The Power of Hosting Events

Spectrum Investment Advisors values visual presentation and experience. So, when company President James Marshall committed to erecting a new, $2 million building five years ago, in Mequon, Wisconsin, it was outfitted with an engaging meeting space, where plan sponsors and participants could come attend seminars, gain insight into the firm’s workings—not to mention, drink a little coffee.

The inspiration for this marketing model was sparked in 1993, Marshall says, when Spectrum hosted its first golf outing at Trappers Turn Golf Club in Wisconsin Dells.

Then, in 2005, a customer suggestion added further inspiration. The customer was the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants (WICPA), and Spectrum had advised its retirement plan since 1988. “It like[d] our patented Spectrum Investor Communication Process,” Marshall says. “We use color-coded communication materials to educate participants about how to select and monitor investment options. In 2005, [the CPAs] came to us and said we were so good at educating people about investing, we should be hosting a seminar.”

That educational seminar is now held every year, in the Greater Milwaukee Area, the third week of June; it averages 240 attendees, primarily plan sponsors and prospects. Last year, Fred Reisch of Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP spoke. “He told us, ‘I only know of four or five advisers in the country who could hold a seminar and attract this many people,’” Marshall recalls.

The seminar always features an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) attorney, an economist and a motivational speaker—a recent one being decorated U.S. military veteran Keni Thomas, who fought the “Black Hawk Down” battle in Somalia and authored the book, “Get It On!: What it Means to Lead the Way.”

“I would say we’ve gotten one-third of our business from these seminars,” Marshall says. “What it does for us is attract new customers and solidify the customers we have. They see that we go out of the way to educate our clients.”

Another Good Suggestion

Still, aware that there were 22 retirement plan adviser specialists within a 20-mile radius of his company, Marshall felt he needed to do something more to make it stand out. After reading “Clued In: How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again” by Lewis Carbone, Marshall says he was struck by Carbone’s comparison of Howard Johnson’s, Marriott and Walt Disney. “Howard Johnson’s mantra was, ‘Cut costs, cut costs, cut costs,’—and they cut themselves out of the business. Marriott and Disney World are all about experience,” he observes.

He decided to expand on the success of the educational seminars and golf outings and build a new, 12,500-square-foot office building—complete with a coffeehouse, which another customer had suggested. This, Spectrum uses as a meeting space. “With the push of a button, blinds come down along with two screens and a drop-down projector—and it turns into a theater,” he says. “It’s one of the best ideas we have ever implemented. If any adviser is thinking about building a new building, build a coffeehouse.”

Marshall says the economics of constructing a new building made sense. When he asked a real estate agent to project how much rent he would be paying in 10 years for his then-current location, he was told $100,000 annually.

So, Marshall bought land to start afresh. “We are in Ozaukee County, the 30th wealthiest county in the country, on the busiest road in the county, where 22,000 cars pass every day,” he says. “You want to be where the action is. Other advisers might build in an industrial park. You need to build on a major thoroughfare. The new building underscores our brand and serves as an advertisement. It has also enabled us to attract some of the best talent in the area.”

Additionally, Marshall credits the new building and coffeehouse with Spectrum’s stellar growth. “I founded this company 22 years ago, and it took us 18 years from that point to get to $700 million in assets,” he says. “We built the new building five years ago, and, since then, assets have grown to $2.2 billion. We have tripled assets and revenue and about doubled the number of employees to 24.”

Making It Visual

Knowing that customers and prospects would frequent Spectrum’s offices, and leveraging the company’s illustrative approach to investing, Marshall was keen to add elements that were visually striking. “We close 90% of prospects after they have come into our office,” he notes. “When they see our building, they see our commitment to our industry.”

Therefore, in the reception area, visitors see a large photograph of the 157 attendees at a recent Spectrum golf outing. “We are precluded from doing testimonials in our business, but there’s nothing wrong with showing 157 smiling faces,” Marshall says.

In the conference room, Spectrum has a timeline with highlights of its business. “I’m convinced that in the art of selling, people take in information with their brain, but their decisions are made with their heart,” he says. “What I like about this timeline wall is, it’s the story of our company.”

For example, the timeline shows that, in 2013, Spectrum sent its first adviser to the leadership conference that Don Trone, founder and CEO of 3ethos, holds each year at the U.S. Military Academy. Since then, Spectrum has sent six more advisers to the conference. “The cadet code is, ‘I will not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate anyone who does,’” Marshall says. “I think that is really important in our industry.”

Moreover, the timeline indicates that Spectrum has developed a succession plan by bringing in six partners. Marshall and his son, Jonathan, own 86% of the company, and the partners own the remaining 14%, he says. “Not only has this created a succession plan, but it has raised the quality of the other people we have been able to attract, especially on the sales side, because when they know they are working with a partner, it makes a difference,” Marshall says.

The Spectrum office also features a map wall, showing that the firm serves 135 clients in 35 states. And visitors also can see the area where six part-time retirement coaches handle calls from 401(k) participants and schedule on-site, one-on-one meetings with them. “One is a retired CPA, another a retired guidance counselor,” Marshall says. “They are fabulous coaches. We look for people who don’t need to work but have a passion to help people. Most of them are self-made, worth $1 million to $2 million. One of the problems this industry has faced is providing education and still being profitable. We have found these part-time retirement coaches work.”

Capitalize on Novelty

As to the coffeehouse, Spectrum hosts three educational sessions there each year. In January, meetings discuss the market; May meetings cover important aspects of retirement, such as Social Security, long-term care and Medicare supplements, Marshall says. In October, Spectrum hosts motivational speakers, who have included a Navy SEAL, a U.S. Ranger and a nutritionist. Two sessions are held each day, for a combined 80 attendees. Spectrum broadcasts the sessions by WebEx and summarizes them in a quarterly newsletter it sends to all its clients.

The coffeehouse venue has been overwhelmingly popular, and Marshall attributes this to its novelty. “It makes our company different,” he says. “No matter what business you’re in, you need to differentiate yourself from the masses. We provide an experience to the customer, and this gives us a durable competitive advantage.”

The new building has been such a success that Spectrum is investing another $1 million to add a second story. This will house, potentially, another 20 employees and accommodate a second coffeehouse where presentations on the first floor can be projected simultaneously.

As Marshall puts it, “The bottom line is, ‘If you build it, they will come.’”

Art by Andrea D’Aquino