisions. Creating interactive presentations is the first step inalleviating the fatigue that participants feel at the end of anenrollment meeting.

To encourage the participants to listen, financial advisorsshould: know the audience well, keep the message direct andstraightforward, and entertain, in addition to enroll and educate.The attention span of society has been condensed into 30-secondclips. Well-regarded 401(k) plan advisors know how to hold theattention of their participants, which begins with a well-definededucation process.

Step 1:Preparation

Financial advisors should schedule meetings or conversationswith the plan sponsors or human resources managers to obtaindetails about the plans in order to customize their presentationsto the needs of the audience. In new plans, this process can bestraightforward. Employees will need help understanding the taxadvantages and features of their plan, in addition to blackoutperiods (if appropriate), as well as help encouraging employeeparticipation.

In existing plans, this process can be slightly more involved.Questions for the plan sponsors should include the participationrate, average deferral rate, asset diversity, etc. Financialadvisors should also ask if the company is interested in makingchanges to its plan. With this overview, financial advisors cannarrow their focus to the key issues that affect the plan and itsparticipants.

Step 2: Understand the participantviewpoint

The next step is in considering the plan from the participant’sperspective. This allows financial advisors to fine-tune thepresentation even more.

Type questions for the plan sponsor includes: What kind ofcompany is this and what kind of employees does it have? Is thepresentation for salaried, as well as hourly wage employees? Willthe audience be highly educated and technical or will the majorityof the audience be lower-income employees? These are all importantquestions, which help evaluate the points, which the financialadvisors should emphasize and which others can be left brieflymentioned.

Step 3: Establish what's next

The third step involves assessing what actions need to be takenin order to move employees forward in their participation andunderstanding of the plan. This includes: increase participationrates, increase deferral rates, impact investment diversification,discuss rebalancing and plan changes, etc. Depending on thebackground of the audience, some of these issues will need to bediscussed more in depth than others.

Step 4: 'Wow' them

The fourth step involves targeting the largest segment of theaudience in order to capture the most attention. Why bore currentparticipants with the tax advantages that they are alreadyreceiving? Why explain growth and value strategies if the audienceis primarily newly eligible employees? Financial advisors will wantto keep their information focused on their overall message, becauseoptimal learning occurs when appropriate information is given insmall segments.

Edu-tainment™ moves away from the college lecture and towards aninteractive process delivered with flair. Financial advisors shouldbe resourceful when creating their presentations. The job offinancial advisors is to wow the employees while offering themsomething new and different. Some ideas include playing music,decorating the room and making casual conversation with theemployees before the presentation. This will draw the audience intothe presentation from the beginning. Make the presentationapplicable and relevant, but also fun and memorable.

Step 5: Make yourself memorable

The final step is in reaping the rewards from the due diligence.Continue to meet with employees on a quarterly, semi-annual orannual basis and address their financial problems and providesolutions. Financial advisors should clarify their objectives withthe plan sponsor and encourage continued measurement.

Research has shown that 401(k) education is most beneficial ifdone on-site. However, education meetings are not enough.Understanding the audience and being creative will not only givefinancial advisors a head-start for enrollment, but it can alsogive them an edge over the competition. When looking for afinancial advisor, plan participants will certainly remember theperson who played their favorite song or who finally made sense outof their 401(k). By making enrollment meetings fun, in addition toeducational, financial advisors can increase their revenues byobtaining additional clients from among the plans’participants.