Every so often, Scott Sanders and his business partner, Jesse Coffee, meet with people in the community to inform them about retirement issues and equip them with the knowledge that will help them make better decisions.
And no, there are no free dinners, and they are not running seminars.
“We don’t like the word seminar because we think there is a negative connotation with it,” Sanders said. “So we avoid that like a plague.”
Sanders, co-founder and senior wealth advisor of Sanders Coffee Group in Eugene, Ore., said they prefer to think of the gatherings as educational workshops. “They are educational classes and that’s the way we approach it. It’s purely educational,” he said. The team is a part of the True Private Wealth Advisors network.
Sanders said when he first entered the industry more than two decades ago, a lot of advisors were holding community seminars, and he followed suit 14 years ago. But that was short lived, he said. “I think there’s some concern from people feeling that it’s kind of like going to a timeshare event or that they are going to get pressured to buy something,” he said. “So I think people are a little hesitant just for that reason.”
Sanders said he dropped the dinners several years ago. He said removing the dinner piece made it more comfortable and accessible for the general population. “Making it purely educational is something we felt would have a broader appeal,” he said.
And that’s just one of the best practices he and Coffee, co-founder of the practice and wealth advisor, have adhered to. “Our goal when we do a class is to just inform to make better decisions,” he said. “We can’t teach everyone to be a CFP, but we can give them a baseline of information that helps them not only to make better decisions for themselves but even better decisions when looking to hire financial professionals to help them.".
Sanders said they cover the gamut of topics “in an objective way.” Those topics include fees, costs, conflicts of interest and standard of care. “And even though we are not big believers in annuities, I’ll do one once in a great while. But we still present them in an objective way."
Sanders said their approach to presenting is key, explaining that the information is presented in a logical and easy-to-read format. “The way we like to think about it is that it’s digestible, bite-sized,” he said. “It’s a deliberate process that allows the consumer to follow along and connect the dots and apply it to their own situation.”
The partners have held classes at libraries, but the last couple of years the classes have been done through a partnership with the community colleges, whereby the colleges charge between $50 and $100, though Sanders said he and Coffee are encouraging them to charge more. He said the higher price from a marketing standpoint would be better for their practice. “The people that would be a good fit for our practice, paying $50 to $100, when it comes to their retirement is not an issue,” he said. He further noted that the fee emphasizes its value and quality, and it also weeds out all the people who just come for the free dinners.