Sask. financial planning company doesn’t think society will go back to a time when ‘everyone travelled for everything’
You shouldn’t let a good disaster go to waste, jokes Don Tofin.
“With a good disaster there are always opportunities,” said Tofin, managing partner of The Retiring Farmer.
When COVID-19 halted its in-person farm retirement and succession planning presentations and seminars, the Saskatchewan company moved online and gained followers from across Canada.
Clients were happy to participate from the comfort of their home and not drive through a blizzard to a drafty hall to learn about succession planning.
“As a whole, it certainly is a wonderful change, it is easier and a lot less costly. It has worked out really well,” said Tofin of Saskatoon.
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“That is the world we are in now and I don’t think we will ever go back to the days when everyone travelled for everything.”
When the pandemic forced businesses to stop meeting in public, Tofin and his staff also had to stop their farm retirement seminars. It was their younger staff who suggested launching a series of webinars, he said.
The combination of new technology, the growth of online meeting platforms, better high-speed internet and a willingness of people to attend online meetings created the perfect scenario for switching to on-line teaching.
“It is a different environment. It is actually a lot easier for us. We don’t have to drive and the time commitment is significantly reduced.”
Throughout winter, The Retiring Farmer held 25 weekly retirement and succession seminars on a variety of topics including capital gains, taxation, wills, life insurance and investments.
Hoping for 20 to 25 people to log in, often more than 250 people from across Canada attended the two-hour sessions.
Farmer Elaine Herperger said the webinars made it easy for her and her husband, Ron, to attend.
“We certainly enjoyed it. Between COVID and technology enabling it, it is an opportunity to try something new. You don’t have an hour drive each way, or two hours depending on what centre it is in. We really found that handy to have it in the convenience of our office,” said Herperger of Atwater, Sask.
“It was clear, you could ask questions or post your question. It was quite user friendly,” she said.
Instead of driving the 45 minutes to Yorkton, her closest large town, or greater distances, the couple took part in the webinar from their home office.
“I just scheduled it. It took less of our time. Not to travel is a real plus because we find winter time is the time for those meetings.”
A few years into their succession plan, Herperger said they chose the webinars that were applicable to their stage of succession planning. They are planning to sign up for the series again this winter.
Having a good computer and high-speed internet is key to user success, she said.
Patti Durand, business adviser-transition with Farm Credit Canada, said many good things came out of COVID, including the rapid advance in technology for video meetings and video engagement.
Before COVID, Durand was on the road 20 hours a month meeting clients in halls and homes often driving through poor weather for meetings.
For Durand, the face-to-face interaction was important to read body language and pick up the small nuances, but the switch to online has been well-received.
Ten years ago, The Retiring Farmer developed an online course where farmers would sit down and read through material on the computer. There was a lot of interest, but it wasn’t successful.
“People are much more willing to attend a webinar when they can sit back and listen as opposed to reading for an hour. The in-person webinars allow for that interaction,” said Tofin.
“With our client base and from feedback, I don’t think there are too many that would travel to a live seminar. I am hesitant to say we would be doing any live seminars in the future. The majority of people prefer webinars and don’t want to attend in person.”
