HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE WITH SELF-IMPROVEMENT SEMINARS
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 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 dollar 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 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
"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 DVDs 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 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!"
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 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
$600 - 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 $20,000 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 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 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 dollars 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
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 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!
