How to market your seminars is one of the greatest obstacles I find with people starting out in the public speaking business. But once you overcome this, you’ll be increasing your bottom line profits as you run full to the rafter events and seminars.

But first here are some questions commonly asked about marketing your seminars:

Who on earth am I going to present to?

Where are they?

And how do I get them into a room?

The first step is to locate your target audience. Because once you know who your ideal prospects are, it’s just a matter of marketing your seminar to them effectively.

So, let’s looks at 2 easy strategies to find your target audience

1. Pre-existing groups.
   This is by far and away the simplest strategy for effective seminar marketing. Once you have determined your ideal audience, the next logical step is to ask yourself:  

   “Where are groups of these people already gathering?”

   Your target market, more often than not, are already meeting together in groups somewhere:

   • clubs
   • associations
   • seminars
   • workshops
   • social groups
   • companies
   • small businesses

   All these organisations are having regular events or meetings looking for someone to come and add value and inspiration to their members or employees. Why not try marketing your seminars to them?

2. Create your own group
   If you already have a business or a client list – even if there are only 8 people on it- this is a great way to market your seminar. You market to the people already interested in you and your services and because they are already engaged, you increase the percentage of them buying again from you. 

   One of the simplest marketing things you can do is have a “Client Appreciation Night”.

   Invite your clients to bring a guest along to an evening. Put on a drink or two and share with them some ground breaking information in your industry. At the evening you then do your awesome presentation and make some sales right there on the night to people who already know and love you, and their friends.

   Of course if your database is 1000 people- the numbers get more fun more quickly, but I want to stress on you that you can start marketing your seminars on a small scale.

I often get asked for tips on public speaking.  Often, people think there is some kind of science or formula to being on stage.  But the truth to being a successful public speaker is much simpler than that.

Listen very carefully . . ..

. . . All you need to do is . . . .

Be yourself.

This means when you are on stage never try to put on an act or mimic or model another person. Instead honour yourself and the values you uphold.

Avoid This Mistake!

One of the biggest mistakes I see new speakers make on stage is when they try to be someone other than themselves.  Public speaking tip number one! Never do this!! Do not try to be someone you are not.  Do not model some polished hotshot American speaker you’ve seen, or try and be some kind of stand up comedian or anything other than your true self

The irony is – when you are your true self – this is when you have the most impact!

People really respond to authenticity. Audiences are not dumb – they can spot when someone is putting on an act.  So when someone is true to his or herself on stage people connect to this on much deeper level.

Ask Permission To Be You!

Well, if you’re not confident on stage or you have fear about public speaking – you could ask the audience: “Is it ok if once in a while I have to use my notes?” or “Is it ok once in a while if use my power-point presentation because this is my first time presenting this material.’ Your audience will respect your honesty and will warm to your authentic self far more than if you were to stand on stage and try to blag it.

You Don’t Have To Be Super-Human!

When you admit to your flaws and admit you’re not a super-human, people like that element of truth.  When they trust you . . . they’re far more likely to buy off you too.

Here’s another public speaking tip for you and maybe even more important than the last.  The first person you need to ask permission off is yourself.  Yes, it is acceptable to be you!  Authenticity comes from a place of acceptance and compassion.  It also comes from a place of self-worth.

Is who you are worth sharing with the world?

Authenticity is peeling back the layers of the surface identity to reveal the bright, shining light of YOU.

Your Turn

So this week, think about how authentic you are on stage or in your business.  If you’re not as authentic as you think you could be, ask yourself why and what steps you can take toward your own personal and professional authenticity.

• When you run events, then there is something you need to support you - an incredible crew!
• If you want to run amazing events, you need an amazing crew
• And if you want to attract amazing crew, you need to be running your events for the right reason
• For a reason much bigger than attracting new sales or new clients
• What we speaking about is your mission.
• When your heart is in the right place and your reason why is BIG enough then you will attract incredible crew to support you.

Marketing your seminars is one of the greatest obstacles I find with people starting out in the public speaking business.

Who on earth am I going to present to?

Where are they all and how do I get them into a room?

Let’s look at 2 easy options for you to find your target market:

1. Pre-existing groups.

   This is by far and away the simplest strategy. Once you have determined your ideal audience, the next logical step is to ask yourself:

   “Where are groups of these people already gathering?”

   Your target market, more often than not, are already meeting together in groups somewhere:
   

   • clubs
   • associations
   • seminars
   • workshops
   • social groups
   • companies
   • small businesses

   All these organisations are having regular events or meetings, just longing for some great inspiring speakers to come and share their wisdom. Don’t discount yourself – every group, organisation or company is looking for someone to come and add value and inspiration to their members or employees.

   Advantages of pre-existing groups:

   • they are already meeting and often looking for speakers
   • they are closely knit and self-defining, so it is obvious if they are your market or not
   • they already have marketing in place so you don’t have to worry about it as much
   • they will pay for room hire and equipment
   • they might have colleagues, associates or other chapters that they will refer you to

   Disadvantages:

   • they have pre-conceived ideas about how speakers present and may be reluctant to let you sell
   • you have no control over the marketing, so its up to them to fill the room
   • it needs a little more organising from a “how do we collect the money and process orders” perspective
2. Create your own group

   If you already have a business or a client list – even if there are only 8 people on it- one of the simplest things you can do is have a “Client Appreciation Night”. Invite your clients to bring a guest along to an evening. Put on a drink or two and share with them some ground breaking information in your industry.

   At the evening you then do your awesome presentation and make some sales right there on the night to people who already know and love you, and their friends.

   Of course if your database is 1000 people- the numbers get more fun more quickly, but I want to stress on you that you can start marketing your seminars on a small scale.

   Advantages of Your Own Crowd:

   • you set the rules and you can sell as hard or soft as you like
   • some may have already bought from you, so they are more pre-disposed to buy from you again. Did you know that over 70% of your sales come from customers with repeat business rather than new clients?
   • you get to control every aspect of their experience: the lighting, the sound, the tea breaks. . .
   • you can manage how “ready to buy” they are by doing good marketing in the lead up to the event

   Disadvantages:

   • you have to do all the marketing, event management, as well as the speaking
   • it’s generally more expensive because room costs, AV etc are footed by you

   Food For Thought

   Now that you have 2 easy strategies to find to your target market, what about going out there this week and either planning a client appreciation night of your own or even approach an organization to book yourself a speaking slot!

It’s at the back of the room, or at the enrolments table where the business end of things happens. This is where the success of your presentation is measured via the number of sales you make and the money you take home in your pocket. It’s here the order forms are collected, payments are processed, questions are answered . . . and sales can be closed or lost depending on the sales skills and talents of the crew you have supporting you.

Where To Start
If you’re just starting out and you are running a small event then you might try to be superstar and do it all on your own . . . my suggestion is don’t go there!  Even with a small audience, having someone to support you at the back of the room is essential.  This allows you to concentrate on what it is you do best – the presentation.

As your business grows or you speak on other people’s stages then having people or crew to support you at the sales desk becomes even more important.

Here are some top tips:

Know the Offer
Make sure your crew know what you’re selling. Spend the time and go through the details of the offer and the price points before the event. This is especially important if you’re at a multi-speaker event with crew who don’t know you or haven’t seen you before.

Know the Form
Every order form is different. A completed order is like gold for your business. It IS money for you. You want to make sure that your crew:

• Understand the information required on the form
• Take care to make sure it’s filled in correctly
• Make sure they can read all the information on it clearly so it’s easy to process the payment or enter the sale into your system when you get back to the office.

Know the Price

• Is the price printed on the order form or have you left a blank space for people to write it in once you reveal your offer?
• If you are not printing the offer price on the form, make sure the crew on the enrolments desk have a price list and you’re not relying on them to write the price down as you announce it from stage.
• On that, when you announce the price from stage, make sure it’s the same one you told the crew.

Nothing beats experience
It’s even better if all or some of your crew have completed your program or bought your product before and can give a first hand account to potential customers. This added testimonial support is great and helps them to answer customer questions, particularly the detailed ones!

Questions
When you’re at the back of the room answering questions, remember to leave your microphone on, so that other people in the room can hear the answers as well. If one person has a question, it’s very likely other people have questions so leaving your microphone on helps encourage others to the back of the room.

So this week, think about how you can use these tips in your presentations to get the best sales results from your presentations.