Vilis Ozols, BS, MBA

In the world of professional speaking, most professional speakers have either a "love it" or "hate it" perspective towards working for a public seminar company. Both perspectives are valid and it is important to recognize that this pathway into professional speaking has both benefits and drawbacks. Whether you have a love or hate perspective depends upon where you might be in your speaking career and how you position any affiliation with a public seminar company in relation to your professional growth.

Living the high "volume/low price" life-style.

Some of N.S.A.’s brightest "stars" have utilized public seminars as a pathway to extremely successful and distinguished careers as acclaimed speakers and authors.

Just to name a few:

Additionally, NSA speakers and authors are able to utilize the Public Seminar Companies as a venue for developing and marketing speaker products. Just to name a few:

• Jack Canfield, CSP
• John Patrick Dolan, CSP CPAE
• W. Mitchell, CSP CPAE
• Mark Victor Hansen CSP
• Mark Sanborn, CSP CPAE
• George Walther, CSP CPAE

The assignment process

The seminar dates are assigned by a bid process.  Selection factors for you to be assigned a tour can include any of the following:

• Your location relative to the seminar location
• Speaker/trainer rating
• Topic expertise
• Back-of-the-room sales ratings
• Product authorship
• Favoritism
• Number of topics you can present

Topic Areas: Just about anything goes and the trend in the industry is towards more specific topics and more technical topics.

Additional Opportunities

You can develop new topics:

• You can develop and pilot a full seminar.
• Or you can be the designated leader for a topic they develop.
• Curriculum design departments are heavily involved in topic development
• The seminar company will actively test, promote and role out the seminar.
• However, only a select few seminars make it to full role out

You can author audio, video, literary products:

• You author and produce - they sell your audio, video or book
• You author - they produce and sell your stuff
• They author and they produce and they sell the product
• You produce or lead a seminar and they then market it as a product

How To Get On Board With A Public Seminar Company

ETC w/ CareerTrack (subsidiary of TCI)

Trainer recruiter: ext. 2950

How To Apply: Procedures vary for the different companies

• cover letter
• resume
• bio package
• demo video
• interview
• boot camp

Training, time frames and getting up to full speed

These factors vary according to the seminar companies

• Training: 3 days to 2 weeks, unpaid and some you pay them to attend training

• Time frames: Count on a full year to get up to full speed

The Process for getting to full speed:

1. Video demo used to screen applicants

2. You create an audition audio demo of a full day seminar

3. Corporate indoctrination (3-day to 2-week) session

4. Debut tour (substitution tour or standard booking process)

5. Test your limits of human endurance doing lots of seminars!

1. It’s too much like work!

2. It’s like leasing versus buying

3. Physical burnout

4. You develop a dependency relationship

5. The value/earnings ratio

1. Experience and exposure

2. Booking/Marketing security

3. Resume builder

4. Instant access to the profession

5. Authorship

On-site seminars: The hidden seminar company market

• You present to specific clients, not the general public
• More personal, customized seminars
• Multiple dates and repeat business bonus
• No "back of the room" selling
• Experience building
• Client list building

More than just seminars:

• Keynotes
• Consulting
• Retreats
• Facilitation
• Strategic Planning

Domestic and international travel opportunities: 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Bahamas, Canadian provinces, United Kingdom (Scotland, England, Ireland), Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and more!

Vilis Ozols is the president of the Ozols Business Group, a leadership training, motivational speaking and business consulting firm based in Golden, Colorado. He was also an independent contractor for ETC w/ CareerTrack, one of the largest international public seminar companies. In 1995 he was awarded their outstanding veteran trainer award and he is featured in the CareerTrack video series "The Team Doctor," "The 5 Traits of Emerging Leaders," "Excelling As A First-Time Supervisor (audio series)." He has spoken in all 50 States, in 9 Canadian provinces, in 7 other countries and on three other continents.