How To Get Bum’s On Seats

I have been asked on thousands of occasions “How do I get bums on seats?” “How can I get people to turn up?”

In a society where people have sussed that getting people to “see” what you do, enables sales the market is saturated with events to attend. From charity events, parties, MLM presentations, networking open days, taster days, surgeries, the list is endless. So no wonder getting bums on seats is not so easy.

Having hosted thousands events and as the network I founded The Business Womans Network comes up to celebrating it’s 10th birthday, I can safely say I know how to get bums on seats.

Why the weather can impact on sales.

How to sell tickets for your Christmas event from the South of France in July when your phone is turned off – heck you don’t know where it is!

And even how to get MP’s, journalists and TV celebrities to turn up!

So here are my quick top tips for making your event an ultimate success;

1. The first thing I want you to remember is that because of my illness (Lupus) I am not able to work as many hours as I would like or use many of the routes to market that may be open to you, thus what I’m saying is, that if I can fill a course in 24 hours, if I can work with a small team to make ££££’s for charity in one evening with only 3 weeks prep, if I can make my networking group grow continuously, then these top tips WILL work if you get this right. (that was my bossy, kick butt voice, did you get that? It’s only because I genuinely care about you getting results.)
2. Get yourself known as a thought leader first. Its a bit of a catch 22 situation, however if you want someone to attend your event, you need to make it obvious for them, that they should choose you over someone else. If I “Google” you online, what will I see? What would your target audience see? Wherever someone finds you it has to all add up to the same image, the same clear “This is what we do, and we do it exceptionally well.” How do you walk the walk on line and off line? Remember many people I’m working with right now have come to me over anyone else because of my online presence, wherever you go, you get the same version of Mandie Holgate. True authenticity and reputation speak to your clients often before you get the chance to – Can you say the same?
3. Prove it. You’ve now got the perfect online image that says “we are the experts to learn from.” now prove it. Who have you worked with? Are your testimonials hidden on one page? Are they utilised across your entire marketing strategy?
4. Results. Okay testimonials are lovely, but anyone can say something nice about you. It can end up as powerful as a like on Facebook (and a lot of likes does not equate to a lot of success), and lets be honest, I’ve only got 900ish likes on Facebook because I’ve never asked for a like. Okay across Twitter on my 2 accounts I’ve 8000+, however wherever I am on line they are genuine likes, and not the generic “Oooo if you like me, I will like you.” So you need to showcase in every aspect of your marketing the results that people can expect. How did you make that customer feel? What impact did it have on their life? Their Business? Their Success? Get specific. Use statistics and facts. Reinforce why people must attend your event.
5. What’s that word of mouth saying? Quite often we “think” we are known for one thing and in actual fact it can be something else entirely. So find out. What do people actually feel you are good at? What do people feel you lack skill in? Tell people they have carte blanch right to be honest here. Remember criticism is your chance to learn and be a better version of you.
6. Are you dynamic? Okay this one is a tad harsh, but hey you come to me for answers, and I won’t shy away from the harder ones to address…..so, remember when you were at school, the kid that you were friends with and got invited to their party and yet you questioned whether you should go, because that kid was considered “Uncool.” Do you feel people would want to spend the day/evening with you? Do you have pizazz? Can people believe that you are the expert that won’t bore them to death? In my experience sometimes really intelligent people, actually make poor trainers as they can lack people skills to appreciate other peoples needs and agendas. So are you someone that people want to spend time with? (And if you feel you lack charm or people skills – they are all learn-able – and I teach them.)
7. Check your ooziness. Leading on nicely from pizazz, do you ooozzzzzeee the passion for the subject you want to host an event on? People buy into passion. We buy certain products because of the way they make us feel. So do you ooze the “Wowness”?
8. Stop selling at people. Posting the link to your event a thousand time will not equate to a thousand guests, it will equate to a thousand people thinking “is that all they can talk abut!” Blog, share great images, share top tips, I find that I don’t need to sell my books, courses, training or coaching. Sharing enables people to see I’m their expert of choice and they buy into me as a product. So don’t sell at people, enable people to buy into you and feel like they are part of the cool team.
9. After any event, no matter how small a group you end up with, its a start. Ensure you take pictures, and make sure there are no empty chairs in view. Remember if it is a small group, the only people that will know that are those that where in the room, and if you made them feel amazing, and if they walk out of the room thinking it was amazing, they will talk more about that feeling and what they learned than about how small the group was. If anything they will want to see it happen again and so will be happy to get involved in spreading the word for the next one, so how will you utilise that?
10. Of all of these points work but don’t forget if you want to get bums on seats ask yourself “Do I utilise 8 to 10 tools off of Mandie’s Marketing Production Line.”