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Archive for the ‘Speaking’ Category

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Marketing Mastermind Call:

Boost Your Speaking Sales with “The Invisible Close”

Tuesday, 27th July, 2010

8:00pm UK Time (3pm EASTERN, 12 noon PACIFIC)

It’s a disservice to let interested consumers walk away without securing the benefit of your fabulous products or services. They came to buy from you. Give them what they need to say “YES!”

Join me and my guest Lisa Sasevich, the “The Queen of Sales Conversion, for this action-packed call where we will be covering…

• Exponentially grow your platform sales using Irresistible Offers

• Get massive results without being “salesy”

• Maximize your profits with no marketing budget!

• Simple, no-cost things you can do to instantly double or triple your sales conversion.

• The secrets to inspiring someone to act now…without being pushy or “salesy”!

• How to craft your “Irresistible Offer” to support Big Sales and your Big Life!

• And most important, how to share the wealth of your wonderful and unique talents and receive wealth in return!

This call is FREE for my hundreds of Marketing Mastermind and Stepping UP! members. They also get the CD and transcript of this call at no extra charge, plus a tonne of other member benefits – such as access to our online members forum.

Not a member?  Then click here to join the Marketing Mastermind Group today so you can take advantage of this call and all the other member goodies each and every month.

I look forward to “meeting” you on our call.

Best Wishes
Bernadette Doyle
www.clientmagnets.com

PS – Even if you can’t make the call, all Mastermind members receive a FREE CD of the call as well as a digital version of the audio and transcript! Take advantage now.

Most people don’t realize it until they host their first event, but a thousand little details go into planning an event. The event organizer must consider everything from marketing the event to organizing speakers, handouts, food, lodging and other relevant event details. If you’re hosting an event and you’re the main feature of the event, you have far less time to focus on these thousand-and-one details that go into a successful event. Dealing with the details becomes an integral part of handling event logistics.

The Logistics of Planning an Event
The logistics of planning an event require you to negotiate the details. You must coordinate the venue, any food and refreshments, the temperature, handouts, lighting, lodgings and many other details. If you’re using an A/V system, you must make sure the equipment is where it’s supposed to be, and fully functional.

If you’re coordinating an event with multiple speakers or sessions, ensure that each participant’s needs are met. The event itself requires coordinating these logistics in the days and weeks leading up to the event, a flurry of activity the day before and the morning of, and managing details during the day of the event.

Balancing Logistics with Price
The specific logistics of your event vary depending on the price point of your event. If you’re charging a low price point, you’re probably not providing refreshments, meals, or substantial handouts. Conversely, if you’re charging a high price point, you might want to provide your attendees with special little touches that make the price seem more justified, including handouts, promotional materials, refreshments and a meal.

Handling Logistics When You’re Presenting the Event
When you’re planning and presenting at an event, not only do you have the details to manage to ensure the event runs smoothly, but you must also think about your presentation. If you’re running around the morning of the event taping cords to floors or thinking about your lunchtime refreshments, you’re not getting yourself into the right mindset for presenting at the event.

If you’re presenting, you might want to hire a professional that has event management experience to take care of the details for you, leaving you free to focus on your presentation. If you do hire a professional to deal with the logistical details, make sure you’re hiring someone who has experience dealing with event logistics. Hire someone with whom you are comfortable presenting your image, as the way they handle the event will reflect on you as the host and presenter. If you hire an event manager who won’t provide the customer service experience you want, or who doesn’t know how to manage the details in a way that is acceptable to you, you have only yourself to blame if the event is not well-received.

Think about the logistics of your event during the event-planning phase. Don’t wait until the last minute to decide how you want to handle logistics, or realize you’ll want to hire an event manager to free up your attention for the event itself. Make a list of the details you need to manage for the event, and determine whether you’re comfortable managing the details yourself or whether you want help. Eliminate details that are cost-prohibitive in a low-budget event, or add handouts and giveaways for a high-budget event so your attendees feel like they’re getting their money’s worth for the event.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

You could be missing these few KEY strategies

Do you have a BIG VISION for your business – but feel stuck and confused and wondering what specific activity you need to focus on right NOW to get results? Ever feel that there just aren’t enough hours in the day? Are you brimming with good ideas that you never actually get the time to IMPLEMENT? Have you ever wished you could clone yourself so you could simultaneously focus on bringing in much needed cash while also pursing the bigger opportunities and projects that take longer to bear fruit?

For all the answers join me for my upcoming LIVE event …

More Leads, More Clients And More Sales

7th-9th May, 2010

Heathrow London

http://bit.ly/SteppingUP

I put this program together because I’m tired of watching talented people, who have a big contribution to make, and who SHOULD be heading up thriving, profitable businesses that allow them total freedom, suffer and struggle simply because they’re missing a few key strategies.

At ‘More Leads, More Clients, More Sales’ we make the path from where you are right now to ‘$$$ in the bank’ as short and direct as possible. This is fluff free, high content, proven strategies that you can apply right away to get results.

This event is all about putting  key strategies into YOUR hands, then helping you to IMPLEMENT them so you get results.

“Stepping Up!” Members Are Invited To Attend As My Guest.
Not a Stepping UP Member?

Find out more here: http://bit.ly/SteppingUP

There’s a mindset that’s essential if you hope to grow your list. It requires asking, no matter what the business activity … “How can I use this to grow my list?”

This one simple shift in mindset can be the key to your company’s success.

Building Your List Requires Variety. Think of your list as a fire you’re building. It takes lots of sticks to keep a fire burning. When it comes to building your list, those “sticks” are the strategies you put in place to attract and sustain business.

Just as one stick won’t keep a fire burning, there isn’t one single activity that will build a great list.  A common mistake is to attract the first few hundred names, and then expect your list to grow organically from there. The fire usually goes out from lack of new fuel.  A strong list requires many different kinds of activities and approaches – all directed at adding names to your prospect list.

Some of your “sticks” will be things you do that don’t take a big investment of time. You put the plan in place and your list starts building automatically.  Other strategies you use will require more time on your part.  Remember, there’s a rule in business …   Activities that don’t take much time will cost more money.  On the other hand, things that don’t cost much, take more time. You can decide where you are ready to invest when growing your list.

Fortunately, as you implement a variety of list building activities, they become cumulative. You won’t have to go back and start from scratch each time.  Once you’ve got your strategies in place – you’ll find your list will grow rapidly.

“How Can I Use This to Grow My List?”

Ask yourself this every time you engage in a business activity. Whether you’ve agreed to give a talk or you’re creating a free report – it should always be done with the goal of adding to your list.

Asking that question guides how those activities are done. For example, if you’re giving a talk to a group, be thinking of your free offer to make at the end. A free offer is one way to secure more names for your list. But don’t stop there.

Adopt the mindset of seeing everything you do as a list building opportunity:

• giving interviews
• meeting with groups
• holding free “taster events”
• network meetings
• special offers and promotions

When you see each activity as a list building opportunity, you’ll begin to see the power of cumulative list building efforts. Start by putting the automated strategies in place.  Then keep in mind how each new strategy can build your list, as well.

A solid prospect list is something every business owner should be working to build. As you make decisions about how to spend money and time, look at each new activity as a way to add to your list. By doing so, you’ll soon experience the power having a great customer list can bring to your business.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

When I first started my business, I would schedule speaking engagements with any group that would listen.  I would have spoken to the local garden club if they would have had me.  Why?  Because giving an informational talk helps you make personal connections, raises your profile and gives you an opportunity to make sales to a group whose defenses are down.

Some of you have responded that it’s all fine and dandy to recommend giving speeches, but they didn’t know the first thing about how to get bookings.  So I’d like to share some tips for you to help you get your speaking ‘gigs’.

1. Start Small
My first suggestion is that if you’ve not had speaking engagements in the past, don’t start off on a grand scale.  Most people assume they need to be speaking to a conference of hundreds of people.  I recommend you start small, perhaps with an audience of 20 to 40 people.  It’s a good size to get you comfortable whilst giving you the opportunity to test ideas and approaches.

2.  Approach Networking Groups and Organizations
Your first step towards a booking is to take a look at any networking groups, ones to which you belong or groups in your area of expertise.  Chances are they have monthly or quarterly meetings.  Offer up your services to the meeting coordinator or organizer.  When you offer to speak, make sure you explain why your topic is relevant and will be a good fit for the meeting.

Even if you’re not a member of a local networking organization, you can take steps to locate one.  Check trade publication, magazines, even the Internet.  Determine who in the organization is responsible for booking speakers and contact them by telephone and offer your services.

3. Tailor Your Talk
Make sure to tailor the speech to fit the needs of your particular audience.  You may need to put a new spin on your speech.

4.  Establish Yourself As The Expert
Once you get your first few speaking engagements, you’ll see bookings begin to snowball.  As you establish yourself in the market, people will begin to contact you rather than vice versa.  Typically after a speech, someone in the audience will approach you and ask you to speak to their group.  So you’re not going to have to make calls to book each and every one of your speeches.  In addition to that, by giving speeches, you are establishing yourself as the expert in your field.  Once you’ve become the expert, people will contact you, you’ll get more bookings and make more sales.

So take the first step towards booking your first speaking ‘gig’, starting small is fine.  You’ll find your bookings and your audiences will begin to grow with each and every speaking engagement.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. You can read more of her articles on her blog at http://clientmagnetsblog.com

For anyone selling their services as a small or solo business, you know the perils and pitfalls of cash flow.  From the time you make your initial contact with a prospect, to the time you get paid can be weeks, even months.  It’s amazing how few employers understand what it’s like for the self-employed and as a result, they tend to make assumptions about what is reasonable to ask of us before we get paid.

So, while you may have plenty of business in the pipeline, it’s not generating the cash you need to keep going.  You need to establish a steady flow of income.

So how do we generate quick cash?  The quickest way to generate cash is to hold an open course.  While off-the-shelf products are wonderful passive income generators and are income producing in the long run, they take production and creation time.  Open courses basically take one day AND you’re getting paid up front.

A very important realization in this process is to stop selling your time hour by hour to one client.  That is going to restrict your cash flow.  You need to sell your expertise, not your time.  Your time is too limited; it’s not going to generate enough income and cash flow.  Your expertise is another matter altogether.

Now, your first open course may not start off fully booked.  Direct response marketing takes time to figure out.  Back when I first started out, it took a little time to find out what marketing worked for me.    I was getting 16 people coming to a course and charging £250 a day per person.  One open course that took one day of my time was generating over £3,000 of revenue. Since then, I’ve topped those figures over and over!  But this will give you an idea of the results you can achieve, even when you’re first starting out.

Of course, you’re going to have some associated expenses such as the marketing material and the hotel bill.  I ended up pocketing £1,500 to £2,000 for a day’s work in which I was paid up front.  Compare this to your pay for a session with a client where you may need to wait weeks for payment.

If you plan one open course per month, you’re not just generating revenue; you’re establishing a regular cash flow.  Now you have something to count on so you can withstand the longer sales cycle of the typical sale.  But even better, you’ve given yourself an alternative.  You’ve made it easier to walk away if a client isn’t willing to pay your going rate.  If you have that alternative waiting in the wings, it shows in your attitude and mindset.

You’re going to be amazed at the transformation having this choice offers.  There’s going to be additional benefits besides establishing a steady cash flow, you’ve also increased your value.  You’ve created a mindset in which you have a choice and this choice also helps put you in the power position when you’re negotiating a sales contract.  It’s also going to be a factor when you’re setting your prices.

That’s what being a Client Magnet is about – it’s about taking matters into your own hands.  It’s about creating alternatives and putting yourself in a position where you can pick and choose your clients.  It’s about maneuvering yourself into a situation where you’re not desperate because of the slow or no cash flow.  It’s about selling your knowledge and expertise, not your limited time.  Now that you’ve determined that there are alternatives, you’ve taken the matter of getting paid into your own hands and as a result, you’ve taken a giant step towards becoming a true Client Magnet.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

You may think that giving a talk or speech isn’t going to benefit YOUR business.  Perhaps you believe it to be a tool that will work only in certain niches.  I’d like to tell you that speaking engagements absolutely can help build lists and generate leads for any type of business.  Why does it work?

Getting Up Close & Personal
First and foremost, making a speech gives those interested in your product a chance to meet you in person.  These days many marketing tools are online and impersonal, such as email and websites.  Giving a talk lets prospective clients see the real you in action.  They get a taste of your personality and your skills whilst seeing what you can offer for their business.

Let me take a moment to mention who your best audience is going to be for speaking engagements.  Remember the 80/20 rule in this instance.  It’s the rule that states that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients.  Of course, it’s that 20% that you should focus on.  Not just in terms of giving speeches directly to them, but giving speeches regarding the products and services that hold their interest as well.

Declaring Your Expertise
Not only do these speaking engagements give people the opportunity to meet you and make a personal connection, but it raises your profile in your field.   One of the tools in getting clients to come to you, rather than you having to reach out to each of them, has been to establish yourself as the expert in your field.  Since no one is going to present you with a certificate declaring you an expert, you need to simply step up and claim expertise.  Giving a talk in your field of expertise is just another step towards establishing yourself as the ‘go-to person’ for a particular service or product.

Expanding Experience
Whilst these reasons should be enough to have you thinking that speeches and talks may be a good step to take to build our business”, there’s another benefit.  That benefit is your personal growth and experience.  Speaking engagements can help you build confidence and communication skills.  When I first started my business, I would talk to any group who would listen – even my local Brownie group if they would have had me!  Every speech you give is one more notch in your experience belt.

The Bottom Line, Literally
The last, but certainly not least, reason for you to give talks or lectures is the opportunity to promote yourself and sell your product.  Think about it, the audience that comes to listen to a talk is in a different mindset than those who are coming to sit through a sales presentation.

Giving informational talks is the perfect opportunity to sell to an audience whose sales defenses are down.  Not only are their defenses down, but just by their attendance in the audience, you know that they are interested in your product.  It makes the perfect targeted audience and one you should have on your potential client list.

Whilst you may have thought that speaking engagements may not help your particular business, I urge you to think again.  It’s the perfect opportunity to create a personal connection, declare your expertise, build speaking skills and yes, get some sales in the process.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com