What Type of Seminar to Conduct

The key to succeeding in the seminar business, other than offering high quality seminars, is offering the right seminar. A subject that may be exciting to you may not be interesting to other people. Your job as a seminar provider is to offer value in your seminars; something that people can use or learn from. Learn the basic strategies for determining what type of seminar to conduct in order to increase your chances of success.



The importance of subject matter

The topics that will be discussed in your seminar have a huge impact on its success or failure. It doesn't matter how talented and skillful the speaker is if the subject doesn't impress your participants, your seminar will be useless. Plus, it could ruin your reputation as well.



To find out what type of seminar to conduct, do research, particularly market research. A background knowledge on what's prevalent and current in the seminar industry is a very valuable step. Seminars go with the flow of the season or the prevalent mood of the era. Your goal here is to be as relevant as possible to the needs of your prospective audience.



To find out what types of seminars are popular, go to your local convention or seminar bureau and look at their schedule. You'll find a listing of seminars all lined up for the coming weeks and months. You might also want to check out the local newspapers for ads. The Internet is also an excellent source of information about the types of seminars that are being offered. If you have a particular subject matter in mind, use this as a keyword in your search to find out what specific topics are most popular and therefore, saleable.



Or, you could go with the tried-and-tested perennial favorites such as sales motivation, customer service, marketing success, leadership and self-motivation seminars that are still big hits today.



When you do get a list of seminars from different sources, try to take note of the months of the year they are offered. That should give you an idea of how these professionals schedule their seminars in order to fit the season.



Find a match in the subject matter and your own expertise.

Determine what sort of seminar you can conduct effectively. If the topic is so popular, can you effectively offer a 90-minute or 4-hour seminar on it? If not, can you find a speaker who can deliver a top quality seminar on the subject?



Single-session or Multi-session?

The most popular seminars last from a half-day session to a three-day event. There are also seminars that last for weeks, where participants meet with the presenter at specific times during each week within a limited period, say, 2 to 3 hours. There are advantages and limitations to each.



A single-session seminar allows you to complete the seminar within an extremely limited time period, say 2 hours to about 5 hours in one day. However, it's not only quicker, it's also cheaper to produce. You can maximize the topics you will be discussing and schedule one-on-one appointments and consultations immediately after, all in a span of one day. Or, if the topic is too expansive, you could use a single-session seminar and connect it to another single-session seminar which you will be conducting several days later, for a separate fee. If you can do this successfully, you'll earn more and develop a following.



With a multi-session seminar, you have to be a very talented speaker to keep your participants' interest long enough to actually follow through the weekly sessions. Otherwise, you might notice that the attendance (and attention) of your participants might start to dwindle.



Consider the time and season

Believe it or not, in the seminar industry, just because you build it doesn't mean they will come. Timing is a huge part of the equation. It can have a considerable effect on the attendance. Let's consider a seminar that is designed for seniors and retirees, for example. By now, you probably know that this group of people follows a routine. In general, it's a bad idea to hold your seminar during a weekday, especially if it's done in the morning. Most seniors and retirees have set activities and appointments during weekdays, set from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. That means it's a bad idea to start a seminar in the morning or a weekday. Learn the simple nuances that are unique to the type of seminars you want to conduct.