Seminar Planning - The Themed Event

I often get requests for suggestions for themed events. These types of events are very popular for seminars and client appreciations because they add a touch of fun. I wouldn’t recommend them for every situation but certainly, if a themed event is done well and professionally, it can show your audience your creativity, personality and attention to detail.

Here are some ideas for themes:

• Baseball (or a sport that is currently in season)

• Golf

• Hollywood or a particular movie (Indiana Jones)

• Travel or select a particular country

• Casino

• Western

• Island – Hawaii or Caribbean

• Holidays such as July 4^th – stay clear of religious holidays

• Rock and Roll of the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s

Themes can be carried out in invitations, food, décor and attire. Check party rental stores, party stores and even toy stores for ideas and props. Keep your event professional and in good taste, no matter what theme you select.

Seminar Planning - Marketing with Direct Mail

Today I received an “invitation” to an asset protection seminar. At first, I didn’t even realize it was an invitation. It has some questions and answers about personal estate planning on one side and names, dates and locations of a seminar on the other. The invitation said nothing about the presenter, who, I assume is a lawyer since the return address is a law firm.

Will I consider attending? No. First, none of the questions posed pertain to me. The sender probably asked for a very general list of names and addresses in my zip code. Second, who is presenting this seminar and why would I believe what they were saying? I’ve never heard of them. Third, the invitation is poorly done, disorganized and unclear.

Having critiqued this invitation, I’ll ask those of you who are using direct mail to get attendees a few questions:

• Are you using your own list or are you purchasing one that has been customized to reach your specific target market?

• Have you established yourself as an expert in your field so people will know, like and trust you enough to attend your seminar?

• Have you invested the time and money it takes to create a mailer that reinforces your professional image?

If you said “yes” to all of these, you are on your way to having a successful seminar filled with qualified attendees ready to spend their money on you.

Seminar Planning - Finding Venues

Speakers often ask me for ideas for places to hold their seminars. They want to use something besides hotels and restaurants. There are actually many different types of venues you can rent at a variety of prices. Here are some ideas for you:

• Ballparks and Stadiums - Parks and stadiums, such as AT&T Park, http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/ballpark/giantsenterprises/plan_your_event.html Dodger Stadium, http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/la/ballpark/stadium_rentals.jsp and Fenway Park http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/events/index.jsp. allow rental of their spaces for events.


• Community Centers - Check with Parks and Recreation departments to find event space. Many have lower rates during the week since weekends are reserved for weddings and other large social events.


• Conference Centers - Some cities have these facilities which were constructed just for meetings and seminars.


• Country Clubs - These are not just for social events, I've seen financial planning seminars, real estate investment seminars and business networking groups have successful events at country clubs.


• Cruise Ships - There are cruise companies that do lunch or dinner events on their ships as they cruise the area.


• Libraries - Larger community libraries often have meeting rooms that can be rented for seminars.


• Mansions and Estates - Older homes often are now open for seminars and events.


• Movie Theaters - The Cineplex in my area advertises their theaters for events. Great if you need auditorium-sized space.


• Museums - Many museums rely on events as a source of revenue and have event coordinators onsite who can help you.


• Universities and colleges - While you investigate renting their space, find out if they need speakers for their programs. Many speakers make a very good living doing presentations to students which are paid for by the schools.


• Wineries - Beautiful settings, not just for for social events.

There are websites with lists of event sites, here are two to visit http://www.uniquevenues.com/, http://www.agendaonline.com/venues/,

Check with Convention and Visitors Bureaus in the cities you want to hold your events for additional ideas. Also, if your subject matter is appropriate, contact churches and medical centers for event space.

Seminar Planning - The Budget

Have you set a seminar budget yet?

Setting a budget at the start of your seminar planning process will help you make important decisions, including the type of marketing you can do and the venue you can afford. If you have held seminars before, you’ll have a good idea of how much money you can allocate to each area by reviewing your past expenses. If this is your first seminar, you will need to do some research to create a realistic budget. Get estimates for marketing, advertising, the venue and all costs related to the on-site services, audio/visuals, travel, costs involved with having a back-of-room sales area, staffing and follow-up mailings and calls. Take each category, break it down into details and get estimates for each item.

Don’t try to rush through this step. Having a budget that helps you spend wisely will make it easy for your seminar to be a financial success.

Seminar Planning - Trimming the Cost of Food and Beverage

Are you serving a meal at your seminar? If you are, you’ll notice the cost of food and beverage can be quite high. You don’t want to be stingy when it comes to food, doing so will certainly leave a bad impress on your audience. Here are some suggestions on how you can keep costs relatively low:

• Use a caterer or a venue with moderately priced menus or one willing to create menus that work within your budget

• If you are having a sit-down meal, don't have too many courses

• Generally speaking, breakfast is less expensive than lunch or dinner so start your seminar early in the day. If you still need two meals, serve a full breakfast and a light lunch.

• Don't serve bottled water

Most important of all, plan and book your seminar as early as possible. This will give you more time to negotiate lower costs not only for food and beverage but for all of the services you require.

Seminar Planning - Your Target Market

Determine your target audience very early in your seminar planning process. Be very specific as to who you want to attend your event. By this I mean going beyond selecting the age, gender, marital status, financial status and profession that many people do. Go deeper into the minds of your prospective clients.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What is their pain?

• What problem are they trying to solve?

• What information do I have that can help them?

Knowing the answer to these questions will help you plan an effective marketing campaign and design a presentation that will meet the needs of your audience.

Planning A/V for Your Seminar

Your A/V requirements can impact your budget and help you determine whether or not a venue is right for your seminar. Your goal is to present a professional presentation at a venue that lets you use the technical tools you require while you stay within your budget.

Here are some things to consider when planning your seminar:

• If you plan to use your laptop to show a presentation on Power Point, do you own a projector and screen? If so, will the venue let you bring them in? Is the equipment appropriate for the size of the venue and audience? For instance, the projector and screen you use for meetings in your office conference room may not be adequate for a presentation to more than 50 people. If you don’t have equipment, will you rent them from the venue or an outside vendor? How much do they charge? Do you know how to set these up the equipment? If not, you may need to hire an A/V engineer.
  


• Are you planning to use a microphone? Will you need to have a microphone in the audience for a Q&A session? Again, find out if you need to rent these things from the venue or can use an outside vendor. You may also need a sound engineer.
  


• Will you record or videotape the event? If so, can you bring in your own equipment or must you rent from the venue? Are there union regulations about who you can hire to do the work or can you use your staff? Also, is there enough room to set up recording and camera equipment without creating a safety hazard?
  


• If your presentation requires access to the Internet; check to make sure it’s available in the room and ask if there is a charge. You can always use screen captures instead of a live link if you can’t get reliable access at a good price.

Seminar Planning - A Checklist for Room Set-up

Here is a list of some of the things you want to do to prepare the seminar room for your audience:

• Arrive early to rehearse
• Assign one staff member to be the lead
• Put signage up outside the room to guide people to your seminar
• Know how to reach the on-site contact during your event
• Test your audio/visual equipment
• Make sure you have your notes, laptop, water and whatever else you need at the podium
• Set up an easel, if you plan to use one, and make sure it has an adequate number of markers
• Check the temperature
• Check the lighting
• Check for loud noises coming from other rooms
• Have a staffed registration table at the door for attendees to sign in
• Have seating for people with special sight, mobility or hearing needs
• Check and correct any safety issues – tape down cords with duct tape, make sure aisles are wide enough for easy access, clear all items from aisles

Planning the Seminar Room Set-up - Part 2 Banquet, U-Shaped and Boardroom Style Seating

Yesterday, I blogged about different seating arrangements you can use at your seminar. Here are some additional ideas.

Banquet Style
The banquet set-up is used when a meal is served. It is a series of round or oval tables with room for seating 8 to 10 people per table. The arrangement takes a great deal of room but is an excellent style to use not only for meals but when you want to encourage the audience to network with each other. There is a disadvantage, if you seat people completely around each table, half of the audience will have to turn their chairs to see your presentation. You can arrange it so you only seat people around half of the table but this will mean adding tables and using even more space.

U-Shape
Long, narrow, usually 6-foot, tables are placed in a U-shape and chairs are put around the outside of the U. I’ve also seen seating on the inside of the U to double the amount available seats but this tends to make people feel cramped. You, as the speaker, would stand at the opening of the U but could also move about the room.

This style works for intimate seminars with less than 30 attendees and is best for interactive sessions. You might want to use it for a breakout session of a large seminar.

Boardroom
A large rectangular table with you at the head, establishing you as the authority. This is for a very small group, not more than 12 to 15 people. You may have problems making eye contact with the people sitting at the end of table.

In the next blog and tell you some of the things you need to have when you are setting up your seminar.

Planning the Seminar Room Set-up - Part 1 Theater, Classroom and Chevron Style Seating

In this and the next few blog posts I'll tell you about the different ways to set-up your seminar room and give you some tips about set-up. When selecting a seating style keep in mind that you want the audience to be able to see you, hear you, and be comfortable during the event.

Theater Style Seating
Chairs are set up in straight rows facing the stage. There are aisles on either side and a center aisle, just like in a theater. There are no tables in this arrangement so it would not be appropriate if the audience needs to take notes during your presentation or if you are serving food. This arrangement allows the most number of people in a room but make sure the rows have enough room between them to allow leg room.

Classroom Style Seating
Same as theater style but with long, narrow draped tables – usually 30 inches by 6 feet. Audiences like tables when they have take lot of notes or have handout materials and when they have a drink or a small plate of food. With the addition of tables, there is not as much room as theater seating. Some people do a mix of both, classroom style in the front of the room and theater seating in the back and add chairs when they have more attendees than anticipated.

Chevron Style Seating
Theater or classroom style seating but instead of straight rows facing the stage, the rows are angled towards the stage. The audience can see the well without straining their necks and you can establish good eye contact with everyone. This style takes more room than theater and classroom.

I'll tell you more about seating styles next time.

Setting Your Seminar Stage

What is your presentation style? Knowing how you move and act when you speak will help you determine your stage requirements.

If you walk or pace when you speak and want to interact closely with your audience during a question and answer period, you will need a lavaliere microphone, plenty of room on the stage or presentation area to move around. If you have a PowerPoint presentation, you will also need a small table for your computer. Make sure the entire stage area is lit so you will always be seen when you walk and talk. Be aware of the edges of the stage if you are on a raised platform so you do not trip or fall.

If you or your audience would be the most comfortable with a traditional business presentation stage setting, you will need a stationary microphone and a podium. Make sure any paperwork and computer equipment you need will fit neatly on the podium, you don’t want to be scrambling for your notes during your presentation.

Anytime you plan to show video or PowerPoint slides, make sure you can dim the lights and set up a screen. You might also want to set up an easel to take notes during audience interaction.

Can Everyone See Your Seminar Presentation?

There is a hotel in my area that has a large event space. I’ve spoken to them a few times about holding seminars and other events there but my clients and I are hesitant to use the space. The room has a few columns and not everyone would be able to see a speaker or a Power Point presentation without straining or adjusting their chair.

When you visit locations during your site selection process, notice if the room is an odd shape and if there might be any obstacles to being able to see clearly from any part of the room. If you think there might be a problem, mention it to the venue and find out what they can do. They may suggest different types of seating arrangements, they may offer to set up a stage or they may suggest you set up a camera and a couple of screens. If you still think there may be problems, go somewhere else. When your audience has to strain to see your presentation, they will be not concentrate on you and your message.

Why No One Came to the Seminar

A friend of mine referred me to the president of a professional association who needed help with his seminars. I contacted him and he invited me to meet him at his upcoming “Black Tie” seminar on a Sunday afternoon. As it turned out only three people came; the president, the hired speaker and me. He couldn’t understand why it happened.

Here are some of the mistakes he made that you need to avoid:

• Invitations went out only two weeks prior to the event. Since many he invited were from out-of-state, it did not give them enough time to plan a trip. Get invitations and announcements out early – 4 to 6 weeks perhaps more, depending on the type of event.

• The speaker was not nationally known, she was someone who appeared frequently on television and in the news but only in the San Francisco Bay Area. People outside the area would not be interested in traveling to hear someone they had never heard of before. He did say he tried to get an internationally known speaker but received a note that he was not available at such late notice, three weeks before the event. If you are counting on a speaker to draw attendees, make sure the speaker is well-known or has a message that is very important to your targeted audience.

• He assumed people would come so they could bring their families to an event in the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco is a big draw for conferences but this event was about 30 miles outside of San Francisco and not near any tourist attractions. If you plan an event in which you think people will bring their families, you must have it in the city which would attract people. Also, you might want to provide information about local attractions and maybe even have events that family members can attend.

• This professional business event was on a Sunday afternoon. Most people do not want to attend business-related events on the weekend.

• The seminar was “Black Tie”. I had never heard of someone having a formal dress seminar at 2pm on a Sunday. There wasn’t any purpose to the event being “Black Tie”. Not everyone enjoys dressing up and certainly not on a Sunday afternoon.

You must get to know your target market before you plan your seminar. Do your research; find out what days are good for them, where they like to meet and what topics they want to learn about. If you don’t, you will be wasting both time and money on an event no one will attend.

To make sure your seminars are a success, get a copy of my free report the "7 Mistakes Seminar Promoters Make . . . And How to Avoid Them" at http://www.eventplanningmistakes.com/

Plan a Follow-up to Your Seminar

Last night I was listening to a teleseminar and the speaker talked about how people fail to make money when they don't follow-up with listeners after their calls. He said it perfectly, “Your future and your fortune is in your follow-up.” This is true of live seminars also.

I work with speakers to plan their seminar and their follow-up. But some speakers don’t make follow-up plans. If an attendee has not made an appointment or purchased a product or service, they don’t make any attempt to contact them again. Sometimes they don’t even contact the people who have made a purchase, they just move on to doing the next seminar. They have no follow-up plan in place and no time to create one after doing a seminar.

You must make your follow-up plans while you are planning the seminar itself. The seminar should be part of your bigger picture - to train people on your topic of expertise, get clients and market products and services.

Some ways to follow-up:

• Thank people for coming with a phone call, letter or e-mail.

• Send a copy of the audio you made of your presentation. This would be good to send to clients who were not able to attend.

• Send a monthly newsletter or e-zine.

• Create a “tips” sheet or series of “tips” sheets on your area of expertise and mail them out monthly.

You want to stay in touch with your attendees so they continue to get to know, like and trust you and remain or become loyal clients.

Make Recordings of Your Seminar Presentations

Are you recording your seminars? You should be. Experienced professional speakers have been doing this for years. They used the audio recording to evaluate their performance. Now, they edit the recordings, put them on CDs or make them into MP3s and use them as products to sell or give to clients. At larger seminars, you would need the help of an audio engineer and special equipment. However, if you are doing a small event at a small venue, you may be able to record your presentation with a digital recorder and edit it yourself with audio editing software such as Sony Sound Forge.

Video taping your seminars are a great idea too. Use clips on your website or post them on YouTube to help market your products and services.

Planning a Seminar? Be Sure to Centralized Your Registration Process

My financial planner’s assistant called to invite me to an exclusive event. I told her I would be happy to attend. A week later I received an invitation in the mail from the financial planner’s corporate office for this same event and a request to RSVP to someone I did not know. I called to ask my planner’ assistant if I needed to also confirm my attendance with this second person, she told me not to worry about it.

When I attended the event, there were so many people in attendance it was hard to breathe. We were seated at round tables and it was impossible for everyone to comfortably see the speaker and his presentation because not everyone could turn their chair in the direction of the podium. I had to inhale and push my chair into the dinner table in order to let waitpeople walk behind me. What happened? There was confusion about the number of people actually attending because there were multiple people in multiple offices accepting RSVPs.

Don’t let this happen to your seminar. Have one central place where all the information on RSVPs or registrations are kept and put one member of your staff in charge of keeping it up-to-date. If you don’t have available staff, you can invest in a registration system which allows you to set up an account and have people register for your seminar online. Or, if you prefer your attendees speak to a live person, you can use a 24-hour call center that has operators who can register callers, process their credit cards, gather information and answer questions.

Seminar Speaking Tips

Because I work with speakers, I often have people asking me for tips about doing presentations. Here are some things I’ve noticed successful speakers do:

They rehearse, rehearse and rehearse
They know their material backwards and forwards. They do full-blown on-site dress rehearsals of their presentations prior to the event even if they’ve done the same presentation many times. This includes testing technology they will use – projectors, Internet connections, microphones and video.

They arrive early for their presentation
Very few speakers can run in at the last minute, get up on stage and speak successfully. Those that appear they can usually have someone taking care of details, such as testing audio/visuals and getting a feeling of the audience, for them. I know because I’ve been that person!

They are prepared for anything and everything to happen.
They know how to cut their presentations short if they suddenly are given less time. They know how to alter their speech if it appears their audience needs more or less information than they originally had anticipated. They can give their presentation without their slides if, for some reason, technology and all back-up plans fail them.

They have an event planner
Ok, this is a shameless plug for my seminar planning services but it’s true. Successful speakers know the value of having someone else handle the details of planning a seminar. They want to be able to concentrate on giving a successful presentation and connecting with their audience.

You Are Here, But Where is Your Presentation?

I attended an event in which the speaker was flown to California from the East Coast. He decided to make a mini-vacation out of the trip and flew in early so he could spend time touring the Napa Valley wine country, just 45 minutes. He left his laptop in the back seat of his rental car while he stayed overnight in a hotel. The morning he was scheduled to give his dinner presentation, he discovered his car had been vandalized and the laptop, with his presentation, and his flash drive, with the back-up cop, had been stolen.

First, never leave a laptop or any other piece of equipment in your car. Don’t even leave a laptop bag that doesn’t have a laptop in it. I had a client do that and the bag and all of the contents were taken even though there wasn’t a computer in it.

Second, if your presentation is dependent on PowerPoint slides, or any other information, which is on your computer, make sure you are not the only one with a copy. If you have an assistant helping you, give that person a copy on a flash drive or CD or, if they have a laptop, have them load it on their computer. If you are traveling out of your area to give a presentation, see if there is a local contact who would be willing let you e-mail a copy to them as a back up. Some of my clients still travel with slides they can place on an overhead projector in case modern technology fails them.

The speaker in my example ended up recreating his presentation from scratch on someone else’s laptop. The events of the day had left him little time to do this so his presentation was disorganized and confusing. Unfortunately, he had not planned his travel schedule well and did not have time to stay and answer a lot of questions.

Don’t let this happen to you. Be prepared for things to go wrong so if and when they do, you can rise above the problems and present yourself professionally.

Planning Seminars Outside Your Local Area

Are you experiencing success with the seminars you are holding in your local area and feel ready to expand? Great! Time to sit down and decide which cities you want to conquer next.

First, look at your database. Do you have a good following, a number of prospects and existing clients, in any one area? If so, survey them to see if they would be interested in attending a live event.

Are there speakers in other cities with whom you can partner and do joint seminars? This way you have access to multiple databases of potential attendees and everyone has the opportunity to pick up new clients.

What you don’t want to do is just pick a city, let’s say, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, etc. without first doing a lot of research to make sure you can draw a qualified audience. If you do, you will be wasting a lot of time and money. Also be aware that costs can vary greatly from city-to-city. Check with local Convention and Visitors Bureaus or venues to get ideas about pricing for rooms, food, parking, audio/visual equipment transportation and labor.

Seminar Goals

Many people decide to have an event and without setting clear goals. Don’t be like them! Determining the goals for your seminar is a top priority when starting to plan. Your goals will help you select your seminar date, location, content and keep you and your staff focused on success.

Here are some of the questions I ask clients to answer to help them determine their goals:

• What do you want to achieve by having this seminar?

• Are you planning to sell a product or service? If so, what? How much are you charging?

• Are you planning to educate? If so, are you offering CEU (Continuing Education Units)?

• Have you held this seminar before? What were the results?

• What would have to happen for you to consider your seminar a success?

• Do you have enough time to promote, invite, organize, advertise your event and plan your presentations so you will be successful?

It takes a little time to sit down and write out your goals but your event will have a greater chance for success if you do it.

How One Financial Planner Does His Seminars

I heard about a successful financial planner who specializes in working with retirees and pre-retirees. He used to get mailing lists of retirees in his area and send invitations for everyone to attend a free seminar and dinner. He stopped doing it because they were not paying back well. Instead, he now does lunches and dinners for his clients, whom he calls “members”, has them bring guests and invites prospects who are in his sales funnel.

The seminars have a guest speaker, an expert in an area of concern for his members, but the atmosphere is social. Each event has a theme such as luau, magic or spy. There are raffle prizes and opportunities for members to share experiences and be recognized for personal achievements, such as recently retiring. Guests and prospect who attend these events want to be part of the membership and are eager to become clients.

Different Presentations for One Seminar

A few years ago, I attended a luncheon event put on by the local business journal for corporations and small businesses in the area. I was a friend of one of the corporate sponsors and was invited to also attend a breakfast event just for VIPs. During the breakfast, the keynote speaker gave us a special presentation. He was entertaining and informative, everyone enjoyed listening to him.

Unfortunately, the presentation for keynote later that day was the VERY SAME presentation the speaker had given at breakfast. Those of us who had attended the breakfast looked at each other in shock. Did he not know the same people would be in the audience? One woman commented that she couldn’t believe he only had one presentation; she found it very unprofessional and guessed that he really didn’t know his topic very well.

Are you giving multiple speeches to the possibly the same audience at your own seminar or have you been hired to speak at different sessions at someone else’s event? Make sure you are prepared with different presentations so people view you as an expert in your field and a valuable speaker

Planning a Seminar? - Who is your target market?

One of the first things I ask people who are planning seminars is; “Who is your target audience?” If they tell me “anybody who is retirement age” or “anybody with skin” or “anyone looking to buy as house”; I tell them they will have a difficult time having success with their event. Why? They don’t have a clear idea of who their ideal attendee/client really is and will have trouble creating the message that will bring the right people to their event.

Here are some of the things you might want to know about your target market, no matter what your seminar topic might be:

• Gender
• Age
• Children/No children
  
• Income level
• Level of education
• Profession, field of work
• How they spend their free time
• How they spend their money
• The best way to reach them – e-mail, phone calls, mailer, advertising (Internet, newspaper, magazine, radio, television)
• The organizations they belong to
• The magazines they read
• Other types of seminars they attend
• Level of knowledge about your seminar topic
  
• Little – your seminar will introduce them to this subject
• Moderate – has some knowledge; would attend to have you help them solve problems about the topic
• Expert – they would attend to get latest information and network with other experts

To find out more about your target market, survey your current clients and find out all you can about them. What problems of theirs are you solving? Chances are there are other people just like them who also want what you have to offer.

Planning a Seminar - Be Ready for Anything with an Emergency Resource Kit

Whenever I work on an event, I bring my own box of items I think might be necessary on-site that others might forget. Here are some of the things I include:

• Aspirin


• Band-aids


• Breath mints


• Cough drops


• Duct tape


• Envelopes


• Extension cord


• Flash drive


• Hand sanitizer


• Highlighters


• Kleenex


• Laundry stain remover


• Memo pad


• Mini-Screwdriver


• Name tags


• Packing tape


• Pens


• Permanent marking pens


• Power strip


• Rubber bands


• Safety pins


• Scissors


• Scotch tape


• Sewing kit


• Shipping labels


• Staples and stapler


• Sticky notes


• Swiss Army Knife

In case of any emergencies, you should also bring along a list of contacts for the venue, technical set-up and staff back at the office.

Seminar Presentation Handouts, Part 2

I received an e-mail asking what a good handout might be when you are only giving a short presentation. What I have seen a lot of speakers do is hand out a list of tips, a checklist or a glossary of terms relevant to their area of expertise.

Tip Sheet
Give the audience a list of ideas that will position you as an expert and stimulate their interest in learning more about what you have to offer. For example, a financial planner might have a tip sheet with the headline, “5 Questions You Must Ask Your Financial Advisor”. A CPA might have a handout, “The 7 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Filing Taxes. . . and How to Avoid Them”.

Checklist
Create a checklist for people to use to help them get organized in your area of expertise. For instance - tax preparation checklist, emergency preparedness checklist, checklist of things to do to prepare your home for sale, a party planning checklist, etc.

Glossary
A list of terms, and their definitions, that are commonly used in your area of expertise. Someone speaking about using the Internet in business might have a glossary of terms that include, ‘”social networking”, “blog,” “social bookmarking” and “wiki.” I’ve seen some speakers laminate their glossaries, this gives them a much higher perceived value.

Remember to put your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, website, logo and company information on everything you handout so people can contact you in the future.

Seminar Presentation Handouts

Many speakers today offer to e-mail their presentation to their audience. It saves them the time and cost of printing and is an environmentally good thing to do. But you may feel your audience would get the most benefit from your presentation if they had a paper copy. What do you put in your handouts? Here are 7 tips:

1. Handouts should be attractive, simple and easy-to-read. Use large fonts in a dark colors with a light background.
2. Have a cover page with your name, company name, tag line, phone number, address, e-mail address and the title and date of your presentation. Some people keep things for a long time, you want to make sure people can still reach you long after your seminar is over.
3. Put your name and contact information on the bottom of each page. It keeps your name in front of the audience and should they, for some reason, just keep a page or two of your handout, they will still know how to reach you.
4. Include all of the PowerPoint slides or copies of your overheads. People sometimes have trouble seeing a screen. Print 2 or 3 slides per page and leave room for people to take notes.
5. Have a few blank pages for any additional notes they may want to take. Title one blank page “Action Items” or “Next Steps” and suggest they write down what they plan to do as a result of hearing your presentation.
6. If you sell products and services, include a list of information about the benefits of each.
7. Make the last page an order form that they can easily tear off and take to the back of the room to make their purchases. Or make it a “questions” page and have your staff gather them and bring them back to you to answer from the podium.

Seminar Planning - How much will you charge?

The other day I was talking to a speaker about her upcoming seminars. She had chosen a topic in which she was an expert and had good information to share that would help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. She planned to charge what sounded like an acceptable price but the more she told me about her seminar, the more I was concerned that she would not be able to cover her costs, let alone make a profit. We sat down and reviewed her goals for her seminar and discussed her budget.

This is where you really need to start with your planning - writing goals and setting budgets. I know, this can be considered the boring parts. It is more fun to visit different venues, select menus, design handouts - anything but make goals and plan budgets! But how will you know your seminar is a success unless you have something to measure against? And how will you spend appropriately, and not go into debt, without knowing how much money you have available to spend?

If your goal is to make money off of the admission price alone, you need to charge enough to cover the cost of renting the venue, food and beverage, marketing, travel and any staff costs you incur while planning and holding your seminar. If however, you plan to sell products and services during your seminar or sign up new clients who will buy your products and services, the price of admission is not as important. In fact, some speakers hold free events, sharing a wealth of information on their topic, so they can sell the audience expensive courses, CD sets, coaching, memberships and other products and services.

Set your goals and your budget and determine how you plan to make a profit. Then you can determine how much you are going to charge.

For basic information on products you can create and sell, read "Speak and Grow Rich" by Dottie and Lilly Walters

Planning a Seminar? Put Requirements in Writing

Years ago, when I first began planning events, I was working on a major event at a hotel. My company was planning to do demonstrations in the hallway that required skirted tables, electricity and telephone lines. I did a walk-through with the Sales and Catering Manager and all seemed fine. A few days before the event, I went back to the hotel for a meeting. I brought up the technology demos and she never remembered having the discussion. I had made a mistake by not putting our my requirements in writing and sending her a copy and not having the information added to our contract.

Any venue you select is juggling information a number of different events. So the person you meet with maybe thinking about the weekend wedding or anniversary party while you are speaking to them about the requirements for your seminar. The best way to be sure you get what you need for your event to be successful is to write down your requirements and have them put into your contract. This is not only true for working with venues but also all of your other important vendors, such as those providing audio-visual equipment, signage, promotional items and, of course, event planning.

By the way, my story has a happy ending; the demonstrations went up at the last minute in record time. Make sure you don’t need last minute work. Write everything down and review your requirements with your contacts a week before your event.

Seminar Planning - The Green Seminar

There is a a lot of interest today in having "green" events. If you are interested in making your seminar earth friendly, incorporate some of these ideas when planning your next seminar:

• Select a location that is close to where most attendees live to minimize the use of fuel consumption.


• Use recycled paper for marketing material, invitations and handouts.


• Eliminate paper handouts entirely. Instead, post presentations on the web, e-mail them after the event or give out CDs and flash drives with the information loaded.


• Serve organic foods.


• Make signage that can be reused at future seminars.


• Use re-usable name tags and collect them at the end of the seminar.


• Use cloths to cover tables instead of disposable paper or vinyl.

Your audience will appreciate your efforts to protect the environment.

Seminar Planning - The Full Day Seminar

Years ago I attended an all day event that Oprah held. It was her "Live Your Best Life Tour". She was pretty much the only speaker. She spoke for 2 hours, gave us lunch, and then returned with a guest who shared the podium but Oprah did most of the talking. It was fabulous.

Not very many people, famous or not, want to speak all day. And not many audiences want to listen to the same person all day. If you want to have a full day event, invite others to share the podium with you. Find speakers whose subject matter adds value for your audience. You might already have business partners in mind. For instance, a financial planner might invite a CPA or an estate attorney. A personal trainer could invite a nutritionist.

Multiple speakers will help you bring in a larger audience if all have a database of clients and prospects and everyone can share costs. Just make sure databases and expenses are equal, no one person should be carrying the burden for all.

At the podium, each speaker should compliment the products and services of the others. This will increase the value of each of the speakers in the eyes of the audience and will help with back-of-room sales.

Seminar Planning - When do YOU get to eat?

Are you planning to serve a meal during your seminar? Do you know what you are going to do about your own meal? Sounds simple but you really need to think about what would work best for you and your image.

If you are a presenter, you will probably want to sit with your attendees to get to know them better. That’s great but I recommend that you have a member of your staff join you at the table. Years ago I was working at an event in which the presenters were asked so many questions during the meal that they could not eat. I finally stepped in and asked that they be allowed to finish their meal so the event could resume on time.

One thing you don't want to do is eat during any part of your presentation. I've seen this happen at a breakfast meeting. The speaker had finished his formal presentation and sat down to eat and do the Q&A. He was chewing while answering questions - very unattractive. This is definitely not how you want to be seen.

If you are organizing and managing the event, you might want eat before the attendees’ scheduled meal. When I'm working at an event of any kind I’m usually so busy making sure I keep the event on schedule that I don't eat. I always ask my staff to eat before the event because they may be needed while the attendees are having their meal.

Seminar Planning - Don't be Too Quick to Book a Venue

I recently heard about a seminar speaker who reserved his venue one year in advance at a popular hotel. He gave a down payment of several thousand dollars. It is not unusal to book a venue this far in advance. Unfortunately, he had no idea what he was going to do with it. When the time came, he still did not have any plans. Fortunately, the venue allowed him to use the deposit at another time, most would have just taken the money when he cancelled.


It is very enticing to grab available dates at a popular venue but never do it unless you have your seminar plans in place. If you quickly throw together a seminar because you happen to have a venue, you will not get the qualified attendees you need to be successful. If you cancel the date, you risk losing your entire deposit.

Seminar Planning - E-mail Confirmations

A few months ago I registered to attend a seminar. A few days before the event I received a friendly e-mail reminding me to attend. Confirming attendance is a great idea. You should either call or e-mail attendees to remind them of the benefits of your event and make sure they have directions. Unfortunately, the person who sent out the e-mail "cc'ed" everyone. This meant our e-mail addresses were visible for all to see. We all fear spam and need to honor people's right to keep their address private.

If you do your confirmations by e-mail, be sure you "bc", blind copy, your attendees, most e-mail programs will allow you to do this. Your attendees will appreciate it.

Seminar Planning - Ideas for a Well-Organized Event

Today I attended a client appreciation luncheon that took place at one of the major hotels in San Francisco .

Here are some of the things that impressed me that might give you some ideas on what you might want to do at your event:

The invitation stated the time for registration, lunch and the presentation.

I was greeted in the lobby by a member of the hotel staff who gave directions to the event.

There was a staff of six at the registration desk which made the process of checking-in 750 people go very smoothly.

We ate before the presentations. Salad and dessert were already on the table and the wait staff were quick to serve drinks and the main course. The attendees did not have to wait to hear speakers before eating and the speakers did not have to put up with the noise of plates and cups being collected.

The first speaker said he would speak 15 minutes and he did. He acknowledged the fact that he knew everyone was there to see the keynote, Tom Brokaw.

Tom Brokaw was fabulous, he kept to his time frame and allowed time for questions and answers.

The event ended on time.

Seminar Planning - Find Ideas by Attending Other Events

Not only do I plan seminars, I also attend my share of them. I'm not a "seminar junkie", but I do attend seminars and conferences to learn the lastest information about event planning, speaking and marketing. You should too. The more information you know and share, the more you will be seen as an expert.

And since you are now also doing your own seminars, start noticing how other speakers run their events. How did they market their event to you? How easy was it to register? How were you greeted when you attended? What type of seating arrangements did they have? Did you feel you made the right choice by attending? Did you purchase any products or services? What type of follow-up took place after the event?


Now think about your own event. What ideas would you like to borrow? What would you do differently? By paying attention to details at events you attend, you can organize the perfect event for you.

Seminar Planning - Can Attendees Find You?

I recently attended an event sponsored by a nationally known women's magazine. There were a number of events taking place at this hotel and the lobby was full of signage for all of them. There was a large mock-up of a cover of the magazine advertising my event but there were no directions or room information. Like others, I headed for the ballrooms. Unfortunately, this hotel has a number of levels of ballrooms and it took awhile to find the right place.

Don't let this happen at your seminar. People need clear directions. If you are using a large facility, place signage at the entrances, escalators and elevators, if possible. Assign someone from your staff, wearing a badge from your seminar or a uniform from your company, at strategic positions to guide people.

Remember that your audience evaluates everything you do and don't do to make them feel welcome and they spend their money according to how they feel.

Include a Follow-up Strategy When Planning Your Seminar

I recently attended a marketing event for speakers. I was very interested in a particular speaker and believed her services might be able to help me grow in some areas of my business. I spoke to her directly a few times and gave her my card. She did not call me until two weeks after the event. She had not remembered any of our conversation, even though she had taken notes on my business card. I confess that after two weeks, I wasn't as interested in what she had to offer as I was initially. At this point, it is highly unlikely that I will do business with her in the future.

In contrast, I also had interest in a program of another speaker. His assistant called me two days after the event because he was still traveling. She answered questions, gave me her contact information and was professional and friendly. Needless to say, I signed up for this program even though it was more expensive. Why? I felt they would value me as a customer and they were organized, professional and easy to do business with. This speaker had a follow-up system in place before he left his office for the seminar.

If you hold seminars to sell any services or products, be sure you have a well thought-out method of following up to insure that your seminar brings you the business success that you want.

Successful Seminars and Events Demand Your Full Attention

During the holidays a local store sent out an e-newsletter inviting everyone to an in-store holiday party. Since downtown parking during the holidays is a problem, I decided to get there as soon as the event was scheduled to start. I walked into the store, looked around, saw no evidence of a party, and said to the sales clerk "I'm here for the party." She didn't know anything about it. She wondered why her boss called earlier and asked if there was an empty table in the store.

The owner breezed in 10 minutes later apologizing that she was late, saying she had gone out to dinner the previous night, forgotten to make the special holiday cake and had to do it when she got up. By now others had also arrived for the event and I heard one customer say, "guess she won't be in business too much longer".

Everything about your seminar or event is a reflection of you. Write reminders on your calendar and have checklists for all of the details leading up to your event so you don't forget what to do. Think ahead, plan ahead and keep your staff informed so they can be a part of your success.

To make sure your seminars are a success, get a copy of my free report the "7 Mistakes Seminar Promoters Make . . . And How to Avoid Them" at www.EventPlanningMistakes.com.

Speaking in Public Tomorrow? Skip the Mini-Bar Tonight

When you are a speaker, planning your seminar includes preparing to give the best presentation possible. I have helped a lot of speakers and marketing executives with their seminars and want to share what I've learned about the "do's and don'ts" of public speaking.

I was working for a corporate client on one of their major events. They had invited experts outside their organization to speak to their audience of top executives. One of the experts was not accustomed to speaking in front of a large crowd so we rehearsed several times with a presentation coach the evening before the event.

During his presentation the next morning, the expert rambled, lost his place and seem very scattered. We later discovered that his hotel room mini-bar tab, which was billed to my client, was quite high. He had apparently had quite a bit of alcohol the night before and was not able to pull off a professional presentation during our breakfast event. This expert was not asked back and probably lost a few potential clients that day.

My suggestions-

Do - make sure you rehearse your presentation on-site

Don't - partake in too much of anything that could jeopardize your presentation or your relationship with your audience and your clients

Planning a Seminar? - Consider the Weather

Are you holding your seminars during the cold, rainy, snowy months of the year? Right now Northern California, where I live, is experiencing unusually bad weather. There is a possibility of lower attendance during stormy winter months but people do attend. Take an extra step to remind your audience of the event. Have your staff follow-up RSVPs with confirming phone calls and suggest alternate routes of travel, if necessary.

Double check that your venue is prepared attend to the needs of people who have made the effort to attend. They should have covered parking and parking valets so your guest don't have to get wet or cold while parking their cars and walking to the event. They should have ample room for checking coats, boots and umbrellas.

Be sure you and your staff appear relaxed, well-organized and professional throughout the event. If you are stressed because you are reacting to weather emergencies, your audience will be uncomfortable and not open to buying your products and services.

Read the articles on my website for further assistance on selecting a venue or a date for your seminar.

Seminar Planning - Scheduling Travel

If you travel outside of your local area to hold seminars or speak as a guest at other seminars, please take weather conditions into consideration when you schedule your appearances and book your flights.

A few years ago attended a small business seminar sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. The guest speaker was flying in from another engagement in the Mid-West. His plane was delayed by a day due to snow storms and he did not make it to the event. Since he was the only speaker, the Chamber turned the event into a networking opportunity then rescheduled for a later date. I was able to attend on the other date but many were not. The speaker apologized for not making the original date and admitted he needed to allow more time to travel between engagements during the winter months. Make sure you do the same. Although no one can blame you for bad weather conditions they will probably remember you more for missing the event than for your message.