How To Increase The Attendance Rate Of Your Discovery Events To 53%

 

Dear Training Company Owner

Filling discovery events from Google, Facebook, YouTube ads is hard and expensive.

Getting someone to register for a free event is likely to cost between £15 and £30.

And...

That's not the true cost of getting someone to step into the room.

If your attendance rate for a recurring discovery event is 30% then the cost of an attendee is between £50 and £100.

Here's how I reached that number...

500 registrants at £15 = £7,500

30% attendance rate is 150 people in the room.

That means each attendee has cost £50.

If the registration cost is £30 then it costs you £100 per attendee.

Now, if your per head revenue is £1,000 or £2,000 or higher...

Then it's easy to justify an attendee cost of £50 to £100.

And...

If you could rise your attendance rate from 30% to 53% then you'll have 265 people in the room instead of 150.

If your £1,000 per head revenue stays the same then you will make an additional £115,000!

 

Can You Afford To Leave £115,000 On The Table... Per Discovery Event?

And...

If your per head revenue is £2,000 or more then you are leaving £230,000 or more on the table...

For every large discovery event you run!

One quick clarification, to make sure we are both on the same page. The type of event I'm talking about is a free or low-cost event that you run at least 4 times a year. An event that you've been running for at least a year.

After all, a brand new event is easier to fill and has a better attendance rate than an established one.

I'm also talking about events that you want 200 to 400 people in the room.

If you are running smaller events, 50 to 100 people then the attendance rates can be as high as 73% when you use my system.

Now that we are both on the same page... let's look at some of the things that kill your discovery event attendance rate...

 

Sending Registrants Other Offers

If you don't exclude discovery event registrants from the other offers you send to your list... then you pull them in two directions at once.

This kills your attendance rate because they don't know what to do first. So they do nothing.

So, you've got to exclude registrants from the rest of your list. Until they attend the event.

Excluding people from your regular emails creates another problem...

 

No Communication For 4 Weeks Or Longer

No communication is almost as bad as sending them other offers.

You see, once someone has made the decision to attend your discovery event. They are excited. They want to change their life. And they have taken the first step to do this. Until...

Their excitement collides with the doubters in their life. This could be their wife. This could be their brother-in-law. Anyone that makes them doubt if they can change their life.

If there's no communication for weeks and then only one or two reminder emails. It's easy for them to forget the reasons why they wanted to attend the event. It's easy for fear and doubt to stop them attending.

So...

 

What's The Secret To Increasing Discovery Event Attendance Rates?

A stick sequence.

A stick sequence is a term from direct mail. It's a letter (or series of letters) that the customer receives before the product.

You see, it's one thing to persuade someone to buy a product or register for an event.

It's another to stop buyers remorse from nudging them to refund the purchase. Or from fear and doubt to stop them attending a free event.

That's why you need a stick sequence.

A stick sequence maintains their excitement about changing their life until they attend your event.

You see, a stick sequence has one goal...

To make the customer believe they can change their life!

That's it.

That's the one thing that will increase your attendance rates to 53% for big events and 77% for smaller events.

It also pre-sells prospects before they step foot in the room.

Why?

Because it overcomes their biggest objection... can I change my life. Or will this work for me?

If they arrive at your event believing they can change their life. Then they only question is do they want your specific workshop, online course or mentorship.

So...

 

What Does A Stick Sequence Look Like & How Does It Work?

Here's a visual overview of a 4-week stick sequence.

 

 

The stick sequence starts the moment someone registers for your event.

They immediately get a thank you email. And they get a thank you / confirmation letter in the post with their event ticket.

This is a powerful way of making the event real in their mind. They have something physical in their hands. Just like they would if they were going to a concert at the O2.

This simple step sets the tone for everything else that happens before they attend your event. It demonstrates your professionalism. It elevates the quality of your event.

The prospect will receive their confirmation letter and ticket 2 or 3 days after registration. On Saturday they will receive a stick email.

A stick email has one simple purpose. To make the reader believe that they can change their life.

The emails achieve this goal with one of the following...

  1. Your inspirational personal stories
  2. The inspirational personal stories of the other speakers
  3. Customer success stories
  4. Links to testimonial videos

 

So the first stick email could tell your inspirational personal story. The story of how you discovered your system. This shows that you are just like your prospect... and the only difference is that you refused to give up... despite the challenges you faced.

The next stick email goes out on Wednesday. This will share a customer success video. This way there is a mix of content and stories throughout the campaign.

On Saturday, they will receive a direct mail letter or brochure.

You could think of this like a sales letter. The big difference is that the call to action is to guard the date of the event with their life... and to make sure they attend.

Like every good sales letter, it will tell your inspirational personal story.

It will use customer success stories to show that other ordinary people have used your system to change their lives.

It will show what they will learn at the event. And what they will be able to do with that knowledge. How that knowledge will change their life when they use it.

Then it will ask them to take action. And the action is to guard the event date from the other demands on their time. And to make sure they attend.

The most important thing about direct mail is that it will get read. Why?

Because our front door is our least crowded inbox.

A well designed direct mail letter is another way to show your professionalism. The design, the stories, the value they will get from the event. That's all shown in one powerful persuasion tool.

The direct mail also fits seamlessly with the email campaign. It references the emails they have received and teases what will come. So, it makes the reader go and check their inbox if they have missed the emails.

One week before the event, registrants will receive a text. This only says that I'm looking forward to meeting you next week, with the event logistics. And it's another customer touchpoint. It's another medium in the campaign. So there is no chance that they will miss the message.

The graphic that you can see is for a 3-day discovery event that starts on Friday. As you can see there is a lot of activity in the week of the event.

There are emails from Monday to Wednesday. Like the other emails in the campaign. Their purpose is to make the reader believe that they can change their life. So they use testimonials and stories.

If you have the resource, now is the time to ask your team to call registrants. This is the only part of the campaign that you cannot automate. This is the part of the campaign that I have never used. And I've heard other training companies getting great results with this so I've put it in.

I mention it to show that if you have the resource then you should make this part of the build-up to a big discovery event. If you don't have the resource. No problem. I've got 53% attendance rates for big events without it.

Thursday to the end of the event is what I call...

  

Running Through The Line

You've done all the hard work. So, don't drop the ball inches from the finish line.

The day before the event registrants receive a text message reminder. The morning of the event they also receive a text reminder.

These messages will be personal and they will be inspirational. And they will be short. After all, it's a text message.

A text and email needs to go out to non-attendees on the Friday. To remind them that they can still attend on Saturday and Sunday.

These messages must use social proof from the room to show non-attendees what they are missing. Plus, they need to tease what they will learn over the weekend. And how that knowledge will change their life.

Attendees get a thank you text at the end of the first day. The text also teases what they will learn the next day.

Nothing is left to chance. This campaign seizes every possible customer touchpoint and uses it to make a personal and inspirational connection.

Saturday and Sunday send text messages to attendees at the start and end of the day.

The final text message on Sunday evening is a thank you for attending. With an inspirational hook to take action on what they have learned.

So...

That's what a stick campaign looks like.

Why does it work?

Because...

 

Everything Is Not A Revenue Event And Everything Is A Relationship Event

A stick sequence has one simple goal...

To make readers believe they can change their life.

If the sequence achieves that. Then it will achieve the goal of raising event attendance rates. 

If the prospect does not believe that they can use your system. Then they will not attend your event. It's as simple as that.

A stick sequence also shows the reader...

  1. Who you are
  2. How you can help them
  3. Why they should trust you
  4. What makes you different

 

These are powerful trust building tools that lay the foundation for the sale.

So a good stick sequence will raise event attendance rates... and bring people hungry to change their life with your help.

So...

 

How Do I Know This Works In The Real World?

 

Because for 4 years I was head of marketing for the largest property training company in the UK.

I know the challenges of filling 300 discovery events a year.

And I know from painful experience what happens when this system not used.

There's an electric buzz the day before a big discovery event. The question on everyone's lips is how many people will attend.

And everyone is doing a simple calculation in their head...

They want to know how many we've got booked... and from that, they are calculating hope and realistic attendance numbers.

If the event starts a 9am. By 10:30am the events team would deliver the verdict. Good, bad or otherwise.

So... 

When I got pulled into a meeting at 10:15am with the owner and MD... I knew something was wrong.

The attendance rate was 18%.

I was speechless and had none of the answers that they wanted to know.

A quick dive into Infusionsoft confirmed what had happened...

None of the stick messages had gone out.

Why didn't it go out?

Because of... human error!

Every email was sent as a broadcast. Not a campaign. Every direct mail letter was printed in the office and stuffed by the team.

Today, I laugh at the stupidity of this. But back then, I didn't know how to automate this process with Infusionsoft and some plugins.

Today, I can automate the entire process.

The emails. The direct mail. The text messages. It can all be set up once and then it runs on autopilot.

When you have your next event. The sequence is ready to go. Sure you need to change the dates when the messages go live. But you don't have to create the campaign from scratch.

This saves a ton of time. And it removes human error!

The only part of the campaign that can't be automated is the call from your team.

And...

The stick campaigns that I ran that got 53% attendance rates did not have the team calling registrants.

The call from the team is a nice to have. It's the icing on the cake. And you can increase your attendance rates to 53% without it.

Would you like me to create a stick sequence for your big discovery event?

And automate the entire process to remove human error?

If you answered Yes to either of the above questions then...

 

Let Me Tell You How We Can Work Together

If you've got a bank of customer testimonials. Then I can create a stick sequence for you. The big question is...

How long do you need the sequence to be?

The simple answer is that it needs to start the day you start promoting your event. If that's 4 weeks before the event then I'll create a 4-week campaign like the one you've seen.

If you promote the event 6 weeks or 8 weeks before the event. Then I'll create a longer campaign.

Regardless of the campaign length. Before I write a single word...

  • I'll interview you for your inspirational stories
  • I'll interview other event speakers for their inspirational stories
  • I'll read all your information about the event
  • I'll ask you or your team any questions I have about the event and your customers
  • I'll look at the marketing that got prospects to register for the event
  • I'll read and watch your customer testimonials

 

Then I can start to create the campaign.

Once you have signed off the copy and design for the email, direct mail and text messages. Then I'll set this up in your CRM system so it runs automatically.

I have to confess that I've only worked with Infusionsoft and Drip. And that's why I have a CRM expert on my team. Someone that understands marketing and tech so we can automate this for you no matter what CRM you use.

If you like the sound of all that then you must be wondering...

  

What Is The Investment?

The investment for me to create a 4-week stick campaign is £2,500 plus a 5% per head commission on the extra people in the room.

So, if your attendance rate increases by 20%. Then I'll earn a 5% per head commission on 20% of the event revenue. 

In this way, you are still earning 95% of the revenue for people that would have not attended.

An ongoing commission also aligns our focus. It means that we both have a vested interest in getting the best results from the campaign.

Now that you know everything that's involved in setting up a stick campaign.

 

Would You Like Me To Create A Stick Campaign For You?

Would you like to talk to me before you make that decision?

If you answered yes to both questions. Then please click on the link below and book a video consultation call.

The video consultation call is our opportunity to meet and see if we are a good fit for each other.

You can ask me how I'll apply this system to your business. And any other questions you have about me. My experience increasing discovery event attendance rates. So you can see how you can make £155,000 more per discovery event.

In 30-minutes you'll know if this is right for you. And you'll know when we can get started.

There is no cost for this call and there is no future obligation. This is simply an opportunity to see if we are a good fit for each other.

To book a video consultation call now. Click the link below.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this entire message.

I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Carpe diem

Roland Eva

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