SALT LAKE CITY — For a business seminar, it's certainly got an eclectic mix of speakers.
The "Get Motivated!" seminar set for June 9 at EnergySolutions Arena features everyone from Gen. Colin Powell to John Walsh of TV's "America's Most Wanted."
Not to mention former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin — via satellite.
The cost to attend is rock-bottom: $4.95.
But Tamara Lowe, who co-founded the firm with her husband, Peter, insists attendees will not be inundated with pitches to buy books, CDs or other items.
"Traditionally, the whole way the event business was run was hard-sell, with books available," Lowe said. "We did it, too, but we didn't do it in a hard-core way. Somebody would speak, and then the emcee would say, 'We have the book at the resource center.' "
Lowe said she understands why events such as these are criticized as heavy-handed sales pitches, because that was the typical model.
"We have not liked that approach," she said. "We kind of narrowed it down in the last 12 years. … We allowed (veteran motivational speaker) Zig Ziglar to have his books (for sale), but none of the other speakers did. Even then, it was very low-key."
The "Get Motivated!" website said follow-up workshops often are available at an extra cost if attendees choose. Individuals registering for the event also are encouraged to buy the event's 124-page workbook, which is described as containing "fascinating celebrity articles, tips, trends, tools, speaker outlines and much more …"
The website also urges attendees to wear business casual or professional clothes to make a good impression while networking, bring a notebook and pen or pencil … and remember breath mints. "You'll be meeting and greeting a lot of great people!"
Lowe said she and her husband began offering reduced ticket prices years ago.
"For probably 10 or 15 years, our prices were much, much higher. We saw what was happening in the general economy before the general public thought it was really news, a couple of years before they admitted we were in a recession. We had begun recalibrating our model to make it so inexpensive so people who needed it would be able to attend," she said. "People are struggling financially. A lot of people are out of work."
Lowe said she and her husband did not want to price those people out of the events, because those are the individuals who need help the most.
"We're really thrilled we were able to do that. It's not an inexpensive thing to be done for these events," she said. "The way we're able to do it financially is that it's not the only thing we do."
Lowe said the firm makes up for the low ticket prices by providing other services, such as industry conferences, in-house training, and personal and life coaching.
"When a company might want corporate training in customer service, we send in our team of training (workers). We have a personal coaching division," she said. "Our coaches are experts — they help them reach their goals. There are other seminars we have and continuing education options for people. If (motivational events) were the only thing we did, we would have to charge a lot more, but because we have a broader range of service, we can leverage that."
Lowe said the firm's broad range of speakers and topics offers something for everyone. "For instance, somebody sent me a note this week on Facebook, 'I wanted to let you know I was at your Minneapolis … seminar. You just saved our 24-year-old marriage,' " Lowe said.
She said she's heard from at least four people who said they intended to commit suicide but did not because of what they learned at the seminars.
"People tend to come into it with some sort of need," Lowe said. "Because we cover so many different areas, they find something to fill that need."
e-mail: lindat@desnews.com