Seminars have long been a way for financial advisors to deepen client relationships and grow their business. But the logistics behind them can be grinding and time-consuming. 

White Glove is in the business to change that.

The Birmingham, Mich.-based company offers a seminar planning program designed to coordinate educational seminars for financial advisors.

Created by advisors Dean Thurman and his cousin Mike Thurman, White Glove plans and coordinates seminars for advisors. It does all the back-end planning for the seminars. It books the venues, markets the events, provides training to advisors beforehand and registers and confirms attendees. All the advisors have to do is tell the company which topic they would like to cover at the seminar and show up to present it.

The topics covered at these seminars are retirement planning, retirement tax strategies, maximizing Social Security, personal finance and real estate opportunities. Thurman pointed out that while the company’s main focus is financial advisors, it also works with professionals such as realtors and attorneys.

The company works with more than 1,000 advisors across the U.S. and Canada.

“All the advisors have to do is pick the topics they want and show up and give the presentation,” said Mike Thurman. “We take all the financial risks.”

Putting together an event can cost between $5,000 and $15,000, he said. He pointed to the often cold and snowy weather in Michigan, saying there have been times when people did not show up because of bad weather. He explained that advisors only pay for those attendees who show up.

Thurman said that White Glove guarantees the success of each event. “If the [advisors] don’t attract a client within 120 days, we will give them another event for free,” he said, adding that the clients are the most important part of the seminars.

“What’s really important are the end users of our [service], the actual attendees learning about retirement, tax, Social Security etc.,” he said. “We get feedback to make sure they are doing good.”

The company, Thurman said, has had steady growth since its inception in September 2015. Back then, the Thurmans had one employee and the seminars averaged roughly 100 a month in 2016. Today, the company has grown to 130 employees and averages 650 seminars a month.

The Thurmans still operate their financial planning practice, but they have taken a step back to focus on White Glove. Their financial practice is InvestWise Financial in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

To boost its profile, White Glove has formed a syndicate with a handful of financial experts and companies including IRA guru Ed Slott. Earlier this month, they footed the bill for Slott’s workshop in Michigan.

They also work with Frank Maselli, a trainer and personal coach in the financial industry, on presentation skills so that advisors can become better at leading their seminars. Bill Good, a marketer for financial advisors, helps with practice management.

Another key component of White Glove is its Social Connect platform where the company takes handpicked news articles and user reading habits to create meaningful digital touch points for advisors’ clients and prospects through social media and e-mail. "We refer to Social Connect as client and prospect nurturing with a brain,'' Thurman said.

Added Thurman, “This is a great way to generate referrals clients. … We want to be thought of as a one-stop for financial advisors, to help them become elevated in their profession.”