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Saturday, Apr. 26, 2008

Motivational speakers: You can be whatever you want

Improve your productivity without working harder or longer!

Expand your circle of influence!

Learn the real secret of success!

The claims promise that you, too, can recharge your emotional power pack at the Get Motivated Seminar, which will be rocking Rupp Arena on Tuesday.

Firing up the anticipated 7,000 people at the event will be Gen. Colin Powell, Super Bowl champ Joe Montana, Wildcat gridiron coach Rich Brooks and a host of other speakers who aim to convince you that your capacity to excel is virtually limitless.

The popularity of motivational seminars is demonstrated through the huge crowds they draw, said Jim Donnelly, professor emeritus of marketing at the University of Kentucky.

”People go. It shows that people need to see this,“ Donnelly said. ”It works.“

Donnelly said the attraction seems to be rooted in the affirmation the speakers transmit. ”The spirit of the individual in organizations is not being recognized,“ he said. ”This is an opportunity to see your spirit at work.“

The seminar does have a spiritual aspect, although it's ”not designed that way,“ said Peter Lowe, founder and CEO of Get Motivated Inc. ”We typically have six, seven, eight speakers from all different backgrounds,“ he said.

”But when we've surveyed audiences after our seminars, the surveys show that the spirituality component is what they say they want the most.“

In news reports about previous Get Motivated seminars, Lowe has said he and his wife, Tamara, see the company more as a ministry than a business.

Master motivator Zig Ziglar is a constant at Get Motivated seminars, and his message lies in finding a balance between home and the workplace.

Also appearing in Lexington will be the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founder of the Crystal Cathedral megachurch in Garden Grove, Calif., and host of the TV show Hour of Power. Schuller's followers believe ”in the infinite worth and immeasurable potential of every human being, (but) this does not mean that we believe salvation can be obtained through our own goodness or self-worth. ... Instead, we believe that a person can only reach their fullest potential through faith in Jesus Christ,“ according to the cathedral's Web site.

Net is cast widely

Lowe's customers come from a broad swath of professionals, he said. ”They're largely business people, business owners, management. And sales people. But we also draw teachers, coaches — a real cross-section.“

Admission to Get Motivated is $4.95 in advance, while $19 allows a company to send its entire office. But for those who buy their tickets at the door, the cost jumps to $225 a person.

”If you buy in advance, you get a big discount. It's like the airlines,“ Lowe said, adding that selling tickets only at the door would cause ”a logistical nightmare.“

Donnelly, the UK professor, suggested that making the seminar available at low cost ensures a big audience, and in turn a psychological rush for the participants.

”If you don't have the numbers, you don't have the initial mass. You need that to feel together,“ he said.

Lowe's speaker roster on April 29 also includes Rick Belluzzo, former president and chief operating officer of Microsoft; author and sales expert Tom Hopkins; and Lowe himself.

Meeting the bottom line

Podium headliners such as Powell, Ziglar, Schuller and Montana can command tens of thousands of dollars in speaker fees, far more than the roughly $35,000 that Get Motivated takes in on admissions.

The company makes up the difference by providing additional services and materials to participants at the event, Lowe said.

”People love it so much that they want to take further training, which we make available,“ he said.

For example, customers turned on by Ziglar's presentation can purchase his motivational package for $249, his family package for $249, his sales package for $249 or all three (the whole shootin' match, he calls it) for $649. He also has materials called Ziggets in sales, management, marketing, team development, personal development and customer service at $149 apiece or the whole package for $599.

Donnelly suggested that Get Motivated could also increase its gate by simulcasting the event in Lexington to other locations. Lowe said some seminars are aired to other places, but the April 29 event will not be.

The Better Business Bureau in Tampa, Fla., where Get Motivated is based, gives the company a good record. It has generated only eight complaints from the thousands who have attended the seminars, said Heather Clary, communications director for the BBB of Central and Eastern Kentucky.

If you miss Get Motivated in Lexington, you're likely to have a chance to attend another. Lowe said his company typically puts on 25 events a year. On May 6, the seminar is in Albuquerque, N.M., with virtually the same lineup — Montana and Powell won't be there, but former heavyweight boxing king and grill master George Foreman takes the stage to tell people how to be a champion.

”Does it have a lasting benefit? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't,“ Donnelly said. ”But even if you can't remember the sermon you heard two weeks ago, you might still remember being uplifted by it.“