I have been producing business seminars and events for nearly 20 years, and have come to think of them as indispensible for successful business marketing initiatives. I started by combining my background as a television producer and attorney to take over the First Amendment Breakfast Series for the Columbia School of Journalism..
Over the years I have produced literally several hundred events for a wide range of sponsors and clients. Live events and conferences work well in any field. Here’s why:
- Events enable you to show your stuff. Events, particularly panel discussions, enable you to showcase your expertise in front of prospective clients. You can show what you know. The audience may not need your expertise right there and then, but when they do they’ll know where to turn.
- Events pay for themselves. The cost of producing an event is not high when compared to the gains derived from even a single retained client. Think about it. I’ve had clients who generated many thousands of dollars from a single prospect generated by an event. That one client more than pays for a year of events. And that’s just one client.
- Personal Contact Closes Deals. LinkedIn and other forms of social media are great for gaining introductions and making initial contacts. But have you ever closed a meaningful deal over social media? I haven’t. That’s where events come in. They provide the personal connection that enables you to close deals and make sales.
- Prospective Clients Come to Your Office. There’s no better way to get prospects to come to your office to meet you and your colleagues. There’s a definite strategic advantage to having people in your office. From there it’s often just a couple of steps to closing a deal.
There are any number of events that you can produce and host that will help to generate business. We can help you to produce them or guide you through the process so that you can do them on your own. It’s something you really have to do. The ROI can be enormous, and I would argue larger than almost any other form of marketing.