Have a Seat, Now Buy

What Influences Groups of Executives?

By Ken Wax

Published in VARBusiness

So you want to do seminar selling? But in a sea of seminar mailings, how will yours stand out? After all, that fortune you're spending in cash and resources can't deliver results if your don't attract enough of the right people.

It may seem easy enough to fill a room -- just give something away. I know one company that launched a seminar series with mailings promising one lucky attendee would win a car at the end. It certainly attracted plenty of donut eaters, retired folks who love to learn, and out-of-work "consultants" who had time to spare.

The right people, however, are busy. They just don't have time to spend a half-day or so in a seminar with you. Now the Web has made your job even tougher -- people feel they can learn all about products by staying in the office and clicking on over to read a few screens of text.

Right this minute, many companies (maybe even yours) are busy renting hotel ballrooms and scheduling their people to give those seminars. Mailings will go out, promising all sorts of demos and information about your wonderful product. Then they'll be shocked when the attendance numbers are low, or job titles are far below what was expected.

Here are four simple rules to avoid this scenario:

Decision Makers Don't Watch Half-Day Commercials

"If I do it for you," they say, "shouldn't I do it for all competing products too?" The people who have time for this tend to be way down in the pecking order, with little spending authority.

Higher Levels Expect Higher Levels

Want IT managers or VPs to show up? You'd better promise something that truly appeals to them -- not just your executive earnestly promoting your company. A well-known name or "visionary" topic can increase their chances of attracting those audiences and inspiring them.

Web-Based Seminars Have Their Own Challenges

They may be easier and cheaper, but, "People influence people" -- so a distance-learning seminar has to work much harder to keep an audience's attention and deliver results. When on the Web, people can leave the moment they get bored. Building an engaging psychological flow into that presentation, one with intrigue, suspense and other elements, is a must.

What Happens Afterwards?

Build a smart protocol to nurture the skills you develop at the seminar. This oft-ignored aspect is the one that determines if your seminar was a good investment, or just good for the hotel catering department.

Everyone is just like you. They'll happily invest their time -- but only if it seems like an incredibly smart thing to do.