The Internet has opened a door for those individuals and groups to locate a retreat center and events without much trouble. The seeker of these retreat facilities usually uses a Search Engine like Google to search for places and workshops in the locale that interests them. The “search terms” vary but the most popular words include a combination of the following: retreat, retreat center, conference center, ‘state’ retreat center, spiritual, religious, health, etc… There are online directories that charge a nominal fee for retreat centers to advertise themselves and their events. In addition to your own web site, advertising with some of these retreat directories is an excellent way to effectively promote your retreat and conference center.
Can your retreat facility be found on the Internet? One way to test whether your center can be found is to run Google Search with words that include the state and city, the name of the facility, key words mentioned above and spiritual words if appropriate. With this test you are wearing the cap of a retreat seeker and seeing if your facility can be discovered quickly. Most likely, they will not know the name of your center but are searching within a specific geographical area. If retreat directories rank high in your search, you might wish to contact them about advertising.
Social media is becoming a popular way to advertise your retreat center and events also. It is free and can be used to direct traffic to your website. Popular programs include FaceBook, YouTube and Twitter. Some retreat centers are using blogs to generate articles that will promote them.
Once an inquiry is made about your facility and their activities, be sure to capture the information from the inquirer, including name and email address. Then you are able to use direct marketing techniques to send out newsletters and announcements with tools like Constant Contact to those in your database.
A few of the Online Retreat Directories publish information not only about retreat and conference centers, but the following: retreat events calendar, retreat jobs, retreat centers for sale, spiritual directors, retreat leaders, retreat books and retreat articles.
The Internet provides an automated meeting place for the seeker and provider of the retreat experience to discover one another. Computer technology is improving and the price to acquire online advertising is low compared to the benefits derived. Advertising your retreat center online is a low risk, high return investment with only a short term commitment to measure the benefits.
Weather is a good analogy to the economy. One day it’s frigid and harsh, the next it’s sunny and warm. The only thing certain about the weather is that it will change. Are the weather forecasts always right? NO. You will look out the window, check the thermometer and dress accordingly. My motto is, “Plan for the worst, hope for the best and make the most of what you get.”
So, let’s use this analogy to create our own self-fulfilling prophesy of prosperity. I’m not saying to ignore the “experts.” I’m saying listen to their economic weather opinions and dress in layers.
If you are retired, on a fixed income, or laid off for the season, you may just need to hunker down and conserve your energy (personally and fuel-wise). So what’s new? We’ve done this before…some of us many times. Back in the 1990’s everything that could have happened economically did to someone in our family. Lost jobs, broken relationships, car accidents with under-insured drivers, adult children moving back in, you name it. But we survived and got back on our feet, and made progress over the next decade. We learned from experience.
If you are a business owner or self-employed, you have the added stress of being where the buck stops…here! It can feel like the weight of the world just jumped on your shoulders like a great, drooling monkey. Please don’t panic. In every disaster there is opportunity. Take a deep breath, get centered and start brainstorming with trusted advisors and mentors. Find new gateways to prosperity that were invisible when you were in your comfort zone, just getting by from day to day. Think of it this way…it’s a lot easier to turn the wheel of a car in motion. So start and then adjust your steering as you learn more. Here are some steps to get you going.
Start with your basic SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). But don’t just make a list – take time to answer questions like these:
What were your successes last year? Which customers were best sellers and which were most profitable? Why?
What about the last ideal customer you lost? What happened? Why did they choose someone else?
What are some things that would never happen in your industry? Assuming that they have happened, what opportunities do they create? There is always opportunity in chaos.
What legal or government changes create threats or opportunities? Are you up to date with requirements in your industry or profession? Do you qualify for new incentives?
Draw a picture of what you want. Putting crayons to paper gets your brain working differently. You don’t have to be an artist; just take the time to represent yourself, your customers, their challenges, and your key relationships. If you know mind mapping, you are ahead of the game. See what new perspectives you get from the drawing process. Pretend you are sketching ideas for a new deck or office. This step is important. How does the universe know what to give you if you don’t know what you want? Make your picture as detailed as possible.
Create a Prosperity Plan. This is the “dressing for the weather” part of the process. You’ve collected advice and information, slept on it, and created a picture of how you want things to be. Now you need to build your prosperous future within a new environment. What are your goals and benchmarks? What strengths and abilities will you use to achieve your vision? What values and beliefs will you incorporate to succeed? A HarvardUniversity study found that only about 3% of the people surveyed took time to write down their goals in detail and THEY were the ones who succeeded big time. It really is your choice and it really does work. It worked for us!
Take Action. Whether your first task is to get training for new skills, update your knowledge of your business environment, or start working on your plan, something wonderful happens when you take action. You unleash your subconscious energy and feel empowered by the sense that you are taking control of one little part of the world. Maybe you cannot fix “the economy,” but you are becoming part of the solution rather than just being a victim or a statistic.
Are we experiencing an economic storm? Maybe we are, but how we weather it makes all the difference. So sing in the rain, make snow angels, do something new, and enjoy the ride.
If you would like to gather for brainstorming about business ideas, attend a Chamber of Commerce networking event or learn more about creating a Prosperity Plan, contact us at info@coppertoppe.com or 603-744-5036. We are happy to share ideas and connect people with helpful resources. We say, “Make it a great day!”
FindtheDivine, LLC, the web-based resource for buyers and sellers of retreat and conference centers, has facilitated the sale of Deer Hill Conference Center, Inc. in Wappingers, New York.
The 40-acre site and buildings were used for many years by the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ. In 1990 it was purchased by a not-for-profit corporation and continued its use a retreat center for groups from the metropolitan tri-state area.
Deer Hill was purchased by The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, owned by renowned artists Alex and Allyson Grey. Their headquarters are currently in the Chelsea District of Manhattan.
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The Grays’ plan is to renovate and restore the buildings. When completed the Greys will relocate their gallery and create an interfaith chapel, just 90 minutes from Grand Central Station. As Mr. Grey said, “We want to keep Deer Hill the holy ground that it is.”
Providing financing for the acquisition was Mr. William A. Griffiths, Jr. a Vice President of Rhinebeck Savings Bank in Poughkeepsie. Mr. Griffith’s efforts were the catalyst which enabled the transaction.
FindtheDivine, LLC which has been in operation for more than six years, was founded by Phil Stone of Great Falls, VA. The firm also has an office in Marietta, GA headed by Peter Tennis. Find the Divine receives more that one million hits per month on its site. Find the Divine has facilitated the sale of a number of centers. They currently have 26 properties for sale, all across North America.
At the bottom of the list are the completed transactions, of which we played a variety of parts, from web-based marketing to attracting the buyer to the facility.
Please contact Peter Tennis in Marietta, GA at 770-421-9780 for testimonials and other information.
Please feel free to submit comments and/or add new suggestions on how to market a retreat center that is for sale.
How to Market Your Retreat and ConferenceCenter
1.Know your property : its strengths, its market niche and its competitors.
2.Ask for advice from commercial investment real estate professionals, but this does not mean you have to sign anything.
3.Have an up-to-date, quality web site, with top notch pictures and accurate and positive text.
4.Be sure to have supporting data concerning revenue, expenses, taxes, insurance and debt.
5.Prepare a summary of the property including, legal, a survey, the zoning, the name of the city and county.
6.Be able to explain the condition of your water and sewer or septic systems.
7.Interview and retain a local commercial investment real estate firm through the expertise of FindtheDivine.com.
8.Hire a local broker that will “show and tell” for you.
9.Advertise your property both nationally (through web sites like FindtheDivine) and locally (newspapers, church bulletins etc)
10.Be flexible with respect to financing! Offer to take back some debt if need be.
11.Target potential buyers like churches, schools, associations and corporations and send then an announcement.
12.Focus on why your property location is excellent for a recent center.
13.Why is this the time to sell or buy?
-Low Mortgage rates
-Depressed Real Estate Values in general
-Increased interest in retreats during recessions
-Increased interest in spirituality and religion
-Increased population of those over 55 who are on the spiritual journey
By Peter Tennis, FindtheDivine LLC and Tennis Development, LLC – March 28, 2008
