CHAPTER 01
Everyone is on the field
When a major event, a management tour or a regional seminar is announced, it is time to take action. Ask yourself:
What can I contribute to making this event successful?
“That is not my job” is the wrong answer. Every partner has a part to play in turning an event into a business-building opportunity.
The company does not invite your guests. You do. Leaders do not build your business for you. You build it. Somebody else does not carry your responsibility. You do.
Everyone is on the field. There are no spectator seats.
Events recharge your vision, commitment, excitement and knowledge. They bring people face to face and help relationships grow. To our industry, events are what water is to fish.
I know this from my own start. A powerful experience at an event in 1992 got me moving at full speed. I have not taken my foot off the gas since.
CHAPTER 02
The priority is 1–3–2
An event has three phases:
- BEFORE the event.
- The event ITSELF.
- AFTER the event.
Which is most important? And which comes next?
My order is 1–3–2.
The event itself will happen with or without you, with or without your guests. Of course, it is better if you are there with plenty of interested people. Phase one determines that.
Preparation has a huge influence on what the event can do for your business. Leaders are born at events. But first they need to be in the room.
Then comes the follow-up. What happens to the excitement, questions and decisions afterwards? Only then do I put the event itself. Not because it lacks value, but because before and after are where you have so much work to do.
CHAPTER 03
Become excellent at promotion
Learn to promote events with conviction. If hardly anyone comes, “Events do not work any more” is a convenient explanation. Perhaps your invitation did not work.
That behaviour duplicates. If an upline promotes weakly, the team often follows. Then everyone wonders why the next event changes very little.
Your invitation needs excitement and a clear reason to attend now. Why should someone invest time, travel and attention? What could make it worthwhile for them?
If you are presenting a business opportunity, talk about the business. The possibility of building an income and how the work is done. Do not hide behind product science or technical details just because you feel comfortable there.
A vague “Perhaps, if you happen to have some time…” creates little anticipation. Be clear about why the event matters to you and why you want that particular person there.
CHAPTER 04
Before: early, personal and committed
Start ten days to two weeks ahead. Write down the names of the people you want to invite. A list turns a general intention into a specific task.
Invite in person or by phone. Sending a message alone does not replace a real invitation conversation for me.
Prepare what you want to say. What would persuade you to give up a day, spend money and travel? Write your approach down and practise. Speak with excitement and conviction.
Support your partners in developing their own invitation. They need their own message rather than hiding behind yours.
Ask for a clear commitment. Confirm the reserved place and ask your guest to tell you promptly if a serious reason prevents them from coming. Reconfirm with every guest 24 to 72 hours before the event.
Make this a skill you practise regularly. My own standard has been to bring ten or more guests. That takes planning and activity.
CHAPTER 05
During: be a host
Arrive early. Dress professionally and appropriately. Have complete, current, tidy presentation materials ready.
Welcome your guests in the lobby. Make check-in easy and help them find good seats. Notice their responses during the event without staring at them.
Give them your attention during breaks. This is not the time to spend every minute with the downline you already know.
Stay afterwards to answer questions. And avoid ending with “We will be in touch”. Agree on the next step. When will you call? When and where will you meet?
Stay focused. You invited these people. Be their host.
CHAPTER 06
After: do not let the coffee go cold
The second most important phase begins as soon as the event ends: follow-up.
Speak to or meet your guests within 48 hours. Make sure they have the additional information they need to make an informed decision. At the agreed conversation, ask for that decision.
If they want to join, help them register. Make your commitments to each other and bring the new partner into the system. The next event will probably be close already. Use it to show them how good preparation works.
That is how one successful event becomes a process that can duplicate.
CHAPTER 07
Who pays for your guests?
My answer is clear: I pay for the people I invite.
They matter to me. I see the invitation as an investment in a possible business relationship. Check which guest tickets are included and what extra tickets cost. Think beyond the price of a seat. What might you miss by inviting nobody?
A proven approach is to hand or send a guest their ticket after they have firmly agreed to attend. With online registration, that can be the confirmation and access code. A loose idea becomes a concrete appointment.
Building for events is one of the most important responsibilities in network marketing. A woman in one of my previous organisations did it so well that I regularly used her as an example. She later lived in Monte Carlo as a successful networker.
See you at the next event!
All the best, Sven