Complete Guide To Seminar Marketing:
Goals to accomplish at your seminar
- Select a date and time that suits your audience
- Prospects? Who do you invite?
- Seminar seating arrangements
- The most popular methods of attracting seminar attendees
- The question-and-answer session
Most frequently asked questions about seminars (FAQ)
SEMINAR PROSPECTING BENEFITS
There are some real benefits to seminar prospecting. Well-planned seminars are a proven method of building your business and expanding your client base.
Seminars are one of the ultimate forms of leverage. You can reach a large audience, while only having to tell your story one time, rather than making 50 separate presentations.
Here are some of the many benefits you will derive from conducting seminars:
- Satisfy the audience’s quest for knowledge
- Increase the effectiveness of your prospecting
- Increase or build your business quickly
- Establish your credentials as an authority on your subject
- Develop a valuable source of prospects
- Create a strong base for future referrals through personal contacts
- Add to your experience and build your self-confidence
- Improve your product knowledge
- Communicate with your clients face-to-face which builds relationships
- Activate dormant accounts
- Reinforce past performance and levels of service
- Demonstrate your professionalism
- Add value to your clients
THE PURPOSE OF SEMINARS
The most important reason to conduct a seminar is to convey your professionalism, credibility, and trustworthiness. You need to establish rapport with your audience, because the real sale you are making is the sale of You. Once that is done, business becomes much easier to do.
GOALS TO ACCOMPLISH AT YOUR SEMINAR:
- That you are credible and trustworthy
- That you are competent to handle their financial needs
- That you understand their financial goals
- That you have a proven track record
- That you are a reliable, accurate, source of knowledge
The following guide will show you how to prepare, deliver and follow up on your seminar. These tips come from many years of experience. Careful planning lies at the core of every successful presentation. I have included a checklist that will help ensure the success of your prospecting and seminar activities.
SEMINAR BASICS
The key to an effective seminar is that your message meets the needs of your audience. Target your market and direct your prospecting efforts toward that specific group.
Select a date and time that suits your audience
Select a date and time that does not conflict with any holiday or special event. Pick a time that is convenient for your target group to attend. You might want to run two seminars in one day, one in the afternoon and another in the evening. It is surprising the number of people who will attend a luncheon, or come just after work, rather than stay for an evening seminar (family obligations get in the way). From personal experience, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays have been the best days for seminars. Fridays are out, and there is too much going on for a successful Monday seminar. Some people have done quite well holding a Saturday morning seminar. The key is to make the seminar convenient for your target audience.
Location of your seminar
If you are hosting a small seminar, think about the conference room in your office. If you are going to be using a location such as a hotel, you will have to do a little more research.
Most successful seminar locations are characterized by the following features:
- The locations are easy to find
- Ample parking is provided
- A nice facility in a good part of town
You should also:
- Select a room that is large enough
- Select a room that is well lighted, clean and well-ventilated
- Select a room that is quiet and free from outside distractions
Since you will be using slides, choose a room that can be darkened in one corner for the screen, yet have a well-lit area for you to speak from. You also want sufficient light for your audience to take notes and for you to maintain eye contact with your audience so you can read their body language and gauge their responses.
Prospects? Who do you invite?
This is the foundation upon which you build a successful prospecting strategy. You should invite a cross section of existing clients in addition to new prospects. The lifeblood of your business is prospecting.
Here are some sources for building a prospect file:
- Existing clients and prospects—both active and inactive
- Directories—financial, manufacturing, professional, clubs, corporate, business owners, etc.
- New move-ins in the community
- Chamber of Commerce lists
- Small-business owners
- Charitable donation lists
- Rented lists from list brokers
- Referred leads
Seminar seating arrangements
For up to 30 participants: semi-circle or horseshoe seating
For up to 100 participants: chevron seating (with tables)
Note: Table seating for your seminar attendees encourages note
taking and also creates a business-like environment.
The most popular methods of attracting seminar attendees
- Personal invitation to qualified clients by phone
- Direct mail - usually wedding-style invitation
- Newspaper advertisement
- Radio spot
- Cold Calling
Planning the presentation
According to Jack and Gary Kinder, there are two key ingredients to a successful seminar: Know your stuff, and know who you are stuffing!
Know your stuff
Knowledge is potential power. Using that knowledge to produce a desired result is power. The key to conducting a smooth, successful seminar is to know your topic inside and out. The better you know your material, the more compelling your message will be. Your audience will know if you are prepared and will quickly determne if you believe in what you are saying. The more compelling you are, the more people you will move to action. Remember, nothing happens until someone sells something. Being enthusiastic and knowing your material will cause your audience to set appointments, open accounts, and consider you to be an authority on your subject.
In addition to knowing your stuff inside and out, you want to know yourself even better. There are a couple of sales that have to take place before prospects will become clients.
- You will have to sell them on “Why you?”
- You will have to sell them on “Why your firm?”
- You will have to sell them on “Why they should take action now?”
- In other words, from the client’s perspective: “What’s in it for me?”
Know who you're stuffing
Know your audience. This can be done by doing your homework. The better you target your market, the better you will know them. Prepare yourself to handle any objections and potential obstacles.
- Know what their interests are.
- Know what topics they are most interested in.
- Know what topics they are most concerned about.
- Know what their hot buttons are.
The seminar
It is very important that you arrive in plenty of time to ensure that everything is in place and all the arrangements have been carried out according to your instructions. It is especially important if you are using a location for the first time. Inspect the setup of the chairs, the audiovisual aids, the refreshments, and the signs directing people to your seminar.
As a general rule when setting up the chairs, set up fewer chairs than you think you will need. This will allow the room to fill up; adding more chairs will set a more positive tone than having a room set for 100, and having only 25 participants. The warmest conference room can get supernaturally chilly when the chairs outnumber the audience. If you are expecting 40, have 30 chairs in the room. However, make sure additional chairs are readily available.
I would highly recommend that you greet guests at the door as they enter. This breaks the ice, builds rapport, and you can ensure that they sign the register. Using name tags is a great way of tracking who attended and who didn’t. This will become very important in the follow-up.
Audiovisual aids
There are a number of alternatives to consider regarding audiovisual aids. The most common aids in use are color slides, overheads, flip charts, and blackboards. With software programs such as Lotus Freelance Graphics, and Microsoft Powerpoint, you can create your own professional-looking slides in record time. Overheads seem to be a little more cumbersome and run a distant second. Flip charts and blackboards are easy to use, but the biggest drawback is that your back is turned to the audience a lot of the time. They also take time to write on, and generally look very sloppy. It is a good idea to stick with one or two types of visual aids to keep your presentation organized.
The question-and-answer session
Some speakers dread the question-and-answer session. I look forward to it because you flush out the prospects who are most interested in doing business with you. Also you encourage audience participation which promotes interaction and the building of rapport.
Public speaking tips
- Stand up straight while you speak. Your posture is very important in establishing your credibility. It also allows you to breathe naturally.
- Memorize the first two minutes and the last two minutes. It guarantees that your seminar gets off on the right foot, and concludes strongly. It’s important to catch your listeners attention quickly.
- Practice your timing. Timing is everything. Many speakers rush through the information. Pace and voice inflection are very important for stressing key points. Practice to get your timing down perfectly.
- Remember to speak clearly and use words that everyone will understand. You know what you are saying, but the guy in row 24 might not. It takes a lot of energy to keep an audience’s attention.
- Practice, practice, practice. Know your material. A great speaker can capture the audience’s attention and keep right on his message outside the safety zone of the podium. Reach the point where you can conduct your seminar without notes. The better prepared, the more naturally your seminar will flow.
- Take the first few minutes to let your audience know how the evening will proceed. Ask them to jot down questions for the question and answer session at the end of the seminar.
- Include as many personal stories as you can. People love to hear war stories. This is a way to bond with the attendees.
- Tailor your speech to your audience. Don’t go over their heads, and don’t use words and acronyms they won’t understand.
- Provide yellow pads for notes. Hand out packets of material covering the seminar topics at the end of your seminar to avoid any distraction while you’re speaking.
- No matter how appealing your message, there are people who will tune you out. Do not try to establish eye contact with them. Maintain eye contact with people who express their receptiveness through responsive body language.
MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SEMINARS
- How many people should attend my seminar?
- How many people will I have to invite to get one attendee?
- Should I charge people to attend my seminar or make it FREE?
- Should I keep my seminar content and terminology simple?
- How long should I rehearse my presentation?
- What can I do to get rid of the “butterflies” before I speak?
- What if it is start time and not everyone has arrived?
- How can I make my audience feel more at ease?
- How do I involve the audience?
- What should I do if someone interrupts me?
- What is the best way to handle someone who becomes overly talkative or seems to doubt what I’m saying?
- What if I don’t know the answer to a question?
- Suppose no one asks questions at the conclusion?
- What is the most effective way to use my MMBC with seminar prospects?
- What is the best way to conclude my seminar?
How many people should attend my seminar?
Limit attendance at your seminars to between 30 and 40 people for two reasons. First, you want to set appointments with as many people as you can within the first 48 hours. If you wait too long, you lose the
momentum you created at the seminar. Strike while the iron is hot! Too large a group makes it difficult to
follow up and set individual appointments in a timely fashion.
The second reason is that people generally feel less threatened in smaller groups, and will be more comfortable and open with you. It is also easier to develop relationships in a group of 30 to 40.
How many people will I have to invite to get one attendee?
This varies, but here are some general guidelines. For cold prospecting, expect 1 out of every 15 to confirm a reservation. Out of those, you can expect 60% to 75% to attend. For example, if you speak to 400 prospects, you should expect about 5%, or 20 seminar attendees.
The numbers will be a lot higher for current clients. You can expect many of your clients to show up. Since you can conduct seminars as often as you like, over time, most of your clients will attend one.
Should I charge people to attend my seminar or make it FREE?
There are two schools of thought. Some say that you should never charge for your seminars because of
the increase in business that you will experience. After all, that is the reason you conduct the seminars.
On the other hand, if you charge attendees, they will more likely be serious and better qualified prospects. There are professional seminar attendees who are more concerned with what is being served
than what is being said. Charging for the seminar will certainly discourage those people. If the prospects
are serious about the topic and are willing to pay for attending, then you obviously should be doing more
business as a result. Try a few seminars to see how it goes, and decide which works best for you. I don’t
charge because I feel that by having one hour in front of people, I can sell myself and my firm enough to
recoup my investment many times over.
Should I keep my seminar content and terminology simple?
By all means. The last thing you want is for your audience to tune you out because they can’t understand your message. Those attending your seminar are probably more sophisticated than the general public, but they might not be up on the latest jargon. Try to keep it simple.
How long should I rehearse my presentation?
As long as it takes. You want to come across as being very comfortable with your material. It should flow
easily and effortlessly. The more you practice, the more relaxed and confident you will appear. Practice
in front of a video camera if you can. By viewing the video, you can pick up on body language that you
need to correct, such as slouching or fidgeting with your hands. The time you spend alone in front of the
video camera will pay big dividends when you are actually in front of an audience.
What can I do to get rid of the “butterflies” before I speak?
Not much, it’s normal. Even the best professional speakers get butterflies. Once you get the momentum
started, and are involved in the seminar, you will be fine. I feel that if you don’t have butterflies, you don’t
care that much about what you are doing. It is natural to be nervous, and it is an indication that you want
to do your best. When I played basketball in college I was a mess before the tipoff, but once the jump
ball went up, I was fine. It’s the same with a seminar. Once you start talking, the butterflies will leave.
The better you know your material, the quicker they will disappear.
What if it is start time and not everyone has arrived?
Use your best judgement. There will always be latecomers, but you shouldn’t penalize those who are on
time by waiting for those who aren’t. The ratio of latecomers to those who are present will dictate if you
should wait or not. At most, wait five to ten minutes. As latecomers stroll into the room, ask them to fill in
the seats as close to the front as possible. Explain that you will fill them in at the end of the seminar.
How can I make my audience feel more at ease?
People may have skipped breakfast, fought traffic, and driven several times around the parking lot before finding a parking space. It is no wonder there is an atmosphere of tension at the beginning of a meeting. I try to go into the audience before I speak and greet everyone. Another option is to greet everyone on their way into the room. This breaks the ice and starts the relationship-building process. Another nice touch is having everyone pin on their name tags. This way you can address each attendee
by name as he or she enters the room, as well as when they approach you with a question.
How do I involve the audience?
The best way to get the audience involved is to ask them questions. Keep your questions general so they can be understood and answered easily, rather than discussing specific topics that may be of little interest to some attendees. Discussing slides or handouts is another way to get the group to participate.
What should I do if someone interrupts me?
Every now and then someone will ask a question that interrupts your train of thought. If it is pertinent to your discussion, welcome it. If attendees weren’t interested in your presentation, they would not ask questions. One way you will know that you have someone’s attention, is if he/she takes the risk of asking
a question. That is why you never want to tell them everything—so they will ask questions. If the question is inappropriate at the time, acknowledge it, and explain to the person that you will be addressing that point later in the seminar.
Sometimes you will have someone who looks puzzled or anxious. You can take advantage of this opportunity by pausing to say, “Mr. Jones, you look slightly puzzled. Shall I go over that again?” People usually like the attention, and you will be helping create a friendlier atmosphere.
What is the best way to handle someone who becomes overly talkative or seems to doubt what I’m saying?
Any time someone expresses doubts or objections, you should let that person’s comments work in your
favor. In many cases, those people are your best prospects. The more they object, the more interested
they are. They are often just looking for reassurance.
At times a member of the audience will become loud and try to dominate the seminar. When that happens you should not hesitate to interrupt the prospect and say, “Mr. Jones, that is an interesting point
and deserves more attention, but I think we’re taking up way too much of the group’s time. I’ll be happy
to discuss that with you individually, after the seminar.”
What if I don’t know the answer to a question?
I can guarantee you that at some point you will be asked a question that you can’t answer. Say, “Mr. Jones, that is a very good question and I don’t know the answer. I’ll be glad to find out and get in touch with you in the near future.” The best policy is honesty. People understand that no one has all the answers, and by being honest you will be perceived as having more credibility and trust.
Suppose no one asks questions at the conclusion?
The best way to handle this is to have some questions prepared. People are often reluctant to be the first to ask a question. Say, “Now, I would like to start the session by addressing a couple of the most common questions; then we’ll take questions from the floor.”
Have at least five questions in mind. If you have friends in the audience, request that one of them ask the first question. Once people start asking questions, it usually continues on automatic pilot. It is important that you repeat the question after someone asks it. Speak loudly so everyone can hear. Occasionally, there are so many questions that eventually you have to reluctantly conclude the seminar.
What is the most effective way to use my MMBC with seminar prospects?
If you have thoroughly qualified each prospect, place an "The Client" on every chair. If your prospects are
through open invitations, have your assistant send an "The Client" only to those prospects that fill in a
form asking for a personal consultation. It is wise to have a box of "The Client" on hand, reserved for
prospects that personally express a real interest, but are on the fence for whatever reasons.
What is the best way to conclude my seminar?
Always try to finish your seminar on time. It is best to remove your watch before you begin and place it on the podium. That way you can always see what time it is without having to look at your wrist. If you start looking at your wrist, the audience will do the same.
As you near the end of your seminar, say, “We only have time for two more questions. If anyone has additional questions, I will be happy to stay and answer them, or arrange a time to speak with you privately.”
Always take the time to thank those attending your seminar. Let them know that you look forward to meeting with them one-on-one. At this time, you could serve some type of refreshments. This will give you an opportunity to spend some quality time with the most qualified prospects.