Microphone at conference hall. Dynamic microphone against the background of convention center. Real photo.

 

When many people think of live events in a business or motivational speaking capacity, they typically envision massive venues and stadiums with people like Tony Robbins on stage making people walk over hot coals, so they automatically make the assumption that live events somehow don’t apply to them or their business. This a very false assumption, and also a very expensive assumption.

 

Regardless of what type of business you have, if you’re not doing some kind of events to connect with your customers, then you’re simply leaving money on the table.

 

Before I get into why you should at least consider live events, and how to set them up for your business as way of getting more exposure, I just want to clarify that you should, in no way feel pressured into hosting live events if they don’t fit in with the vision you have for your business.

 

They’re definitely not for everyone, but I also want to clarify that live events do not mean Tony Robbins style as mentioned above. An event you hold can be as big or as small as you wish – it’s not about the venue or how many people attend, it’s about the quality of what you deliver to the people who came to your event, and the results they left with.

 

If you know your audience well and you know what results you need to be helping them achieve, then they won’t care if your event is at a 5-star hotel in Bali, complete with a butler and Name Badges or if it’s in your house – seriously, I know people who invite their clients to private intensive events at their house, and these are actually considered more high-end because of the personal aspect and the idea that it’s a real life setting that they can relate to.

 

So, now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s look at some of the different ways you can start introducing live events to your business, and how to structure them for best results.

 

Look at where events fit in:

 

Do events have a place in your overall business model? If you work with your clients in any kind of private setting, or if you deliver results to your clients through coaching, consulting, or teaching, then events will most probably fit perfectly with your business.

 

Decide on a topic for your event:

 

When it comes to events, people really prefer the less is more approach, and they get better results than if you were to bombard them with too much information, anyway. Instead of hosting an event where to try to cram a 12 week program into 4 hours, then chunk down something from your 12 week program as a single topic for the event and focus on that, show people you can get them an actual result, and let them know you can help them further. There are plenty of places you can look online for ideas when it comes to planning and hosting your events.

 

Have an offer at the end:

 

Just as I mentioned letting people know you can help them further, you should actively make an offer to take the next step with you right there at the event. If you’ve delivered great value and shown that you can get good results and know your stuff, then a percentage of those people will take you up on your offer. You can even offer a special discount or bonus for those who sign up during the event as a way to reward fast action takers and to say thank you for trusting you.