How to Run Seminars and Workshops, 4th Edition

Chapter 7The Secret of SuccessSelling Your Presentation

Although I have been running seminars and workshops on my own for over 25 years, this isn't the first time I have operated a private consulting company. When I was in my mid-20s, I put out a shingle and gave consulting a try. I had no difficulty attracting clients, worked when I wanted to, and somewhat lived the American dream. I was a sole proprietor. What in the world would possess any successful entrepreneur to ditch it all and go to work for a massive corporation? Most people work the other way around. First, you work for the massive corporation, then you work for yourself. But I was looking for something more to teach people when it came to actual training technique. I wanted something tangible, something process driven that could be taught to anyone incorporating any topic.

There were only about three different companies I would have left my business for, and Xerox was one of them. One reason for my fascination and respect for Xerox was its commitment to training. A corporation that builds a training facility that sleeps 980 students on 2,300 acres obviously takes training seriously. (Although I'm sure the company still takes its training seriously, sadly, the facility was sold, and the land it sits on has been developed.) My second and equally important criterion for selecting Xerox was its reputation for being process driven. By “process driven,” I am referring to working with concepts that teach predictable and ...