When you create and market seminars, as I do, you are nothing less than The Master of all pertinent variables. One of the most significant, yet underestimated of these variables is when you offer the program, as well as its length. Should you do a breakfast meeting that starts at 7 in the morning, and adjourns at 8:30? What about doing a half-day program, say from 8:30 to 12:30 or from 1 to 5? And of course, you can do one, two, three day and even longer programs, if you wish. Moreover, the days of the week will be significant, too. Should you offer programs on Saturdays, or for entire weekends? Much of the desirability of a session will hinge on the time at which it convenes and adjourns. For example, if you want to attract busy senior executives, scheduling breakfast or noontime sessions is best. Many of the most achieving and busiest people will rationalize fitting your session in before hours, or possibly at the lunch hour, if it is nearby or at their site. But making them dedicate more than an hour or an hour and a half at any time, is risky, because they just wont surrender much of their schedule for your purpose, no matter how important you believe it is. Whether you should offer a session on a weekday or during the weekend depends on two significant variables: who is attending and who is paying? Companies will normally allow people and pay them to attend and will pick up the tab if it is on a weekday. But it is very difficult to get companies to persuade their people to sacrifice weekends for training purposes. Accordingly, if a person wants to qualify for a new career, you cant expect their current bosses to willingly pick up the tab. These sessions can be offered in the evenings and on weekends. I conduct a seminar, Building Your Consulting Business, and it is scheduled on Saturday, because most attendees are paying their own way and their employers wouldnt dream of sending them, unless they too, are in the consulting business and theyll benefit from the information. If I offered the session during normal working hours, Id probably be lucky to attract a fifth of the participants I get on the weekend. |
