People will buy from you when they know, like and trust you. Seminar Marketing is an excellent strategy for building rapport with new prospects.
Seminar Marketing is an event at which you present education and advice to a group of qualified prospects in order to generate new leads for your business and services.
Seminar Marketing is not a sales presentation. It is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your expertise on a specific topic and to build trust with an audience that does not yet know you.
Determine Your Seminar Topic The first step in beginning your Seminar Marketing journey is to determine the subject matter of your presentation. Brainstorm a variety of ideas and write them down on a piece of paper or a whiteboard. These topics or ideas should be related to the services that you provide.
What are some common questions that your clients ask you? If your clients are asking those questions, chances are there are other people who would benefit from hearing the answer. Here are some ideas:
Business to Business
- Reaching More Customers Through Google
- Understanding Privacy Data Laws
- Developing an Effective Sales Funnel
- Securing Your Company's Data
Business to Consumer
- Managing Healthcare Costs in Retirement
- How to Buy Your First Home
- Safeguarding Your Children Online
- Best Ways to Avoid Identity Theft
Once you've determined your topic, begin preparing your primary teaching points. Create an outline. Fill in the details. Create a slide deck. Then practice, practice, practice! Your seminar should be no longer than 30-40 minutes. Always plan to have a Q&A sesson at the end.
Who are your trying to reach? For each seminar you create, it is important to determine the persona of the indvidual you are trying to reach. The more specific and detailed you can be, the more qualified the attendees will be as potential new clients.
Factors to include in building your audience persona: - Geography: Where do they live? - Age & Gender - Education & Income - Stage of Life: Single? Married? Children? Empty nest? Divorced?
These are just a few of the key factors in determining who you want to consider as you begin developing a strategy for filling the seats of your seminar.
Free Seminar Marketing Checklist
Everything you need to plan an amazing event.
A step-by-step guide to planning and executing your Seminar Marketing event.
When and where will you hold your seminar? Once you have determined your audience persona you can now take action to book a venue. The reason it is important to determine your target audience before booking the venue is that you need to be certain that the time and location are convenient for your preferred guests. A daytime seminar for people who likely work 9-5 is probably not going to work. A downtown location for people who live in the suburbs will be a barrier to attendance.
Other things to consider:
How many people do you expect to attend? Aim for 80% capacity. Why? 80% full feels full yet still leaves enough room for people to have "personal space." So, if your aim is to have 50 people attend your event, look for a venue with seating for 60-65 people.
What's the best configuration for your presentation? Do you need people at tables to take notes? Does theatre-style seating work? Think through the details from the perspective of what will make the seminar most enjoyable and comfortable for your guest.
What are your audio-visual requirements? Do you need a micropohone? Do you need a television or projector and the ability to connect your laptop? Do you need audio for your laptop. Make sure to address all of these needs prior to booking your venue to ensure that your needs can be met.
Promoting Your Seminar and Accepting Reservations There are a variety of ways to promote your seminar and to accept reservations. Direct mail, email marketing, interruptive campaigns (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) and Google search are just a few of the most commonly used.
Make sure your seminar has a clear title in all of your promotions and point all marketing to a landing page that provides all the necessary details. Using a reservation system like EventSquid, Brushfire or EventBrite will simplify the process for you.
Don't forget to market to your current clients. They may not be ideal attendees for your seminar, but snce they already know, like and trust you, they may be willing to pass along the details of your event to someone they know.
Step 4b
Unless you are charging a fee for attendees of your seminar, it is imperative that you have a plan in place for reaching out to registrants and confirming their attendance within a week of the event. Our best practices demonstrate that an email 7-10 days prior to the event, followed by a personal phone call within 5-7 days will increase follow-through dramatically.
What do you do on the day of the event? Plan to arrive at the venue at least 30 minutes prior to your start time. 1 hour is preferred. This give you an opportunity to make sure that seating has been set up as you requested and to connect your laptop and test audio equipment if necessary.
It is also important that you have brought with you some signage that will help people find you. Depending on the venue, it may not be obvious where attendees are supposed to go upon their arrival. Make it easy for them. Their first impression will be a lasting impression.
Have a Host If possible, have a team member with you who can register guests as they arrive, hand out information, nametags or give any other instructions that are necessary for their best experience.
Finish on Time Be respectful of your guests and end when you promised. If you plan a Q&A (highly recommended) at the end of the event, this will allow you to control the end time. And - bonus - if you are unable to get to everyone's questions, it gives you a natural reason to have follow-up meetings or phone calls with those potential new clients.
Solicit Feedback People love to give their opinions. Prior to allowing your guests to leave, ask them to complete a paper/printed survey to give you some feedback on their experience and to also indicate their interest level in setting up a follow-up meeting with you.
Building New Relationships You did it! You pulled it off. It was alot of work to get it done, but now the work is just beginning! You now have some new fans and followers. Let's build on those relationships.
Even before you hold your event, you should have a follow-up plan in place. Will you call them? Will you email? Do you have a drip email campaign ready to go? Everyone who attended your event is now a very warm lead, so take advantage of that connection.
Use the feedback they provided in the survey as a way to approach them in your follow up. What parts of the seminar were most interesting or helpful for them? What questions do they still have unanswered? Do they know someone else who might benefit from the information they received?
Whether your seminar had 10 attendees or 1000, there are new relationships to nurture and a great opportunity for you to expand your reach and grow your business.
We wish you the best in this new venture! And if we can provide assistance to you in the process, set up a free call using the link below. We would love to be a part of your Seminar Marketing journey.
Our services are designed to amplify your business’s online presence and increase your digital footprint. We will help more people find you online.
Let's meet to discuss the best strategy for your company's growth.
© 2020 B & E Consulting, LLC., All Rights Reserved
