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I thought I'd ask your advice on something. I'm bringing in a negotiation coach to do a 60 min live presentation in Jan for the local audience of wedding pros.

I've been the speaker at these types of things many times, but haven't been the organize so I'd love your suggestions on how to:

  • find & negotiate the venue/training space. Would a local restaurant donate space/food in exchange for exposure to my audience?
  • set the speaker fees. I'm thinking the speaker gets all the book sales/ I get the door
  • setting an affordable tuition that's not too low
  • creating a follow up experience for participants
  • the most effective places to promote

I have ideas but would rather not go off in the wrong direction, especially when I have a great resource in you to ask. Sitting down virtually with the speaker in the next day or so.

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1 Answer

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This will depend on the rapport you have with local business owners. In the current economy, I've found that most restaurants will require at least a $5-$7 minimum from each participant. You may be able to offer the venue some in-kind advertising on your site/blog/brochure if you have a good reach. You should scour the Internet for women in your area who are considering marriage, wedding photographers, etc. Social media is a decent way to find them in your area, but sometimes you have to really dig (meetups, etc). Also, see who is tagging digital photography and related fields, they may spread the word (the more people who know, the better). Figure out every single weekly and little event announcement/community calendar type of site, and hurry up and contact them (sometimes they need some time before publishing). An affordable tuition will be subjective depending on whether or not you're offering them some training materials or any giveaways (people love contests). I definitely focus on getting sponsor or two who has a gift that every one may like (dinner for two, movie tickets). Little giveaways are important to some people. Events can be tough - you only get that one chance to bring them in, so it has to be a strong, focused marketing effort to get them interested enough to show up.

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Thanks for your advice. I do have a sponsor for a giveaway. And, I agree that I need to hurry getting the word out! – Dina Eisenberg Dec 6 '10 at 17:55

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