Attending sales and marketing seminars can give your business a much needed boost and take sales to the next level. If you find your business has flat lined or you are simply ready to achieve new goals and boost your bottom line, bringing great minds together to brainstorm new ideas in a seminar can be the best way to accomplish this.

Sometimes looking at the fees for business marketing seminars can be sobering, but taking into consideration the ways that implementing new ideas found in seminars can increase business, the cost will be well worth it. When weighing the advertising and marketing education and training seminars pricing and costs, consider the following:

1. Set a couple goals for your business and find marketing and advertising seminars that relate to your vision.

2. Look first for regional or local seminars that can save a lot of money on hotel and travel expenses.

3. Spend time researching advertising and marketing seminars to find the ones that are most relevant for your business, so that the money spent on the seminar is well invested.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find great marketing training seminars

Taking part in a seminar on marketing led by industry experts will open your eyes to new marketing strategies. These can be used to find new money-making opportunities, in addition to creating a new demand for existing products and services.

I recommend: Find top-selling marketing seminars, provided by the American Management Association, that range in price from $1,900 to $2,200. Join the Business Marketing Association for an annual fee of $185 to gain access to the best marketing seminars in the industry. These seminars are held nationwide and cost about $2,500 a piece.

Attend a seminar on advertising

Learn new and innovative ways to streamline your advertising techniques to reach new customers and spark interest in existing customers. Put together creative advertising campaigns using traditional and non-traditional tactics.

I recommend: Attend seminars provided by YourAdvertisingCoach.com for around $300. Take part in an advertising seminar by AdCracker, ranging in price between $800 and $10,000 depending on how many employees participate, whether the seminar is held on-site or off and whether the seminar includes all three sections or just one.

Look for an online sales and marketing seminar

Finding online seminars, also known as webinars, are a great way to keep advertising and marketing education and training seminars pricing and costs down while still getting the valuable information from marketing and advertising experts.

I recommend: Find a whole series of 90-minute marketing seminars by MarketingProfs for approximately $130 each; some even include question and answer sections, and some are on-demand so they can be viewed at your convenience. Watch a free online advertising webinar at Viddler.

Sales and marketing seminars are great for those in the field or for those wanting to boost their industry presence. Find tips at marketing seminars. Discuss ideas at advertising seminars. Invest in business marketing seminars training for the success of your company.

Finding the right marketing training seminars for you is the challenge, though. You want to find something cost effective but at the same time creative enough to help put you on the right PR and marketing path.

To find the right advertising and marketing education and training seminars for you:

1. Start your search regionally for optimal cost effectiveness.

2. Make sure that the advertising seminars are applicable to either your field or your intended promotion idea.

3. Budget accordingly to afford the class or seminar.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Start with marketing seminars

Look for marketing seminars to start you on the road to PR genius. Learn the art of marketing and how to combine it with your ad and PR efforts to successfully publicize your product or service.

I recommend: Look at the Direct Marketing Association for information on mastering the essentials of business-to-business and business-to-consumer direct marketing. Look at the marketing seminar offerings from the American Management Association. Also consider Marketing Profs Online Marketing Seminars.

Check out advertising seminars and training courses

Easily find both online and in person advertising seminars and training courses. Use an ad seminar to help you streamline your advertising efforts. Be it web, television, radio, print or blog, utilize the training to best utilize your dollars and your efforts.

I recommend: Check out the degree programs listed at eLearners.com. Look at the Advertising and Fashion & Retail Management Programs at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division. Try the AdCracker’s ProSkills advertising training workshops for your creative needs.

Push for an emphasis on sales when attending sales and marketing seminars

Whether you were born to promote a product, or you were simply born to sell it, the bottom line of attending sales and marketing seminars is to boost your sales. So pay special attention to the sales tactics and techniques that you learn.

I recommend: Check out the Sales Training for Measurable Results program from TopLine Leadership Inc. You could also try sales training from Dale Carnegie Training, which has been a self-improvement to a performance-based training company since 1912.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You don't have to have a degree to enjoy advertising and marketing education and training seminars. If you have a product or service to promote, taking a sales and marketing seminar will be in your best interest.
• •  Consider splurging on having two employees attend your seminar training. That way you can bounce ideas off of one another after you return from your training.

Customers like to do their homework before they spend their money. A great way to educate your customers and increase sales is with the use of seminars. Customers walk away feeling that they’ve learned something about a subject and if done right, the seminar has built a brand in the customers mind that is more than just the features of your product or service, but the benefits of using it. Seminars can serve many purposes including:

1. Introducing a new product to your existing customer base.
2. Helping to provide education on complex issues.
3. Building confidence in your company as a leader in the industry.
4. Providing new leads to build your customer base.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Prepackaged seminars

If you've never created a seminar, you might find it easier to adapt one that has been created for your industry and customize it to your products or services. Most turnkey seminars include everything you need to plan a seminar including Powerpoint presentations, marketing materials and a seminar outline.

I recommend: FMT Solutions provides a toolkit for general seminars and customized turnkey seminar packages for several financial planning genres.

Opt for Webinars (web seminars)

If your customers are spread across the country or around the world, consider providing a web seminar on your website. This allows the customer to view your seminar from anywhere at anytime.

I recommend: Webex allows you to provide web seminars without dealing with the complex logistics of planning a seminar. Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional software enables users to communicate and collaborate instantly with up to 2,500 participants.

Write and design your own seminar

If you have all of the information you want to convey, you can set up your own structure with the use of presentation software, props and a seminar outline.

I recommend: Learn the basics of marketing and promoting your own seminar from expert Fred Gleeck on his website. Find out the 10 mistakes to avoid when planning your seminar at www.howtomarketseminars.com.

Logistics

You need to plan the logistics of the seminar, including invitations, location, length, if there will be refreshments or meals, cost of the seminar if you intend to charge customers to attend, registration details, and what written materials you will provide.

I recommend: Download free templates for seminar flyers, stage setup and audio/visual needs from expert David Knox. Study all the logistics of seminar planning in the online tutorial at www.financial-seminar.net. If you’ll regularly use seminars as a marketing tool, consider investing in event management software such as EventRegister or read our guide on choosing Event Planning Software.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Holding a seminar doesn't require a huge investment. Consider holding small workshops at restaurants, your office or community centers to cut down on the cost of renting hotel meeting space.
• •  If your seminar is free and could be considered a community service, check local programs at the public library, senior center or community center to see if they will offer your seminar to the community. Some people are wary of attending a marketing seminar so you might attract a wider audience if it is presented as a community seminar.
• •  In your handouts to attendees, make sure to include sales information. At the close of your sessions, don't be afraid to ask for the sale. It's good business.