This is what our client Larry Benet decided. He wanted his presentation to stand out, to convey his message clearly and to be EXCEPTIONAL. Since we have worked on many of Larry’s projects, we took on the last minute challenge…and delivered a presentation (in both keynote and power point) both put a smile on his face, and converted.
Professional is POWERFUL. Stop jimmy-rigging your presentations. Put your best face forward…on each and every slide!
I still remember the first time I tied my little brother to a chair, with my magic truth lasso. I can feel the swoosh of my cape as I turned (quite dramatically) to dive into the safety of
my invisible jet. Wonder Woman rocked! AND, she had fabulous hair and makeup! Oh, hours were spent in my pursuit of SuperHero status – jump moves, spin moves, laser eye beams. I wanted ALL of the superhero powers, AND a kick-a$$ costume. That was a very long time ago. I haven’t thought of the faux menacing look in my brother’s eyes in years…until last week…
What happened to bring back the sweet memories of the crime-stopping prowess of a bustier outfitted Super Princess? I got an email…not just any email…I got an email from Jim Kwik of Kwik Learning, inviting me to attend the upcoming Super Hero You event.
As many of you know, I have been a Facebook girl for a long time now. It may be hard to catch a live call with me, or to get me to listen to my voicemail messages, but no one really worries unless I fail to update my Facebook page. When I stop doing that, my phone starts to display text messages reading “Are you alive?” When I fail to post a morning funny(see sample on the right), I get the angry “Hey, I’ve got a cup of coffee in hand and no smile.” Now, years ago, I was a blogger. I hate to admit this, but I believe I created my blog with Microsoft Frontpage and a Dummies Guide. Yes, I am that old.
And then came Facebook…which today, is my central hub for both business and personal stuff. You see everyone on my page – info marketing leaders and my uncle in St. Louis. I could separate them, but why? The clients like to see that the high-heeled professional, actually writes in pigtails and geeky glasses. So, I am leaving it alone.
We’re hosting some new bloggers here on PropelPoint.com to share their opinions & ideas on the biz.
When I first began working in the seminar industry, I was sure that I was a beginner in some world of …well I wasn’t sure what they were, but I assumed that they had “it”. The more I got around, the more I realized that no one really has “it” figured out. Everybody’s fronting, at some level. Even top tier organizations are using trial and error methods just like everyone else. The most tell tale sign of this, in my opinion, is the way that the back of the room is handled. The speaker has been trained to present himself. Of course he looks like he has his act together.
The real indication of what makes the man is how the rest of the team operates, what they look like, how they interact with customers, and who they are as people. If you are like me, you are constantly evaluating people through unspoken cues. These cues include personal hygiene, wardrobe (condition of, more so than quality) grooming, attitude, eye contact, and level of connection within a conversation. Typically when I enter a seminar room, I am sad to say that the staff running the event (unless they are mine, of course) fail miserably in many if not all of these categories. Or the ones who have figured out that looks are important somehow forget how important it is to bring insight and personality to the job.
There are a few speakers out there who understand that branding is occurring passively with every second of exposure. With branding, any exposure is not necessarily good. To have a room full of people treated disdainfully or unintelligently by back of the room staff will reflect itself in sales, and in reputation. The speakers who appreciate this reality are willing to incur the additional cost (both energetically and monetarily) to do what it takes to bring a hot team on the road. It makes all the difference, and if you don’t think it does, you’re not doing it.
Well, it’s that time of year – closing out the last year and looking forward to the next. Of course, it’s been an amazing ride for us here at Propel Point – we’ve supported dozens of successful seminar clients over the course of the year, and created new opportunities for thousands of end customers to learn more about real estate, financial investing, internet technology, and many other topics of interest. So what’s on the horizon for 2011? Here are 5 trends to watch for in 2011:
Smartphone-toting Customers: Okay, this may be a little outdated, but I think the groundswell is finally strong enough to say, unequivocally, that smartphones (namely iPhones and Androids) are in your customers’ hands. What does this mean to the average seminar speaker? Well, a couple things. For one, it means that your customer will begin to expect to see more and more information from you through their hand-held device. This includes apps, tweets, texts, and any other way to reach out to them. Not only does this include clients, but it also represents a powerful new way to capture new leads and prospects – be thinking about how to tap in to this iDevice world. Additionally, it means that during your seminar, your customers are going to be ever more knowledgeable. If anything you say during your presentation sounds suspect or outrageous – expect your customers to be verifying your claims while you’re speaking. The phrase your customers will keep in their minds at virtually all times will be: “Trust, but verify.” So act accordingly.
Improving economic attitudes in 2011: Sure, this one’s up for serious debate, but the fact is “bleak” won’t cut it everywhere in the coming year. There will still be areas of serious hardship and difficult economic times, but unlike the past 2-3 years, the forecast might be a little sunnier in the places that you travel. This will mean that smart seminar industry professionals will keep an eye on the trends in the cities that they travel to. A great resource to glance at if you’re working outside of your known area is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “local area unemployment” page (check out the quick chart on the right side to see how bad things are in the state you’re traveling to). The fact is, some parts of the country will probably dip below 8% in the coming year, while others will likely surge past 12-15… That makes a huge difference in the attitudes of the rooms you’ll be speaking to.
A Total Different Relationship with Credit: This economic downturn has shown that many Americans are tired of being bogged down by the weight of credit card debt – and it will probably be a while before those attitudes shift and people take out new credit. Even though things may be looking to pick back up on the economic front, expect customers to be reluctant to utilize credit unless they are absolutely compelled to do so. With this in mind, it’s probably best to tighten down your payment plan options, as well as look for ways to shift from an all-at-once pricing model to more recurring and residual revenue streams.
Social is here to stay: One thing that I’ve noticed hasn’t been quick to take up space in the industry yet is the adoption of social and “crowd-social” technologies, like twitter #hashtags, foursquare checkins, and the like. I think this is a huge trend that savvy seminar marketers and event hosts will be wise to tap in to. For instance: When your customers walk in to your seminar, provide them with a sign that says “The twitter tag for this event is: #myeventname”. Not in the tweeting zone yet, or unsure of what these things are? Check out Tweeting101 for some info.
Travel May get a Lot More Expensive: Seminars are a great way for people to learn hands on and face-to-face. But the downside to all that “connecting” is that the cost to travel has outpaced economic growth dramatically this past year, and will likely do the same again next year. What this means is that not only will your smartphone-toting, socially networked, credit card lacking, slightly better-employed customer be less likely to jump on the plane to even get to you, he or she will also be more demanding of the value you deliver when they arrive. Though we as seminar industry professionals are used to the costs associated with rampant travel, your customers may not be – and that flight to Vegas that used to be $59 may have leaped up quite a ways. Tack on all the fees associated and you may want to be conscious of where you host your seminar in terms of travel convenience and pricing. Your customers will appreciate any help you can provide when demonstrating that coming to your seminar is valuable and worth the travel headaches and costs.So, there are 5 trends to keep an eye on for the coming year. Obviously, these are just a few of the ideas whirling around my head, but the simple fact is, your customers will continue to demand more out of your services and solutions. The successful seminar hosts and speakers in the coming year will be those individuals who provide truly awesome value, a great (and fun!) experience, and connect with the customer in a significant way before, during, and after the show.
I just stumbled across an article that was posted on the SANG facebook page – referencing the reliably provocative Seth Godin. His post was titled, “How to Orgainze a Retreat,” and in typical Godin fashion the first thing he did was change the word association. Retreat is negative. So he nicknamed them advances.
The full article is over here at Seth Godin’s blog.
But, what is notable about his ideas is the amount of interactivity that he’s proposing between participants. I think it’s a powerful idea: You can bring together dozens or hundreds of people and lose control of it for a while, and be none worse for the wear thanks to the fact that you (or your group/organization) was responsible for assembling the people together.
The question becomes, in my mind, not if this concept of collaborative and proactive meetings takes hold, but how. The simple fact is, setting aside meeting rooms, booking travel, etc., all these things cost money – and times are tight. But I think looking in to 2011 and the future of the seminar industry, this notion of “advance” will be profoundly valuable. Already I’ve looked eagerly at missed opportunities to attend Barcamps in the past, but I think there may be a way for some of our more spirited clients to build “camp” style “advances” along the lines of the Godin article referenced above.
The big question is – can you create an environment that forces your customers to participate heavily in order to get the value of the event? That’s a tough nut to crack, especially if your current customer base relies on you to provide them the resources to jumpstart their business and/or endeavors. However, perhaps the secret is to embrace your customers’ uniqueness, ask them to jump in head-long with you, and see what comes out. Think you’re up for it? Let me know, I’ll come too…
Stay up to date on the latest news & buzz from Propel Point!
© Copyright 2011 Propel Point, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress. Slapped together haphazardly by 
Recent Blog Discussions