How to Market & Sell-out Your Transformational Destination ... › howtocreatearetreat › e... · my marketing plan for my business laid out for the year. I nurture my list at least

www.wanderlustentrepreneur.com

How to Market & Sell-out Your Transformational Destination Retreat

http://www.wanderlustentrepreneur.com


HOW TO MARKET & SELL-OUT YOUR TRANSFORMATIONAL DESTINATION RETREAT!

Ah… The shear excitement and joy of transformational retreats! Makes your heart sing, right?

Yet as any retreat leader knows – marketing your retreat so you can get it sold-out is everyone’s TOP concern and priority. And rightly so, because who wants to lose money because you didn’t hit your numbers or because you had to cancel your retreat?

There’s nothing sadder!

If you’re one of those folks that’s not fond of or good at marketing, I just want to {{HUG}} you and let you know that you’re not alone.

I must admit marketing was not my favorite activity for a long time until I had a shift in my mindset which made all the difference in the world. Now, I consider it part of my mission to change your feelings about marketing and share how to do it EASILY in a way that aligns with your heart so that you can serve and help people in the grand way you’re meant to serve them.

This world needs you and your gifts and talents in a BIG way these days!

Struggling to Market & Sell-out Your Transformational Destination Retreat?

What you NEED to have in place to fill your retreats!




This might surprise you, but the truth is that very few people are actively searching for a retreat. However, the majority of folks in this world ARE actively looking for solutions for the issues that are bothering them in their lives or businesses.

The problem is that most folks don’t know that your retreat is the solution and that it could help them solve those issues.

So the challenge in marketing is in EDUCATING people about their issues to highlight your expertise, and then in sharing how your retreat can help them solve those issues. Once they understand that you and your retreat can help them solve their problems – even if they were not actively looking for a retreat, they’ll be happy to join you.

We call this process...

“teaching to sell.” And the truth is, most savvy retreat leaders find that educating people is much more pleasant and fulfilling than trying to advertise a retreat to people who have no idea why they should go on your retreat!

And you like to help people understand how they can feel better or improve their life in some way with what you have to share right?? This is a way to authentically market while sincerely helping folks in your tribe.

After all, who likes feeling like a used car salesman while trying to fill a transformational retreat? No one!



So then, if you really want to sell out your retreats in a jiffy – NEVER advertise your retreat to the general public – only market your retreat to the audience that you’ve taken the time to build and educate. This means ONLY announcing your retreat to your email list and social media following.

Retreats are quite intimate and often higher in price than a workshop, so folks want to know who they’re retreating with and learning from BEFORE committing to spending multiple days in an intimate setting with that person.

Picture this: Advertising your retreat to total strangers who have no idea who you are and why they should go on your retreat (a “cold” audience) VERSUS marketing your retreat to your list of followers who you’ve been educating through your emails, blogs, and social media (a “warm” audience).


Hmmmm….which strategy do you think would be more effective in filling your retreat?

Yup, you guessed it – the warm audience of course!

So based on this information, would you feel any resistance or problem with creating a “marketing” plan that consists of educating your tribe all year long so that you can fill your retreats (and your programs, workshops, and coaching sessions) with people who know, like, and trust you?

Of course not!

So now that we have reclassified marketing from an icky salesy process to a heart-felt educational process – next we have to focus on the ACTIONS you plan on taking all year long to actually educate your audience so that they’ll sign up for your retreats.



So to get started, I’d like to do a little pop quiz – check off what items you currently have in place to market your retreats. This isn’t about judging yourself here – it’s about illuminating the issues and danger zones that need to be cleaned up in order to have your retreats sell out in 60 days or less from the date you announce them.

Ready? Let’s do it!

I am clear on who my ideal client is, what problem I solve for them, and what language resonates with them in my promotional materials.

I have a freebie or lead magnet that I drive traffic to all year long to build my list, and it converts around 50% or better.

Keep in mind that there are really simple and free ways to do this, as well as paid methods that are more complex.

If you are newer in business and bootstrapping your biz growth then I recommend you start with those easier steps.

If you’ve been around a while – I would make sure all the basics are in place before trying to implement the more complex strategies.



I do weekly 5 minute Facebook Livestreams (or monthly webinars) to educate my tribe and sell my retreat from the date my retreat is launched until it is sold out.

I do compelling and educational posts on social media that feature the different benefits and highlights of my retreat.

I never do Facebook Ads or boosted posts to my retreat sales page – I have pixels on my website and only do retargeting ads to my tribe, never to the general traffic or cold traffic.

I am set up to do clarity calls with folks interested in coming on my retreat and I close at least 50% of these calls.

I use a promotional calendar and have my marketing plan for my business laid out for the year.

I nurture my list at least twice a month with high-value educational material (for example through blogs, newsletters, Facebook Lives, videos, webinars etc.)

I have a sizzling sales page for my retreat that is visually compelling and totally engaging.

I create one new piece of content at least bi-monthly and repurpose it in several different ways (ie: writing a blog post, turning it into a FB Live, then sending it out as a newsletter etc).

Before my trip sales page is up, I always send a few teaser emails out to my list to get them excited about my retreat as well as an email series that I send when I launch my retreat (already set up in my autoresponder).




So, how’d you do?!

Okay – if you checked between 9-11 boxes – all I can say is – you rock! You’re doing all the right things and if I were you, I’d start thinking about more advanced marketing techniques to take your sales and business to the next level.

If you checked 5-8 actions, you’re doing better than 80% of most retreat leaders. With a few savvy and creative marketing techniques, you can consistently fill your retreats faster and more effectively. That will help you net some serious income from your retreats.

And last but not least, if you checked 4 or less – you’re like most of our heart-centered entrepreneurs. However, you’re in SERIOUS danger of losing money on your retreats and this lack of marketing savvy needs to change immediately!


How’d I do?



Now I know what you’re thinking right about now – there are a whole lot of pieces to have in place to design and run a profitable retreat, but don’t fret. We’ve been successfully teaching and sharing the systems you need to have in place since 2003.

That’s why I’d love to invite you to our...

UPCOMING RETREAT WEBINAR TRAINING:

“The 5 Steps to Creating

Your 5 Figure Retreat!”


We’ll be sharing in-depth information and marketing techniques to help get your retreat sold-out and netting you the money you deserve to be making.

Simply register here!

And please! Let’s remember what’s most important…

Retreats are a truly transformational way to impact your client’s lives and add more money into your business. And when you have the proper systems in place, it’s easy to replicate them over and over again giving you the freedom to create all the retreats you’ve been dreaming of.



https://event.webinarjam.com/register/1/k882ms2

https://event.webinarjam.com/register/1/k882ms2

About Sheri Sheri Rosenthal loves retreats. She loves teaching about them, designing them, planning them, running them, making a great income from them – and she wants you to love them as much as she does. It all started back in 1999 when she sold her podiatry practice and started studying with don Miguel Ruiz (author of The Four Agreements®).

That’s when she went on her first transformational destination retreat and has been obsessed with them ever since (after all, they totally changed her life). She ended up running don Miguel’s business for two years of the eight she worked with him, allowing her to plan and run all his retreats and events.

That inspired her to create her own travel agency – Journeys of the Spirit®, a boutique travel agency which has planning and managing other facilitator’s retreats since 2003.


Currently, Sheri is the founder of Wanderlust Entrepreneur, and is one of the most sought after retreat strategists for coaches, facilitators and authors. She is famous for helping clients plan, fill, and profit from transformational retreats that both change lives and add serious income to their bottom line!

Sheri Rosenthal



Documents

How to Market & Sell-out Your Transformational Destination ... › howtocreatearetreat › e... · my marketing plan for my business laid out for the year. I nurture my list at least