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Generate New Clients and More Business Using Seminars and Workshops

By Shannon Kilkenny

Face it ladies, we can all use a new or different form of marketing, promotion and/or publicity. I’m a true believer in multiple venues for getting my name and product out to my potential customers and clients. One avenue I have found that works for me is planning and implementing seminars and workshops. This great marketing tool also gets me out of the house, away from my computer and face to face with my customers and potential clients. Who is the perfect candidate for leading a seminar or workshop? Anyone who has a product or service to offer and wants more clients and customers - is that you? This brief overview shows you the benefits of seminars and workshops and helps to get you started with development and designing ideas. First, let’s define seminars and workshops. With this understanding you will be able to decide which fits you and your marketing plan.

A Seminar tends to be more instructive with a lecturer speaking to an audience about a specific topic. Seminars typically handle a larger audience with this structure. You can have hundreds of participants – just listening with little to no interaction.

A Workshop tends to be more interactive, more of a hands-on learning. It is usually a smaller group because of the activity structure. Typically workshops cater to a smaller group where you might break out and work in even smaller groups throughout the allotted timeframe.

So What is in it For You? There are a number of benefits to harvest with these types of events.

1. Exposure and Name Recognition – You can reach a large audience base. It is a way of introducing your name and business to potential clients and customers. It is said that a person needs to hear your name 5-7 times before they will buy from you or use your services. This is an excellent outlet for word-of-mouth marketing.

2. Establish Credibility – When you lead workshops or seminars, people automatically look at you as an expert. They are more likely to trust what you say. You build trust and a reputation as well, so make sure what you say is true. Offer them a solution.

3. Generate Leads – These leads are priceless. If they attend your event or contact you for more information, a solid connection has been made. I have a list of everyone who has taken my class or come to my workshop, purchased my book or made an inquiry of any of the above. And when my next book comes out….I have a list of direct leads.

4. Selling Opportunity – Seminars and workshops can create a multi-stream of income. First you can charge for the workshop (not always appropriate). Second, sell your product and your services – possibly repeatedly (back of the room sales).

5. Learn your market - Learn needs and desires of your audience. After each event you will have learned more from your participants and can then transform your curriculum to cover those new issues. You can incorporate that information into your next presentation or you might get new ideas and create a totally different seminar or create a new product. Evaluations forms are priceless.

Sometimes these results aren’t noticed right away, because the client isn’t ready at the moment. But they will remember you when their need arises. And if they keep seeing your name out there…when they are ready, they will come to you.

How to Develop a Workshop or Seminar

Let’s do a quick test to see if you are a candidate to create a workshop or seminar by going through the next 8 steps. See what you come up with and decide whether or not you have something worthwhile to give. And of course you do or else you wouldn’t even be reading this article.

1. Define yourself: Write down your profession or the special knowledge you have – keep it simple at first. For example:

Profession: Attorney, mortgage broker, chiropractor, business consultant, event planner, writer, accountant, financial planner, etc.

Knowledge: Health care, web design, coaching, event planning, vitamins, teacher, real estate, organizer, etc.

1. Define your services and products: Write down what your services or the products you have to offer such as coaching, consulting, teacher, trainer, books, newsletters, classes and/or workshops, etc.

2. Get specific: What information or skill do you have and would want to share with others? If you’re a mortgage broker, maybe you specialize in 1st time buyers or are creative with financing and work with people who own and want to own multiple income properties. Or you’re a chiropractor and you specialize in young children or pregnant women or sports injuries. Or you’re a tax account and you specialize in real estate or small businesses or an attorney who specialized in creating trusts and financial planning…..You get the idea.

3. List Potential Topics: Out of the list above, list some topics you could teach and train others.

4. List your target audience: Who would be interested in what you have to offer. You need to get specific here. When it comes to marketing, knowing who these people are will save you time and money.

5. Bring in Others: List others who you might want to create an alliance with you and work together on a combined curriculum. Find someone with additional knowledge or complimentary knowledge or a product that would enhance your event.

6. Prepare an agenda: Take everything from above and begin working on the details. This will ultimately begin the process of designing your agenda/curriculum. Make sure you have a compelling topic and offer a solution!

7. Write an enticing course title: With the information you’ve written down, start creating a title. Don’t be surprised if it changes often until you find the right one. And you will know when you have it.

By following the above steps you have developed the shell / template for your workshop or seminar. Keep going to the design stage if you have discovered you have great topic and program to use as a selling tool.

Designing a Workshop / Seminar Remember that the ultimate goal is obtain the benefits that we spoke of earlier! You want to present a quality image of you and your product or service. What you are looking for are new clients and you want quality clients not just quantity. Think of your workshop or seminar as a sales call for a large number of potential clients.

Create an Agenda – Make sure your topic and/or presentation is gripping and solutions based. People don’t just buy products and services….they buy solutions. They have problems and they want you to provide the answers. How does your service or product provide a solution? What answers do you have to a problem? These are the topics and issues that you want to present. What I can do for you! If the complete solution involves a third party – bring them in. With the right collaboration you are able to offer participants more solutions in one setting. Be specific and avoid topics that are too general. Unless the workshop is just a teaser to other things such as an all day course or a series of coaching sessions, etc. I give workshops for the Learning Annex and only have 3 hours to teach Event Planning. There is not nearly enough time to explain it all….So the participants want to buy my book as they leave for the rest of the story!

Know Your Audience – Select the right target audience and prospects. These are the people who need your services and products – they need a solution that you can provide. Are they individuals, small business owners, women, parents, students, people in career transition, people in pain – emotionally or physical, new home buyers, somebody having tax problems, financial investment needs, the corporate sector, the list goes on and on. Clarifying your audience will help you effectively communicate your solution in your invitation and ultimately your presentation. Find out how to reach your audience. Will it be through email, flyer, phone calls, invitations, etc. What will work best for your situation? Network for leads – always be on the look out for potential clients. Make sure you get everyone’s business card and put it in your database right away.

Attract your Clients – Create and deliver an attractive invitation that demands action. Craft something that will entice them to come to your event. Use the AIDA principal for the invitation:

Attention – Grab the readers’ attention
Interest – Generate interest
Desire – Create the desire within them to keep reading or phone
Action – Tell them what to do. Act Now, Buy Now, Phone Today, Buy This book!

Once you have a presentation whether it is a seminar or a workshop, you can recycle it. No need to reinvent the wheel. So the initial time it takes to create the presentation will pay off over and over again.

Obviously there is a lot more to planning a workshop or seminar than what is written is this article. For a comprehensive understanding of planning events of any kind, order my book The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning by going to www.successfuleventplanning.com

And for those of you out there who think you can’t possibly present a workshop or seminar – because of a fear of speaking in front of a group. I’m here to tell you I was there! But I started out speaking with small groups and then worked my way up. But fear of public speaking is a whole other article! In fact…it could be a great workshop topic for one of you ladies. Plan well, plan often and expect success.

Shannon Kilkenny, author of The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning is currently teaching classes, leading workshops and presenting at conferences. She is working on her next endeavor to create a curriculum and a new book dedicated to “greening” the hospitality and event planning industries. Her goal is to encourage you to incorporate environmental awareness in your decision making process. Find out more about Shannon and her book by visiting http://www.successfuleventplanning.com

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