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<td colspan="14" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" ><h1>Help, Our Public Seminar Response Rate Is Too Low! (Part II: How To Succeed Anyhow).</h1>
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<h2>No bonanza is forever. Especially in the volatile public
seminar field.</h2>
<p>A hot topic scores big -- and you're awash with enrollments.
Then topic fatigue and copycat competitors suck all of the
joy out -- and you're back knocking yourself out just to get
one enrollment out of every 2000 pieces mailed.</p>
<p>Smart public seminar companies make money ANYHOW.</p>
<p>Some time ago, we worked with a public seminar company that
cheerfully budgeted more than $1200 to attract an enrollee
to a $400 two-day workshop. Why? Because they knew that each
enrollee was worth, on average, more than $10,000 to them
over the long haul.</p>
<p>In fact, most shrewd public seminar companies spend more
landing an initial enrollment than the price of tuition. Then
they cultivate that new customer for all they are worth. They
understand that growing the order is the key to sustainable
public seminar success. Here's how they do it.</p>
<h2> A. Upsell Course Enrollments into a Curriculum Sale</h2>
<h4> The days when a sharp seminar promoter could turn a quick
buck on disjointed stand-alone events are pretty much gone.</h4>
<p> Today it pays to develop your course offerings as a curriculum
path so that the cost of attracting first time enrollees can
be offset by a stream of follow on attendance. To overcome
the natural tendency for individual enrollees to see learning
as a one-time event, try adding professional certification
and accreditation. This can be a powerful reenlistment inducement
-- especially if the certification or accreditation is valued
by employers in making hiring or promotion decisions.</p>
<h2> B. Cross Sell Additional Learning Or Reference Materials</h2>
<h4> Public course enrollees have demonstrated a powerful interest
in self-development. So don't limit yourself to a classroom
learning response.</h4>
<p> Some large-format public course promoters realize nearly
as much in back-of-the room book sales as they do in tuition.
Books are also an excellent cross sell item if you are a facility-based
public seminar provider with space you can use as a book store.</p>
<p> Also consider offering e-learning or other technology-based
training formats as an add-on to classroom attendance. This
can be done at the moment of enrollment, during class breaks,
or (less desirably) as a follow-on once enrollees have returned
to the office. If attendees are concerned about corporate
approval of add-on learning materials purchases, consider
offering purchases on approval, with bill me later terms.</p>
<p> And let's not overlook that public seminars can be a lucrative
cross sell item for magazine and newsletter publishers, for
trade associations and for community colleges. Growing the
order is a worthwhile endeavor no matter which way you come
at it.</p>
<h2> C. Turn Individual Enrollments into Corporate Engagements</h2>
<h4> Many public course attendees have decision-making authority
well above the cost of their own tuition. So follow that honeybee
back to the hive.</h4>
<p> Consulting companies have long used public course events
as a loss leader to showcase their expertise. Impress a highly
placed attendee at a $995 event and you could be looking at
a $250,000 corporate reengineering project.</p>
<p> Even if a seminar participant lacks the clout to adopt your
services corporate-wide, there's still excellent mileage in
wooing them as a referral and proof source. So always ask
attendees who's in charge of in-company training and see if
they'd be willing to help pave the way for your private course
or courseware salespeople.</p>
<p> Two words to the wise. Don't let corporate follow-on engagements
just happen by accident. And do calculate the value of each
attendee in terms of incremental profit flow through stemming
from follow-on business. If you can't measure the value of
follow-on business, there's always a risk you may abandon
your public seminar efforts as "too much trouble"
and "unprofitable" -- like one company we ran into
who realized too late that public seminars were an unappreciated,
but<br>
indispensable cog in their corporate selling machine.</p>
<h2> D. Expand to a Conference Model</h2>
<h4> Conferences offer the benefit of multiple revenue streams
-- augmenting attendee tuition with exhibitor fees.</h4>
<p> Consider moving from a public seminar to a conference model
if you are in a topical, rapidly changing field where your
audience is as much interested in news and information as
learning -- and where you have the wherewithal to blend it
all together. Also, be sure your audience is commercially
attractive to an identifiable exhibitor/advertiser base.</p>
<p> A conference may also attract a broader cross section of
attendees -- particularly senior execs who prefer to learn
in a smorgasbord setting with plenty of opportunity to determine
their own agenda.</p>
<h2> E. Cash in on List Rental Revenue</h2>
<h4> Each time you rent out an attendee name you're looking at
incremental revenue of as much as 15 cents. Sounds pitifully
small, I know. But consider this:</h4>
<p> Paid seminar lists are attractive for any number of B2B
offers. So you can well wind up renting an attendee name 20x
- 50x/year over an average of a 5-year term. That's as much
as 250 x 15 cents, or $37.50 in almost pure profit. And if
you choose to also make e-mail addresses available (in an
opt-in way of course) that profit number can easily double.</p>
<p> Many public seminar businesses are delighted with a 10%
profit margin. If you are selling $1000 seminars, list rental
income can easily contribute 20% - 30% of that.</p>
<p> So be sure that you are aggressively promoting your attendee
file -- or hire a professional list manager and hold their
feet to the fire. Charge a substantial premium for your names.
Remember, as high-ticket buyers they are worth far more than
run of the mill compiled lists.</p>
<p> If you heretofore have avoided renting your attendee names,
you are missing out on a substantial incremental income source.
What's more, you will begin to find that other list owners
will rethink renting to you. Concerned about sharing customer
information with direct competitors? Don't be -- you needn't
rent to anyone you don't want to.</p>
<p>Get all of these follow on revenue sources kicking in and
you'll be looking at customer lifetime value far in excess
of that initial public course tuition. Here's another way
to look at it. To win in the public seminar game, be the provider
who can afford to lose the most on the initial sale. </p>
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