CRES Committee Hosts Best Practices Roundtable

On Oct. 27, 28 and 29, the Certified Retirement Education Specialist (CRES) Committee held an inaugural series of roundtables on the different challenges arising for the K-12 403(b) marketplace and school community. They examined how successful advisors get their brands out there while access to school campuses is even more restricted due to COVID-19.

Each of these three events was hosted by two committee members and participants included numerous NTSA Elite Advisors. Ideas flowed fast and furious and participants brainstormed best practices and shared success stories of adapting to these challenging times. 

Highlights of the ideas that came out of these three prolific sessions included the following:

Embrace the New Normal. Advisors may want to adapt their business model to accommodate for virtual engagements. For instance, one can become fluent in doing business digitally, i.e. using 3rd party scheduling applications; e-signing documents and applications; becoming fluent in how to run effective webinar meetings; and marketing digitally via social media.

Community Connection. Partner with local (or national) performers to provide virtual entertainment shows for their client base. This can be accomplished by making donations to the local theatre troupe, or by paying musicians/magicians/entertainers to produce a virtual show.

Add Value to Zoom Meetings. Send gift certificate codes for food delivery services; offer incentives for attendees who bring a friend to a group Zoom presentation; partner with other vendors or wholesalers to cost-share with initiatives

A caveat: don’t forget to get compliance approval when needed if implementing these ideas.

For more excellent ideas and practice value adds, become a CRES Advisor! All of the best ideas that were shared during the CRES Roundtables are available to CRES advisors through the Advisor Toolkit.  along with many more pieces critical to your success. 

Keep your eyes open for more great roundtables and practice-building ideas from the NTSA CRES Committee.