Seminar Success: Valuing the Why, What and How of a Seminar

All seminars attempt to answer three questions for their particular topic: why, what and how. As you will read, the answer to these three questions are not equally valuable.

The first question a seminar attempts to answer is why should you learn the seminar’s content. It usually does this by telling you the results you can get. In some respects, the answer to this question is a marketing function. It is designed to get you excited about the topic (and into the seminar). It is not uncommon that the answer to this question is part of the seminar host’s marketing material. Only about 10% of a seminar’s true value lies in the answer to this question. To the extent it gets you excited and motivated, it has value, but beyond that, it does not offer much. An example might be, “Attend this seminar to learn how to generate a $10,000/mo passive income.” Often included here are testimonials from previous students about their successes. Very exciting, but there has to be more.

The second question a seminar attempts to answer is what do you have to do to get the results. This is the 30,000 foot view of the answer. It’s more like a table of contents—an outline of what you are going to have to do to get the desired results. For some people, the answer to this question is enough to get them going, and they just figure out the details as they go. The value of the answer to “what” depends on who you are. If you are new to the seminar’s subject, it may have a great deal of value. If, however, you are experienced in the subject matter, it will tend to have less value, because you are already familiar with the outline. The answer to this question is about 20% of a seminar’s true value.

The final question a seminar attempts to answer is how do you do it. This answer gives you the step by step procedure to get the results. This is where the real value of any seminar lies, and what separates one from another. The ability of a seminar to “take you by the hand” and show you how to get the results mentioned is really what you are paying for when you attend a seminar. That is why 70% of a seminar’s value lies in the answer to this question. It is so valuable when done well, that many free or introductory seminars only attempt to answer the first two questions, hoping you will pay to get the answer to the third.

So, the next time you attend a seminar, to gauge its true value, ask yourself: how well did the seminar answer these three questions? Then you will know if you got what you paid for.