Do Guru’s and Companies value you OR just your money?

Do these people who call themselves “Guru’s” or “Mentor’s” are they actually thinking of you or your business?

Do they know what is happening in the business world or are they thinking of their own business?

Do Companies/Organisations want to make money more than help you or your business?

And yes I am back and in the game with a rant, dig, call it what you want but the main thing is that people need to start actually working together and helping one another…….

Recent reports (and you can see my other posts  on this like this one on Finance and GenY) that the terms of GenerationY and Millennials are defining the way the future is shaping up, especially with out-sourcing and streamlining – aren’t they one in the same? – which are actually really going to take massive steps forward to improve your company’s performance.

With this being discussed, people are actually looking to their future and what they can do, whilst at the same time, Generation Y, current graduates, academy children and school children will all be planning their future too. So with these two avenues looking to merge into one, money is really going to be a factor, especially with Social Business having so much to offer.

So why the title and this article……

Over the last week, I have received six tremendous event invites ranging from a morning, an afternoon, an afternoon/evening, a day or two day event ranging from £295 to £1495 – and this is just the basic tickets!

Sit closer to the front – Pay Extra!

Breakout seminars – Pay Extra!

Meet and greet drinks/lunch or dinner – Pay Extra!

Meet the speakers or hosts – Pay Extra!

Attend the dinner and have someone on your table  – Pay Extra!

The question is that do they really know what this can cost against the market they are aiming for? Are they actually aiming at the right market? So many people are starting (or thinking about starting) their own business, so these events are key. But where are they supposed to get the money to attend? And before people say what you hear is a good investment, can you really truly say that spending a £1000 will get extra business tomorrow? It may over a year but what about other events they attend?

So (whilst they may seem similar to points at the start of this article), here are a few questions below) for you to look at and consider:-

Do you  think Guru’s and companies are not understanding  what is happening today and to businesses?

Do you think today’s Guru’s, Mentor’s and /or Organisations/Companies living on a different planet?

Do you think they really trying to help business or they just thinking of themselves and their back pockets?

Do you not think that they are realising what you are missing whilst lining their pockets?

The amazing thing is that yes, we all have to make money. Yes we all need to live. Yes we want to be successful.

But at what cost?

Companies and organisations have seen that there is an opportunity to put on events where companies can promote themselves, whether as an exhibition, trade fair/show or they can have an event in which famous people come along to give talks on motivation or their life and successes. But there needs to be a right balance…..

Look at all the major events – very are so very much London Centric!

So, a half day or evening event can virtually become actually whole day and with the cost of travelling, this event could actually be half a weeks or a weeks wages to some! And again, that may have to include staff cover (or other services) to cover their business whilst at the event.

Thus the real cost of event can actually range from twice the ticket price to in some case ten times the cost of the ticket! So, who is the winner the person attending? More often than not, it is the organisers!

Can anything be done?

Yes, I believe that things can be resolved and if you are really wanting to get your influence across, make sure you make it beneficial, so here are some ideas for you:-

• Cancel London! – Travel –  Look at other locations that make your events more accessible. Choose the Midlands for example. Government reports say that Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton are within 2 hours travelling of of 75% of the UK population
• Cancel London! – Costs – If people have arrived, the cost of getting around London, accommodation costs as well as food and drink is in lot of cases more than double! Food and drink costs can be quite often double the cost. Accommodation can be twice, three or even four times the cost of decent/luxury room in other parts of the country just to get a basic room in London
• Cancel London! – Venue Costs – In most cases, a significant proportion of costs of the events can be spent on the venue! Many venues around the country would for the same money of a two day event, give you a week or if the event is right, the venue free!
• Cancel London! – Suppliers – Think of the suppliers supplying services for you for the event, they have to travel, Congestion charges and possibly accommodation, so all these costs will be added to the items/services you want for the event! If it is out of London, then these costs would be eliminated or vastly reduced!

The above four are just a few to consider before you really get onto your audience….

• Charge for the event – by charging, you are getting people to attend that are really serious about business and wanting to invest in their future!
• Make it free but charge – how can it be free if you charge? Simple make the package worthwhile! So, for example if the ticket is £95 then double or triple it! through your sponsors, add value. For £95 include lunch, make sure your book or voucher for your business is included, all the sponsors include items. So, for example, even though they are paying £95, they walk away having food and drink as well as a Goodie bag worth over say £250 or £500!
• Add benefit – by reducing the cost, you will actually attract the people that really want to attend. The benefit can be something someone walks away with. Whilst it is good to have someone famous at the event – what do they really add? If it was an event where say Richard Branson was talking, yes it is good to hear what he says and we may take some nuggets away, but when did he actually do business at the level of people attending who may have (about to) start a business from scratch with say no funding? So, make sure that you have people who have done the same as your audience within the last three years as it is relevant
• Do beneficial trades to you and the attendees – if someone has a book which say retails at £15 and you are getting 200 to the event, get them to supply a book person. If that book costs say£5, it has cost them £1,000 but you are promoting at £3,000 worth of sponsorship which will impress your audience! (Oh and if they want to come, ask how many and charge them per ticket!)
• Make the sponsors count – if you have the people from SoHo, SMB and SME businesses attending, their budgets are going to small and they will know what they want. So, why have someone like Oracle or Coutts Private Banking sponsoring the event and offering services which don’t apply! Will these people have 5 or 6 figure sums freely available to spend on Oracle services? Will these people have a spare £1,000,000 to give away to have a Coutts bank account?

So, next time you are wanting to put yourself out there as a Guru or Event Organiser, think of the real business you should be doing! Not thinking of your back pocket and yourself but thinking of the businesses that will be here longer and put put more back into the business world than you will!!!!

Oh, if you still don’t get this or understand, then look at the events that Brad Burton and and 4Networking produce or Mark Linton and The Business Growth Show – both of which know their business markets and know what matters to businesses in this arena……

The big money days are over for you

as the tide is turning and the rise of the arena consisting of……

SoHo, SMB, SME, Millennial and Generation Y

is rising up and will make more of an impact in the business world than you will as a “Guru” or “Events Company”……..

To learn more about this topic, either connect with Ian on LinkedIn here, visit him here or complete the form below:-

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