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.

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.

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!

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 selfemployed. 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 consultingwork in my life. I don’trecommend 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 canmake 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 lotof money. The seminar game is a tricky one. Particularly if you’re new to the game.

I have neverlost money on a seminar that I promoted. Not many people that I know in this business can say the same.