5 Tips for a Successful Seminar

Our Megatrends for Megabucks:  Building Alliances that Grow Revenues was a big success in Seattle this week.  We had a room full of energy filled with business owners, CEO's, sales and marketing execs, and executive directors.  I think there are some very specific things we did to make this event a success so I decided to post this 5 Tips For a Successful Seminar List to share best practices with others who may be planning seminars and speaking events.  Please post any additional tips you have so we can create a long list. 

1  Get a venue that is acceptable with your desired audience. 

Our desired audience was CEO's, business owners, company leaders so we held it at a private business club in Seattle with great food, great views, and top service.  Just think of it like dating, if you had a date with a supermodel would you take her to Denny's? 

2.  Select a topic that is very current and relevant and narrow enough to draw the correct audience.

In talking with different people throughout the morning many said they came to the event becuase they are currently working on alliances or want to do so in the future.  This means the topic drew the right people and the three speakers have resources that can help them achieve a current business objective. It also means that people left satisfied versus being too broad and missing the target with some who misinterpreted the context of the topic.  If you feel your topic is too broad, narrow down what you will be covering in bullet points or seminar objectives.   

3.  To provide a tremendous value to your audience, team up with other experts to tackle the same relevant topic. 

I created an alliance with two others, Lori Richardson and Jeanette Nyden, to deliver a topic about building alliances.  This topic was very relevant with all three of our customer bases and we have helped our clients in this area in three different ways. In reading the feedback sheets at the end, we noticed that people found this to be very valuable and comprehensive. 

4.  Select a time of day that works for your audience and location. 

We were marketing to company leaders so we decided that early morning was the best time of day for them.  We also allowed them time to leave and get to lunch meetings or back to their offices.  Consider the desired audience, the location of your event, and the traffic conditions of your area when deciding on times. 

5.  Relevant Marketing

Market to your desired audience in a way that works for them in a way that they appreciate.  In our case we marketed through clubs, associations, business websites and journals.  We also included on our flyer the words, "Intended For" and listed the titles that would find our topic relevant. 

Now, lets hear what you do so we can grow this list and help people.

Lori Richardson is also collecting ideas on her blog.