I have been to many funerals and many 401(k) enrollment meetings and I have to say that most funerals are livelier than 401(k) enrollment meetings.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

When I started my own practice and wrote my articles free of my old law firm’s marketing department, besides the typos, I was able to interject humor and movie references that allowed my articles to be widely read and distributed. I took something that is ERISAese and wrote it in a way that has been entertaining at times. The same can be done with 401(k) enrollment meetings.

Advisors who work these enrollment meetings can liven it up by lowering the language to a level that most plan participants can understand and when I say lower the language, I’m not talking about cursing. I’m talking about using a language that most non-financial professionals can understand. It’s all about connecting with the audience and better connected audience at an enrollment meeting will get more 401(k) deferrals and more assets under management as a financial advisor.

A financial advisor should run a trivia contest or a raffle and use a $25 gift card to a store or restaurant as bait to entice attendance and participation. Anything that can get more involvement by plan participants to get engaged at these meetings will help a plan sponsor limit their liability and get financial advisors more assets under management. It’s a win-win and more livelier than a funeral.