About ninety days ago I began attending Meetups related to Internet Marketing and the Law of Attraction. There are organized Meetups for almost any interest and you can choose one that is within a certain distance from where you live. I carpool with a friend and this gives us an opportunity to brainstorm ideas on the way there and to recap the material on the way home. Go to Meetup.com for more information. It is free.
What’s great about Meetups, free seminars, training, or workshops is the “free” exchange of ideas and information. I know what you’re thinking – “they are there to sell me something”. With the exception of Meetups, this is true however; there are so many other benefits when you look at it closely.
The question is “How can I profit from free training?” The answers will probably surprise you but one thing for sure, the more you give to the experience, the more you will profit from it. Especially since we are in the information age, the value of information can be transformed into profit. I will explain.
Be prepared before you attend free training
You found out about this free training and got all excited and probably told some friends. You are excited because of what you will get from the experience. But in order to optimize your experience, you have to do a little preparation. Here are five questions that you should write the answers in a list. Do this with a laser focused intention.
- What is the major content that I hope to get from the training?
- What are the specific skills that I am learning right now that I need help with?
- What is a specific strategy that I hope to improve or to learn?
- Is there an outline for this training and how can I get a copy?
- What are some specific questions that I can prepare to ask?
Keep in mind that although these questions are specific, you will still get the overall concept. The important point here is not to forget something important and to remain focused on your purpose for deciding to attend this training. You will be taking a lot of notes but you can also be very organized as to where to record certain information. Remember the 80/20 Rule – 80% of any work, information, or productivity is contained in the top 20%. You are the only one who can determine which is the 20% that will give you the most impact at this time in your business or your life.
Be prepared to focus, and record and process information during training
The human brain is a better processor of information than it is a storage facility. This is why before the training you have organized yourself. If you can, take a digital recorder to have an audio record of the training. Then you can replay it. In some cases you can’t record the training, so you have to rely on your notes. But the important step here is to focus on the outlined questions that you wrote in a list earlier. You can always read your notes on the less critical information.
Here are some points to remember during training. Some of these points will apply more to you now, and others later.
- What are the ideas that have value and can be turned into profit later (such as shortcuts)
- Who can I possibly ask to do a joint venture with now or in the future?
- Who are the people and what are the products that I can be an Affiliate for?
- Are there any trial offers that are no risk for me to take advantage of now (some of these may have a 30 days or less cancellation policy)?
- What is my list of questions to ask?
- Is there an after seminar gathering with the experts that I can attend?
- Who can I exchange business cards with to continue the relationship?
- Who else in this training is at my level that I can brainstorm with?
- What, if any, are the free or discounted products?
- Do I need any of these products now?
- Who are the Gurus and what are their success stories?
This may all seem like a lot of work but the more prepared you are before and the more focused you are during a training experience, the more rewards you will reap after. After the training make sure to review your notes, contact people who gave you their business cards, and develop those relationships. Networking is more about what you can share with others as opposed to what you can get. The more you share and the more that you give away, the more other people will value the relationship with you. Keep checking my blog for my post titled”What should you give away?”
In the meantime, I can recommend two books that I found to be very helpful as they pertain to networking. The first one is “Love is the Killer App” by Tim Sanders and the other is “Dig Your Well, Before You’re Thirsty” by Harvey Mackay.
Make it a terrific day.
Leo Llonch