Personal Fitness Professional - January 2008 - (Page 9) MONEY J GNITE IGNITE YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH PUBLIC SEMINARS | BY JJ VIRGIN TALKS ALKS strategies for menopause. You will need to create a captivating and/or controversial title that will intrigue people to want to learn more. I once did a talk at the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club on “How to Drop Your Body Fat,” and it was a sellout, standing room only. Then I did a second talk there on “How to Lower Cardiovascular Risk,” and five people showed up. The funny thing was that the principles of the talks were the same, but the only real difference was the title. People buy out of fear or vanity, so appeal to that in your title. THE BENEFITS Seminars are a great way to advertise without cheapening yourself. They make it easy for someone to get to know you so that they will want to take the next step and work with you individually. Seminars also create credibility. When you are a speaker, you elevate yourself. People assume that if you are speaking on a subject, then you are an expert. This perceived competence in you creates the confidence in them to hire you. THE WHERE AND THE WHEN Find a location for your talk that is easy to get to and has great parking. One option for a location is to rent a meeting room at your local hotel, but this can get pricey. I have held seminars in a lot of alternative locations by networking with friends with complementary businesses. By holding a seminar in their location, they gain exposure for their business, and I get a free room and exposure to their clientele. With regards to the “when,” I have found the best seminar time to be in the early evening. If I am having a 6:30-7:30 PM seminar, then I promote from 6:00-6:30 during registration so people aren’t coming in after the seminar has started and disrupting the flow. I let people know when they call to register that they will want to come early, since we have some activities for them to engage in prior to the talk. When choosing your date, ensure that you are not going up against any major events in town that could take away your audience. ➤ JAN-FEB2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM THE WHAT The first step in creating a successful seminar is to choose your topic. You can go after your target market through the focus of your talk. For example, if your goal is to work with women ages 45-55, then design a talk that deals with nutrition and lifestyle 27 9 http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM
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