I’m thrilled to introduce you to one of our standout students of The Client Attraction Business School™, public speaking consultant John Rasiej. As always, we’d love to hear your feedback. Please post your comments and questions below. ~ Fabienne. Connect with John on Facebook here.
Public speaking is one of the fastest ways to attract new clients. The on-the-spot connection you establish with one effective presentation is a richer and more holistic experience compared to a blog post, a video or even social media. Your live speaking engagement is able to convey your expertise, authenticity and accelerates the Know, Like and Trust factor for your audience.
Public speaking is one of the fastest ways to attract new clients. (Click here to tweet this.)
Speaking effectively takes more than getting up and sharing information. There are key creative strategies that form a deeper engagement and lead to more client conversations and conversions quickly. Here are 5 that stand out:
1. Begin by immediately making the speech about your audience and the issue with which they’re challenged. They’ll have a vested interest to listen more attentively from the start if they know your focus is on them! When you begin by launching into your story or saying, “I’m happy to be here,” you’re making it about you.
2. Keep your speech to fewer than five points and ideally three so your audience isn’t overwhelmed. Different from a workshop, people attending a speech at a networking event are not there for copious note-taking. Getting past five points taxes listeners’ ability to focus. You want to make your points memorable and achievable.
3. Avoid taking questions from the stage and let the audience know it’s to their benefit. Taking questions cedes control of your time to someone else. Furthermore, if you take questions and resolve their surface need in the moment, your potential client has no reason to approach you after the speech. By connecting individually at the end of your presentation, you gain the chance to learn their specific needs and establish possible follow-ups that pay off.
4. Your call-to-action needs to flow organically from the speech. Every speech needs to take advantage of the audience’s focused attention while they’re physically with you in the room. Your call-to-action will be more effective when it flows naturally out of the points you make as opposed to seeming like a tacked-on pitch or afterthought. Create your call-to-action and then plan your points to lead your audience there.
5. Command the room with your stage presence. Everything you do in front of your audience sends its own message. How you take the stage, the way you stand and the certainty with which you deliver the opening sentences affect the audience’s confidence in you and your message. Some techniques such as ideal stage position may seem counterintuitive; however they’re designed to enhance the connection between speaker and listener. Unfortunately many business speakers miss them.
Well-crafted presentations delivered skillfully will grow your business fast. Maximize the art of speaking to make an impact both to your clients and to your bottom line.
John Rasiej is CEO of Speak Louder Than Words, a consultancy that brings creativity to entrepreneurs so that businesses click when sharing their message with clients.The author of two books, “Speak Louder Than Words” and “Speaking Leadership: 22 Essential Secrets to Make Speeches Succeed,” John combines over 20 years of acting and directing experience plusan understanding of delivering effective marketing speeches that lead to better connections and more clients. To find out more about these strategies and more ways to make your message resonate with the people you want to reach, connect with John at www.SpeakLouderThanWords.com.
Most people in networking groups want to help you, knowing that you will help them too. Here’s how to make it easy for them.
Start by coming up with answers to your pull marketing questions from the Client Attraction system.
Think about:
- What problems do your ideal clients have?
- What issues do they need to solve to get to the next level?
- What blocks do they encounter in trying to achieve their goals?
- What makes them unhappy?
Write all your answers down.
Sometimes people tend to gloss over what is really happening for their ideal clients and the problems they face. But spelling this out is what helps you connect with people who have these issues.
Your goal is to come up with lots of specifics about their issues and the emotions and mental states that go along with the problems. When you get detailed with what is going on for your target audience, it will be easier to jog your networking colleagues’ mental rolodexes. Something will trigger a person, making him or her say, “Oh my, that’s just what my friend Suzie was talking about!” And that’s how you get a referral.
When you can tap into your ideal clients’ problems and feelings, it can go a long way to help others think of who might need your services. This is also true of being detailed regarding the particular industry you serve and the specific professionals within that area.
Now, to create the elevator speech, remember you’ll want to talk about the solutions and not your actual methods. Your network and prospects don’t actually care about your techniques. They just want to know you can help fix the problems. Finish with the end benefits that people get when they work with you and you’ll have a hard-working elevator speech.
Being as definitive as possible is the key to helping your fellow networkers think of leads for you. You want to give them something to hang onto and think about. That will also help you stand out from others in the group who may be talking in generalities. Make it easy for your networking partners and you will generate more referrals and better results.
Your Client Attraction Assignment
- Look back to review your pull marketing questions and answers. Or if you haven’t done this exercise yet, this is a good time to get started.
- Make a list of the problems you solve and the emotional states you address.
- Write another list of the end benefits your clients can expect from working with you.
- Craft or revise your elevator speech to help your networking contacts and colleagues think of referrals and prospects who could benefit from working with you.
That said, you may be wondering WHERE to begin finding people to outsource to so you can make Client Attraction a priority and market your business in a way that’ll give you the most returns with little effort on your part. Follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.
This Thursday, October 28th I’ll be the guest speaker for The Soundview Club, right here in my hometown of Stamford, CT. I’m delighted to present “The Advanced Marketing and Mindset Secrets of 6-figure and 7-figure Entrepreneurs That Work in ANY Economy” to this fine group of local business owners and entrepreneurs. And great news! The Soundview Club has graciously opened this event up to the public as well!
This is a great opportunity for YOU to expand on what you’ve already learned from me and to go beyond what you’ve already implemented and take your business to the next level, so you can see increased results.
In this high-content live session, you’ll uncover the hidden reasons why you’re not currently making more in your business; you’ll also discover the exact process to transform your income and the way you do things, and finally you’ll be “stretched” personally by me, not only in your marketing but in your mindset too, so you too can experience even more entrepreneurial success.
I hope you’ll come join me for this intimate gathering. The Soundview Club will be providing a networking reception afterward as well so there will time for us to meet in person, chat, and network.
Seating is extremely limited and is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. As you can imagine, this event will fill very quickly, so please act now. Please register through The Soundview Club directly by calling 203-359-9333. (Registration fee is a nominal $35.)
I can’t wait to see you in person. Please make it a priority to join me!
