Making a Seminar Work Via Non-Profits=

Offering your seminars through a local community ncollege can be a great way to generate income and nclients ... without the hassles of renting a meetingnroom, handling logistics or doing the marketing.
You turn in your course description ... then shownup to teach.

Unfortunately, the reality is not so pretty. The nprimary tool used to promote events is a course ncatalog, which means your seminar will be listed nalongside hundreds of other courses ... and your ncourse description will only be a few lines long.
(If you're lucky, you might get a longer slightly nlonger description online ... or maybe even be listednin a brochure that promotes 6 to 12 related courses, nsuch as business management courses.)

For the most part, however, people who want more ninformation will call the college for details, nyet the person who answers could easily not be ntoo interested in selling.

It's not that they don't care about making the sale -- nnon-profit organizations definitely should be making na profit. (The difference is that profits are nreinvested in the organization vs. distributed to nshareholders or owners, as with for-profit organizations.)

The problem is that (1) they typically aren't salespeople, n(2) they have way too much to do in a day, (3) theyndon't know anything about your seminar or they don't nunderstand the true benefits of what you're offering,nand (4) the person answering the phone may be a nregistration assistant who's trained only to register nstudents -- not sell them on attending your event.

To help fill the seats you secure at local venues, nconsider the following:

1. Ask if you can write your own course description.
You know your material -- and prospective attendees --nbetter than anyone. Write something that hammers homenthe benefits of choosing YOUR program.

2. Find out in advance what, if anything, your programncoordinator will be doing to market your seminar. Ask nhow you can supplement their efforts. If you write a nsalesletter, will they send it out? If you split the ncost of a separate mailing promoting your course only,nwill they do it? If you offer a free preview seminar, nwill they promote it? Asking these questions also letsnthe program coordinator know how to satisfy the different nneeds of those marketing seminars which, in turn, will nbenefit them as well with a higher number ofnstudent registrations.

3. Provide your seminar coordinator with a "cheat sheet" nthat lists key details that can be used to sell yournseminar, such as who should attend, the top benefits, nanswers to common questions, and questions the registrar ncan ask to help callers decide if your course is right for nthem.

4. Do your own promotions. There's nothing stoppingnyou from sending out your own press release, postcards,nnewsletters, etc. Yes, you will then be investing yournown money into promoting the "college's" course, butnif your students turn into clients, the investmentnmay be worth it. You can also try negotiating a nbonus commission for any students you bring in.

Finding new and inventive ways to market your seminar tona not-for-profit venue can only help your business in thenlong run, by putting your event in front of prospectivencustomers in the form of students.