Marketing and Promoting Your Own Seminars and Workshops
by
Fred Gleeck
Smashwords Edition
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Published by Fred Gleeck at Smashwords
Marketing and Promoting Your Own Seminars and Workshops
Copyright 2001 Fred Gleeck
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Fast Forward Press 1-800-FGLEECK (345-3325) www.seminarexpert.com
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Cover and text design Copyright TLC Graphics, www.TLCGraphics.com
Contents
1.1 Who’s this Gleeck Guy and Why Should I Listen to Him?
1.2 Who’s This Book For?
1.3 A Word of Caution
2.1 What’s Your Goal Doing These Events?
2.2 Seminar Business Pros and Cons
2.3 Difference Between Seminars and Bootcamps
2.4 Four Steps to Success in the Seminar Business
2.5 Your Database: Your Most Important Asset
2.6 The Single Most Important Formula in the Seminar Business
1 Developing Your Career in Seminars
3.1 Study Other Speakers
3.2 Watch Good Movies, Read Good Books
3.3 Enhance Your Image as an Expert
3.4 Keep Files of Stories, Quotations and Statistics
3.5 Cultivate Characteristics of a Great Speaker
3.6 Keep Improving Yourself Professionally
3.7 Develop and Exploit Your Own Style
3.8 Take Care of Your Voice
3.9 Ease Your Way in: Continuing Education Classes
3.10 Dealing With Unpaid Speaking Invitations
3.11 Know What You MUST Know About the Competition
2 Designing and Creating the Seminar
4.1 Setting Measurable Goals for Your Event
4.2 Selecting Your Topic
4.3 Titling Your Event
4.4 Structuring and Designing Your Seminar
4.5 Creating a Dynamite Opening and Closing
4.6 Preparing Handouts and Workbooks
4.7 Consider Offering a Bootcamp
5.1 Start With a Great Checklist
5.2 Scheduling Considerations
5.3 Picking a Location
5.4 Working with Hotels
5.5 What You MUST Know About Using Outside Speakers
5.6 Testing Your Seminar
4 Creating the Supporting Product Line
6.1 Why You Need Supporting Products
6.2 The Product Funnel
6.3 Make Your Products Specific
6.4 Overcoming Your Perfectionist Bent
6.5 Getting That Book Written
6.6 Creating Audios
6.7 Creating Videos
6.8 Publishing a Newsletter or eZine
6.9 Pricing Your Products
6.10 Packaging Your Products
6.11 Future Product Ideas
6.12 Should You Sell Other Peoples’ Products?
6.13 The Product Line’s Supporting Cast
5 Letting Them Know You Have a Seminar (Marketing 101)
7.1 Pricing Your Event to Maximize Revenue
7.2 Promoting the Seminar
7.3 Promoting a Bootcamp
7.4 Web Site Strategies
7.5 Why You Shouldn’t Use a Speakers Bureau
7.6 Marketing the In-House Seminar
6 Now That You Have Their Attention (Marketing 102)
8.1 Accepting Credit Cards
8.2 Toll-Free Number: Just Do It!
8.3 Answering the Phones
8.4 Setting Up and Using a Hotline
8.5 Getting Them to Sign Up
8.6 Giving Them “Comfort Information”
8.7 Some Frequently Asked Questions About Registration
7 Seducing the Undecided (Guerrilla Marketing Tactics)
9.1 The “Heart Attack” Seminar Registration Curve
9.2 Using Bonuses to Seduce More Buyers
9.3 Offer One-on-One Consultations as a Premium
9.4 Putting Customers on a Hot Seat They’ll Love!
9.5 Outside-the-Box Promotional Ideas
8 On Site: Getting Ready to Deliver the Goods
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Your Look
10.3 Psych Yourself Up
10.4 Be Physically Fit
10.5 Get to Your Room Early
10.6 Check Room Setup and Seating Arrangements
10.7 Use a Wireless Remote Microphone
10.8 Meet and Greet Your Attendees Before the Event
10.9 Checklist to Bring to Engagements and Events
9 From the Podium: Delivering the Seminar Goods
11.1 Starting the Seminar Right
11.2 Importance of Visual Aids
11.3 Keeping Their Attention
11.4 Dealing With People: The Good, The Bad, and the Annoying
11.5 Handling Questions
11.6 Record Everything You Do
11.7 Take Notes While Giving the Seminar
10 From the Podium: Making a Smooth Product Pitch
12.1 Transition from Presentation to Product Pitch
12.2 Timing of the Product Pitch
12.3 Making the Pitch Professional
11 Back of the Room: Getting Them to Buy Your Products
13.1 The Mental Side of Product Sales
13.2 11 Mistakes to Avoid
13.3 Working the Table
13.4 Some Selling Tips
13.5 Aids to Closing Sales
13.6 Creating More Sales Right Now
12 From the Podium: The End of the Seminar … and Beyond
14.1 Evaluations: A Must-Do
14.2 Creating Your Next Seminar Audience
14.3 After the Seminar
14.4 Assessing Success by the Numbers
13 Outside the Seminar: Year-Round Selling
15.1 Selling in the “Real” World (Offline)
15.2 Online Selling Techniques
14 Getting Them to Buy Your Consulting Services
16.1 Using the Seminar to Sell Your Consulting Services
16.2 Insider Secrets to Consulting Success
15 P.S. The Bottom Line (Do NOT Skip Here Immediately!)
17.1 Test small before you invest
17.2 Albert Einstein has E=MC2. Fred Gleeck has TR=SR+PS+CB
17.3 Create products and learn how to sell them
17.4 Mail to your in-house list regularly
17.5 Give people much more than you promised and you’ll be set
17.6 Finally, have a good time
17.7 Closing thoughts
Appendix A: The Million-Dollar Rolodex
Who’s this Gleeck Guy and Why Should I Listen to Him?
I only know how to do a few things really well in life. As a kid growing up in the Philippines I became the Junior Amateur Golf Champion. In college, I figured out a way to get really good grades. But when I got out into the “real world” after getting my Master’s degree in international business, I kept getting fired. Not just once or twice! I was fired from five major Fortune 500 companies. In a row!
There seemed to be unanimous agreement that I should be self-employed. Back in 1984, I saw a guy named Howard Shenson (one of my mentors, now deceased), give a seminar on starting your own consulting business. I watched him and thought, “Not only can I do that, I can do that better than he can.”
I had always wanted to get my degree in theatre. My parents told me they would pay for any amount of education I wanted to get, as long as it was in business. A more practical field, in my father’s opinion. It turned out to be good counsel.
After getting fired for the fifth time and having seen Howard do his seminar, I put two and two together. I would do seminars on business topics for a living. This would combine my theatrical passion with my academic background in business.
So, on a nice sunny day in Saddlebrook, New Jersey, in 1984, I launched my seminar career. I gave my first “open to the public” seminar.
The title of that seminar was “Starting and Building Your Own Consulting Business.” I gave this seminar never having done a day of consulting work in my life. I don’t recommend you follow my lead on this one!
I had, however, read close to 70 books on the topic. I’m not exaggerating! I then synopsized them and created a seminar of my own. I found out later that I had a talent for taking a lot of complex information and delivering it in an easy-to-understand and logical fashion. People will actually pay you for this talent, I’ve since discovered!
So I got up that Saturday morning, drove a rental car from my apartment in New York City to the Saddlebrook Marriott. There I gave my first seminar. I made just over $2,000 net profit. Not only did I enjoy the money, but I had a hell of a good time. I decided that this was the way I wanted to make my living.
So, that’s how this “story” starts.
If you want to, you can do the same. You can make a living doing seminars. And have a lot of fun in the process. Or you can do seminars to supplement your existing income.
The problem is this. You need a roadmap. I had a decent roadmap myself. In addition to his material on consulting, Howard Shenson also had developed a lot of information on doing your own seminars and workshops. I read them over and over again. I then looked for and discovered more information on the topic. I consumed everything I found!
I have now developed my own system for doing seminars. A system that works! It will work for you as well. But, I suggest that you carefully follow my instructions. I suggest you don’t try “improvising” until you’ve done it my way for a while. If you don’t follow this advice, you may lose a lot of money. The seminar game is a tricky one. Particularly if you’re new to the game.
I have never lost money on a seminar that I promoted. Not many people that I know in this business can say the same.
In this book, I’m going to share my system with you. Not part of the system! The whole system. That’s what you paid for and that’s what you’re going to get. I’m not going to hold anything back!
So fasten your seat belt and get out your highlighter! Here is where the fun begins.
Also, as a registered buyer of this book you’re entitled to receive a half-hour of my time over the phone. Please take advantage of this bonus. It is worth a minimum of $350. (Yes, I’m proud to say that I charge that much for my time.)
I suggest you use this time wisely. Read this entire book. Take notes as you go. Send me an email with all of your questions. I’ll set up a time for us to talk and get all of your questions answered. How’s that for fair?
Now … let’s get going!
Who’s This Book For?
I have only one objective with this book: to show you how to make a lot of money in the seminar business. If you’re averse to making money, this is not the book for you.
I love to make money. I hate to spend it. I’m frugal. Others might use the word cheap. Everything except for my sweaters. (I’ll tell you that story in a few pages.)
Many people have negative feelings about making money. They feel that you shouldn’t try to get rich. I completely disagree. Even if you’re out to “save the planet”, why not make a bunch of money and then give it away to one of your favorite charities or causes? Mother Teresa was interviewed near the end of her illustrious life of helping the lepers of India. “People think I’m a poor nun,” she said with a sly smile. “I’m actually running a multi-million dollar business. Helping people costs money!”
I read a book years ago by a guy named Jerry Gilies. He wrote a book called “Moneylove.” If you can, pick up a copy of it. He talks about the difference between prosperity and poverty consciousness. It’s out of print, but you might be able to find it at a used book store or on-line.
So if you’re looking for all of the touchy, feely stuff, you’ve knocked on the wrong door.
Don’t get me wrong, though. If you run your seminar business correctly you will behave in a highly ethical manner. Not only is that the right thing to do, it’s in your own financial best interest to do so.
At the end of the day, this book has been written to show you how to make money, and a lot of it.
A Word of Caution
Whatever you do, do not skip to Chapter 17 before you read the whole book. I know you’re tempted to do so, but resist the temptation! In that chapter, I summarize the most important points in this book and I don’t want you to read those before you’ve read the intervening tens of thousands of words.
Seriously.
What’s Your Goal Doing These Events?
Why are you interested in giving seminars and workshops? Before you can either get very good at giving them or make much money from them, you have to be clear about your goals. Different people come to this business with different objectives in mind. The important question isn’t so much what specific objective you have, but that you have a good reason for wanting to do something that is often as demanding as presenting and marketing seminars.
Here are some of the most common reasons people provide when asked whey they want to be in the seminar business:
Money. This is the number one reason people give seminars. And it’s the one I’m focused on, both in this book and in my career. If you want to change the world, I’m all for it. But recognize that it will take money to change the world. Go get some money, then use it to change the world! There are two kinds of money in seminars: direct (seminar fees) and indirect (product sales and consulting assignments).
Desire to Share Knowledge . Some people do seminars regardless of whether they make money or not because they have some knowledge or experience they feel a need to share. That’s a great and compelling motivation for doing seminars. But even people with this motivation can benefit from having a line of products backing up their seminar because not everyone learns the same way and not everyone can get to your seminars.
Fame . A few people see seminars as a way to become famous. I doubt that works very well. I think seminars are a part of a larger marketing plan that can, in totality, have the effect of making you famous. But fame doesn’t come to people who only give seminars. At least not that I know about!
Seminar Business Pros and Cons
As you can probably tell, I LOVE the seminar business. It happens to fit all of my requirements in terms of the type of job that I like. Here’s a list of the pros and cons about the seminar business.
Pros
It’s your own business
Unless you choose to do seminar work for another company or individual, it’s your business. You control it, you do what you want, you run it your way. For someone like me who doesn’t particularly like others telling me what to do, this is a necessity of any business in which I’d get involved having.
You can make lots of money
With the right topic that’s run correctly, the seminar business can be very lucrative. Many successful seminar promoters make millions of dollars a year. Others make a very good, high six figure income. If you’re good, you won’t have to worry about making big money.
You’re always learning new things
If you’re doing your homework in your field, you’ll always be learning new stuff. If you aren’t a continual learner, your seminar content will suffer.
You get to travel if you want
If you like to travel, you can rack up plenty of frequent flier miles. You can only give so many seminars in your own “home” market without reaching saturation. That means that you’ll have to take your show on the road.
I have logged over 2,000,000 miles with American Airlines since I started doing seminars. I now try and do a lot of seminars in Las Vegas and have people come to me instead. It’s a lot easier on my body not to have to travel continually.
You gain a lot of prestige
Like being an author, being a seminar leader will give you a lot of prestige. People look at seminar leaders like minor celebrities. If you’re a Tony Robbins or someone else who does infomercials you will be perceived as a demi-god by many adoring fans. If you like this adoration and praise, the seminar business will give it to you.
You meet interesting people
I have met some fascinating people in my travels through the seminar business. If you like people and are open to meeting them you’ll meet plenty. Many will be intensely interesting. This is one ancillary benefit that really appeals to me.
You position yourself as the expert in your topic
Other than writing books, giving seminars is the ultimate way to position yourself as the expert in your field. You’ll be very visible. Many people will see you. Potential clients will seek you out. You’ll get press coverage. You’ll be acknowledged as one of THE experts in your field.
You generate a lot of consulting work
My consulting model which I discuss in my book “Consulting Secrets to Triple Your Income” revolves around the concept of trading people up your funnel. Seminars are one very important element in your funnel system.
You get to be a ham
If you love getting up in front of people and having your own stage on which to perform, this is the business for you.
People to pay to be your prospects
If you charge for your seminars many people will show up, pay you money, buy your products and then turn around and hire you as a consultant. What a country! What a business. Consultants who spend their time running after potential clients are nuts. This is a much easier way.
You can record your seminars and get paid for them even when you’re not doing them
You can make money by recording your seminars and then selling people the audio or video version of the event. What can be better? You do it once and then you get paid over and over.
Cons
Travel gets tiring
Like I said earlier, I have done a LOT of travel. Frankly, I’m now sick of it. Travel can and does take a toll on your body. I would now to prefer to do all of my work in my home city. I would then only travel for vacations. Unfortunately, this is tough to do if you’re in the seminar business.
It can be an up and down business
If you’re looking for a business that provides you with security, this isn’t it. Money comes in very erratically. Some days you’re swimming in it and other days there’s nothing!
For this reason, it’s imperative you do two things. First, develop products to smooth our your revenue curve. Secondly, put your money away when it’s coming in.
It’s energy draining: it’s tough to do all the other stuff
If you do a seminar all day, you’ll be dead tired by 8 o’clock. Don’t think you can do this and something else the same day.
It can be very stressful
This is an understatement! There can be a lot of stress associated with this business. People not registering quickly, preparing all of the logistics, etc., etc.
Conclusion
To me, the pros vastly outweigh the cons. But, that’s how I feel. You need to review the above items and make the choice for yourself. Most people who get into the seminar business find they love it!
Difference Between Seminars and Bootcamps
Seminars and bootcamps are different. Seminars are fairly didactic. The speakers talk and the participants listen. A seminar is generally a one-way rather than a conversation. This is primarily due to time constraints. Most seminars are either one or two days.
Although some may use the term differently, my definition of a bootcamp is a multi-day “seminar” which is much more interactive. Bootcamps generally have multiple speakers and often use more group exercise discussions.
Bootcamps usually go longer each day. A seminar is a more corporate term and people tend to think of them pretty generically. It refers to an event that runs during normal business hours.
That is definitely not true for bootcamps. Many of the bootcamps I have given and attended have gone from 12 to 14 hours each day.
One of the appeals of a bootcamp from a marketing standpoint is the volume of information you can show people that you’ll be able to deliver. In fact, bootcamps are often a bit overwhelming for participants. Most people get pretty burned-out, regardless of the quality of the speakers, because of the sheer volume of information.
That doesn’t mean I don’t suggest you do them. If you do, though, you’ll need to run your bootcamps with breaks for meals and even exercise (for those who believe in the concept).
Also, bootcamps are much more apt to have “hot seats.” Seldom will you see hot seats used in the seminar business because there simply isn’t enough time. (I discuss the hot seat concept in Chapter 9.)
Four Steps to Success in the Seminar Business
There are 4 steps to success in the seminar business.
First, you have to promote the seminar and get people into the room. Next, you have to give a great seminar. Then you have to get people to spend money at the seminar itself in the form of products. Then you have to get them to come back to other seminars and events you have. Then you have to get them to buy more from you. Finally, you have to get them to use you as a consultant and to tell everyone else about you and your services.
Simple, right? Well, not really! But, if you follow my roadmap it’s possible. So keep reading!
Get people in the door
Getting people in the door is the job of marketing your seminar. No matter how great a seminar you’ve designed, it won’t make a difference if you can’t get people to walk through your doors and attend.
Give a Great Seminar
Once you get them to come through your doors you’ve got to exceed their expectations.
Get People to Buy Your Products
When people come to your seminars, you have to learn how to sell products from the platform. If you don’t like this, you’re in the wrong business. I’ll show you how to do it right.
After they leave your seminar, get them to come back to other seminars and buy other products
If people come to your event and are delighted, they will come back to other events that you do.
Get them to use you as a consultant
If you’re good at all of the above, they’ll use you as a consultant. It will take little if any marketing.
Your Database: Your Most Important Asset
One of my two or three biggest mistakes in the seminar business (early on) revolved around the issue of my database. For the first few years, I didn’t keep one. This was an incredibly stupid mistake on my part. Please don’t make the same mistake.
You need to create two databases. One should be a “regular” database (physical address) and the other should be an email database.
Not only do you need to capture the names and email addresses of your attendees, you need to mail to them on a regular basis. You also need to send them a physical “snail mail” piece a minimum of 4 times a year. If you don’t mail to your names that often, they will get stale. Their response rate of any offer you make will suffer.
For your email list you need to mail to them regularly as well. You want to make sure that your list is an “opt-in” list. This means that people have asked for you to put them on your list. They have OPTED to be on the list.
The most responsive list will always be your own IN-HOUSE list. These are names you have generated from attendees at your seminars or those who have come in through your Web site. Those people who come to one of your events or have opted in on your Web site will be highly likely to attend future events. If you’ve done a great job.
The funnels system starts by getting people who are potential buyers of your products and services to identify themselves. Once they identify themselves to you and give you their contact information, they are in your FUNNEL. You should then start mailing them a series of offers to get them to buy your initial low priced product.
The goal is to fill your funnel as quickly and as inexpensively as possible with people who are interested in the products and services you have to offer.
The lowest price products in your funnel may be under $10 reports. The next step up the price ladder might be a physical or an ebook at $27 or $37. More expensive items might include a newsletter subscription ($97) and an audio tape course ($197). A one day seminar might be priced at $297.
These prices are just examples. You may end up pricing them very differently in your own target market. The point is that you need to get people into your funnel. Once you capture their contact information (in your database) you want to get them to buy something from you.
Once they buy something from you, you want to trade them up to buy more and more products and services that you offer. Your database is the backbone of your funnel system.
If you’re speaking at someone else's event or giving a presentation to an association or corporation, make sure to get the list of attendees. I like to mail to the list immediately after the event. Send it quickly, while your name is still fresh in their minds.
Keep people on your database until they ask you to be removed. I used to hear people say: “keep them on until they buy or die.” I agree, but add . . . or until they ask to be removed. Never keep people on a list who don’t want to be on it. It’s a complete waste of your time.
The Single Most Important Formula in the Seminar Business
The most important formula in the seminar business is: TR = SR + PS + CB
Total Revenue equals Seminar Registration + Product Sales + Consulting Business
Two of these items can easily be tallied immediately after your event. The dollars that come in from consulting work that you generate may go on for years after you do a seminar. Nice!
Seminar registration is the total number of dollars you generate from people who attend your event.
Product sales are orders that come in at your event and at any point after the seminar from those who attended your event to begin with.
Consulting business comes in over a much longer period of time. It is also the item that can be your biggest revenue item. Not long ago someone attended a $297 seminar of mine. They then bought the $777 package at the seminar. They then called up two months later and asked how much it would be to consult with me for 3 hours every month.
Understanding this formula is the difference between profit and loss in many cases. The uninformed observer will often conclude that you’re not making any money when they show up at the hotel where you are giving seminars and count the number of people who come through your doors.
They are not computing the two additional factors that are so crucial to your long term success. The sale of products and the future consulting business that results. Registration dollars come in immediately. Product sales come in immediately for the most part. True, if you market correctly, orders for products should come in for the foreseeable future. Consulting business might come in forever.
Developing Your Career in Seminars
A career in seminars can be lucrative, enjoyable, helpful to others, and generally satisfying. But, like all careers and professions, public speaking and seminar presentation require that you develop your skills. Just starting with something you do well, building a seminar or workshop around it, and then resting on your laurels may work for a short period of time. But eventually you get knocked off your perch by someone willing to spend the time and money and energy to keep growing.
In this chapter, we’ll look at some of the on-going steps you should take to keep your skills as a seminar-giver and your knowledge of your subject area current and ahead of the competition.
Study Other Speakers
If you’re going to be in the seminar/speaking business you have to watch others who are in the field. In fact, don’t just watch them, study them!
Write down what you see and hear that you like and things you don’t like. Don’t try to copy other speakers and seminar leaders, but do try to incorporate the things you like into your events.
Watch Good Movies, Read Good Books
Closely observing how good movies and books are constructed will help you in designing your seminars. Think about the way a good book or movie sucks you in immediately and how it keeps you intrigued and interested. This should be your goal at your event.
Watching good movies and reading good books has another advantage besides giving you a feel for how your seminar should “flow.” If you’re reading and watching what your attendees are reading and watching, you’ll be able to use current stories to which your audience can relate.
Enhance Your Image as an Expert
Establishing yourself as an expert will make it easier to get people to attend your events. The more visible you are in your marketplace (everything else being equal), the better the chances you’ll have of getting people to register for your events and to tell others about them.
Here are some specific things I recommend you do to establish yourself as an expert. You may or may not be able to do all of them, but you should do as many as you can.
Writing a book
If you have written a book on a topic, you’re the de facto expert in the field. A book can help you in so many ways. I consider it the most important single thing you can do to establish expertise and help build your business.
You may see clearly that you need a book but feel uneasy about trying to write one. You may think you don’t have time or that your writing isn’t good enough. You can solve these problems in a number of ways. Contact our sister company, Publishing Profit, Inc. (www.publishingprofit.com) for help finding a ghost writer or an editor or even a writing coach.
If you want more information about how to put a book together, pick up a copy of one of my other books, Publishing for Maximum Profit.
Generating publicity for yourself
The more often you appear in the media, the more people will look at you as the expert on your chosen topic. Look for ways to generate press for yourself. The resource section of this book suggests a number of ways you can go about increasing your publicity.
Posting messages in user groups
There is at least one Web-based news group for every industry. You should be a member of these news groups in any case because it’s a great place to listen in on what your customers and prospects are thinking about. You can post your thoughts and ideas on these user groups and become a part of the conversational flow. Pithy remarks with substance in your field of expertise will get you noticed.
Be careful here, though. Anything that even faintly resembles advertising or self-promotion may well be viewed by other members of the group as impolite. You can spend a lot of time undoing the personal damage for being imprudent on a user group discussion board. This is a place for you to provide information. Promotion will naturally follow and usually take place in private email exchanges with interested members of the group who find your insights useful.
Scouting trade shows
Just as it is important to attend seminars and workshops where your target audience is learning about your topic, so it is vital that you attend the major trade shows in your field. You can learn a lot at a trade show. You can also make valuable contacts among people who are possible suppliers of information or products and services as well as prospective attendees. You can scout out potential outside speakers. You can collect all kinds of free literature and even samples you can use later to augment your present understanding of what’s going on in your area of interest.
Trade shows are generally a very sound investment of time and money.
Attending other peoples’ seminars
If you’re going to be in this industry, you’ll have to attend a lot of other peoples’ seminars to build your knowledge base.
For example, some of my major markets are authors, speakers and consultants. I try to attend the major trade shows and seminars in each of these fields. You have to be selective or you’ll be spending all your time and money attending these events. Be selective, but go.
Attend seminars where you’ll both learn a lot and find good prospects for your products and services. The key at these events is to ask great questions strategically and contribute “brilliant” comments early in the event. Look for your opportunities and pounce on them. People will come up to you at the breaks and ask for your card and contact information.
Networking with the movers and shakers
Find people who are the “in crowd” in your market and get to know them. Befriend them. Find ways to help them and they will in turn help you.
Try this easy technique with people with whom you wish to ingratiate yourself. Go up and introduce yourself and ask “How can I help you?” By pre-empting the conversation and making yourself the one offering assistance, you make yourself a very popular person indeed!
Keep Files of Stories, Quotations and Statistics
You need to keep files of three major types of items: stories, quotations and statistics. Separate them by topics or subject matter so you can find appropriate ones to use later on.
Don’t worry about where you’ll use these bits of information. Just get them into your computer. You’ll find places to use the good ones.
By the way, you don’t need to go buy some big, expensive relational database program to store this stuff. My partner and colleague Dan Shafer, who is a real technology guru besides being a renowned writer and speaker, recommends a simple shareware program called EZGather for the storage of information like notes, quotations, and statistics. You can get a 30-day free trial of the program at www.unvisibleuniverse.com/infoEZgather.html and the shareware registration fee is only $10. The program works on Macs and on Windows machines and is ridiculously easy to use.
Cultivate Characteristics of a Great Speaker
Over the three or so years I presented CareerTrack seminars, I did a survey on the sly. I would ask participants at these events to write down what they thought were the three most important characteristics of a great speaker.
I did not give them any other coaching. I just asked that question and repeated it exactly the same way if they didn’t quite hear it right. Over the course of a year I did this informal survey many times and got a total of about 2500 responses to this question.
They would write down their answers on a slip of paper and hand them to me at the end of the seminar.
I compiled the results and this is how they came out. Although there were other answers, these three were at the top and ranked in this order. All other answers accounted for less than 20% of the total answers.
This survey demonstrated that great speakers must be seen as sincere, knowledgeable, and humorous.
Sincere
The top item on the list was sincerity. People want a speaker they feel is “real.” Nothing turns people off more quickly than someone pretending to be someone they aren’t.
Everyone knows this intuitively. The question is how we create sincerity. What are the behavioral manifestations of sincerity? When people say, “That speaker really meant what he/she was saying,” what caused them to say that? I have found four elements to be the greatest contributors to what we all know and perceive as sincerity.
First, you must speak in a conversational tone. A tone that people will feel is how you normally talk as a person in your everyday life.
This is one of the reasons I think that Oprah is so successful. When you listen to her, you get the feeling she is really the person you hear and see on TV.
One of my favorite professional speakers, Lou Heckler, personifies this sincerity. If you don’t know who he is, you should. Call the National Speakers Association (contact information is in Appendix A) and get one of his tapes.
Another necessary ingredient to convey sincerity is to speak only about things you really believe in, and feel passionate about. Speakers who claim to “talk about anything” will fall flat on their faces in this area. There is no way anyone can truly feel passionate about everything (or maybe anything) they speak about.
Third, to be sincere in your presentation, you need a high degree of comfort about your in-depth knowledge of the material. Whatever your topic, you need to be an eager and interested student.
I have always had a passion for marketing. I read every book, attend every seminar, and buy every tape on the subject. Over the past 10 years, I have spent more than $100,000 in my study of marketing. When I speak on this topic, one of the things that contributes to my being perceived as sincere is my knowledge about the topic. (My passion also comes through loudly and clearly.)
Pick a topic area that you really enjoy and really study it. Read everything you can find about it. Know the field inside and out. Keep current with the latest trends and ideas. If you try to do all of this with a topic and find it to be drudgery, you haven’t chosen the right topic.
Someone talked to me not long ago about what they were going to do when they retire. I don’t understand retirement. If you love what you do, shouldn’t you want to do it forever? My Dad is now 87. He has written 17 books and he didn’t start until he was 65! He couldn’t have done that unless he loved to write. If I live to the same age, I am sure I will still be a serious student of marketing.
Finally, let people know something about who you are as a person. Let them know some of your secrets. Don’t tell them things that aren’t relevant to the topic, but feel free to let them in on things that would help them. People will connect with you as a real person if you do this. They, in turn, will be more likely to be open with you and that two-way communication can lead to lots of great benefits.
One way to get your audience to identify with you is to let them know of places where you stumbled before you learned a lesson you are about to offer or have just explained. Let them see your humanity.
Knowledgeable
The second characteristic that makes a great speaker, according to the audiences I surveyed, was content. People do not want to listen to a speaker who doesn’t deliver solid, useable information. How does one insure that this happens? Here are a few simple steps.
First, you must deliver information that is practical and easily applied. You should make it crystal clear how people can use this information. Give them all the tools. Nothing should be left to chance. At the end of your seminar or speech, people should not be left thinking: “OK, what do I do now?”
Second, you must clearly lay out the steps to follow to implement your practical advice. The best way to do this is in a handout that details everything they need to do. If you have ever bought a product that needs assembly, just think about how you have felt when the directions they included were poor. If you give poor directions to your audience on the how-to side, they will judge you as weak in the area of content.
Third, hang each of your major points on a hook that will enable your attendees to recall them quickly after they’ve left the seminar. In addition to your handout, you need to tell a story, or give an example that people will remember. Attendees need an “anchor” to store the concept. Stories and examples are the best and most memorable hooks. It is common for people to remember the stories long after they’ve forgotten the point. Of course, remembering the story leads to remembering the point!
Fourth, use a variety of teaching methods during the seminar. Everyone learns differently. Make sure you understand this when you are trying to give your great content retention value. Some people will need to see something, perhaps some kind of a prop or visual aid. Others will need to hear something to remember it. The story idea works well for these people. Still others will need to apply the concept to remember the content point. Create an exercise where they have to do something.
Mix all of these techniques throughout your seminar. Ideally, you provide something for each of these audiences for each major point in your presentation.
Humorous
In my survey, the third most important characteristic of a good speaker was humor.
There are three key things you should do to make your speech or seminar more humorous.
The best humor is self-deprecating. Make yourself the butt of all the jokes you use. This will endear you to the audience. It shows you have a lot of confidence in yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be very likely to show people that you screw up. Another big advantage to self-deprecating humor is that you avoid the risk of offending someone in the audience by picking on some group or personality type.
Remember, only a Catholic can tell a joke that seems to make Catholics look foolish. Anyone else will appear to be insensitive and bigoted. (In fact, in our increasingly politically sensitive culture, even a Catholic might not get away with a Catholic joke any more. Just don’t risk it.)
Tell stories, not jokes. If you tell a joke and it doesn’t work, everyone knows it. No one laughs. And with a joke, there is no getting around the fact that it didn’t work. When you set up a joke, everyone knows what that setup looks like. They also know what people thought of the joke by the amount of laughter you get.
When you tell what you think to be a funny story and no one laughs, everyone will just think it was a story. Because a story lacks the joke set-up, there’s no built-in expectation that the story will be funny. If it is funny, people will laugh. If it isn’t, it will just seem like another story. Less harm done.
This leads to the last point I’ll make on humor. It’s only funny if they laugh. The definition of funny must come from the people receiving the message. I don’t care if you think a joke is funny. I don’t care if your family thinks it is funny. It is not funny if people don’t laugh.
If you tell a story to be funny and it doesn’t get a laugh, you need to drop that story in future seminars and speeches. Your audience is the only true judge of humor.
By the way, I’ve seen a lot of people try to take this advice only to mess it up by introducing the story with something like this: “I have a funny story that will illustrate what I mean.” Don’t do that. As I said, your audience will tell you if it’s funny. If you have to tell them in advance, it’s a good sign it isn’t.
Many professional comedians start with a collection of jokes. When they deliver them, people might laugh at five of them. They keep those five and add a bunch of new ones. People might laugh at six of the new ones, so the comedian will then keep those six that work. The comedian now has 11 jokes that work. Then they repeat the process.
I’m not saying you should become a comedian on stage. But I am saying that my survey indicates that if you want to be considered a great speaker, you have to be perceived as funny. This doesn’t mean that every story you tell has to be funny, but if you follow the steps above, at least more of them will. This in turn enhances your chances of being perceived as a great speaker, which helps you sell more products. And that, after all, is the point of all of this!
Keep Improving Yourself Professionally
Last year I spent over $17,000 on books, tapes, and educational seminars. Why? Because I have to keep current in my field. Since I’m also passionate about my field (back to sincerity), this isn’t a burden but a joy.
If you’re not interested in delivering the best seminar you possibly can, you probably don’t need to be reading this book. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not some Goody Two-Shoes who feels you should want to be and do your best work because it’s the “right” thing to do (although it is). You should do your best because it’s in your financial interest to do so. People will come back to other events you do and the word about how good you are will spread.
To do the best seminar possible, you need to educate yourself. In one of my niche markets I have a competitor who presents a lot of seminars. I sat in on one of their seminars a few years back. When I went back a few years later and sat in on a portion of the same seminar, I found that they hadn’t changed a word. That is ridiculous.
If you need to spend money to learn as much as you can about your topic, do it. Read books. Read newsletters. Read trade publications. Attend seminars in your field. Attend seminars in related fields. Get on-line regularly and search for the key words in your field. Go as deeply into your topic as you can.
As a seminar leader, you need to study on another front as well. You also need to get as much education as you can in the areas of how to improve your seminar marketing and delivery.
You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to your audience.
Develop and Exploit Your Own Style
Your personal style when you do your seminar is critical to your success. You need to develop a speaking and presentation style that identifies you as the person you want to be.
Most important is that you don’t violate the rule of being yourself. Your style is composed of a number of different elements. These include, but are not limited to: the way you deliver information, the way you dress, and the way you respond to people.
My speaking style is very direct and somewhat confrontational. My style will sometimes get people angry. Be careful not to be overly confrontational; people have to like you to want to buy additional products or services from you.
I have learned one universal law as it relates to style over the years — people must LIKE you. If they don’t like you they won’t listen to you. If they don’t listen to you, they won’t buy from you. But remember, no one can be universally liked. Hey, some people hated Ghandi!
I have a trademark style of dress. I’m never the one with a suit. I’m the one dressed in dress slacks with very colorful “Coogi” sweaters, the only name-brand product I’ve ever worn in my life. I love them. They happen to be very expensive. Since I’m known as an extremely frugal guy, this may seem somewhat inconsistent.
I bought my first Coogi sweater in Australia for less than half of what I’d have had to pay in the United States. I still own only three of them. I rotate them so it doesn’t look like I’m always wearing the same one. But this has become part of my style.
Another element of style is how accessible you choose to be. Some speakers like to remain extremely accessible during breaks, before and after seminars, and even via email. Others like to cultivate the feeling of the aloof expert with whom you must make an appointment. There is a case to be made for doing both. I like to play the accessible expert because, frankly, I like people. Many well-known consultants do not, or at least appear by their behavior not to do so. Frankly, I feel badly for them.
Again, don’t violate the rule of being yourself. Don’t try to be gregarious if you’re not. Create your personal style from the cards you’ve been dealt.
As a result of the style that you select to use (either consciously or unconsciously) some people won’t like you. This is inevitable. People tend either to hate me or love me. I actually prefer it that way myself. The more direct and “in-your-face” your style, the more apt this is to happen.
After you select your style, don’t try to change it unless you have good reason. If most people like you, you’re probably in good shape. There will always be a certain number of people who just can’t stand you. You know what? That’s life. Live with it!
My seminar delivery is very fast and rapid fire. I do this because it's my style. I also do it because I find that if you go just a little faster than people can understand, you'll end up selling a lot more product. Follow my lead on this one. Move quickly because of all the great material you have to share with them.
Take Care of Your Voice
If the majority of your revenue comes from doing seminars, your voice is your most important “tool.” Many people do things that cause their instrument harm.
I had a colleague at CareerTrack named Roger Burgraff. Roger is a speech expert. He knows a lot about the physical mechanics of the voice. Roger always made some very important points about the “care and feeding” of a speaker’s voice.
Here are some of the highlights about what he had to say:
First, never yell. It is incredibly damaging to your vocal chords. If you’re tempted to go to a sporting event where you know you’ll get riled up, stay home!
Second, when you’re not speaking, keep your mouth shut. Don’t sing in the car or talk on the phone. Give your vocal chords a chance to rest.
Third, drink room-temperature (decidedly not ice-cold) water while you speak. Just like a car needs oil, your voice needs water to be properly lubricated. I always squeeze a lemon or two into a large carafe of water. As far as I know, the lemon itself did no harm or good, it just made it easier for me to suck down all the water. At a one-day seminar I might go through a gallon of water. (Yes, that leads to lots of breaks designed to let me run to the bathroom. But your audience likes breaks; we’ll talk about that later.)
Fourth, never drink anything containing caffeine. It’s bad for your throat and voice.
Fifth, watch out for dairy products. They tend to create mucus, not a good thing to be “hacking up” in front of your audience. Some people can get away with it. Check to see how milk and other products react with your own voice.
Ease Your Way in: Continuing Education Classes
Most cities have places where you can teach classes. Many of these venues are non-traditional continuing education centers. They are great places to get practice and you’ll make a little money. They also allow you to test concepts and ideas with very little risk.
Before you start, you should make sure that they allow you to sell your products. I never ask. I just do it. In most cases they are paying you so little they won’t object. As long as you follow my rules on how to sell your product, your sales efforts probably won’t draw complaints from your attendees and the issue will just never come up.
Continuing education classes are where many people get started doing their speaking. In fact, I continue to do my workshops at these locations.
If you want to work with these folks, here is how to do it. First, get the name of the “program director” or the person who makes the decisions and selects instructors.
Second, you need to send a letter.
In that letter, follow this progression.
In the first paragraph, personalize the letter to the individual. Say that you are submitting the following materials to see if they can be included in their course catalog.
In the second paragraph in bold type put the course title, subtitle, and a one-sentence description of the class.
In the third paragraph, describe how attendees will benefit.
In the fourth paragraph, present the rationale for why you are uniquely qualified to present this class. Describe your experience, credentials, materials you publish on the topic (like a newsletter, a set of tapes, a public seminar, and your all-important book).
On the second page, create a course description. Basically, design the ad they could put into their catalog. Make it short and snappy. Give it a compelling title and a great description. Keep the description to a maximum of 200 words. Use bullet points for the hot stuff.
On the third page, put your complete resumé or biography. Include everything you can to make you look like the guru on the topic. This will be different for each class. For whatever class you propose, skew your resumé in that direction.
In an appendix put everything you have to back up all of your claims. Letters of recommendation, press releases, possibly even a set of materials (books and tapes). If you have a video of you doing a presentation, include that as well.
Follow up a few days after you send your letter. Don’t become a pest, but persistence pays here as in so many other promotional and marketing situations.
Finally, contact all the continuing education venues in your area, not just one!
Dealing With Unpaid Speaking Invitations
As your notoriety as a speaker grows, you will almost certainly be invited to speak for no fee at other peoples’ seminars, at conferences, and similar places. I have one basic rule about such invitations. I accept them only if they allow me to sell my products from the podium during the event.
Unless you’re allowed to sell products, don’t do the gig. With your own events, you control the show so this isn’t a problem. The only exception to this rule would be an organization where you feel the exposure would be so beneficial that it would be stupid to turn it down. In my own case I can only think of three places where I would go for a no-fee, no product sales arrangement. One would be with the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). The second is with The Young Presidents Organization (YPO). And the final one is as a faculty member of the Income Builders International Free Enterprise Forum.
Know What You MUST Know About the Competition
As with every business, you’ll have competition. If you don’t have any, you should be worried. This would mean that there may not be any demand for the kind or type of event you’re thinking of promoting. Since you have some competition, it’s a good idea to learn all you can about them.
Start your search on-line. If you’re doing a marketing seminar for chiropractors, go to your favorite search engines and enter in the words: “marketing seminar for chiropractors.” You’ll also want to search for variations on these terms as well. Look everywhere you can on-line and you’ll find what you’re looking for. (If you want help with this, buy my friend and colleague Dan Shafer’s amazing eBook, How to Find Anything on the Web in Less Than 10 Minutes, which is being published at the same time as this book. It’s available through our joint Web site, www.publishingprofit.com.)
You’ll also want to approach trade associations. Act like a naïve “newbie” and tell them you’re looking for a certain kind of event and ask who offers them.
As soon as you decide to do seminars in a given topic or area, attend every seminar that anyone else offers that is remotely related. Take extensive notes at these events. Monitor them not just for the information, but for how they present the content. Take what you can from their events and make changes where you feel they’re appropriate.
Talk to attendees. Ask them what they liked the most and least about the event. You can learn a lot by surveying the people who are there. Remember, their perspective will be very different from yours. They will be your future customers. While you’re at it, collect business cards for your database. They will be ideal prospects for your events.
Make sure that you are on the mailing lists for all of your competitors. Do this both on and offline. If they take you off their lists because they identify you, just ask a friend to get on their list and send you their promotions. (When competitors find their way onto my mailing lists, I don’t try and make it difficult for them. It actually takes too much work to ferret out a competitor.)
After attending their events, assess where their strengths and weaknesses lie. Assess your own skill and knowledge base and see where you can provide a different approach or where you can fill in the gaps and do some coaching work.
An example from the publishing industry may help to illustrate my point. I help small to medium sized publishers make more money. There are two or three people who do something related. When I started this business, I attended their events.