In the main forum, I notice and responded to a thread
with the title “Are Coaches/Mentors Really Even Necessary?”

The majority of the respondents seem to feel that since
you really can study what others are doing, and then
try to copy what you observe, that hiring a coach or
mentor is not 100% necessary.

The predominant sentiment seemed to be that you can save
money by learning via trail and error, even though it may
take a little longer.

I happen to value my time too much to want to grow my
business via trial and error.

I also want to ensure the results that I get enough to
be willing to pay someone to share with me what they’ve
spent a lot of time and energy learning.

As I reflect back upon my life, I realize that I’ve
actually spent my whole life paying others to teach me
things that I could probably learn on my own… if I were
willing to put in months… or years, experimenting.

I spent 12 years in grade school, and then spent a small
fortune to got to college (for five years) and earn a
degree. The college degree that I earned was in Business
and Economics, but I then went into the military for 20
years.

Do, I consider those five years in college a waste?

No… You needed a college degree to become a military
officer, which wasn’t even a goal that I started out
with. Initially, I wanted to be a medical doctor. A few
chemistry classes told me that I didn’t really have the
background preparation for that. In high school, I wasn’t
guided along a college prep path. Most kids who grew up
on welfare as I did, had no real hope of going to college,
and most of those who did were so poorly prepared that
they flunked out.

I discovered after 2 1/2 years that I probably didn’t
have what it took to be a doctor, so I switched majors.
That’s part of why it took me five years to graduate!

I also worked as many as three different part-time jobs to
be able to afford college, and I consider the “mentoring
and coaching” that I received in college to have been an
excellent investment.

After college, the military NEVER stopped putting me
through mentoring and coaching. I was first trained as
a navigator, then to do airdrops, then to be an instructor,
then to be a staff office, and then to manage a budget
in the tens of millions of dollars, and then to test
computer software and manage software tests.

In all of those things, I was first instructed, then
watched as I did what I was taught, then had someone
give me at least one formal evaluation each year.

Lives often depended upon my mentors being able to transfer
their knowledge and skill-set to me. I dropped people and
tanks out of airplanes, so there was no room for cutting
corners in my training. Lives literally depending upon me
actually KNOWING what I was doing.

I actually think of my online training as being just as
critical. Since most new online businesses fail, I
considered it essential to get the best training practical.

Incidentally, most new offline businesses fail too.

As I started my online business, I didn’t spend a lot
of money on learning for my first SIX years. I largely
just subscribed to every free newsletter that I could
find, and bought a few books.

That led to a period of painfully slow growth.

After six years online, I was successful enough, selling
a physical cookbook, that I was invited to speak at an
internet marketing seminar. At that seminar, the other
speakers suggested that we jointly create and market
a few products.

At that very first live seminar, December of 2002, I
discovered that we all grow our businesses a lot faster
by cooperating, and by sharing information.

Most of the other speakers at that first seminar
developed into my informal mentors and coaches. One,
Ramon Williamson, developed into a more formal coach
when I attended one of his weekend workshops, and wrote
my second physical book under his mentor-ship.

Two years later, I was really enjoying being a platform
speaker and getting invited to speak at lots of events.
However, I noticed that many of the other speakers were
MUCH better at selling things from the platform, and so
I decided to let Armand Morin’s mentor, John Childers,
coach me in being a better speaker.

I attended John’s “$30,000 Speaker Training” and developed
skills that I probably would have not developed in another
five years of trying to figure thing out on my own.

Today, I get invited to speak at so many events that I
turn down 80% of the invitations. Many of the event hosts
do base their invitations on how well speakers sell from
stage, and whether or not they have been professionally
trained.

So, investing in professional mentoring and training has
paid off for me hundreds of times over.

As I look at the mentoring available to internet marketers
today, I’m convinced that the very first thing that most
aspiring internet marketers need to do is get to a live
event. That WAS the first significant thing that I did
that was a tremendous growth catalyst for my business.

Not all live events are the same though. Out of ALL of
the live events that you can attend, I recommend the
Niche Affiliate Marketing System (NAMS) Workshop to
practically anyone who asks me.

The reason that I recommend NAMS is because NAMS provides
actual classroom instruction. It’s a workshop where any
of approximately 40 instructors teach you how to do things,
and then have you actually do them right then and there,
to confirm that you actually understand how to do them.

NAMS divides the students into four different groups, based
upon experience levels, and the instructors teach
experience-level-appropriate topics. It’s an actual workshop
rather than a “pitch-fest.”

The next NAMS is August 3rd – 5th, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia,
and you can register here: http://goo.gl/aMtDo

I can’t recommend NAMS enough. In fact, I loved the quality
of the instruction so much that it’s the ONLY workshop that
I currently teach at.

If you wanted to avail yourself of my personal mentoring,
you could go here: http://WillieCrawford.com/mentoring.html
and sign up for $50,000…. and if you made it through the
application process, I’d happily teach you everything that I
know.

Alternatively, you can attend NAMS, for less than the cost
of a night out on the town and I’ll happily teach you what I
know, but so will dozens of equally qualified instructors.

Getting back to the question, “Are Coaches/Mentors Really Even
Necessary?”… I’m anticipating a high seven-figure year
myself,
and I still have mentors. I don’t think I would be anywhere
near as successful without them.

So my answer is YES!

Go ahead and register for the NAMS workshop here:
http://goo.gl/aMtDo

Send me a note after you do via my support desk at:
http://WillieCrawford.com/helpdesk/ and I’ll treat you to
dinner in Atlanta in August.

By the way, one of the things that I learned at my very first
seminar was the easiest way to get lots of time, for free, with
one of the experts… You offer to buy them breakfast,lunch or
dinner.

No, I’m not fishing for you to buy me dinner. I just offered
to treat you

Willie

Terry Dean

That product was one that I helped my online accountability
partner to launch, several years ago

It caused me to go back and look over my own numbers, and
based upon what I discovered, this is the ONLY affiliate
program that I can say has paid me commissions, consistently
for 3-4 years now.

That’s significant!

David Perdew, who set it all up, often talks about “one
and done” product launches. Those are the types of launches
where you do one or two promotions for a product and then
it’s pulled off the market.

David Perdew

I don’t know about you, but I personally DISLIKE those
types of promotion for two reasons:

1) It means that as an affiliate marketers, even if I am
successful at selling my customers that products, I need
to look for something else to sell them a week later. The
big DISCONNECT there is that that means I can’t really
even give them time to benefit from what I just sold them
before I’m suggesting that they buy something else.

I honestly don’t think that’s fair to my subscribers who
would really benefit from that first product IF they would
just take the time to go through it and actually APPLY what
it teaches. I shouldn’t be distracting them from being able
to do that.

2) With many promotions that we do, our subscribers may
not even get around to reading an email, or being ready
to buy, until a week or more later. With the one-and-done
promotions, by the time they are ready to focus on the offer,
it’s too late.

So, we waste all that effort. Those are two reasons that
I’m focused on the product that Terry recommends. It’s
something that you can honestly promote today, and earn
commissions on a year or more later.

David actually “tags” your referrals in his database in a
way that you earn LIFETIME commissions… and you get credit
even if they delete their cookies because his affiliate
tracking system does not depend upon cookies.

The “creame de le cream” of David’s products is his
Niche Affiliate Marketing System Workshop, which is THE
very best internet marketing workshop that I have ever
personally attended.

In fact, I now teach at each of David’s workshops. NAMS
#8 is coming up in August, and unless I’m mistaken, I will
have only missed teaching at one out of the eight.

Take a minute now and check out what I’m convinced is the
very best, hands-on, internet marketing training out there.
There is a member-only affiliate program that is also, as
I just explained, in my opinion, the best affiliate program
out there.

Check it out here:
http://TheRealSecrets.com/MySingleHighestRecommendation/

Oh, here’s part of Terry’s email, that caused me to go back
and take a hard look at my numbers… edited slightly so that
we can track responses:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Subject: affiliate payout $4.68 per unique click

I’m a numbers guy.

Either something works or it doesn’t based on the numbers.

Track everything.

Measurement eliminates argument.

Many affiliate programs will hype you up by claiming huge
payouts.

They’ll talk about the prizes you can earn in the new contest,
or they’ll have their affiliates compete with each other to be
the top of the scoreboard.

Nothing wrong with any of that.

But when it comes down to it, it’s about the numbers.

And it’s also about delivering value to the customers.

This morning I was running through some of my affiliate
accounts.

And I took notice of an affiliate program that I haven’t given
much attention to, but sends me money through Paypal every single
month.

I promoted them in September 2011, so less than a year ago.

And did some other minor mentions of them, but haven’t done
anything heavy.

What jumped out to me from the stats is they have paid me $4.68
per unique clickthrough so far.

And they’re not finished yet. Each month they send me money for
clicks I sent 8 months ago.

That $4.68 per unique click for me has been increasing each
month.

You can find out more about this affiliate program and register
for free here:
http://TheRealSecrets.com/MySingleHighestRecommendation/

It is a two tier program so you’re also paid off JV referrals.

What’s unique here is they pay:

- Commissions on their entire product funnel from $5 to $500

- Multiple free eCourse link bait for driving new members

- First click referral tagging – get paid forever off a referral
today (that’s what I like)

Basically you earn more money every time they send out an email
to those you’ve referred.

Awesome deal!

At least I think so. Seeing the numbers this morning means I
will be promoting for them more.

And I haven’t even mentioned the quality of the products yet.

The reason those commissions keep growing is because members
STICK with them.

They receive value.

And once they see the quality of what is offered, they buy more.

This program is run by David Perdew who runs the NAMS events
(Niche Affiliate Marketing System).

That’s where my initial promotion came from. I attended the
event as a speaker and was impressed with how it was a
step-by-step workshop to help people at any level…from beginner
to advanced.

In addition, they have a membership program with 17 ways to give
you better training, content, and tools for your online business
today.

Check it out:
http://TheRealSecrets.com/MySingleHighestRecommendation/

Make sure to use the coupon code MyNAMS80 to get the best price.

Your Marketing Coach,

Terry Dean
“The Internet Lifestyle Mentor”
Earn More. Work Less. Enjoy Life!

Note: Your results will vary of course, because it’s based on
how responsive your visitors are, the offers being made, and
buying interest.

P.S. If you’re in any type of internet business field, and
you’re not an affiliate with them, why in the world not?

http://TheRealSecrets.com/MySingleHighestRecommendation/

P.P.S. Look for the 8 Affiliate Myths that are killing your
commissions coming in the next email…

No more chasing after rainbows. No more wasting
time time & money on “get rich quick” schemes
and “pushbutton” tactics.

Join this sponsored (FREE) session on the Perpetual
Income webinar and get you time-proven Strategic
Action Plan for online success and long-term income.

The webinar starts at 8:00 pm EDT on Monday, May 21st.
Register now to ensure access (limited availability).

Register here:

Willie

This free session of the Perpetual Income webinar will be held
on:

Day: Monday
Date: May 21
Time: 8:00 pm EDT

To make sure you get in on this valuable webinar – and get your
strategic plan – register now at:

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Don’t delay. It’s first come, first served. You don’t want to
miss this great opportunity.

Willie

Are you still “trying” to make money online? Are you making any?
Just dribs & drabs? A little here, a little there?

Not enough to provide you with a good, comfortable, long-term
income? Not a steady income that provides you and your family
with financial security? Not enough to enjoy the fabled “Internet
marketer lifestyle”?

Well, the blame for this lack of progress falls squarely on two
people.

1. The slick dream sellers who have sold you one magic bullet
after another. You know … those tricks, secrets, loopholes that
“will let you siphon a shipload of cash off the Internet”. The
problem is: Those magic bullets soon lose their luster and you’re
left chasing after another shiney object.

2. Yourself. Yes, if you’ve not committed to an action plan to
build a true business online … if all you’ve done is chase one
promising quick buck after another … if you’ve been hopping from
one idea to another … you have to place the blame on yourself.

You’ve been sabotaging your own success.

But … It’s Not Too Late To Get On Track

All you need is a good, solid action plan. A plan you can stick
to. A plan that will have you building a solid online foundation
and creating a business that supplies you and your family with a
stable, dependable income for the rest of your like.

Well … on Monday, May 21 you can get that action plan. Join
Kevin Riley and me in his lifechanging Perpetual Income webinar
at 8:00 pm EDT.

Kevin is going to give you the same strategic action plan that
his many students have followed to online success over the past
years. At least one prior student has used Kevin’s action plan to
build a $1million/year business on the Internet.

This action plan will get you on track. Register for your free
access to the Perpetual Income webinar now at:

http://rileyspecial.com/the-passive-myth-wc

Isn’t it about time you stopped “trying” to make money online,
and started building something that will supply you with a good
living?

You can do it. But, your first step is to show up. So be there
at 8:00 pm EDT on Monday.

Willie

There are a few secret ingredients to look for when choosing
that program. David Perdew, the founder of the Niche Affiliate
Marketing System workshop and the support membership site at
MyNAMS.com is changing the way affiliate programs work.

Discover the 4 key elements you must look for when choosing an
affiliate program.

And if you are a product owner, you’ll want to pay attention
too, because if you’re not building an affiliate program that
complies with these attributes, affiliates will snub your offer
and look for those that do.

Join us as he reveals these elements and the tools you need to
make money for the long-haul!

The free webinar is:
Tuesday, May 15th, 12:30pm Central, 1:30pm Eastern, 10:30am Pacific

Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/523400225

I’ll see you on the webinar.

Willie

Let me begin by saying that even among the most seasoned
experts that I know, there is a twinge of feeling that
they are not really as good as the world seems to think
that they are.

That’s just human nature.

We know that part of what makes us “an expert” is being
good enough at something that the world declares us an
expert. We don’t always see ourselves the way that the
world does!

Several years ago, I recorded an interview of my friend
Rich Schefren, where one of the questions that I asked
him was “How do you attract customers looking for an
expert, when you are just starting out and aren’t really
an expert?”

Rich’s answer was to “be your authentic self,” and to
acknowledge that no matter what point you are at in your
chosen profession, you are ahead of many others and that
you are therefore qualified to teach them.

He emphasized that rather than “faking it until you
make it” that you find those looking for what you actually
have.

Today, as I ponder that question, and see many people in
many niches teaching things that they know absolutely
nothing about, I personally answer that same question
differently.

I’ve been a teacher all my life (farming, mail-order,
aviation skills, karate, various online marketing skills),
and know that even most teachers have to start somewhere,
and aren’t experts when they first start.

Today, I actually have the audacity to tell people that
I AM one of the best in the world at several things that
I do.

Then I challenge myself to actually make sure that I am.

I believe that this is the solution to the timeless
dilemma many people face, of how to get others to believe
that you are expert enough that they are willing to pay
you for that expertise. Many of us NEED for others to see
us as experts anyway, and validate us.

My answer IS that you need to actually BECOME that expert.

You see, while many others are faking it, many of them
are also so busy faking it that they miss the fact that…

IF YOU JUST SPEND AN HOUR OR TWO PER DAY ACTUALLY STUDYING
AND PRACTICING YOUR CRAFT, YOU QUICKLY BECOME A REAL EXPERT.

It’s simple isn’t it?

Repetition is the mother of mastery in many things.

For some reason, many of us look at a skill that we know
is valued enough that if we could actually do it, the
world would happily pay us so much more, and we don’t see
that all we need to do to reach that point is to start
studying and doing.

I’m actually “semi-proficient” – meaning I can manage to be
understood when necessary – in five languages.

I remember being first assigned to the Philippines, and
having an interest in learning the language (Tagalog).
Many co-workers, even some married to Filipinos for years,
often said to me that they didn’t speak the language because
Filipinos all speak English, and besides there are hundreds
of different languages/dialects and slight variations of
those dialects.

That was actually true, but Tagalog was the official
national language, and I felt that I could related better
to the people in their own language, so I got a 20-cassette
course, and I listened, and then began to practice.

Today, I feel perfectly comfortable engaging Filipinos in
Tagalog, and while I don’t consider myself an expert, in
the eyes of many of my American friends, who have had
Filipino spouses for 20, 30, or 40 years, but never learned
the language, I AM an expert.

Incidentally, I study languages because it does help me to
understand other cultures MUCH better.

When I wanted to become an expert copywriter, I practiced
writing copy. Today, most of the copy that I write takes
very little effort.

When I wanted to become an expert professional speaker, I
enrolled in a course offered by my friend John Childers,
let him teach me the craft, and then actually got on stage
and spoke dozens of times. Today, many would consider me
an expert speaker, and I turn down numerous invitations to
speak each year. I get those invitation BECAUSE of the
perception that I’m an expert.

When I wanted to become an expert joint venture broker, I
purchased a course on the topic (back in 2004) offered by
a young man named Jason Cox, tested out what he taught and
discovered that IT WORKED.

Wanting to get even better as a joint venture broker, I
purchased everything that I could find on the topic and
spent many years actually DOING what I was taught, and
in the process, I developed into one of the leading joint
venture experts in the online space.

Next I asked myself a really tough question. How do you
really, really, really become the best-of-the-best and
prove that… to yourself.

How do you know in your heart-of-hearts that you really
know your topic.

The answer to me was that you teach others the topic
and you evaluate the results. In my years of teaching
things like karate, air navigation skills, and online
marketing, I found that it was often a lot easier to do
than it was to transfer that knowledge and the necessary
skill-set to others.

In the Air Force, we use to have a joke (that I’m sure
is shared in other cultures) that “Those who CAN do, and
those who CAN’T teach!”

You do have to admit that if a guy had a lot of book
knowledge, but was inept in the actual aircraft, it might
make more sense to use him to teach in a classroom or
in a flight simulator

Today, I actually challenge myself to become better and
better as a joint venture broker by mentoring others. You
don’t know how much more you have to learn about a topic,
until your students start asking you tough questions.

That was actually one of the most insightful things that
I discovered as I advanced through the ranks in karate,
and began teaching others. The black belt only meant that
you had stuck with it long enough, and shown enough promise
to some teacher, that you were now ready to really start
learning. Then when you start teaching junior students,
you see how little you actually know

I’ve probably rambled on long enough, but also hope that
I answered that burning question of what do you do if you
are not really THE expert.

You become that expert by studying, training under a mentor,
and actually doing… over and over again.

————

Willie Crawford is evolving into the world’s greatest joint
venture broker, and mentor to joint venture brokers. For
more information on his training for joint venture brokers,
visit: http://JointVenturePhd.com/SMM/

Back in 1990, while stationed at Yokota Air Base,
Japan, I let some co-workers talk me into climbing
Mt. Fuji.

It was a rather long, somewhat tedious climb, that I
think took me five hours. We started our climb at a
“station” already partly up the mountain… where
buses commonly dropped people off.

We climbed at night, when it was cooler, with
flashlights strapped to our heads. It was fun looking
down the mountain and seeing all of the other lights,
like a trail of ants

The air got thinner and thinner as we climbed, and
I had to stop and take numerous breaks. We arrived
at the top somewhere around sunrise, if I remember
correctly.

After a short break, where we admired the scenery,
noticing that the water was actually bubbling in the
crater of the still-active volcano, and taking lots of
photos, we headed back down.

All the way up, I followed a well-traveled path. I stuck
to the zig-zag trail most of the way back down too.

However, I did stop once, and noticing that if I got
off the trail for a while, I could probably save
50 yards, by going more direct.

That’s when life taught me that often it’s better
to follow the well-blazed trail than to think that you
are smarter than tens of thousands of others who could
follow simple, proven instructions.

Almost as soon as I stepped outside the carved pathway,
I could sense that the hill was a lot steeper. In fact,
it was so steep, that I soon began to slide down the side
of the mountain. I dropped to the ground where I
continued to roll until… luckily I arrived back on the
trail.

Getting up, dusting off my torn clothing, and noticing
only a few scrapes and bruises, I waited for my friends
to catch up with me, then smiled sheepishly, and stuck
to the trail the rest of the way down

Online today, I see many people who want to start
businesses, also think that they are smarter that all
of the successful people who have gone before them.

They observe the others successfully navigating the
trail, and earning a decent income, but reason that
there must be a faster, less meticulous way.

Those people try shortcut-after-shortcut, sometimes
getting scrapes and bruises for YEARS, before they
stand up… safely back on the trail, and like me,
sheepishly decide that maybe that’s the better way.

If you are interested in internet marketing, here
is that well-marked, and time-tested trail:
http://goo.gl/M2rBW

It’s called The Niche Affiliate Marketing System (NAMS
– for those of us who are smart enough to be teachable).

I’ll see there, and even chat with you as we travel
the path together

Willie, NAMS Faculty

In those 16 years, I’ve shared information on exactly how I
personally earn a full-time living from the internet. I usually
don’t hold back, so I’ve revealed practically everything that
I do in my newsletters.

Yet… when I look at how many people actually USE what I
freely share, I find that far less than 1% do.

Many use the excuse of being “a newbie” or “still learning.”

I’ll buy that for a very short while, but there are so many
great tutorials out there that it’s really just a matter of
stepping through the process.

Like anything new that you learn how to do, the first time
can be a bit intimidating. However, after you’ve done it a few
times, you’ll wonder what you were afraid of

Even after 16 years, I still remember the first time that I
ftp’ed a file to my server, zipped a file, added a graphic to
a webpage, or put up a hyper-link… and in each case I was a
little surprise that they worked… and that I didn’t break
anything. At least I didn’t break anything that wasn’t simple
to fix

Yes, you do need to master a few technical things to get a
site online, get visitors to it, and start making sales.

This actually seems to be what stops most people from even
trying.

The simple solution there is to get someone else to set things
up for you.

I know… you’re thinking that is EXPENSIVE. An expert can
charge you a small fortune to set up a site on WordPress,
properly configure that blog so that the search engines love
it, and then “hand you the keys to a precision fighter jet.”

I know that if I’m going to put in the work of setting up a
site like this, I’m either going to charge a lot for it, or
more-likely, just keep it for myself.

It’s not that I’m selfish, but just that I don’t consider
setting up sites for others as the highest and best use of my
time. Even though I know how to do all of the techie stuff,
I usually get someone else to do it for me.

There are some VERY talented individuals who not only can do
this for you, but they can do it very fast, and they can do it
for you very inexpensively.

Take for example, my friend Traci Knoppe
http://WillieCrawford.com/Traci/

Traci earns a nice living from blogging, but also enjoys
teaching others how to do it. In that way she’s very much
like me. Where we differ… is that for next to nothing, Traci
will not only teach you everything that you need to know to
actually earn a living from blogging… but she will even set
up your blog for you!

If you don’t already have a reliable web host, she will even
host your blog for you… for only $10 per month.

I’m telling you about Traci because she knows what she is doing,
and has a heart of gold. She’s very patient and giving!

If you’re not already earning a full-time living from the internet,
Traci can get you there. She set up this special page just for my
friends who are having trouble just getting started, or want to
become really good at blogging for a living:
http://WillieCrawford.com/Traci/

Check it out now, and you’ll wonder why you put off actually
getting started so long

Who said that it had to be difficult?

Willie

I suppose I should first of all apologize for the title,
but I knew that it would grab your attention, and I can
always use the excuse that I’m an old soldier.

Secondly, I should point out that I’ve hosted some very
profitable seminars, but lost money on MORE!

I attended my first live seminar in December 2002, when
Dr. Bob Silber invited me to speak at one that he was
hosting at Hawks Cay, down in the Florida Keys. Prior
to that, I sort of viewed attending live events as a
luxury that I couldn’t afford, and since I was also in
the U.S. Air Force at the time, it wasn’t that easy to
break away for weekends. I was technically on-call 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, even when I was on leave!

At that first seminar, I learned so much, and made so
many deep connections, that I have attended well over
100 live events since then… and spoken at many! I’ve
also subsequently done joint ventures with MOST of the
speakers from that first seminar.

At that first seminar, I also made my first BAD big
assumption. I looked at what Bob was doing, did some
quick calculations, and decided to host my own seminar.

I reasoned that if I hosted a seminar where I charged
just $997, and have 200 attendees, and paid half of the
money collected out in commissions, and spent maybe
$20,000 on actually hosting the event, I’d still make
an easy $80,000 from just a weekend.

On top of that, I reasoned that I could record the event,
and have a HOT product to sell that would make me a
fortune for a long time.

ALL of my assumptions proved to be bad, including my
assumption that anyone that I invited to be a speaker
would make promoting the event a priority.

Four months after attending my first live event, I hosted
one in Pensacola, Florida. To say that it was a disaster
would be an understatement… except that it had one
major worthwhile effect…

It put me on the stage as “a big dog” who was now actually
a seminar host. That in itself would prove to make the
rest of the nightmare worthwhile, because it really did
give me a fairly rare credential.

A month before that first seminar actually happened,
I don’t think that I had ANYONE registered, but I had
a huge commitment for hotel rooms, a meeting space,
videographers, and catering.

In desperation, I asked Bob what the secret was, and
Bob pointed me to a friend who taught a 2-day weekend
seminar on how to host seminars. I ordered the recordings
from one of his previous seminars, quickly listened to those
cassette tapes numerous times, and then decided to attend
his next live workshop just 2 weeks before my event

At this live training, I discovered just how many mistakes
I had already made, but also learned things that allowed
me to cut my loses.

In the years since 2003…. every now and then, I’ve gotten
up the guts to host another live event.

That’s when I’m reminded of things like…

1) Hotels typically require you to rent their over-priced
audiovisual equipment

2) Hotels typically require you to purchase their over-
priced refreshments… unless you choose to make attendees
rough it. In case you’re curious, some hotels will charge
you as much as $75 for a gallon of coffee.

Hotels often don’t count how much is actually consumed, but
rather, put out the agreed to quantity, and then charge you
for it, even if they end up taking back MOST of the soft-drinks
unopened

3) When hotels say “No outside food and drinks” that
includes your attendees. I had a young lady, at one event,
bring in a few cases of beer… just being nice. Most of
my attendees didn’t even drink, so we gave most of the
beer away to hotel employees, and hotel management STILL
charged me a “corkage fee” which was as much as if I had
hired their bartender, and purchased the beer from them.

4) Hotels will give you a discount on the meeting room IF
you commit to guaranteeing a certain number of room-nights
for your guests. If you don’t get enough guest actually
staying in the hotel, they WILL charge your credit card…
depending upon terms of the contract.

5) Many hotels will charge you a fee for EACH person in
the meeting room who uses the internet access… and they
will then stick you in a room where it’s IMPOSSIBLE to
pick up their free signal

6) When you need a laser pointer at the last minute, the
hotel staff will happily let you borrow one for $75 for
the day

When you need another extension cord, they will happily add
that to the bill too

7) Even though the screen is already installed in the
ceiling, so that it can conveniently be lower, you are
still typically charged for it, and not allowed to bring
in your own.

Many hotels/meeting places require you to hire
their security. Some require liability insurance!

10) Even when you offer an early-bird discount, often
MOST of your attendees will wait until the last minute
to register. So you often have to commit to the expense
before you even have a clue as to whether or not you’ll
earn enough to cover your actual expenses.

The guy who taught me how to do seminars in a way where
you minimize your risk and expenses, called this “the
heart attack curve!”

11) Recording the event doesn’t mean that your audio or
video is in a usable state, and editing it often costs
several times what recording it did.

12) There is “a rule” that says when you plan an event for
any given weekend, that four other people in your niche will
do the same, and they will ALL refuse to change their dates!

I could go on and on… but I want, because I actually
LOVE live events. I just don’t like hosting them.

I didn’t mention that speakers are prima donna’s. I can
say that since I am a professionally trained platform
speaker

In case you “get a wild hair” and decide that you think
that YOU want to host one, contact me, and I’ll tell you
how to avoid 90% of the mistakes.

I’ve heard that hosting them can actually be fun and
very profitable.

Willie

By the way, here are the MP3 recordings from the last
workshop (on hosting seminars) that my mentor and
friend conducted:

http://www.100kpermonth.org/SeminarOnSeminars/

I met this guy at that first seminar that Bob invited
me to, and TENS years later, we still help each other
out, and spread the word about what the other person is
doing. So, you see, attending live events really can be very
good for forging business relationships