However, if you then go on to let people know that you will be happy to get the a copy of a GOOD CLEAN audio of the event at a VERY reasonable price, most will NOT try and record it on the SLY.

What is the right price?

I would say about 10% of what they paid to attend the event. If you price a good audio recording at that price, most people will think it’s worth it to pay for a GOOD quality recording.

Do it this way and you’ll have very few people who WANT the recordings who wont’ BUY them!

I suggest you do it either at lunch or right after you finish for the day.

Make it a NON mandatory session and make sure that your speaker KNOWS that you are going to promote it this way.

How do you get people to come?

Let the speaker (who should be there before the session – preferably well before) do a short commercial about what he/she is going to do at this special session. Let them tell the folks what they will learn and give them the BENEFITS of attending.

This is a good place to have someone who is a strong closer for products do their thing. As long as they deliver some good, solid, content, people won’t be offended with a strong pitch at the end.

AND, since it is a SPECIAL session that was meant for those who WANTED to come, your attendees can’t really BITCH about a PITCH!

There isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question. BUT, you do have to decide. It will set the mood for the entire event.

I do events that are very hands on and “get it done” oriented. Having a formal event would defeat my purposes. It would make people constrained to relax and get to work.

If you do an event that is geared to a very affluent group and has to do with a sensitive topic like money, it MAY be wise to consider doing a formal event.

What does that term mean? It has to do with both how people are dressed as well the way you to talk to and interact with your attendees. For some topics people will feel more comfortable with a more formal approach.

Think about this early in your event. After you decide it will dramatically affect the approach you take. Make an incorrect choice here and you risk having the folks at the event feel uncomfortable.

This isn’t the MOST important element of doing a seminar, but it is significant enough to give consideration.

The solution for any savvy seminar promoter is to make sure that their are mics in the audience for people to use for their questions.

When the events first start, you’ll have to TRAIN people to wait for the mic before they start asking the question. Within a very short period of time, everyone will know that they should wait until they get a hold of the mic before they start firing their questions at you.

When you have a decent size group of people at one of your events, you’ll want to get some hand held wireless mics for this purpose.

Corded mis will work fine, but you’ll have to set them up on a stand on one or both sides of the room and then ask people to “go to the mic” when they have a question.

Either way you do it, make SURE that you get anyone asking a question ON MIC. If not, all of your participants AT the event and those listening to the recordings will be FRUSTRATED.

Here are few things you must do if you are going to use OUTSIDE speakers:

1. See them speak. I don’t care how good they look on paper, make sure you see them SPEAK. Preferably live. They can always make themselves look good on paper.
2. Ask for references. Sounds obvious, but very few people do it. DO IT.
3. Give them the rules of the game for you/your event and make them SIGN a written agreement. I had a guy promote a competing piece of software at MY event. I almost pulled him off stage.
4. Review what they will pitch and what the price points are. Make sure they are in line with what you or the other speakers will be promoting/selling.
5. Go with your gut. If they don’t feel like the right match, don’t use them.

Do these 5 things and you’re on the right track.

This is not just about YOU making money. Sure, that’s important, but you’ll make plenty of money by making sure that you serve those who attend your events.

What makes the most sense for your particular event? Is it suited to a LARGE space or would it be better to charge MORE per head and do the event in a smaller space.

At large events, you’ll probably make more on registration dollars, but I’ve had MUCH BETTER success in converting those who attended my smaller events into solid, long term consulting and coaching clients.

Bigger is NOT always better when it comes to doing seminars.

I have a number of clients who will be providing me with some very good long term revenue who came to a smaller event to start.

If they had been at one of my larger events, I would NOT have been able to build a relationship the same way and I suspect it would not have worked out as well.

There is a place for events both LARGE and SMALL when you do seminars!

This will help.

Make sure and thank people for coming and give them your full attention for a SHORT period of time. There will be those who want to get some individual coaching done at that time.

Let them know that you’ll be happy to speak with them more at a later date, after you’ve said HI to everyone else in the group. MOST will understand.

Getting to know a percentage of your audience is good for them and for you.

It will help you be LESS nervous when you get started and will establish a greater level of trust for later on.

There are many “gurus” who don’t do this. They stay SEQUESTERED somewhere in a back room until the moment before the event is supposed to start.

I suppose this is a matter of personal style, but this just doesn’t work for me.

If you like people and you’re prepared to deliver a lot of valuable content, do what I say to do here.

I often threaten to cut off people’s ties if they show up wearing one at my events. That usually serves to make the point.

My primary concern when people are at my events is to give them the GREATEST AMOUNT OF LEARNING that time will allow. I suggest you adopt the same philosophy.

If you do your events at hotels, remember that the temperature is often unpredictable. That’s why I always encourage people to wear COMFORTABLE clothing and to make sure they bring a coat or sweater JUST IN CASE.

There have been few times when doing an event that the temperature has been “just right”. Even at a Ritz Carlton hotel!

I suggest you make sure your events are geared to learning and don’t turn into FASHION SHOWS.

Make this clear with any and all of your promotional material!

You need to start STRONG and end STRONGER!

Hopefully your entire event will be memorable, but when someone asks one of your attendees what they thought of your event, they will think back to how the event ended.

And how it started.

When you start putting your event together, think of how you will open and how you will close. There are NO two sections of your seminar or workshop that are more important.

If you’re looking for an example, go rent the video: The French Connection with Gene Hackman from back in the early 70s. Take note of how the film opens. This will give you an idea of how to start your event.

As for the close, make sure that do two things. First, give people a PLAN of ACTION for what they should do NOW to make things happen.

Second, give them something REALLY solid that you end with. Similar to how you started, hold back one KILLER idea until the very end. One that people will leave saying: “WOW, that one idea was worth attending the entire event!”

You can NEVER make everyone happy!

That being said, there is only ONE really good reason to do this. TIME!

Trying to get people back to your seminar room after lunch is like herding cats.

If you’re doing a relatively pricey seminar where food cost doesn’t become a big deal, then go ahead and do it. IF you go that route, make sure and provide people with at least 2 or 3 choices at the meals. Always make one a vegetarian.

Better yet, do a buffet. You can get them through the line quickly and back to their tables for a “working lunch.”

Most of my events that are either 1 or 2 day seminars I do NOT provide food. I DO tell people to grab a quick sandwich and come back to the room for a “bonus” session.

This usually works. Try it yourself!