If you are going to hold a seminar, don't kick people out for handing out their business card. This is how seminars usually work: you go there to learn a little bit, and (usually the second day) are pitched a "coaching program" that is literally tens of thousands of dollars. Is that wrong? No, it's just how seminars work. We all understand this going in.
However, there is an unwritten rule to real estate seminars: you also go there to network and meet other investors. Everyone who I have ever talked to knows this. Heck, many real estate coaches actively encourage it. And why not? It's great! It's a wonderful way to meet people that either you can help, or they can help you, or both. Oh, and just because you meet someone at a seminar, doesn't mean that you shouldn't buy whatever the company is pitching. If you feel that it's right for you, and at a good price (relative to value), you should go right ahead! I thought this was obvious.
Apparently not. I was kicked out of a seminar a few days ago for "soliciting" people by talking about real estate, you know, at a real estate seminar, and giving out my business card when people asked for it. When someone asks "what you do?", what do you tell them? I'll tell you what you tell them: what you do. This is basic stuff that doesn't need to be pointed out. When someone asks me a question, I usually like to respond with an answer if I have it. If someone doesn't understand something, I try to explain it better. Doing so is, for reasons that are unknown, "soliciting your services", and I was kicked out.
I know why they did it, of course. They were afraid that I would be "competition", seeing as how I was willing to answer questions without using the phrase: "You'll find out when you get a coach!" They were afraid that no one would buy into their undoubtedly expensive coaching program because I was actually doing what they were trying to sell. I get that.
This also leads me to a thought that someone shared with me afterward: "If they couldn't handle the 'competition', is their program really that good?" I cannot say, but it does make you wonder, which leads me to...
Don't teach people extremely dangerous business practices
If you want people buy your program, don't tell them something that can get them into major trouble. Just throwing that out there. If you get a "local man" so that we will like him better, make sure that he actually knows local laws and regulations. Telling a room full of newbie investors and business owners that a "lease back is a great solution to buying people's homes in foreclosure," is one of the most irresponsible offenses that I have ever seen. For those who don't know, a "lease back" is when someone would buy a house that's going into foreclosure, and allow the former owners to "rent it" and buy it back at a later date.
Of course, if they were actually local, they would know that house bill 3630 (which has now become part of state law) makes that a very, very bad decision. Losing 82% of the profits from the sale would probably be the least of your worries. Kicking people out for telling others what they do is one thing, giving them stuff that will land everyone in a world of hurt is just unforgivable.
