Client Magnets Official Blog

“Begin with the end in mind.” Stephen Covey

Have you noticed that there seems to be a trade-off in every aspect of marketing and sales?  Whether it’s trading information, trading money for products or even trading a free item for contact information….The reciprocity touches all parts of your business.

One aspect that’s important in reciprocity is that you have to give before you get.

I’ve always encouraged the use of speaking engagements as a way to establish your expertise in your field, generate leads, and hone speaking skills.  All this is done whilst selling your product and offering valuable information to the audience.  But there’s another trade off that can take place during a speaking engagement, and that’s gathering key marketing information for future use.  Not contact information, which is another opportunity in itself, but information that allows you to develop an empathy towards your client’s business.

At the beginning of each speaking engagement, take a few minutes to talk with the audience and establish a relationship.  Ask them what they’re looking to take away from the speech.  Notice the key issues that come up over and over in their responses.

This is valuable information that will help you understand the issues that your clients are facing.  Not only will you be able to develop empathy for them, you will also be able to transfer those issues into your marketing materials as well.  The more you are able to empathise with your clients’ needs, the better you will be able to meet those needs.

The same can be said for overcoming objections.  Empathise with your clients’ objections to your product or service.  It could be the cost factor, or the ‘it won’t help my business’ objection.  Use that information within your speech to address each of these points and detail why they are not valid objections.

When you’ve gathered important, helpful information from your audience, you’re going to be giving the same in return.  Your audience deserves that since they’ve taken their valuable time to attend your talk. At the same time you’re “planting the seeds” of need and overcoming objections whilst offering valuable content.

It is this content that will help people arrive at their own conclusion after your talk.  That conclusion should be that the next logical step they take is to accept the solutions that you present to them.  When a client reaches the conclusion on their own that they should buy your product, it’s so much more powerful than when it’s done through a direct sales presentation.

Setting up your speech to give the audience the opportunity to make their own conclusion will help seal the deal of any special offers that you’ve put together for that event.  Whilst making immediate sales is a nice feature of speaking engagements, the information trade off can be invaluable to your business.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

2 Responses to “The Information Trade-off – Giving Before You Receive”