Ever
since the beginning of time, ambitious people of the world
have
attributed some "indescribable secret" to the success of
those
people with wealth. These people have spent, and will
continue
to spend, millions of dollars to cultivate these
"secrets"
within themselves.
Particularly
since the early seventies, there has been a growing
demand
by the public to attend classes, workshops, and
self-improvement
seminars that will enable them to align their
thinking
as well as their actions, with those of people who have
already
achieved success.
The
popularity of such best-selling how-to books as WINNING IS
BELIEVING...THINK
AND GROW RICH...HOW TO DEVELOP A WINNING
PERSONALITY...OVERCOMING
SHYNESS... IMAGINEERING... NEW LIFE
OPTIONS...
WINNING BY NEGOTIATION... SUCCESSFUL VISUAL-VERBAL
COMMUNICATIONS...
CONVERSATIONALLY SPEAKING... and countless
others
lends reinforcement to the "need" for self-improvement
seminars.
You
can promote and stage these seminars either as a generalists
or
as a specialist in a specific area of expertise--and attain
wealth
for yourself almost beyond your current imagination! The
market
potential has only barely been scratched, affording a real
ground-floor
opportunity for those with the gumption to take
action.
Dale
Carnegie--the author of the book, How To Win Friends and
Influence
People--was certainly one of the first, if not "the
first"
self-improvement seminar market/teacher. Back in the Great
Depression
of the thirties, he recognized this need in people to
improve
themselves--he worked out a deal with the local
management
of his hometown YMCA-- got the word around that he was
holding
classes on self-improvement--and the rest is one of the
truly
classic unemployed-to-multi-million-dollar success stories
of
our time.
A
self-improvement seminar is conducted much the same as a
Toastmaster's
Club meeting...It can be held just about anywhere,
from
the informal atmosphere of someone's living room to the
formalities
of the Hilton Convention Center.
Basically,
a self-improvement seminar is a gathering of people
where
one or more speakers talk on a specific subject. More often
than
not, only a certain aspect of self-improvement, such as How
To
develop A Positive Mental Attitude--is the thrust of the
seminar.
In other words, the more successful seminars deal with
"specialized
areas" of self-improvement.
These
speakers usually wind up their talks with audience
involvement
questions and answer sessions. Most of them "wind
down"
with the speaker circulating thru the audience, plus lots
of
opportunity for the purchase of self-help books and tapes by
the
people wanting on-going motivation and reinforcement to what
they've
just heard. Always-sometimes even as the featured subject
of
the seminar--there's a great deal of motivation projected
during
these meetings. At the bottom line, motivation is more the
purpose
of these seminars than the attendees learning something
they
don't already know. The favorite words of most seminar
speakers
is usually, "It's the difference between having a dream
and
taking action--a matter of saying I can, believing it, and
then
doing it--because you can!
Successful
seminars are generally based upon the concept of
giving
you the power to believe you can. The speakers usually
speaks
from insights and expertise gained from their own life
experiences.
Self-improvements seminars give the attendees the
tools--and
the motivation--to succeed. Thus, a well-organized and
well
presented seminar that helps people up the ladder of success
can't
help but succeed because we are a success oriented
society--it's
an easy sell with an income potential limited only
by
your ability to express yourself.
You
won't need an office to make it big with self-improvement
seminars.
The public doesn't visit you--you take your programs to
them.
Self-improvement seminars appeal to almost everybody--from
blue-collar
workers to top executives.
The
average cost per person to attend a seminar is very close to
$300--so
your basic audience will be from the upper-income
brackets--but
if you handle the promotional aspects properly,
you'll
pull them in from lesser income brackets as well.
Many
seminar promoters employ sales teams to call upon top
company
executives and either get the to partially pay the cost
of
several employees to attend as educational or business
improvement
investments--or to foot the bill for the sponsorship
of
a "group seminar" for all of that company's middle management
personnel.
Many specialty speakers make in excess of $100,000 per
year
with regular motivational and/or self-improvement seminars
in
this fashion.
In
the beginning though, you'll get your start by staging
seminars
for the general public in restaurant banquet rooms,
hotel
ballrooms, and convention centers. These will entail
advertising
costs, plus the charges for the rented space, and an
"on
hand" inventory of the materials you want to sell to the
people
who attend your seminars.
Generally,
you'll do best with intensive radio advertising
campaign
during the week preceding your seminar date. In a
metropolitan
area of half a million population, you should spend
a
couple of thousand dollars on radio advertising, plus half as
much
for flamboyant newspaper advertising. Some seminar promoters
invest
a quarter of their budget in newspapers, then a half going
into
radio. Of course, the allocation of your advertising budget
should
be related to the previous proven pulling power of each
media
within that particular market. Not too much concern is
given
to television advertising, excepting for guest appearances
of
the community service talk shows.
Most
promoters spend all of this effort and money to promote a
series
of free seminars. These free seminars usually draw huge
crowds,
during which special "front men" turn everybody on with
super-motivational
stories designed to wet the appetite of those
in
attendance for more. These free seminars generally last only
45
minutes to an hour, and are strictly motivational in purpose.
Each
person in attendance is handed a brochure describing the
up-coming
"main event" as they leave these free seminars. An
attempt
is made to get an commitment---at least a deposit for the
cost
of the "real thing" which is usually set for the week
following.
Those who do commit themselves to attending the big
one
are then contacted by professional telephone sales people and
given
the complete sales presentation between the time of the
free
seminar ad the date of the real thing. With good
advertising,
up-front motivational speakers, attractive program
brochures
and experienced telephone sales people--you can count
on
closing about 30 to 35% of those who attend your free
seminars.
If
you don't have the confidence or inclination to
participate--be
the principal speaker--at your seminars you can
hire
local sales training people, professional people from the
medical
specialties, local "experts" known thru your area
newspapers
or broadcast media, and or/ nationally known speakers
wiling
to travel and operating thru speakers' bureaus.
Finally,
a reiteration of the fact that there are literally
millions
of people in all parts of the country willing and able
to
pay you for helping them to improve themselves. You can start
with
meetings in your living room, or your local restaurant. All
it
takes is action on your part to get it set up, and a push from
yourself
to start making it happen. Best of luck, and now get
going
with it.
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