Coaches, consultants, entrepreneurs and self employed professionals are always looking for the next client and new marketing strategies. One powerful marketing strategy that is often overlooked is the live event. Live events come in many forms and can be extremely profitable.
The top 5 event strategies are workshops, boot camps, mastermind retreats, summits and exhibits.
Workshops
Workshops or seminars are great for coaches, consultants, speakers, small businesses, and self-employed professionals. You can use workshops and seminars to build lists and establish your expertise if you are just starting out. They are also a fantastic tool if you target a local market, as you can conduct 1 or 2 hour local workshops and establish your expertise. People do business with people they know, like and trust, and your workshop or seminar will get you to that stage in record time. As you are in front of the room, your clients and prospects come to know you, or at least they will feel like they know you. As the expert, you will build familiarity, trust and likability and turn prospects into clients as you sell your services at the end of the seminar.
Boot Camps
Boot camps are more intensive training put on by an expert. Usually a multi-day event, this is conducted by a coach, trainer or association. Many times other speakers are also involved to complement the main speaker's expertise. Adding different speakers and topics adds interest and may also bring attendees from the other speakers' clientele. Boot camps are a great way to showcase your expertise, and connect with your audience from the stage through questions and answers. There should be enough time built into the program for networking and getting to know your attendees. This is how strategic alliances and joint ventures are formed, which add another stream of income to an already profitable event.
Mastermind Retreats
Coaching practices usually have a mastermind component. If you are facilitating a mastermind group that meets regularly by phone, having a retreat for the group members is a good idea. A multi day program with intensive sessions, social events and team building builds camaraderie, and deepens the relationships that are often crucial to the success of the mastermind group. These mastermind groups and retreats call for a substantial investment (and a substantial profit for you) from the members and should be held in high end hotels or resorts.
Summits
Summits can be one or multiple day events and generally have a collection of speakers, who teach on their topic of expertise for about an hour. Although the lectures should be content heavy, many times the speakers make their money on the back end, or the products that they sell from the stage. The summit producer makes a profit from the tickets they sell, a percentage of the speakers' sales and of repurposing the summit into information products, such as transcripts from the talks, audio or even DVDs from the speeches.
Exhibits
We all know what tradeshows can do for a business. Get a booth at a tradeshow and sell your products and services. While not many businesses set up their own tradeshows, it is certainly a way to not only generate clients from your own exhibit, but also make money from the event itself. You can organize an expo locally with non-competing businesses that have the same target market as you do. Add an educational component that your target market is hungry for and that will draw them in to your event. Your revenue streams would be booth sales, ticket sales, sponsorships and last but certainly not least, the leads that you convert to clients.
These 5 unique event marketing strategies are all suited for coaches, speakers, consultants, trainers and self employed professionals. Any small business owner can take one of the strategies and become the star of the show. Hosting your own live events is a powerful marketing strategy that can turn prospects and clients into raving fans and lifelong clients, generate you a well deserved profit and take your business to the next level.
The top 5 event strategies are workshops, boot camps, mastermind retreats, summits and exhibits.
Workshops
Workshops or seminars are great for coaches, consultants, speakers, small businesses, and self-employed professionals. You can use workshops and seminars to build lists and establish your expertise if you are just starting out. They are also a fantastic tool if you target a local market, as you can conduct 1 or 2 hour local workshops and establish your expertise. People do business with people they know, like and trust, and your workshop or seminar will get you to that stage in record time. As you are in front of the room, your clients and prospects come to know you, or at least they will feel like they know you. As the expert, you will build familiarity, trust and likability and turn prospects into clients as you sell your services at the end of the seminar.
Boot Camps
Boot camps are more intensive training put on by an expert. Usually a multi-day event, this is conducted by a coach, trainer or association. Many times other speakers are also involved to complement the main speaker's expertise. Adding different speakers and topics adds interest and may also bring attendees from the other speakers' clientele. Boot camps are a great way to showcase your expertise, and connect with your audience from the stage through questions and answers. There should be enough time built into the program for networking and getting to know your attendees. This is how strategic alliances and joint ventures are formed, which add another stream of income to an already profitable event.
Mastermind Retreats
Coaching practices usually have a mastermind component. If you are facilitating a mastermind group that meets regularly by phone, having a retreat for the group members is a good idea. A multi day program with intensive sessions, social events and team building builds camaraderie, and deepens the relationships that are often crucial to the success of the mastermind group. These mastermind groups and retreats call for a substantial investment (and a substantial profit for you) from the members and should be held in high end hotels or resorts.
Summits
Summits can be one or multiple day events and generally have a collection of speakers, who teach on their topic of expertise for about an hour. Although the lectures should be content heavy, many times the speakers make their money on the back end, or the products that they sell from the stage. The summit producer makes a profit from the tickets they sell, a percentage of the speakers' sales and of repurposing the summit into information products, such as transcripts from the talks, audio or even DVDs from the speeches.
Exhibits
We all know what tradeshows can do for a business. Get a booth at a tradeshow and sell your products and services. While not many businesses set up their own tradeshows, it is certainly a way to not only generate clients from your own exhibit, but also make money from the event itself. You can organize an expo locally with non-competing businesses that have the same target market as you do. Add an educational component that your target market is hungry for and that will draw them in to your event. Your revenue streams would be booth sales, ticket sales, sponsorships and last but certainly not least, the leads that you convert to clients.
These 5 unique event marketing strategies are all suited for coaches, speakers, consultants, trainers and self employed professionals. Any small business owner can take one of the strategies and become the star of the show. Hosting your own live events is a powerful marketing strategy that can turn prospects and clients into raving fans and lifelong clients, generate you a well deserved profit and take your business to the next level.
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