Whether you're a motivational speaker or a consultant, speaking at a seminar is an excellent way to jumpstart your career as a coach. Becoming a coach is simply an extension of your specialization and will be an excellent source of experience, additional contacts and income. Here's how you can use your seminar to get coaching projects:
Streamline Your Seminar.
Design your seminar in such a way that it showcases your expertise. Find a niche where your skills, training and knowledge can be showcased. Never try to be some sort of jack-of-all-trades person. Even the most inexperienced seminar attendees are suspicious about people who claim to know it all.
If your background is in Human Resources, for example, offer seminars that teach the people in your industry about related concerns like recruitment, manpower training, benefits and compensation issues, human capital development, etc. You not only have the past experience to tap, you actually know what you're talking about.
Offer Your Own Studies, Interviews And Surveys.
If you've done some research on the subject of your seminar in the past, use that. Even a five-year-old survey can be used provided you have new data to compare it with. Being able to offer data you have collected and analyzed yourself establishes the image that you take your specialization seriously. It also lets people know that you have the necessary skills to assume coaching projects effectively.
Advertise Your Expertise.
In your promotional and advertising materials, enumerate your qualifications. That way, when potential attendees read your brochures or invites, they will know what to expect from you. Make a list of all your major certifications and trainings, especially those that can help you get potential coaching projects.
Create a brief profile on your seminar invitations and brochures. Include your education, career highlights and other qualifications. And yes, let them know you accept appointments and consultations.
Prepare A Kit For Your Target Market.
A simple coaching kit can be made up of a brochure that lists your subject expertise, qualifications and schedule of seminars. You could also include other promotional materials, testimonials and list of individuals and companies you've worked with before (don't forget to ask permission to do this).
Know the right people to send this kit to. For companies, for example, send a kit to the HR person, department supervisor or manager. Know who the major decision makers are and market to them. Do the same for associations and clubs. For individuals, however, you can be more flexible but try to see which ones will truly be interested in what you have to offer.
Jumat, 20 Januari 2012
How To Find Topics That Can Lay Golden Eggs Through Your Seminars
No matter how skilled and knowledgeable you are as a speaker, there are just some topics in your niche that are less profitable than others and conversely, there are some topics that will rake in more dollars than others. Here are a few tips to help you unearth the topics designed to lay golden eggs through your seminars.
Earn More From Your Area Of Expertise
Consider: Stephen King and JK Rowling are both famous and successful authors, but guess who you're going to listen to if you want to write a horror novel? A combination of knowledge, skills, experience, and personality makes certain topics more profitable for you than others. You should know what these topics are and find ways to improve so you can continue being the best and earning the most from these topics.
Latest Trends Yield Greater Returns
Think of what's currently making waves in your target market. If you are mainly catering to mothers, housewives, and women who are generally aged 40 and above and live in the suburbs, you should look for ways of connecting your seminars to the latest issues affecting them. Think Desperate Housewives, online protection for kids, and maybe even same-sex marriages. You need to be constantly alert for the issues that strongly affect your target market, regardless of whether it elicits a favorable or unfavorable reaction from them.
Use The Calendar As The Guide
What's happening now? Is it just a few weeks away from Christmas? Then you should take advantage of that and think about what kind of seminar topic you can introduce and connect to Christmas. Is it summer? What is there in summer that you can relate to the kind of topics you usually discuss?
Promises For A Better Future
People love to find out how they can improve themselves, earn more money, and make their future brighter in general. Your seminars have better chances of selling out if you can find a way to convince people that you're offering them a chance to have a nicer future to look forward to.
Study The Competition
Finally, we boil down to the competition. You're not being asked to copy them. Well, not totally, at least. But look at your competition. Who's currently enjoying sold-out crowds with their seminars? What similarities do their seminars have in terms of the topics they're discussing? Now, consider those similarities: can you think of something that's directly related to those topics but presenting contrasting or varying elements at the same time? If the hottest topic today is health and diet, with most speakers focusing on the benefits of vitamins, what if you talk about the risks of taking vitamins or the consequences of not taking vitamins?
Earn More From Your Area Of Expertise
Consider: Stephen King and JK Rowling are both famous and successful authors, but guess who you're going to listen to if you want to write a horror novel? A combination of knowledge, skills, experience, and personality makes certain topics more profitable for you than others. You should know what these topics are and find ways to improve so you can continue being the best and earning the most from these topics.
Latest Trends Yield Greater Returns
Think of what's currently making waves in your target market. If you are mainly catering to mothers, housewives, and women who are generally aged 40 and above and live in the suburbs, you should look for ways of connecting your seminars to the latest issues affecting them. Think Desperate Housewives, online protection for kids, and maybe even same-sex marriages. You need to be constantly alert for the issues that strongly affect your target market, regardless of whether it elicits a favorable or unfavorable reaction from them.
Use The Calendar As The Guide
What's happening now? Is it just a few weeks away from Christmas? Then you should take advantage of that and think about what kind of seminar topic you can introduce and connect to Christmas. Is it summer? What is there in summer that you can relate to the kind of topics you usually discuss?
Promises For A Better Future
People love to find out how they can improve themselves, earn more money, and make their future brighter in general. Your seminars have better chances of selling out if you can find a way to convince people that you're offering them a chance to have a nicer future to look forward to.
Study The Competition
Finally, we boil down to the competition. You're not being asked to copy them. Well, not totally, at least. But look at your competition. Who's currently enjoying sold-out crowds with their seminars? What similarities do their seminars have in terms of the topics they're discussing? Now, consider those similarities: can you think of something that's directly related to those topics but presenting contrasting or varying elements at the same time? If the hottest topic today is health and diet, with most speakers focusing on the benefits of vitamins, what if you talk about the risks of taking vitamins or the consequences of not taking vitamins?
5 Essential Factors To Consider For Seminar Pricing
Determining the right price for your seminars is just like determining how much you wish to sell the brownies you've baked. But instead of delicious chocolate pastries, what you're selling this time is the wisdom you're imparting to the audience.
Compute Costs
Naturally, the first thing you should aim for is your seminar price to offset your costs. That's why its important to calculate your expenses from day one. How much are you paying for the venue? Are you going to rent a sound system? Are you going to offer foods and drinks? Are you going to employ people to help you conduct the seminar? What about printing costs for materials? Do you have any marketing expenses?
As all these will reflect on your income tax report, its best to keep all receipts and related documents as proof for such figures.
Compute Discounts
Are you going to give discounts to people who are returning to listen for the second or third time or people who are bringing referrals with them? What about existing tie-ups you have with certain companies or organizations? You need to consider all these as they'll reduce the amount of money you can earn from your seminar fees.
Estimate Venue Capacity And Expected Attendance Rate
What's the maximum number of persons the venue will be capable of accommodating? How many persons do you expect to attend your seminar? You'll need to ask the venue manger for the first figure and make a calculated guess for the latter. The more people you expect to attend, the greater chance you can afford to reduce your seminar fee.
Compute Taxes
You didn't really think that your seminars could escape the IRS, did you? As long as you're earning more than peanuts from any legal activity, expect the IRS to ask for a slice from your occupational pie. With regard to taxes, you may need the help of an accountant to accurately determine how much you're expected to pay in terms of taxes.
Consider Industry Rates
Finally, we come to the part of determining the markup of your seminar fee. How much is Oprah charging these days for her seminars? What about Rick Warren or Robert Kiyosaki? Now, compare yourselves to them. Can you justify charging the same rates they do? Assess your capabilities honestly. What is a reasonable rate for the kind of seminar you're offering? Consider your topic as well. Is it something new; something that hasn't yet been discussed and is sure to catch peoples attention?
Compute Costs
Naturally, the first thing you should aim for is your seminar price to offset your costs. That's why its important to calculate your expenses from day one. How much are you paying for the venue? Are you going to rent a sound system? Are you going to offer foods and drinks? Are you going to employ people to help you conduct the seminar? What about printing costs for materials? Do you have any marketing expenses?
As all these will reflect on your income tax report, its best to keep all receipts and related documents as proof for such figures.
Compute Discounts
Are you going to give discounts to people who are returning to listen for the second or third time or people who are bringing referrals with them? What about existing tie-ups you have with certain companies or organizations? You need to consider all these as they'll reduce the amount of money you can earn from your seminar fees.
Estimate Venue Capacity And Expected Attendance Rate
What's the maximum number of persons the venue will be capable of accommodating? How many persons do you expect to attend your seminar? You'll need to ask the venue manger for the first figure and make a calculated guess for the latter. The more people you expect to attend, the greater chance you can afford to reduce your seminar fee.
Compute Taxes
You didn't really think that your seminars could escape the IRS, did you? As long as you're earning more than peanuts from any legal activity, expect the IRS to ask for a slice from your occupational pie. With regard to taxes, you may need the help of an accountant to accurately determine how much you're expected to pay in terms of taxes.
Consider Industry Rates
Finally, we come to the part of determining the markup of your seminar fee. How much is Oprah charging these days for her seminars? What about Rick Warren or Robert Kiyosaki? Now, compare yourselves to them. Can you justify charging the same rates they do? Assess your capabilities honestly. What is a reasonable rate for the kind of seminar you're offering? Consider your topic as well. Is it something new; something that hasn't yet been discussed and is sure to catch peoples attention?
4 Tips On Creating Dollar-Earning Seminar Titles
Titles generally have the power to make or break works of art, whether they're books, movies, or songs. And as far as seminars are concerned, titles have considerable influence on the events success.
4 Tips On Creating Dollar-Earning Seminar Titles
Creating a title for your seminar, regardless of the topic, is just like creating a title for a novel or song. Basically, you want something that instantly grabs peoples attention or enough to make them want to know more about it, or better yet, attend the seminar right away.
Keep It Short
The shorter your title is, the greater the impact. Having a short title makes the meaning powerfully clear to everyone who reads it. Its briefness also makes it easy for people to recall your seminar. If you want to add more details, you can use them as your subtitle. What matters is keeping your title as short as possible.
Quantify It
Doesn't 7 Ways to Earn Today sound better than merely saying ways to Earn Today? The latter is too vague but the former asserts its intentions in almost a commanding way. The title lets you know immediately that you're going to find seven and its easy to imagine the word SEVEN in capital letters and then ways to earn money today.
If you want a head turner for a title, you need to quantify your statement. Ideas you can quantify include but are not limited to the amount of money you can directly or indirectly derive from your seminar, the number of days it will take your listener to put your lessons to work, and of course, the number of tips you'll be sharing in your seminar.
Think Brand Recognition
The name Ferrari always makes people imagine wealth, power, and beauty. You, too, should aim for instant brand recognition when creating your title. If you have a famous guest speaker joining you in your seminar, include his name in the title. If you are focusing on 9-11, be sure to include the event in your title. Anything that makes your people immediately grasp the concept of your seminar and make them want to know more should definitely be included in your title.
Speak The Language Of Your Target Market
If you are targeting teenagers then you have to speak their language and avoid formal or archaic words. If you are speaking to businessmen then you should know that they're more likely to be impressed if you have Bill Gates as a guest than Lindsay Lohan. If you want your title to standout, make sure they understand it first!
4 Tips On Creating Dollar-Earning Seminar Titles
Creating a title for your seminar, regardless of the topic, is just like creating a title for a novel or song. Basically, you want something that instantly grabs peoples attention or enough to make them want to know more about it, or better yet, attend the seminar right away.
Keep It Short
The shorter your title is, the greater the impact. Having a short title makes the meaning powerfully clear to everyone who reads it. Its briefness also makes it easy for people to recall your seminar. If you want to add more details, you can use them as your subtitle. What matters is keeping your title as short as possible.
Quantify It
Doesn't 7 Ways to Earn Today sound better than merely saying ways to Earn Today? The latter is too vague but the former asserts its intentions in almost a commanding way. The title lets you know immediately that you're going to find seven and its easy to imagine the word SEVEN in capital letters and then ways to earn money today.
If you want a head turner for a title, you need to quantify your statement. Ideas you can quantify include but are not limited to the amount of money you can directly or indirectly derive from your seminar, the number of days it will take your listener to put your lessons to work, and of course, the number of tips you'll be sharing in your seminar.
Think Brand Recognition
The name Ferrari always makes people imagine wealth, power, and beauty. You, too, should aim for instant brand recognition when creating your title. If you have a famous guest speaker joining you in your seminar, include his name in the title. If you are focusing on 9-11, be sure to include the event in your title. Anything that makes your people immediately grasp the concept of your seminar and make them want to know more should definitely be included in your title.
Speak The Language Of Your Target Market
If you are targeting teenagers then you have to speak their language and avoid formal or archaic words. If you are speaking to businessmen then you should know that they're more likely to be impressed if you have Bill Gates as a guest than Lindsay Lohan. If you want your title to standout, make sure they understand it first!
Motivational Seminars: Making Your Life's Vocation Your Business
Having the genuine desire to impart valuable wisdom to your audience is a noble goal, but if you're serious about having a career in motivational speaking then you need something more than that. To make your motivational seminar profitable, you need to remember that what you're doing is not just your life's vocation but your business as well.
Use Seminar Materials As A Marketing Tool
Materials you distribute to your audience should not only include summarized points of your lecture but also your contact details. This will serve as your calling card to them, giving your audience a way of contacting you just in case they want you to hold another seminar in their area.
Get Their Contact Details
Seminars require listeners to register for one major reason, and that's so they can obtain a means to contact people and invite them for subsequent seminars. If they're interested in listening to you now and you've no plans of doing anything to change their minds, then there's a very good chance they'll be willing to listen to you again.
Remember to instruct the people you're assigning to the registration tables to ensure that each listener provides at least an email address, if not a phone number or residence address, for their contact details.
Always Give Your Best
Treat each seminar like it's your last. Profitability of your seminar is generally proportionate to your skills as a motivational speaker. You need to prove that your seminar is worth every dollar they've paid to hear you speak.
Consider Team-Ups
Look for a motivational speaker you can work with or just about any other professional to complement your seminar. This will add variety to your seminar and if all things go well, it can even let you increase your seminar fee the next time.
Encourage Returns And Referrals
Don't ever let them step out of the room without informing them about the seminars you have scheduled ahead on your calendar. Inform your listeners that they can receive discounts if they attend any of your subsequent seminars. All they need to do is provide verifiable proof like a ticket stub from your seminar and they'll be able to attend your seminars at a discounted price. Let them know they can also obtain greater discounts for every referral they make.
Ask For Feedback
Last but certainly not least, don't forget to distribute short survey questionnaires to your audience. It's the people listening to you who'll ultimately be the best judge in determining what factors make your motivational seminars profitable and of course enjoyable as well.
Use Seminar Materials As A Marketing Tool
Materials you distribute to your audience should not only include summarized points of your lecture but also your contact details. This will serve as your calling card to them, giving your audience a way of contacting you just in case they want you to hold another seminar in their area.
Get Their Contact Details
Seminars require listeners to register for one major reason, and that's so they can obtain a means to contact people and invite them for subsequent seminars. If they're interested in listening to you now and you've no plans of doing anything to change their minds, then there's a very good chance they'll be willing to listen to you again.
Remember to instruct the people you're assigning to the registration tables to ensure that each listener provides at least an email address, if not a phone number or residence address, for their contact details.
Always Give Your Best
Treat each seminar like it's your last. Profitability of your seminar is generally proportionate to your skills as a motivational speaker. You need to prove that your seminar is worth every dollar they've paid to hear you speak.
Consider Team-Ups
Look for a motivational speaker you can work with or just about any other professional to complement your seminar. This will add variety to your seminar and if all things go well, it can even let you increase your seminar fee the next time.
Encourage Returns And Referrals
Don't ever let them step out of the room without informing them about the seminars you have scheduled ahead on your calendar. Inform your listeners that they can receive discounts if they attend any of your subsequent seminars. All they need to do is provide verifiable proof like a ticket stub from your seminar and they'll be able to attend your seminars at a discounted price. Let them know they can also obtain greater discounts for every referral they make.
Ask For Feedback
Last but certainly not least, don't forget to distribute short survey questionnaires to your audience. It's the people listening to you who'll ultimately be the best judge in determining what factors make your motivational seminars profitable and of course enjoyable as well.
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