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How to Make $8,000 Attending a $5,000 Seminar
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Author: Fred Gleeck
Topic: Business
Viewed: 76 time(s)
[ Not Rated Yet ]
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How would you like to attend a $5,000 seminar and come back home
from the event with $8,000 in your pocket?
It?s possible, but you must have a SYSTEM. A system that?s been
tested. A system that works!
To make this happen you first must have a product or service to
sell. You then want to try and find opportune times during the
event to let people know about you and what you?re selling.
In some instances you?ll be able to sell your product or service
on the spot. If you can, then by all means do it! If you can?t,
you?ll want to generate a boatload of well-qualified, HOT leads.
In most cases, you?ll probably have to be satisfied with
generating leads, but your individual situation may be different.
The difference usually revolves around the price point of the
product/service that you?re selling. What?s the RIGHT price
point? It depends. Bad answer, but true.
You?ll generate these leads by asking the RIGHT questions and
making the RIGHT comments at events.
When people come over to you as the result of you asking or
answering a question, be prepared to ?hold court.?
As people come up to you, start a circle going with you in the
center. Try and move your group into a quiet area where you
don?t have to scream to have everyone hear you.
Where Should You Sit at Events?
Always sit at one of the four corners of a room. This means you
will sit on the front row either all the way on the left or all
the way on the right. Another option would be to sit on the back
row on the far left and right.
I actually PREFER to sit in the back row on the right. I don?t
think this is necessarily THE best place because people have to
turn around to look at you. Most people would say that the front
row either left or right would be the best.
Frankly, I choose that location because it allows me to slip out
easier if the speaker is terminally boring.
The reason for choosing these locations is simple. They are the
only locations in the room where you can be easily seen by
everyone in the room. When you stand (which you always should)
to make a comment, everyone in the room will be able to see who
you are.
There are two times where you can highlight yourself at your
seminar. One is where you make comments. The other is where you
ask questions.
Comments: Make comments at a seminar when you have something
VALUABLE to contribute. When you do it, it should not APPEAR to
be self-promotional. It should APPEAR to be giving people
valuable information.
If you?re doing it right, you will be giving people great
information, BUT, you?ll also be promoting yourself!
Here?s an example from a recent event.
I was at a recent marketing seminar where the speaker was
discussing an internet issue. I then spoke up and told people
about a VERY important issue that few people know about. When I
made my comment everyone came up to me at the next break to ask
me for more information about that topic.
There?s a specific method for answering questions at a seminar
or event. Every answer has got to show people how bright and
insightful you are AND make them want to come up to you at the
next break.
At another event, I made this comment:
?In my testing I?ve discovered that reserving certain key
misspellings within your topic makes sense. Since I do a lot of
work with professional speakers, I own the site:
www.speeking.com. This site gets over 200 unique visitors and
closes over 5% of those individuals on a $100 front end product.?
This comment accomplished two things. First, it gave people a
GREAT concept they can use for themselves AND it promoted my
site: www.speeking.com. That?s the kind of comment you want to
make.
Questions: The way you ASK a question is critical. Before you
ask a concise, highly intelligent question you?ve got to precede
the question with a mini-bio.
In your mini-bio you want to show people that you have a lot on
the ball in your specific area.
Here?s an example: ?I own over 100 websites, all of which make
money selling a specific information product, what I?d like to
know is blah, blah . . .??
Never ask TOO MANY questions during an event. You?ll be
perceived as a pest. Hold your fire until you see the RIGHT
opportunity, then take it.
Whenever people ask me about how many comments/questions
constitutes too many, I tell them my rule of thumb is NO MORE
than 3 per day.
Preparation
Before you go to an event, you?ve got to have your ducks in a
row. You should have a list of self-promotional items to make
sure and bring to every event.
I forgot to bring all of the items listed below at a recent
event and lost thousands of dollars.
Here?s my list: 1-page order sheet; copies of all of my books;
flyer promoting any and all upcoming events; flyer promoting any
soon to be released products; articles by or about you.
Come with all of the above and you?ll be armed for the battle.
What to Wear
Whenever I go to a seminar and event I wear my ?Coogi? sweaters.
These are extremely bright (and many people feel obnoxious)
multi-colored sweaters. These have become my trademark. In fact,
I?m known as ?The Sweater Guy.?
To give you a complete idea of the look that I use, I?m either
in a pair of jeans or a nice pair of dress slacks. The only
thing I don?t like is wearing uncomfortable shoes which are the
only kind I have that match my dress slacks. I prefer jeans!
I?m not suggesting you do the sweater thing, but I AM suggesting
that you wear something that will make you stand out from the
crowd. That way, people will remember you.
I?m not suggesting that you dress up in a clown outfit. Keep it
memorable, but keep it professional. People should be able to
spot you easily at one of the breaks.
What You SHOULDN?T Do
Don?t become a pest or annoyance at any event. There is nothing
worse than someone who over-contributes at events. People start
to get annoyed. Pick your times and issues carefully. Only
comment or ask questions when it DIRECTLY relates to you and/or
your field of expertise.
This would mean a maximum of 3 instances during the day when you
speak. This seems to be the most anyone should contribute in the
course of an event.
Question the Status Quo
Look for ways to be different from anyone at the events. To
stand out, but to stand out in a positive way.
No one cares if all you?re going to do is agree with the speaker
with your comments. That will bring a HUGE YAWN regardless of
how articulate you are in making your point.
Questions peoples assumptions and ?sacred cows? but do so in an
intelligent, articulate, manner. Also make sure and do it in a
way that doesn?t directly challenge the speaker and make them
look bad.
Printed Matter
Whatever it is you?re trying to promote should have a flyer or
other printed matter associated with them.
At a recent seminar that I attended I was hoping to promote a
series of seminars that I was going to have in the upcoming
months.
I printed up a one page sheet with a list of the seminars and
some bullet points associated with each seminar. I included all
of the websites associated with each of the seminars. Someone
won?t be sold with a one page flyer but they are much more apt
to buy at a website.
Don?t try and promote more than one thing or one set of things.
For example, I wouldn?t want to try and promote both my seminars
AND a whole set of my products.
Your Book
People tell you to bring business cards to events that you
attend. That?s OK, but there?s something MUCH better. Bring a
copy of your book!
Don?t have a book? Write one or get one written.
If you need more information on how to do this, go to
www.selfpublishingsuccess.com.
A book will give you a massive amount of credibility in any
marketplace. It?s infinitely better than a business card.
What topic should your book be about? Preferably in the field
that you want to ?hold court.? That would be the best, but a
book in ANY related topic will do.
By handing out my books I end up getting three things:
Orders for books, people onto my opt-in lists and orders for my
other programs that are listed in the back of the book on the
order sheets.
Get the Mike!
At many seminars and events, they pass a mike around for people
to ask questions. He/she who controls the mike, wins!
Get a hold of the mike in advance of making a comment or asking
a question. When there is a gap in the action, shoot.
Don?t interrupt anyone, but when there is a gap, jump in!
The Kind of Events You Attend
Unless you attend the right kind of events, this system WILL NOT
WORK! What?s the ?right? type of event? One where you have a
match with your product or service offering. This means that if
you sell civil war memorabilia you don?t want to go to internet
marketing seminars. There?s just NOT a match!
This doesn?t mean that you should only attend seminars attended
by your peers. Attend events where your peers are there only to
learn more about your business and socialize. If you?re trying
to attend events for the PURPOSE of selling your products and
services, look for events where your PROSPECTS will be in
attendance.
Your Contact Info
My 800 number is 1-800-FGLEECK. I?ve had this 800 number for 18
years. An 800 number is better than an 888, an 877 or an 866.
Why? The 800 number shows you?ve been around a lot longer. Even
if you get one today (which is tough to do), people will still
associate longevity with your business if you have an 800 number.
If you CAN?T find an 800 number, go ahead and get either an 888,
877 or 866 number in that that order. If possible, try to make
it a ?vanity? number. One where the numbers spell something out
as well.
Conclusion
Seminars that you attend are the best lead generation and sales
opportunity on the planet. Go to events and follow the
suggestions mentioned above and you?ll be able to make MUCH MORE
than the cost of the seminars that you attend. Good luck and
good hunting!
About the author:
Fred Gleeck is an expert in the field of Information Marketing
and Seminar Marketing. He's the author of 10+ books and is an
accomplished coach and consultant. Fred is known as the "King of
Content" and "The Product Guru"; to receive his regular INSIGHTS
via email, send a blank email to tips@seminarexpert.com;
www.FredGleeck.com; www.TheProductGuru.com
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