S
ally was at the local Leagues
Club to listen to an industry
leader share their insights
in a field that she had
recently taken a lot of interest in.
It was advertised as a workshop.
Since it was free, she was expecting
there to be some sales pitches
throughout and at the follow up.
First up she saw a pull up banner
advertising the speaker and
then there was an unmanned
registration desk that had name-
tags laid out on it. They were not
in any particular order but she
eventually found her name and
noticed a bowl with a sign to drop
in her business card for the lucky
door prize.
Sally was greeted very warmly by
the venue staff who indicated to
her where the refreshment station
was. People were getting their
refreshments, some were talking,
but most had headed straight to
a seat in the back row, and Sally
joined them. Someone that looked
like the Presenter, was at the front
of the room mucking around with
cables, trying to get a laptop to
work, while a guest who is in IT
helped them trying valiantly to get
the sound working. Eventually it
was all up and running, and the
last of the guests took their seat
and the presentation started.
With the presentation over, Sally
left the event feeling like she had
wasted her time. However, she
also had a lecture pad full of notes
on how this Presenter could have
produced a much better workshop
and achieved the follow on business
they were attempting to garner.
Yes that’s right, this was
a ‘sales seminar’, not a
‘workshop’ as advertised
where some information was
shared, some sales pitches
thrown in for good measure, and
then a little bit more information.
There were no informative stories,
case studies or solutions, just sales
pitch after sales pitch. In fact it was
so filled with sales pitches, Sally
believes that she could probably
sell you the product right now.
Sally felt that she couldn’t let this
person go on destroying their
brand in this way, so she called
them and offered to meet with
them and share how she thought
they could have produced a much
more effective workshop, and still
sold their product at the same time.
Here’s what Sally told them:
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Begin the journey from
the moment people book.
On arrival at the venue,
make it really easy
for people to find the room
that the event is in.
+
+
Once the room is found, the
registration desk MUST be
manned.
+
+
+
At registration you need
to explain what will happen
with people’s business
cards after you have taken
them home.
If there’s room, put out
some sales information that
people can pick up and take
with them.
Another tool to have INSIDE
the room is a table that has
brochures, products or
information displayed so
again, there is something to
distract people if they don’t
feel like talking to strangers.
But most critically, YOU,
the host, should be at the
refreshment station, mingling,
networking and introducing
guests to each other.
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+
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August/ 2019
BUT you shout, I’ll be
sorting out the AV and getting
my presentation ready! No
you won’t, because you will
have gone through your pre-
event checklist, at least 1.5
hours prior to doors opening.
Throughout your presentation,
it’s ok to pitch your products
and services to your guests.
They are EXPECTING it!
Make sure you fill your gift
bags (yes you need them) with
valuable tools and takeaway
material on your services.
And don't forget to include
information about what they
need to do next.
And how do you make sure
your guests get all this
information? You will be
standing at the door shaking
everyone’s hands as they exit,
giving them a gift bag with all
this information in it.
So next time you want to promote
your products or services, or just
want to share some knowledge
with people, think about delivering
a workshop, paid or free, that not
only gives them knowledge and
tools, but also demonstrates for
them, when it’s important to call
in a professional. While we’re
pretty clever, it’s good to know
at what point we should call in
a professional.
A U T H O R S AL LY P O R T E O U S
[email protected]
redlanyard.com.au
Women’s Network Magazine
25