As the result of being asked to be a guest speaker at Umpqua Bank this past week, teaching attendees how to write 30-second commercials/elevator pitches, a riveting core story and a professional bio, I’ve just become the happy recipient of two new prospective clients: I’ll be meeting with them this coming week. Both seem committed to using me. They both feel rock solid.
This doesn’t happen every time, of course, nor do I speak to accrue clients. I’m sufficiently busy now, thankfully, to not have to scramble for new clients all the time anymore.
In fact, I’m always surprised when I get inquiries following a presentation because my mindset and focus are always on helping people write their own marketing pieces. So when I get responses like these, it’s cream on the coffee: a nice addition.
A lot of service providers wrongly believe that jealously hoarding their wisdom and parceling out just enough intrigue and possibilities to hook clients is what it takes to reel in business. WRONG! That only works a minuscule percentage of the time. You’ll end up spinning your wheels instead of getting much traction if that’s your game.
The information you have (and understand so well) is already out there; people are curating and publishing it like crazy somewhere on the Internet very minute of every day! You don’t have anything that someone else hasn’t already figured out…EXCEPT FOR ONE FINAL INGREDIENT THAT THEY CAN’T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
What you have as your ace in the hole is YOU–your unique personality, perspective and your own helpful, engaging tips and techniques. Your ideal clients want to get them from YOU, their Curator/Explainer/ Helper in Chief in your field of expertise. They already know, like and trust you, so why would they risk going anywhere else?
If you’re a struggling start-up, your first job is to find out who your Ideal Client persona/profile is, and then write information that lets them know, real fast, that you have the answers to their pain, problem, or predicament. You do this by offering content, tips and advice (yes, for free!) that “gets them right where they live” so they know that you understand them completely and know how to help them.
If you’re a shy entrepreneur (like me), you just have to get over it and put yourself out there. Walk through the fear and do it anyway.
I promise you, after repeated exposure to the self-induced trauma of being in front of an audience, you’ll learn to relax. How? Because the friendly engagement with the attendees during your presentation will feel great, and because several of them (the self-confident ones first, followed by the rest) will come to you afterward to thank you, profoundly and profusely, for helping them learn and apply something that will benefit them tomorrow morning and in the days and weeks to come.
When this happens, you begin to realize that the presentation isn’t about you; it’s about the value you bring to them. As soon as you realize that the focus isn’t the messenger–it’s the message–you’ll find yourself relaxing and loving on your audience instead of imagining them as fault-finding, pitchfork-wielding, fang-bearing malcontents who have come with the sole intention to taunt and belittle you for not being perfect.
C’mon. Nobody’s perfect. Most people forgive imperfection as long as they aren’t having their time wasted by pushy salespeople who arrive to speak just to sell their products or services.
Give your audience VALUE. Give them insights, memorable stories, helpful hints, sage advise, and great rapport. Give them your best self and your best possible delivery. (Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect. How many perfect presentations have you attended? How many perfect people do you know?)
If you give genuine, rock solid, take-it-home-and-to-your-office value, you’ll be surprised how many people will follow up with you and find a way to do business with you.
