Business Innovators Radio - Kim Magdalein w/Magdalein Financial-How Social Security Planners of America Helps Advisors Get Clients With Seminars

Episode Date: November 28, 2023

Kim Magdalein entered the insurance industry in 1985. Opening a private practice in 2001, Kim marketed to retirees by means of seminars. He presented to over 800 audiences in the next seven years, producing $150,000,000 in annuity premiums. Kim left his practice to his two sons in 2008, continuing with a seminar marketing company, that he still owns producing over 17,000 seminars across the nation for financial advisors.Learn More: https://www.seminarsforless.com/Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/kim-magdalein-w-magdalein-financial-how-social-security-planners-of-america-helps-advisors-get-clients-with-seminars

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of Influential Entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have with us Kim Magdalene, who's the president of Magdalene Financial, and we'll be talking about how Social Security Planners of America has. helps advisors get clients with seminars. Kim, welcome to the program. Well, thanks, Mike. I'm glad to be here.

Hey, so I'm all excited about hearing what you have been doing with seminars and getting clients, but get us started first with a little bit of your story and background and how you got into the industry. Oh, sure. Way back when, when I was a kid at about 17 years old, I started in the printing industry and stayed there for about 15 years in 1985. I started my career in the insurance business. And going on from there, building, excuse me, my voice is cracking, building through that into that insurance industry all the way up until 2000, I built a work through corporate. And then they actually had to want to leave town. So they were going to take the company to North Carolina. And I didn't want to go to North Carolina.

all my family was here. So I started a practice in 2002 and built that practice on it from there, about seven years with a partner, a fellow named Eric Stratton and my son. So Eric sort of became a son too. I left that practice with them in 2008. And then we had built also a marketing company called Seminars for Less simultaneously. So I kept the seminar marketing company and they kept the financial planning firm. And that's where I am today.

Neat. So I know that any time you start working with financial advisors and saying, we can help you get clients, there is a whole litany of options, you know, this kind of digital marketing and seminars and virtual seminars and in-person and dinner. So what was it that made you think that you wanted to focus on getting clients with seminars? That's the way we were getting our clients. So in fact, I was doing so many seminars. We decided to research what we could do to save money.

I was doing 150 presentations a year, 75 mailings a year. And they were costing what I thought was at least $1,000 too much. So I felt like we were spending anywhere from around $75,000 or $80,000 a year too much for seminars. So my son did all the research. And I told them a lot about the printing industry and so forth. So we created seminars for less. Well, actually, we didn't. We were just doing it for ourselves.

And then we were going to summits because we were high producers. And people started asking us about seminars and, you know, where did we get them? And we said, well, we're doing them ourselves. And they said, well, can you do it for us? and, you know, light bulb came on. We said, well, sure, you know. So we built seminars for less around that. And in the last 20 years.

That's how a lot of things happen. It's like we're just heads down working, working, getting things done. We're seeing results, seeing results. And then the word kind of gets out to people in the industry, you know, colleagues or whatnot, and they start going, ooh, how are you doing that? And then probably the thought never even crossed your mind the first time. You're like, oh, well, what we do is. And then all of a sudden it's again and again and again.

And then can you help us? So that's really neat because you had the proof of concept first. Right. Yeah. And we were running 20, 25 million of annuity premium with our seminars. So we knew we had the right formula. Yeah. And so we just, you know, passed it on to other people and taught them how to do the same thing.

Hmm. So I know. 18,000. I know. Yeah. That's, that's amazing. And you know, when you start thinking about, um, testing. And in marketing, so much of that is, well, let's try it this way, do an A-B test and see what work, take notes.

You've got the track record to fall back on and say, well, let me just tell you something. Let's not even go down this past because we've tried it before. And here's what is currently working. So having that big body of work is a huge plus. Right. I think so. So I think that when you hear zeroing in on seminars, there's a lot of ways to do that. So what did you find from your experience and then what's working now as the most effective ways to market seminars to prospective clients?

Well, some things never, never get worse, never get better, except through COVID, of course. Nobody was going to a seminar. But we're actually back at pre-COVID levels of seminar attendance. So we're back in the saddle the way we were a few years back. It's always been the same. There are two types of seminars that work really well. One, obviously, with a meal and another one without a meal. But there's something unique about producing a seminar without offering a meal,

and that is the use of Social Security. And we have found that that is the only viable, successful, consistent, and persistent way of getting people into a room is by connecting them with Social Security. That's without a matter. So one is connecting them with their stomach, and the other is connecting with a really relevant topic that they need to understand. Well, yeah, here are the key issues. With Social Security, they have to make a decision.

The consumer has to make a decision. They're under pressure. They have a time limit. It could be within months. It could be within a couple of years. but in any case, they're required to make a decision. They take the money now. They take the money later.

So there's a sense of urgency to that. Well, that helps us a great deal when we mail to the right demographics, the right age group and the right types of people. Then we know we're reaching the people when they have this pressure coming on them. So that's why the attendance comes and they're not interested. We're not using, and I'm going to use the word bait. We're not using a meal as bait for that because we don't have to. Now, on the flip side, if we are talking it just about taxes, because the Social Security side is not just Social Security, it's Social Security and taxes. But if we are flipping it over and we're leading with taxes, then there's no sense of urgency in discussing taxation. So that requires a meal. And the meal becomes the bait, so to speak. And that's how we lure them into the meeting so that they can hear what we have to say. Now, even though both of those are great bait and benefits, what are some of the specific tactics that you're finding?

You mentioned mail, so obviously physical mail. Are you doing other things? Are you doing mail plus email plus something else? What does that look like to get people in? We went through a significant amount of effort to ramp up digital through, especially actually, actually, before COVID and especially during COVID. And our research, in fact, we did some seminars prior to COVID. We did several hundred of them that was a combination of digital and mail.

We discovered that digital actually got more response for the same dollar. We were splitting $5,000, $5,200. We spent $2,600 on digital. We spent $2,600 on mail. And it came out to where. digital got the bigger response, but mail got the better response. So quality was better with mail and the show rate was better with mail. Digital, the show rate fell off dramatically. So we just said, well, if we're going to spend $2,600 more or if our clients do, those are the

advisors, then maybe they'd be wiser just to double up on the mail. So we dropped the whole digital thing. And we spent here at Seminars for Less, or we spent a couple hundred thousand dollars trying to figure this out. So you didn't drop it too soon. You really tested it well. Oh, yeah. We tested it heavily. Now, there are those who are making it work. And, you know, I don't want to bash that. You know, anything will work if you work at hard enough. But I don't see the point with us being involved in that when we know what we're doing actually does work. Why, you know, why make it any different?

So, yeah, we're staying with mail. We feel like it's the better choice. Yep. So that gets the attention. That gets them to register and show up at a better rate per your research. Now, once they get there, you've got to have a solid presentation. So how do you make your seminar stand out from other seminars in the industry? Well, we add something that virtually nobody else is doing and actually just totally, actual, in reality.

nobody else is doing. We're adding taxation, but we're doing it uniquely. We are doing it dollar for dollar. We have a great agreement, a software that was produced by a fellow named Bruce Larson. In creating the software, he did it for his own purposes. He actually coded it himself and got some help from some other people. And he created that so he could get referrals from CPAs. Well, he discovered that it was also useful for seminars. So he called seminars for less a few years back and said, you know, can you do this for me? And we produced the seminars for him. And lo and behold, it worked really well.

So the tax strategy, getting into the minutia of how Social Security is affected by taxation and vice versa becomes a whole new strategy when you're talking about presenting in front of a group of clients. It also cuts down on the time. When you're using facts and figures and math, then you don't have to be a superb presenter. And most seminars of the past have been relied on how good a presenter a person could be. And it's just simply not necessary with this, because we are showing them empirical data that it just can't be. I mean, you can actually deliver it in a very monotone milk toast way and get a great response because they're looking at the numbers.

And they're going, well, what can I do with this? How can I make it better? So, yeah. Are you able to do that like maybe even right in the seminar to engage or captivate the audience where maybe you don't ask personal data, but you go, okay, hey, let's take some audience engagement. Give us a number. What is the number we want to start running and then maybe run the software right there? Is that some of the numbers that you're able to illustrate? We could actually do that.

You know, the presentation is about 20 minutes on Social Security because we want to give them a bird's eye view of that. And then we get right into the software and we give them a couple of examples. But we dive into some very serious points of interest during the presentation that really catches their attention to help them to make a decision to make an appointment. But part of the illustration on the screen is to literally sit with the laptop and show them a couple of samples of what people can do. And, of course, there are so many different variations that can happen as a result of, you know, the individuals that are sitting there. They're all different. Their situations are different. So it helps us to show them that we were able to custom design this in our.

office with them one-on-one using their information and their... Yeah, I was just thinking that they see the examples and go, ooh, that's a light bulb moment. And then it's like they're consciously thinking, I wonder what it would look like for me. So it stimulates that booking of the appointment to then in the office. Let's now run these numbers for you. And now remember what we showed you in the seminar. Now here's your numbers. I think that's a really key point.

Yeah. Well, you know, credibility is an issue. And, you know, you can only, I mean, as wonderful of the things that you do, and they are really great for advisors to, you know, to have a great image and understanding of who we are, at the same time, when we're in front of a group of people, you can't fool them. And when they're looking at you using software that gives them answers to questions that they didn't even know they had, then you become very credible in their eyes. So that's a big game changer when you can do that. Instead of just, you know, it's my word that I'm really good at what I do. You just need to trust me. Well, that's kind of weak, you know.

Yeah. Yeah, that's a great point because it's kind of like facts tell, but stories sell. So you've covered the point that you in your seminars pull out the facts. Let's show these cases and examples. and now their mind is really starting to turn. So now on some stories, can you think of a success story or a case study where you've worked with an advisor to help them get clients with seminars? Like maybe they were struggling with seminars before and they thought, I'm doing seminars.

But then you came in and you're able to, you know, work your system. What were some of their results that they received that they saw? I'll give you a quick example that I found kind of humorous. A fella called and said, I have a friend. in Connecticut, or somewhere up north, who's struggling making appointments at a seminar. He has plenty of people there, but he's not, he's not, he hasn't been making appointments. I said, well, when's his next seminar? He said, tonight at six o'clock.

And that was like three o'clock in the afternoon. Oh, no. I said, well, let me talk to him. So the guy calls me and he says, I said, tell me what you're doing to make appointments. And he did. I said, okay, do this. Don't do that anymore. Do this.

He said, you sure will work. I said, just trust me. just do this. I told him what to do. He called me at 9 o'clock that night. Now, he said, you know, before I talked to you, I swore I would never do a seminar again. I just was done with them. I was struggling with them. I just wasn't going to spend any money on them anymore. He said, but you just, your way of getting an appointment totally changed everything. I got, I got over a dozen appointments tonight and I was struggling to get two or three. So sometimes, you know, I think one of the things is,

um, sayings is small hinges, swing big doors. And sometimes it's just a little bit of an adjustment that makes all the difference in the world, but you have to know the adjustments. And I can tell you that, that most advisors that I talk to need adjustments.

They really do. And they could make a world of difference in the way everything happens for them. Yeah, you don't just help fill the room. You help fill the room and coach them through. making some of those adjustments. That's a that's a big piece. You got them almost to the the goal line. Now let's just get them over and book that appointment. And then at that point, let's make sure you have a good presentation and bring them on as a client. So it's those steps. I think that's a huge piece.

That's why I bet he was just thrilled beyond belief because now, hey, I'm doing the same work. And now I booked those 12 appointments versus three. Right. Well, Social Security Planners of America, which is what we've created here. The whole idea behind it is, for me not just to show them what to do with the seminar, but to coach them through the entire process. It's a coaching and mentoring program. I am no longer in production. I don't do production.

I am 100% a coach. And that means I'm accessible. And I think that makes an entire difference. I actually answer the phone when these advisors call me and say, what do I do? I spoke to one, in fact, a couple of hours ago who said he just walked out of a house where he closed a $400,000 annuity. And he was going to see another client on the way. And he said, I have a couple of tax questions.

And we chatted about the tax questions. And I told them what he could do. And he was literally in that person's driveway walking up saying, okay, got it. I'll call you back later. You know, that's different. That's on the spot pop up coaching right there. That's it.

And you know what? Sometimes all they need to do is they need to hear. what I'm about to do is good. It doesn't, they don't necessarily always have to be told and coached. They just need to be given some confidence. Confirmed. Yeah. They need to, look, they're walking into a place.

A $400,000 annuity typically is going to be about a $28,000 commission. That's a pretty significant issue. Yeah. You know, and when you're walking into somebody's house or you're about to and you're nervous and, you know, this is important to you and you want to get it right. then you want to have access to somebody who can, you know, give you that kind of support. I can't tell you that I'm going to be 100% all the, you know, right all the time. But I might be able to tell you, well, yeah, I wouldn't say that.

I'd, you know, just hang in there with this. And, you know, for this appointment, you know, we work, we work through those details, you know, not appointment by appointment, but generally coaching through most of what they're doing, including product selection, case design. all those things coming to play. You know, it reminds me of a, I love quotes and quotes come to mind. I keep a little, you know, ever note of all these neat quotes that I've come across over the years. And one jumped out of me from what you were saying.

Competence reads confidence. And when someone is competent and understands the product, understands what they should be saying, it's going to breed that confidence. And when you go in with confidence, the chances are in. increased that you're going to close that sale. Now, is it 100%? Probably not, but it's going to be better than what you, what you were doing before. So I think that's such a huge thing that you're providing is that competence, which will help them be more confident and accessibility. You know, if it's just send us an email and we'll get back to you, well, you can't, you know, have a call at three o'clock ahead of a six o'clock seminar or a call as you're driving over to the next appointment. So that's a, that's an amazing support that you're providing. Sure. I think it is. And it's totally unique in the industry. They have a producer who's produced someone who's produced 120 million or actually 150 million dollars worth of annuity premium who, you know, has been coerced out of retirement to help them out with this. And that's literally the way it is. I mean, I talked to Tyrone about, you know, he asked me if I wanted to, if I would do this with them. And I said, yeah, why not? I'm kind of, you know, I'm tired of. watching the grass grow so I can see when I can mow it again, you know. I'm not kidding you.

I literally did that. I sat in my lawn chair and I'm looking at the grass. Well, I can't mow it yet. I guess I'll mow it in a couple of days. Well, that's terrible, you know? Yeah. You've got a body of work that you, that you have built over the years. Let's keep it out and help other people to contribute to their success.

That's awesome. Sure. Sure. Why not? Why not? Well, Kim, it's, it's just amazing what you, what you've covered here. It's just great to kind of wrap the bow on helping advisors get clients using the unique approach to seminars. So if someone is interested in learning more as well as reaching out and connecting with you,

what's the best way they can do that? They can find me at Seminarsforless.com. They can find me by phone, of course. It's all there. They can email me there. They can make a phone call there. Seminars for less.com. Also, they can find me on LinkedIn.

It's under Kim Magdalene, spelled M-A-G, D-A-L-E-I-N. And, you know, I've got quite a few people there, quite a few followers through the years. And so, you know, at least I've got a good presence there. I'm easy to find. You can Google my name. Yep, awesome. I'm all over the internet as far as, you know,

My name is concerned. I'm easy to find. Excellent. Well, thank you so much for coming on. It's been a real pleasure talking with you today. It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders.

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