There are two primary things I suggest you do.

One is a longer, more detailed promotional brochure. You will want to do it on an 11X17 coated paper. Given the relatively inexpensive prices of printing these days, you should probably opt for “4 color” printing. This just means that you print in FULL COLOR.

You’ll want to concentrate first on your headline. This will be the most important element of the brochure. Make sure you make it a SELF mailer. Putting the piece in an envelope will only depress your response rates.

On this piece, also make sure to include:

• Lots of bullet points detailing what people will learn
• Plenty of testimonials, preferably audio and/or video
• A bio that will make people want to hear YOU
• Pricing that is tiered based on how soon people respond
• Bonuses that make sense to anyone who visits
• A website address for those who need more info
• Where and when the event will be held

If you opt to do a postcard, here are some of the things you need to know:

• Use a postcard that is over-sized to make sure it gets seen
• Your headline becomes critical to success
• Don’t PACK it with copy, make it “airy” and easy to read
• Your primary goal is to drive people to a site

When using either or both of these direct mail methods, the most critical item is your list. The best list is one that you compile yourself. This will make it MUCH more likely to get people sign up.

I never recommend that people use compiled or purchased lists to promote a seminar. They usually don’t pull enough response to justify their purchase.

My response is always: I AGREE! I’m sure you’re great. I’ll then add: For US to make the MOST money I think it would be UNFAIR for me to merely pay you a fee for the ad. I think we should split the money 50-50.

So let’s have you run the ad as OFTEN AS YOU WANT and just split the money. That will make you even MORE than my PAYING for ad space.

Anyone who takes you up on that deal, go for it.

If not, do NOT spend money with any of the people who approach you. Remember that most ad reps get paid by the amount of dollars in advertising they book. Their compensation does NOT depend on YOUR results!

My goal is to make it so that like me, you NEVER lose money on an event.

If you follow my advice, I only HOPE to get you as close to that goal as I possibly can.

When people come to me and say they are doing a seminar in 3 months and want my help to market it, the first question I ask is: “how big a targeted email list do you have?”

If they say NONE, I always suggest they take the money they were planning to spend on advertising and donate it to their favorite charity.

The money would be MUCH BETTER spent!

A few reasons why this is so crucial:

First, you don’t want them to ask for their money back. Second, you want them to buy a lot of product from you. Third, you want them to come back to future events. Finally, you want them to buy your consulting services.

If you blow it at the seminar itself, you’ll lose on all four of these points. When people come to your events, they expect a minimum of two things. First, they want someone who is a good presenter. Second, they

want someone who will give them lots of usable and relevant content. These two are equally important; one without the other is a failure. If you’re weak in either of these areas, get some help. If you need a refer- ral in either the content or presentation skill area, contact us.

Being good is not enough; you must be great!

Many seminar promoters do only the minimum to fulfill their contractual obligations to their attendees and customers. I suggest you significantly exceed the expectations of your audience. Do more than they expect. Doing things this way will increase product sales and increase your enrollment at future events.

Giving you a complete list of specific things that go into making a great seminar and presentation would occupy another book this size. The best advice I can give you in a small space is to concentrate on those things you can do that impress the heck out of people but cost you very little “out-of-pocket” dollars.

The rest of this chapter offers some things to keep in mind when you present your seminar to make sure you do it right!

Your Look

I have a trademark speaking wardrobe. I always wear my famous Coogi sweaters when I present. These are these very bright and color- ful sweaters that I got turned on to in Australia. These work best for me. They fit my personality and my results are always good when I’m wearing them.

Find out what works for you. Note what you’re wearing each time you present and tabulate the results. See what you tend to sell best in. Whatever works best, wear that outfit all the time.

You may find that your most effective wardrobe varies with your target audience. Some kinds of attendees may respond better to a suit- and-tie look while others will buy like mad when you wear jeans and a humorous T-shirt. Within the bounds of good taste, you should experiment and keep track.

Once you find something that works well, don’t mess with success.

Psych Yourself Up

When you are giving a seminar, you are “on stage” for a good part of the day. As you know if you’ve done any seminars (and as you’ll soon find out if you haven’t), there is a combination of exhilaration and exhaustion that occurs in conjunction with such performance. To be at your best, you probably need to “psych yourself up” to get into performance and selling mode before you start your seminar.

There are many ways of doing this. Only you can figure out what works for you. Some people use affirmations, others use meditation, still others use physical exercise. Whatever you use, make sure and put yourself into the right mental state before you start or your prod- ucts sales will suffer.

Be Physically Fit

Giving a seminar is hard work. It can be fun and exhilarating, but there’s no doubt it is physically draining. It’s important that you come into your seminar room in as good physical condition as you can get. This doesn’t mean you have to be some kind of fitness nut or spend hours every day working out in a gym. (If you’re inclined to do those things, of course, they won’t hurt you!)

The night before your seminar, you should consider following a few simple rules that many seminar leaders have discovered over the decades this business has existed.

• First, eat a light but satisfying dinner, as early as you can. Many seminar leaders report that avoiding red meat the night before a presentation helps them feel more energy in the morning. You might experiment with that. Note that this might require you to arrive in your seminar city a day early rather than simply the night before, so that you can get a meal before too late at night, local time.
• Second, get a normal amount of sleep the night before the semi- nar. It’s important to be well-rested, but if you, for example, arrive at your site city exhausted and then sleep two or three hours longer than you are accustomed to sleeping, you might find that works against you.
• Third, avoid sugary or starchy breakfast foods. Fruit plates, egg- and-meat plates (in moderation) or grain and cereal-based foods are a better regimen than donuts, pastries, and waffles.
• Finally, if you are traveling to present your seminar, call your significant other before you go to the seminar room, assuming time zones allow that. This will both provide you encouragement and remove or reduce the likelihood that you’ll be dwelling on home concerns when you should be focusing on the room and your attendees.
• Another technique that helps me greatly in dealing with the stress of staging an event — or even just being in this business! — is meditation. It’s definitely worth you experimenting with it to see how it works for you.

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