How do I successfully start a seminar business in australia selling
NLP? I am fully trained, now I want to compete against already
established companies. How can I market as cheaply and efectively as
possible? We plan to run a weekend personal development course and
certification trainings in Neuro Linguistic Programming, Time Line
Therapy and Hypnosis. Do we need to price ourselves far below the
established companies? I am in my 20s and though the course content
will be almost identical to larger certification trainings, people
judge I lack their "experience". The alternative market has heard of
nlp though they have also most likely heard of the main companies.
Outside of the seminar junkies most don;t belive the promises of nlp
etc are true and have not heard of it and are more price resistant
(from my limited market research)

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Request for Question Clarification by mathtalk-ga on 28 Apr 2003 09:01 PDT

Hi, zulu500-ga:

I'm not persuaded that the "Tom Peters" style is the most effective
way to promote ones credibility as an NLP seminar speaker.

It sounds to me as if you are trying to establish a business as a
trainer and evaluator.  Giving free "educational" seminars might be an
approach to building such a business, but of course competitors may be
the partial beneficiaries of these efforts.

I would try to identify a niche market of professionals in an urban
area who may be predisposed to acceptance of your "message".  Youth
and enthusiasm for your subject will be major advantages, not
drawbacks.  It is mainly a marketing effort, now that you have
mastered your subject material (and presumably you are an effective
speaker).  With your niche market in mind, try to find speaking
engagements that will bring you into contact with those sorts of
people.

If you'd like help with identifying a niche and (perhaps) your
competition, please post a clarification to this effect.

regards, mathtalk-ga

Hi Zulu,

Yes, you did get excellent advice from unico67 - the first comment below.
And MathTalk's recommendation about tapping into a niche market will
significantly reduce your overall marketing efforts. 

Using the 'niche' technique, you can become THE expert in NLP for that
one area of professionals or...

But, you want something with faster results. I understand that. 

Take MathTalk's idea - find a company, or business, with hundreds of employees
working under stress, let's say a real estate office. (Or try a hospital's 
nursing staff, or bus drivers who have to deal with both nasty people AND 
traffic, or flight attendants, or...find a group of people no one has thought
to specifically target.)

Working with the example of a real estate office (use the same logic for any
of the niche markets), offer to do a one-hour introduction for them at one 
of their sales meetings, for free. (They always have speakers.) Then, offer 
them a discounted price for a group of, say, at least 10 people. Work with 
them. Get them impressed with your skills. Have them write testimonials. 

Then, offer to do the same for another branch of the same company. 
Do this a few times until you can prove that you can consistently
get good results for them. 

If any of them had increased sales, or worked more efficiently, or anything
that can be quantified - get that information.

NOW, you can go to the public with your flyers or ads and offer a seminar
for the public. 

Promote it by writing some articles for the local newspaper. If they won't
publish them - find one of the smaller papers who will. Try to make the
articles about people. Readers identify with stories about others, rather
than stories that simply try to teach or preach. 

I started building my tax practice by sending out press releases about
a $10 workshop on how to prepare your own tax returns. No ads. 
I found a hotel that would give me a meeting room cheaply. The first
time, only 10 people came. Three became clients. The next time, there 
were 20. Several of them became clients. And so on. 


Another place you can go is to gyms. People using them are into self-
improvement. They will be receptive to learning about another way to
help themselves. 

The hardest thing to do is to educate a market about a new idea. 
NLP isn't generally known outside of the community who practices it. 


If this is a good start, please let me know. I'll be happy to continue
to guide you in your marketing efforts. 

Whatever you do, though - do get some articles out there with your name
on them. You can even get them published online. Establish yourself as
a an expert by packaging yourself. Perception is important. 

Your TaxMama-ga

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Clarification of Answer by taxmama-ga on 08 May 2003 08:11 PDT

Hi Zulu, 

Thank you so much!

I was expecting you to have some more questions
to round out the information I provided. 

If you do - please just post it in the "Clarify Question"
section of this page. 

Best wishes

Your TaxMama-ga

Thanks :)

I have been in the "seminar "business for 25 years the last 21 of
which in Italy.
I understand fully the points you are making.

1 The main challenge is credibility in the eyes of the client.So write
a book-an article - a series of articles.Its not that difficult.You
can do it.Make it immediate, visual....can I say "Tom Peters" style
etc etc.

2 The second major challenge is contacting clients.Mail-outs and
circulars are not effective any more .Its even more about networking.
Directors of Personnel meetings. Ask to speak as a testimony at
smaller management trade fairs .Offer a freeby to the local Rotary
etc. Offer a freeby to the New Venture/ startup unit of the local
Chamber of Commerce.You get the idea.....

3 Make it industry sector focused.As consultants we have to kiss
goodbye to multi generic seminars  (mining on Monday ...Retail on
Tuesday....a manufacturer on Wednesdays....the real buyer today says
"hey ..how much do you know about MY industry.After 18 years of
generics I changed to focus on the Fashion Industry about 3 years
ago.Great ...there are fewer well focused consultants about so the
market pulls rather than vice-versa.

4 Get some help from a PR agency.Choose well ....see at least 10
before you decide.Negotiate a SMALL startup fee.Get them to organise a
book presentation for you to their journalist list.Write articles for
SPECIFIC magazine sectors...eg" PNL at the front desk Increasing sales
in the car rental business"
PNL: reducing queues and stress in local goverment front desk
operations"
Do a small sector research which get PUBLISHED.
Then go with your article to your appointments.You'll see the
difference.

5 Avoid "Show and Go" seminars.Companies want stuff they can appy
Monday morning which works.An intercompany seminar - very often
running at breakeven - is ony a KEY to do the lucrative in - company
stuff.

Its a tough tough super enjoyable industry.Its like doing an MBA which
last 20 years.
Most of all use a £"non arrogant" consultant style.

Good luck!!

Thanks for the comments! It appears this question has been placed in
the "too hard basket" oh well, perhaps some brave researcher will
still take the plunge... Your webpage is VERY intersting Cate, I will
be in touch soon :)

Hi zulu500-ga,

I'm not sure what researcher would be able to provide a better answer
than the comment already posted. Unless you want a specific business
plan format, you've gotten an excellent answer in the comment. Having
a publication record takes the place of academic degrees and field
experience in establishing your credibility. By having articles in
media read by your target audience you gain both expert status and
advertising. Pricing yourself well below the established companies may
send the message that your product is inferior. You need to follow the
guidelines laid out in the comments and make some contacts in the
corporate area. It may take a while, but if you've got a good product
and persistance, you should do well.

Good luck,
bcguide-ga

Their was one good piece of advice from above, find a niche.

You say you know your stuff, so we wont question your ability we will
just assume you CAN.

You have probably heard of Anthony Robbins, do you know he started
doing private consultations with clients? One of which earned him a
fee of 6 or 7 million.

That's where I would focus my niche if I were you. If you want to have
a low cost way of approaching these businesses, take a cue from a very
successful investment broker. In his early days when he had no money
he would conduct "brown bag" seminars at local meeting places. (The
owner of one of these can be one of your first clients in exchange for
the meeting room.)
The "brown bag" seminar in your case would be local business owners
bringing their lunch to the meeting hall, you might furnish them an
ice tea, or coffee. You would explain how your services could benefit
them; using NLP in their marketing materials, in store displays, in
newspaper advertisements, in how their customer service people talked
to their clients, "upselling" at the checkout. Capturing clients names
for future promotions.

NLP is nothing if not what language a store owner can use to increase
profits.

This same investment broker did these "brown bag" seminars at first
once per week, then he had such demand he did two per week. Then he
eventually was offered a time slot on the radio each week, he got
syndicated across the country.

I would love to have an NLP trainer train my mind.

You and your spouse(or friend) can hand out coupons (basically
instructions on where the next seminar will be), just go door to door
in your business area.

You're the NLP trainer show the store owners how effective NLP is just
in how you can fill a room with the brief note you have given each
attending "brown bagger". Use those NLP power words to stuff the room.
At the end of your meeting that just nicks the surface of what NLP can
do for those store owners that choose to use you, offer your services.
Give them just enough bait to set the hook, then reel them in.

Maybe you could hook yourself up with a web page designer that is
learning NLP, or wants to, then you can offer that as a service as
well.

I am sure businesses such as insurance sales could use scripts that
their telemarketing departments could use to boost closing ratios.

Above all don't let price sell your offering, in fact use it as an
"exclusivity tool". Why make a hundred bucks each off of 50
individuals when you could make 500 dollars each off of ten. That
raises another good point, business people are able to afford your
services and individualized attention.