As I sit here watching the French Open Men’s Final, I’m thinking about what’s going on for Novak Djokovic. He’s on the verge of creating history. He just has to win. Obviously, there’s a big difference between the “stage” Novak is sharing his expertise on, and the “stage” speakers share their expertise on. For one thing, Novak will enjoy a much bigger payday. But the reality is that as speakers, we’re hoping for a payday too.
We speak because of our desire to share our problem-solving expertise, but for how long if people aren’t taking the next step to work with us? We need ways to move the conversation from the stage, to a consultation… a coffee meeting… a Zoom call… a course… a program… or whatever. To do that, we need to make an offer.
First though, as I’ve said many times, before you start creating an offer, check with your event planner to make sure it’s okay with them. If your event planner says “Yes,” great! Just don’t make the mistake of getting up on their stage and delivering a hard sell to their audience. We’ve all been on the receiving end of this and know that nothing turns attendees (or planners) off as quickly—or permanently—as a hard sell. Fortunately, there are ways to encourage a new connection while providing value, without overselling. Here are three:
- Free Resources: Provide a QR code that will take attendees to the download link for the free resource you’re offering. It could be an ebook, white paper, lead magnet, etc. Make sure the resource you’re offering directly relates to your talk.
- Free Consultations are always a great option, especially for speakers who don’t have an inventory of free resources ready to share yet. It’s an easy offer you can let your audience know about in a variety of ways. Sharing your email address and/or providing a QR code linked to your online calendar are just two.
- Say “Thank You” to your audience with a short-term event-only discount code towards a program, course, coaching, etc. People enjoy discounts, and if they’ve enjoyed what they’ve learned from you for free so far, they’ll be more inclined to take advantage of what else you offer.
- Make a Reference to how you’ve taken a client from point A – the purpose of your talk, to point B – the problem-solved solution of your talk. Including one or two of these will have people in your audience thinking about how you might help them solve the same problem too, and reach out to you as a result.
- A Download: Offer your event planner a download, which they can then offer to their audience as a free follow-up to your talk. This is a great way for a planner to provide extra value to their attendees… that just happens to include your contact information.
- Share your content by reading directly from one of your own resources. This will help establish you as an expert… an expert who can help them solve their problem.
- Make the most of your call to action: As you wind up your talk, challenge your audience to find ways to take the steps you’re suggesting. Let them know you’re available to answer their questions and help them trouble-shoot their specific situation. With permission, you could also provide them a handout of helpful resources and websites, including yours.