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
pounds
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 such 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
lend reinforcement to the "need" for self improvement
seminars.
You
can promote and stage these seminars either as a generalist 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 marketer/teacher.
Back
in the Great Depression of the thirties, he recognised 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 pound success
story
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 centre.
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
"specialised
areas" of self improvement.
These
speakers usually wind up their talks with audience
involvement
question and answer sessions.
Most
of them "wind down" with the speaker circulating through the
audience,
plus lots of opportunity for the purchase of self help
books
and tapes by the people wanting on going motivation and
reinforcement
relative 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 attenders learning something they don't already
know.
The
favourite 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!"
Success
seminars are generally based upon the concept of giving
you
the power to believe you can.
The
speakers usually speak from insights and expertise gained from
their
own life experiences.
Self
improvement seminars give the attendees the tools - and the
motivation
- to succeed.
Thus,
a well-organised 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 programmes 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 them 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
speciality speakers make in excess of $10,000 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 restaurants, banquet rooms, hotel
ballrooms,
and convention centres.
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 an intensive radio advertising
campaign
during the week preceding your seminar date.
In
a metropolitan area of half a million population, you should
probably
spend a couple of thousand pounds on radio advertising,
plus
about half as much for flamboyant newspaper advertising.
Some
seminar promoters invest a quarter of their budget in
newspapers,
then a quarter in direct mail and/or telephone
advertising,
with 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, except
for
guest appearances on local ITV talk shows.
Most
promoters spend all this effort and money to promote a series
of
free seminars.
These
free seminars usually draw huge crowds, during which special
"front
men" turn everyone on with super motivational stories
designed
to whet appetites of those attending 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 a commitment - at least a deposit for
the
cost of the "real thing", which is usually set for the week
following.
Those
who do not 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
and the date of the real thing.
With
good advertising, up-front motivational speakers, attractive
programme
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 principle speaker - at your seminars, you can hire local
sales
training people, professional people for the medical
specialities,
local "experts" known through your area newspapers
or
broadcast media, and/or nationally known speakers willing to
travel
and operating through speakers bureaux.
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 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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