Corinne Donlin, San Francisco, California writes:
“I am looking for recommendations as to how to get publicity to promote seminars which will present how individuals (real estate agents, financial planners, salespeople, insurance agents, etc.) as well as small business owners can increase their sales through networking. I’d like ideas as to 1) Where to start, 2) Any promotion/publicity/marketing ideas anyone can provide and 3) How can I find partners to help publicize the seminars with them receiving compensation for the referrals?”
Here’s one easy-sounding-hard-to-execute idea. Come up with a demonstrable and unique event idea for your seminar.
For eg: years ago, to sell cotosuet (a substitute to butter and lard), Claud Hopkins went from city to city asking bakers to create “world’s biggest cake.” In his first city, 105,000 people showed up to see the huge cake in the bakery department of a grocery store. Every other city was a bigger success than the previous one!
What you could do is come up with a unique “world’s biggest ____” or “world’s smallest ____” event or product during your seminar. And when the media promote that unique event, they’ll promote your seminar too.
Another “crazy” idea. Get an elephant and sell elephant rides a few days before the seminar. Donate all the money to charity. And pitch a story of how you “networked” to get an elephant in town for a good cause. Drop in a few hints of how you can teach others to network like a pro too if they attend a seminar to be given in a few days time. (Ok, so you might not be able to get an elephant but you get the idea — do something outrageous before the seminar for a good cause. And promote that outrageous event by pitching how you pulled it off because of your networking skills.)
The best idea to get referrals is to get well known speakers to the seminar. And getting the speakers to promote the seminar to their circle of incluence. You can give these speakers a commission per ticket they’ve sold.
As a chamber of commerce executive, I am trying to figure out why we have poor turnout at our social events (Business After Hours). After talking with some very outgoing individuals, I found out they don’t attend because they don’t know how to network. What a great topic for a chamber of commerce to promote! Join your local chamber and offer your seminars.
We’re actually doing something very similar but with different groups of people. We contacted the local professional associations that many of these people belong to. They are usually non-profit groups and have to raise money for their own purposes. So we presented proposals explaining the seminar and how it would benefit their members and how, if they agreed to promote the seminar to their members, we would give them a percentage of the ticket sales from any of their members who attend. They literally jumped at the opportunity.
The seminars are helpful to the members (a member benefit the association can claim they offer), we’re expert presenters and the seminar fee was reasonable, so it was a win-win-win situation for everyone. Now, using the success of the local events, we’re expanding our marketing to other chapters (along with the recommendation from the local chapter members and officials).
As for the subject, Joan’s correct, there are so many free seminars, books and information available on networking that you’re going to have to come up with a twist on it to make it seem more valuable. Perhaps something like “Turn New Contacts Into Big Bucks,” “Here’s Why You’re Going Out But The Money Isn’t Coming In,” or “50 Networking Mistakes (And How to Fix Them) in 60 Minutes” or something like that.
Hope that helps! Good luck with your venture.
Gather statistics and stories on the successes associated with the networking group. Approximately how much ($) business has been generated through members of this group? What are a couple of lucrative and/or creative business connections that have been successfully established because of people who met one another via this group?
Hi Corinne, You can get some great ideas from Joan’s Special Report “67 Great Publicity Tips for Professional Speakers.” I will also be happy to send you a complimentary copy of my book “FabJob Guide to Become a Motivational Speaker” which includes advice on how to present your own seminars and market them using techniques such as inviting reporters to attend the seminar. Please visit http://www.FabJob.com/contact.asp to send me a message requesting the book.