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Our training clients include:
Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Hotels Conventions Centers
What is the opportunity? Names vary, but these organizations exist to promote a given city or community or hotel facility for conventions. They are sometimes voluntary organizations for local businesses, though in larger cities and states they are a regular government offices and in hotel, they are paid sales departments. Large convention centers and meeting venues such as sport facilities can have their own similar sales organizations, whether they are privately or publicly owned. These organizations provide services for events, including referring local speaking talent to events coming into town. They also organized their own local events to bring in customers.
Why are local convention organizations important? They refer you to event organizers. Sometimes they are the event organizer. If you develop a track record with them, they will give you more and more business.
Where do you find these groups? We will be publishing a list of the major state and city organizations. Look under convention and meeting facilities in the local phone book for smaller ones.
How to you get invited to speak? You work with them much like you work an event promoter, after all, they sometimes are event promoters. You sometimes have to join local Chamber of Commerce or similar groups to work with these groups, which can cost $400 or so, but you can sometimes get fees waived.
Break into these groups by offering your seminar for free to the convention and visitors committee “members” or members of the Chamber if it controls the group. Treat the event coordinators in the organization’s well and don’t try to get pushy with them.
You can get to know these people and develop relationships when you are hired by businesses directly who are also using their services.
Many have regular “small business expos” that they can invite you to speak at, though frequently you pay for the room as part of the event. DO NOT TRUST ORGANIZERS to draw a crowd for you. Crowds vary dramatically from year to year depending on how well they are publicized, but these can be good opportunities to get a room for organizing and promoting your own first time event at a reasonable price.
How do you make money? Every possible model: paid ticketed speaking, free speaking selling products, speech for fee. These venues will have every possible kind of event.