My $10,000 Workshop Formula

I am writing this on my way to leading a workshop for real estate agents on how to use Facebook. I have done these many times in the past, they are one of my most profitable ways of generating business – both on the front and and on the back end.

  

Here is my formula:

  

1 – find a very high-end venue so that your event is seen as a high ticket item. They say first impressions are made in the first three seconds…your venue says a lot about how much you value your workshop! If you meet at a local diner, you are telling your audience how much you value your information and your time. If you rent out a high-end venue, you are telling your audience how much you value your content in your time. Do you see the difference?

  

2 – get power partners! The most difficult part about putting on a profitable workshop is getting people to the event. However, if you find one or two great power partners for your event and give them free sponsorship, they will bring people to you! This tried-and-true formula has worked for me to fill up workshops across many industries and in numerous cities!

  

3 – make attendance to the event free, but charge them to be a VIP! It took me a while before my workshops were profitable on the front-end, but I have found a solution that works for me: I market the event as a free event, and then I sell handbooks for $20. I market the handbook as an upgrade to “VIP”, and it comes with numerous other perks such as free access to one of my courses, receiving free content after my event, and an opportunity to win prizes I give away during breaks. Now I am generating revenue of $20 per person at my events, which makes it very easy to break even before I start selling anything! This approach really changed the game for me and made it so much easier to consistently put on profitable workshops! Also, since I am marketing the handbook as “upgrading to VIP” nobody thinks that they got tricked into having to pay money for a free event… They understand that their experience is being upgraded above the FREE level.

  

4 – don’t be afraid to spend money on marketing! It is imperative that you are able to fill the room, and to do so you will have to spend some marketing dollars. Set aside a budget for your marketing, and make sure that you have enough so that your event is a success. If you do not spend money marketing it is very difficult to fill the room, no matter how good your power partners are!

  

5 – hire a good photographer and/or videographer so that you can leverage the event. There are a few intangibles that an influencer needs to maximize their social media impact, and one of them is really great photos! Almost all of my best photos have come from workshops or other speaking engagements.  When I rent out a high-end venue, I always make sure that I bring a photographer with me to photograph myself, the venue, the attendees, and my materials. Not only is this great photo material for my social media presence, but it allows me to put together a very nice presentation when it is time for me to hold my next event. When you hire a great photographer you could leverage this event for months (or even years) after the event!

  

6 – put together an irresistible offer so that you make money on the backend of the event! Your irresistible offers’ value will depend on the level of client that you have attracted to your event. When I speak to a group of real estate agents, the value of my offer is much less than when I speak to a room of entrepreneurs that are looking to grow their business from six figures to seven figures. I know that the real estate agents in the room do not have the budget of entrepreneurs that are already making over six figures. My goal is to close 80% of the room on my initial offer, so I make it really good and within their budget!

  

7 – bring enough people so that the event is run smoothly! I remember at one of my first workshops I made an irresistible offer, and then watched in horror as the attendees of my event desperately tried giving me money but there was nobody to accept their payment! I had failed at the logistics of handling a rush of people with credit cards out, wanting to spend money with me but not being given the ability to process payment. It was a nightmare! I always bring at least one additional person besides myself to handle registration, and I learned the best way to get the most orders at the end of the workshop is to give everybody an order form when they first walk in! I call my order form an “opportunity sheet”, and if they fill it out I will send them some free goodies after the event. That way I am sure of getting their contact information, and they’re only a couple small steps away from buying my offer at the end of the workshop!

  

8 – The fortune is in the follow up! Between the day of your event in 90 days after your event, make at least three offers to everyone that attended your event! I always send out offers for services I have discussed, anywhere from $100-$500. This is where I make the bulk of my revenue after the event. The great thing about these events is that you generate leads that you can now market to for life!

  

Here is my normal revenue breakdown for a workshop (using averages from previous events):
100 attendees
80% buy my $20 handbook ($1600 revenue)
20% take advantage of my $100 offer ($2000 revenue)

20% buy after the event ($6,000 revenue, on average)

Sponsorships sold before event ($500 revenue)

  

$500 for the venue

$300 for the photographer

$500 for marketing

$100 labor

$300 marketing materials