My Interview With Joseph Sherman, Editor Of The New York Business Review.

What are some of your most successful events? How did you make them a success?

Iheld a series of what I called “breakfast showcases”, in New York and San Francisco. These were intended to familiarize potential clients with our “Secrets of Influence™” training Program and they were free of charge. I invited people with the title “Human Resource Director” or “Training Director” from a list of large organizations. When invitees responded they were carefully vetted to make sure they were actually a decision maker in their company and not from a competitor consulting company. Once, a competitor slipped through the cracks and I saw her networking with our potential clients at her table.  After a quick private conversation with one of our staff, she was “called away” to a meeting.

The event itself lasted only 90 minutes, most of it giving a condensed version of our longer one day workshop, and a small portion of time was an “infomercial”. (you can only do this if it’s on your “nickel”). After the event, we followed up with those interested in hiring us to do the one-day Program inside their companies. We always get 1 -3% success, so although the initial event was an investment, it always paid off handsomely.

Another one was last year, when I “produced” a one day, paid workshop in New Delhi, in collaboration with a consultant there. Together we planned our strategy, invited the participants, created the workbook materials, organized the venue, hired a videographer and had 25 paying corporate clients for a very successful one-day seminar.

Subsequently, we visited several of the attendees at their offices and a few of them hired my local New Delhi associate to conduct the seminar in-house.

How do you plan a seminar or workshop?

I usually work with a team, each member with defined responsibilities: Budget/logistics, Marketing, publicity (radio, social media, local newspapers, industry media), pre-event participant contact (try to call every attendee in advance for short interview on their learning goals, company, particular issues – this gives us, and the instructor, a rich lode of information to use during the event.

What is the difference between a seminar and a workshop?

I use the terms interchangeably.

How do you market a successful seminar or workshop?

As I mentioned above: target to designated audience by a) industry b) job title c) demographics d) interests via social media (LinkedIn if it’s a business seminar – and sub-groups within LinkedIn, facebook and twitter if the subject is for consumers or
lay people) For example, if the topic is “Retirement Planning for Professionals” you might use lists of doctors, dentists, attorneys, and accountants. You’d do better to write a content rich article in the professional or leisure magazines read by these people – Travel and Leisure, Vanity Fair. In this example, social media platforms like facebook would not have the gravitas or type of audience you would need.

Many consultants and small business owners are looking to seminars and workshops as a way to market their services. Is this effective?

It can be effective; a lot depends on what product is ultimately being sold. The most important criterion would be: will the sale be advanced by giving the potential customer more information, also, if the product is “conceptual”, i.e. an insurance policy, an investment opportunity, a travel package. For more concrete products, perhaps a short “how to use” video or webinar would be effective and less costly.

What does a typical budget look like for a seminar?

So hard to say, so many variables: the venue (hotel or company conference room), method of communicating (online notices, paid radio, print or tv advertising) Fees for instructors (many will work free in return for exposure) will there be Food (breakfast, lunch or wine & cheese after the event), printed materials – handouts,
workbooks.

What are the unseen or hidden costs than people often overlook?

Rental of AV equipment from a hotel, payment to a hotel for AV technician, cost of catering, tips to hotel staff or venue personnel, liability insurance for the duration of the event (if the event producer doesn’t already carry it).

How do you choose a location and venue? Convenience (easy to access for participants), parking, services, aesthetics, Wi-fi and other technical services, flexibility in times/prices. Great tip: sometimes I meet with the Marketing/Sales manager of a hotel and offer them a few “seats” in our seminar for some of their executives, if the topic is Management, Influence, Communication or any topic that may be of interest to their organization. Once, after doing this, the hotel sent 4 managers and they liked our program so much that they hired us to do the program for all their executives!

How do you know when to do a local event close to where people work, or a “travel event” in a vacation location?

I’ve never done a “travel event”; most of our events are close to where the large companies are. For example, when we did work in California, we held workshops and showcases in San Jose, to be close to our Silicon Valley clients.

How do partnerships play a role in successful seminars and workshops?

In some cases, 2 different businesses have complementary, but not competitive topics to share. This is great because we can share expenses and possibly get business leads from each others’ audiences. What comes to mind is an event which I’m currently planning with a perfume expert in NYC. I will teach my “Secrets of Influence™” program In the morning; in the afternoon, she will create bespoke fragrances for the “Women of Influence” who will attend.

In another case, a colleague specializes in Strategic Marketing Planning. We conducted a joint seminar for small businesses – her topic in the a.m. and “Secrets of Influence for Small Business Owners” in the p.m.  There are a lot of such opportunities if you think “outside the box”.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

These days, I think it’s difficult to get busy business people to show up: they have to take the time away from their probably already overloaded desk, and companies are increasingly frugal (stingy) about paying for “offsite” programs.  We’re now looking into webinars. They are much more convenient for folks, plus paying customers can get the link and replay at their convenience.  I’ve been offered many topics (Book Marketing for Small Publishers) and most of them are free (with a heavy sales pitch, “up-selling” at the end).