Overview Tips Invitation Template Presentation Skills Training Attendee Evaluation

Seminars :: Tips Seminars have emerged as a highly leveraged marketing practice. Seminars provide a cost-effective way to reach a highly qualified audience and directly influence them with a marketing message. A seminar is an informative presentation held in a controlled setting that provides solutions to the needs of a target audience and gives that audience key take-away messages. Important elements of this definition include: Seminars are information sources. Seminars tend to be viewed by attendees as a non-threatening environment where they can get information and evaluate products for themselves. In addition, seminars add value in the post purchase stage, increasing customer satisfaction that can lead to further purchases as companies adopt the products on a wider scale. Seminars have a high level of control. The location, timing, message, and many other elements of a seminar are all predetermined. This gives you the time to plan your approach and develop precise messages to give an audience. Seminars offer solutions. Unlike a product demonstration, which focuses on product features, a seminar communicates solutions in the form of product benefits. Time is spent identifying the audience's needs, demonstrating product features, then explaining how the features provide Seminars provide key take-away messages. The format of a seminar typically includes an introduction; the product and strategy presentation; a presentation about the services and support of third-party vendors, consultants, or trainers; and then a wrap-up of the seminar. The presentation should provide key product take-away messages to the audience. In addition to summarizing key take-away messages in the wrap-up, seminars typically close with a clear "call-to-action" or next step, motivating attendees to purchase or evaluate products. 11 steps to an effective seminar Following these steps will help ensure that your seminar successfully builds business Defining Goals - It's important to consider and document your business objective associated with hosting a seminar. That way, throughout the process you can keep focused on your ultimate goal. You can start by asking yourself the following questions: What is my company trying to accomplish with this seminar? Do I have clear value and a strong message to deliver to customers? Am I prepared to follow up with interested customers and take on new business? How will I measure the effectiveness of the time and money invested in making this seminar happen? Choosing a Topic - Once you have identified your business objective, it's important to pick an appropriate topic. Keep the following things in mind: An effective presentation is one delivered by someone who is very knowledgeable about the topic at hand. Make sure you're presenting a topic aligned with your core competencies as a technology provider. A critical part of a successful presentation is its relevance to the audience on hand. While there are many exciting technology topics available, your customer's time is best spent addressing their own business needs. Targeting Appropriate Audience - You need to decide who will be most interested in the topic you've chosen. In fact your target audience can also affect your choice of topic. Consider multiple variables when choosing an audience such as: Customer Size (In terms of both employees and computer desktops) Customer Location Vertical Industries Horizontal Needs Defining a Timeline - Once you have chosen to move forward with a seminar and identified your topic and target audience, you need to develop a timeline to assure that you meet key milestones in preparation of the event. 8 - 10 weeks prior to the event - Topic finalized Begin creating event content (see Content Creation below) Secure an appropriate venue Invitation creation/design (see Invitations below) Define and begin creation of event giveaways Contact list brokers to obtain appropriate target list (see Mailing Sources below) 7 weeks prior to the event - Continue work on content Finalize registration process for attendees Complete invitations 6 weeks prior to the event - Finalize content Create event collateral (company brochures, product overviews etc.) Invitations should be mailed to all attendees Depending on time of day of event, order food and beverages for attendees 4 weeks prior to the event - Analyze registration data and invite more attendees if appropriate Create event evaluation form (See template on CD) Verify on-time delivery of event giveaways 2 weeks prior to the event - End of week - send invitation reminder Visit venue and ensure that all audio/visual equipment is working properly Secure registration table for check-in and collateral 1 week prior to the event - Rehearse presentation 7 to 8 times Create name tags with the name and company name for all attendees Consolidate Collateral Day of event Arrive early Check all equipment at least one hour prior to event Welcome all guests in front of seminar room Content Creation - Clearly the content you compile will be the most important piece of hosting an effective event. Presentations around four solution areas (E-Commerce, Platform, Business Intelligence, and Small Business) are available right now on this CD and online at the Microsoft Certified Partner private online website. We recommend using these to start with and customizing them with your own company information. As your compiling content remember: Include a clear agenda at the beginning of the presentation Begin with general topic information and gradually get more specific All content should end with a customer call to action. For example, "Contact us at [ Microsoft Certified Partner name] to schedule your free technology consultation and we can begin designing a solution that will work for your business." Venue - The venue you choose is important because it leaves a customer with an impression of your company. Choose a place which is professional and comfortable at the same time. Your own company training room or large conference room might be the ideal place because the customer has a chance to see where you make solutions happen for your customers. Other good places are local hotels and conference centers. Coordinate times and dates with scheduling personnel. Depending on the time of day, you may want to provide food and beverages for your guests. This is a service typically offered by the venue management. If you host the event on-site it would be best to have it professionally catered. Setting Up Registration - An effective registration process is essential. It should: Provide for all customer information Name Title Company name Complete Address Phone E-mail address Business size Vertical Industry Be available in a variety of ways Phone Web Mail E-mail Be easy for your customers to use Have a tracking system so you can check registration on a daily basis Have an end date Identify mailing list sources - If you choose to mail invitations to people on "outside" lists - individuals not on your current customer database - a list broker can help you obtain the best lists for your mailing. Many advertising agencies will act as liaison to your list broker. If you are working with a list broker, these questions will help you determine if the broker is providing quality lists: How often is the list cleaned? Cleaned lists have been checked for people who have moved, changed titles, etc. Is this a "compiled" or a "response" list? Is this a four-line address list? Four lines means the list contains business addresses, not home addresses. Are titles available for your target audience? For instance, can you select "MIS Managers" from the list? Sending Invitations - Your seminar invitation creates the first impression a customer will have of your company. Event invitation templates are available on this CD and online at the Certified Partner private online site. Invitations should be: Professional Compelling - Introduce a business need which will be met by attending this event. Articulate - Event name, date, location and registration information should be very clearly placed on an invitation. Evaluations - Seminar evaluations are mandatory at any event you host. Evaluations allow you to Check attendance numbers against registration Measure the effectiveness of a presentation Measure the effectiveness of a particular speaker Measure a customer's likeliness to do business with you and the reasons why or why not Allow for future follow-up with each attendee Follow-up - The list of customers who attend your event is extremely valuable. Each attendee should: Be sent a thank you note following the event which reminds them of your offerings and contact information Be placed in a Customer Relationship Management database Be nurtured. See Jim Cecil's Nurture Management offering here

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