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My wife and I are both retired and have a financial planner with whom we are totally satisfied. We receive (by mail) almost weekly invitations to attend a retirement planning seminar/dinner at some upscale restaurant.
My question to you golden agers is whether you have attended such meetings. If so, what are they like? I would imagine you are required to listen to a spiel from the host company about how they will make you a millionaire if you sign up with them. Outside of this, how's the food? Order from the menu, event held in a private room, etc?
At the rate we are receiving these invitations, I think we could enjoy a nice steak dinner weekly. Your opinions and thoughts are welcome.
Food is OK. They can't make a sale feeding you Big Macs.
Limited menu to help the kitchen and to keep their costs down.
You can expect a presentation, for sure.
I expect some will try a hard close, but the couple I went too were quite civilized.
We have a good guy, and actually went to one of his dinners afterwards, at his encouragement. Just a nice evening with presentation and discussion.
I could eat well for free a few times a month but wouldn't lead a planner on when we are comfortable and have no interest in changing planners.
Last edited by MikeJaquish; 04-01-2024 at 02:29 PM..
We've done them a few times - both financial planners and estate/trust planners. I had not intention of hiring either, but I'm always interested in what's being sold in the market place.
We pretty much selected the presentations we attended based on the restaurant. Including one at the Pavilion at Angus Barn.
Never got a hard sell, but did get quite a few phone calls and emails after.
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It's really hard to enjoy a nice steak dinner knowing that you are going to be listening to a sales pitch. I prefer to just pay and select my own restaurant, those invitations go into the recycling bin outside, and don't even come into the house. We selected out financial advisors ourselves, after doing some research and have been very happy with them.
It's really hard to enjoy a nice steak dinner knowing that you are going to be listening to a sales pitch. I prefer to just pay and select my own restaurant, those invitations go into the recycling bin outside, and don't even come into the house. We selected out financial advisors ourselves, after doing some research and have been very happy with them.
It's not like it's a sleazy deal.
And, our planner said the dinners were very helpful building their practice. Reveal the human side a bit.
Having spent close to 30 years in sales, I don't find a pitch as stressful or worrisome as some do. Gotta eat dinner somewhere, sometime, almost every day, right? And, as mentioned, there was nearly no sales pitch in the presentation.
We had the timeshare steak knives for 15-20 years. Sorta regretted that one, but we were unscathed.
I work in the retirement industry and know that if each dinner yields at least 2-3 legitimate prospective clients, it pays for itself. If even one of those prospective clients converts into being a client, the meal is paid for many times over.
Essentially, it's narrowing down their selling cycle to a prequalified audience and that increases their odds of growing their practice. And while the meals are usually restricted to a subset of the restaurants fuller menu, it's still really good food.
If you haven't partaken, you should, at least once.
It's really hard to enjoy a nice steak dinner knowing that you are going to be listening to a sales pitch. I prefer to just pay and select my own restaurant, those invitations go into the recycling bin outside, and don't even come into the house. We selected out financial advisors ourselves, after doing some research and have been very happy with them.
All the corporate/client dinners I go to are sales pitchy as well (even if we are existing clients of them, their job is to sell us more services). Even a dinner out with my in-laws, I have to listen to my FIL bloviate , so I have the philosophy there is no free lunch.
We went to a few and I wouldn't go to another. I'd rather pay for my meal and not have to listen to a WW3 is coming and North Korea will attack us any day. The ones we attended were annuities, which I would never invest in. Lets face, these dinners cost a pretty penny and someone has to pay.
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, so I have the philosophy there is no free lunch.