Should You Run Your Own Seminar?
Should You Run Your Own Seminar? This is a question I get asked all the time. I respond by asking if my client has a following. If the answer is no - I suggest they begin by gathering an e mail list. All too often, professionals think if they put out ads and flyers in the local papers that people will be attracted to attend. No I do not think so! One California man told me he put his money and trust in a marketer who placed ads for him in Florida and to his shock and surprise no one- not one- person showed up. This was a costly mistake to the tune of thousands of dollars.
I think seminars are fine once someone knows who you are and you gain a following and it is also tricky to get butts in the seats. We offer seminars throughout the year and believe me it is hard work!
Today C.J. Hayden, Contributing Editor, Rain Today offers great advice on running your own seminars.
Public speaking is one of the most powerful techniques available to showcase your abilities to prospective clients. Many professionals and consultants have built successful practices by regularly giving free presentations to associations, businesses, and educational institutions.
But what about producing your own seminar, where you arrange the logistics, promote the event, and invite the guests? Is this approach a productive strategy for landing clients?
Offering a seminar can work to make you more visible to your target market and to build your credibility. If you are a good (or even fair) presenter, if the right people come to your seminar, and if you follow up with them afterward, you will almost certainly gain new clients. But to use seminar marketing successfully, you need set very clear goals, and carefully plan each seminar.
Promotional Seminars
If the primary purpose of your seminar is to get clients, you shouldn’t expect to make money on the seminar itself. You may wish merely to cover your expenses, or, in some cases, you may want to spend more than you earn.
With a seminar designed for marketing purposes, the key to making it pay off is to attract people who are good prospects for your business in the first place, rather than just filling the room with a large audience.
For that reason, instead of offering your seminar for free, it’s often a good idea to charge a reasonable fee. Then your prospective clients will perceive that you are offering something of value. Legitimate prospects may be skeptical of a free seminar, suspecting that it is simply a sales pitch in disguise. Charging a fee will also discourage attendance by people who can’t afford your services.
For a promotional seminar, the quality of your participants is what matters most, not the quantity of them.
For-Profit Seminars
If what you want instead is for your seminar to turn a profit on its own, recognize that by offering full-fee seminars, you are adding another line of business to your company. Operating as a seminar producer will require the same kind of planning, ongoing management, and promotional efforts as your existing business requires.
You may find it as difficult to make a profit on your first seminar as you found it launching your original business. Many people won’t sign up for a seminar the first time they see it whereas others may like to come but cannot make the date.
You’ll have a better chance of making money if you plan at the outset to offer your seminar on a regular basis. You may find, though, that this takes away too much time from your core business and becomes a distraction instead of an asset.
Evaluate Before You Commit
Whether the seminar you are planning is for promotional purposes or for profit, estimate your projected income and expenses before you decide to proceed. Base the income you expect solely on the fee you will charge per person multiplied by the number of attendees you expect. Don’t include any projected spin-off business in your income estimate. If you land new business, you will still have to put in additional effort to earn that compensation.
Typical expenses include design and printing of a brochure or flyer, postage, posting information on your website, purchase of mailing lists (if you don’t have your own), print and Internet advertising (including calendar listings), issuing press releases, facility rent, audiovisuals, handouts, and refreshments. You should also consider the cost of your own time to design promotional materials, compile lists, compose e-mails, and make phone calls.
In designing a postal mail or e-mail campaign for your seminar, keep in mind that it is quite typical to get only one registration for every 100 pieces you mail, even with a pre-qualified list. With an e-mail list, especially if the recipients don’t already know you and your work well, your conversion rate may be even lower. This means you should prepare to promote your seminar to at least 100 times as many people as you hope will attend.
Also, you should plan to contact each person on your list more than once to encourage them to register. For example, follow a postal mailing with a round of phone calls, or couple an e-mail campaign with mailing postcards. You’ll get much better results when people hear about your seminar multiple times through different channels.
Make The Final Call
Subtract your projected expenses from your income, and then make a rational decision on whether to proceed. If the purpose of your seminar is to get business, estimate how much spin-off business is likely. Then before going ahead, ask yourself if there might be an easier or less expensive way to land that many new clients or contracts.
If your purpose is to make money from the seminar alone, divide your expected profit by the number of hours it will take you to design, market, and deliver your seminar. Is that amount a reasonable level of compensation for you?
If your best guess at the numbers tells you that seminar marketing makes good business sense for you, go for it! Because people do business with those they know, like, and trust. Seminars can help you build a solid client base. And because repeat contacts will raise awareness in your marketplace, mailings and ads about your seminar will also help to generate more visibility for your core business.
C.J. Hayden is a Contributing Editor for RainToday.com. She is also the author of Get Clients NOW! Thousands of business owners and salespeople have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. Get a free copy of “Five Secrets to Finding All the Clients You’ll Ever Need” at Get Clients Now. You can reach C.J. by email at: coachcj@getclientsnow.com.
