At a recent workshop, one of the participants asked me what kinds of prospecting events worked best these days.My answer was not what he expected: The best prospecting event is not a prospecting event at all, but rather a client event to which prospects are invited.

The reason stems from the fundamentally different dynamics of events targeted to prospects versus those which focus on existing clients.

No matter what you do, people come into a workshop targeting prospects with their defences up, prepared to be sold. Workshops targeted to existing clients have an entirely different feel - not only don't clients feel threatened, but the familiarity and your established relationships mean that they are more casual and there's much more give and take.

Take one successful Toronto advisor, who manages over $500 million for less than 100 families. A couple of years back he hosted a half-day session at the Four Seasons for his clients, starting with breakfast and going through lunch. He had talks from an economist, money manager and insurance specialist and then wrapped up with his take on the market. His high end clients lead busy lives and are normally tough to get out; despite that he had about 40 attendees - the bulk of them were clients, but interspersed were a number of prospects who he'd been talking to for some time, as well as a couple of referral sources who attended with one or two of their clients.

Here's another example of how this might work. About eighteen months ago, I helped one successful advisor plan a series of monthly workshops for his clients.

In January of each of the past two years, clients have received an invitation to an evening event at a local country club - last year the speaker was a senior member of his firm's management team, this year the event featured an outside money manager with whom this advisor works. He has attracted about 80 clients and prospects each of the past two years . To keep costs down, he invites about six couples to dinner with the guest beforehand, while for everyone else the event starts with coffee and dessert.

In April, June and October, his clients receive an invitation to a sandwich luncheon workshop with one of two accountants or a local lawyer he works with. For the lunches with accountants the topic is tax saving strategies while the session with the lawyer focuses on estate planning. The advisor shares the time in these sessions roughly equally with the accountant or lawyer, with each of them targeting to get about 20 top clients or prospects out.

Finally, the other eight months of the year, clients are invited to a sandwich luncheon session in his boardroom to talk about an update on market events, with the goal of getting 12 to 15 clients and prospects out.

There have been three benefits to these workshops.

1. He has had excellent feedback and has found he's been able to get in front of key clients who he would otherwise struggle to see as frequently as he'd like.

2. He's had good success turning these into prospecting events - his goal is to have about three quarters of attendees clients and one quarter prospects. He gets prospects out in two ways - first he invites prospects he knows through the Rotary Club or his alumni association and second, when clients confirm their attendance he asks them if they know anyone they'd like to invite along. Typically, one in ten clients in attendance bring along a friend.

3. Lastly, the joint workshops with accountants and lawyers have led to some new clients as well. In some cases, the clients invited by one of those partners have approached him about working together (and the reverse has happened as well, as his clients end up working with the accountant or lawyer who co presents at the luncheon). In addition, he has seen a pick up in referrals from the accountants and lawyer with whom he runs these luncheons, as their relationship has deepened.

The bottom line: These days, the best prospecting activity doesn't entail pricey brochures or expensive advertising or telemarketers. Rather, it's leveraging the things you're doing for existing clients to give prospects a sense of what working with you would be like. You don't have to do ambitious mornings at the Four Seasons or monthly sessions at a private club - quarterly sandwich luncheons in your boardroom for your clients can help move prospects along.

As you begin planning your client communications plan for the fall, think about whether you can use client activity to advance your case with prospects.