Over the past nine months, downsizing has become a reality in many communities – a recent survey indicated that 60% of Canadians are concerned about someone in their household losing their job.

My column in the August issue of Investment Executive profiles some advisors who used a variety of strategies to target people who have lost their jobs or who are concerned that their jobs are at risk.

Some of these strategies:

• Running an advertising campaign as the "pension specialists"
• Offering employment lawyers and corporate transition consultants a one hour workshop on key financial tips for anyone who has been downsized
• Getting word out about a bulletin on tax deferral strategies for severance packages
• Developing a comprehensive information package for anyone who is being let go – a Montreal based firm who did this obtained national media coverage

Of particular interest was an approach used by an advisor to position herself as the go-to resource for employees of the largest corporate employer in her mid-sized community. Her strategy was simple: When there was a layoff announcement, she immediately worked with a local lawyer and accountant to offer a series of luncheon and after work seminars at a hotel across the street from the company's offices.

Some of the tools on today's site to help tackle the corporate downsizing opportunity:

Essential information:

Just reaching out to people who have been laid off isn't enough – you have to know what you're talking about. To listen to a short interview on how to ramp up your knowledge on issues facing people who have been laid off, click here :

http://www.strategicimperatives.ca/blog/wp-content/themes/richards/files/SNAPSHOTS-AUG5.mp3

Video:

To view a video in which I describe the strategy used by the advisor who ran the seminar series in more detail, click here:http://tv.investmentexecutive.com/video-7946-How-to-use-corporate-downsizing-to-prospect-clients

Audio interview:

To listen to an audio interview on this subject on Globeadvisor, click on www.globeadvisor.com

Full article:

To read the complete article from Investment Executive:

http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?IdPub=182&Id=50294&cat=30&IdSection=30&PageMem=&nbNews=