Offline Business - The #1 BEST Way to Market Yourself & Your Services Is...

Hi Warriors!

There's been a lot of stir here at the WF about taking your online skills and
selling them to offline businesses.

This has caused a lot of people to wonder about marketing, and
there's already been a ton of great advice in various other threads.

I want to share with warriors here what is in my experience and the
experience of my students THE #1 BEST WAY to market yourself...

...and that is through free speaking and seminars - now before you
stop reading and click away because you think you have stage fright
and/or fear of public speaking I want you to consider this:

Fear of public speaking is actually much MUCH easier to conquer than
most people realize AND you are doing yourself a terrible disservice
to rule out speaking and seminars.

Why? Because when you find out that whatever bad experience you had in
the past (likley in school) has absolutely nothing to do with the present.

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Just so you know...

I've published numerous books on this topic, have taught literally thousands
of students over the years, and I'm an established expert in the area of
public speaking and presentation skills, I've got workshops on the Learning
Annex Website, and on and on...

...just so you know I'm not just making this stuff up...

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I know, I know, there are a ton of you Warriors that will post all the
reasons why your fear of public speaking and stage fright is crippling
etc. etc. etc. etc.

But the reality is:

1. If you argue for your limitations, they are yours to keep forever.

2. I have taken students with terrifying fear of public speaking and
turned them into SUPERSTARS who are totally addicted to public speaking.

3. You absolutely should not let fear stand in the way of your success.

4. When (not if, WHEN) you discover that that fear was as real as the
monsters you thought were hiding under your bed as a child, you will
have a boost in confidence that will make you unstoppable!

Plus, I myself was terrified of public speaking too, so if my students and
I can do it, you can too.

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Now I want to share with you some of my tips and tricks about how to market
yourself using speaking and seminars.

But if after reading this it's STILL not enough for you...

...and you want even more info, I've got a ton of free articles and free training
on my website at Public Speaking Training

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When it comes to seminar and speaking success, I'm not ashamed to admit
that I've made a lot of mistakes over the years. But I've learned a lot from
those mistakes. To be fair, the last 27 years of doing workshops, seminars
and speaking was not just one long string of mistakes, I've had a lot of
successes too.

As of right this moment, I've done 1,893 workshops, keynote speeches,
trainings, classes, seminars - you get the idea. My intention here is to give
you a very healthy dose of what I wish I knew many years ago. If I knew
then what you're about to know now, I'm 100% convinced I would have
made much more money and not spun my wheels as much.

Whether you're a total beginner or a seasoned pro or somewhere in
between, I'm willing to bet that you'll get at least one or two gems out of
what I'm about to share with you here.

These days my focus is on teaching business owners and professionals
and entrepreneurs how to use speaking and seminars as lead generation
and lead conversion tools; but even if you have different ideas about what
speaking and seminars will do for you, I'm positive that you'll learn some
techniques here that you can use right away.

Moreover, as time goes by you'll see more and more value in what I'm about
to share with you.

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How to End Stage Fright and Fear of Public
Speaking In 30 Seconds

Jerry Seinfeld said "attending a funeral, most people would rather be the
person in the casket than the person giving the eulogy".

I've done survey after survey and the #1 reason people don't harness the
incredible power of seminars and speaking is simply because of stage fright
and fear of public speaking. You can end public speaking fear in 30 seconds,
and here's how:

Right before my first national radio interview, I was sitting in the green
room and I started to feel a bit nervous thinking about potentially millions of
people hearing me on the radio.

So, I used one of the techniques I teach to terminate stage fright: I thought
of someone who in my opinion would never in a million years be nervous in
that situation.

I changed my attitude to be just like that person. Then I did the same with
my face, and my body posture, and my breathing. 30 seconds later, stage
fright dropped from 8 out of 10 down to 1. You can use this technique
exactly the same way.

Remember: you're not imitating, just emulating - that's the key to this
technique.

Bonus tip: using this technique - which I call "The Hero Process" - can also
vastly improve your speaking and presenting skills at an accelerated rate.
Translation: you get to be a much better presenter than you deserve to be,
and shortcut a process that normally requires years & years of experience.

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4 Simple Steps to a Terrific Presentation
Even If You Have No Time to Prepare

This presentation structure also covers the four major ways people absorb
information. All you need to do is simply take your content and structure it
in this simple but powerful four-step sequence:

1. Purpose: why is this topic important? Why should your audience be
interested or listen to you in the first place? You can tell them, and/or
you can elicit their reasons.

2. Facts: next you go into the facts data and statistics you have on your
topic.

3. How can your audience apply this information? How can they use
it? Tell them and/or have them tell you how.

4. Questions: take questions from the group or pose your own questions
to them. You could also explore options and alternatives to what
you've presented to that point.

Now just sandwich those four steps with a brief summary of the main points
of your presentation that you want them to remember most. You can also
put a short intro at the very beginning, a thank-you at the very end, and
you're done.

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Do Not Lose Control of Your Group

You've been there before: you're sitting in the audience attending a seminar
or presentation that you've been looking forward to eagerly. Maybe you've
even paid a decent sum of money to hear what the presenter has to say on
a topic that's important and interesting to you.

But some audience member keeps interrupting with long-winded questions,
completely ruining the flow of the presentation and eating up precious time.
In your head you keep wishing that person would just shut up, or that the
presenter would take control and stop the constant interruptions.

But no - the situation goes from bad to worse as others jump on the
bandwagon interrupting with inane, off-topic questions as you get more and
more angry and frustrated. In the end, the presenter has run out of time to
deliver on what you came to hear and you end up getting short-changed.

Don't let this happen in your speaking and seminars. People have come to
hear you speak, not someone who's trying to hijack your seminar, or tell
their life story, or act like a show-off trying to "steal the show" from you.
Set the ground rules up front.

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Tell your audiencehow things are going to be.

Tell them that you'll take questions only during a specified question and
answer period, or after your seminar is over.

In some cases, such as conducting trainings, it might be appropriate or even
necessary to take questions and allow audience participation during your
presentation.

But if you've promised to deliver on a specific topic, your audience is
expecting you to follow through so don't disappoint them by allowing anyone
to hijack your presentation.

Keep control of your presentation by setting the ground rules up front and
be prepared to enforce them if necessary - with a smile, of course!

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How to "Get the Butts in the Seats"

This is one of the most common questions I get. The answers are alarming
simple. It's actually not rocket science, but most people think there's some
kind of magic method to fill a room with people who want to hear what you
have to say.

Which, by the way, touches on an important point: if your topic is something
that people are eager to hear about, you should have no trouble attracting
groups. I wouldn't gloss over that last sentence.

Answer this question honestly: are you giving people what they want, or
what you want them to want? With all that in mind, here are the realities of
getting the butts in the seats.

The easiest way to get the butts in the seats is to let someone else do it for
you: speak at other people's seminars or meetings or conventions. Believe it
or not, all around you right now are associations and clubs and organizations
that are dying for speakers on your topic.

Afraid you'll be making "cold calls"? - you won't; these are the warmest calls
you'll ever make. Be prepared when they jump through the phone line and
right into your lap.

Also, why not partner up with people who are already doing speaking
or seminars to your target market, but are not in competition with you?
Point out how you'll provide value to their seminar or event, but won't be
competing with them.

Those are two very strong ways to speak to rooms full of people, but without
struggling to get the butts in the seats. Another time-tested and proven
method is to go out and speak wherever you can, and then promote an
upcoming seminar you're going to give. You can promote a free introductory
seminar or even a paid event.

Here's another tip for you: OPD. OPD stands for other people's databases. Your
attorney, chiropractor, tax preparer, financial planner and insurance agents all
have huge databases of clients who might want to attend your seminar.

Sure, you can buy a generic mailing list and mail out thousands of mailers
and take out advertising all over town if you want. You can also start ripping
up hundred dollar bills and tossing them out the window, too.

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Closing Thoughts on Seminar and Speaking Success -
and a Sprinkling of "Tough Love"

Don't fall into the "be a great speaker" trap. Many people somehow think
that if they become a "master of the stage" and an expert at "platform
mechanics and presentation skills" that their success is guaranteed. If
"success" is defined as rounds of applause and standing ovations, they would
be right.

But applause and standing ovations don't pay the bills, my friend. "The path
of the great speaker" is the path to the poorhouse. If your goal is to be a
great speaker, I hope you have a lot of money saved up, or have someone to
support you financially.

You can ignore this advice if you are already famous because well-known
athletes, politicians, and actors can often command large speaking fees and
get easy bookings.

However, I suggest you forget about the path of the great speaker and
instead take the path of "the speaker that gets results". I'm talking about
getting measurable results such as sales produced, appointments booked,
donations made, products or services sold, petitions signed, prospects
generated - measurable, tangible results.

Which brings me to another point and illustrates a mistake I made for years:
I thought that if I was a great speaker and I delivered a highly educational
content-packed presentation, people would decide to buy from me or do
business with me. I was very, very wrong.

If you give people the sense that they've learned everything about your
topic in the short time you've spoken to them, you're doing them a terrible
disservice. Because the reality is that even if you speak for a few hours, it's
more than likely that you won't be able to truly impart enough knowledge
and skill to them to be able to actually utilize what you're telling them.

People have very short memories and attention spans; moreover very few
people are going to take action on what you're presenting to them.
Even if you're not trying to teach them anything and just doing "motivational
speaking", it's a sure bet that the next day they'll forget much more than
they remember about your speech.

Don't delude yourself into thinking that your great
speaking skills will overcome this very real fact of
human nature.

And don't be so egotistical that you think you can impart enough information
in a short speech to make any significant difference.

The purpose of your talk should be to create curiosity and then desire, and
then you should make a strong and clear call to action. You might disagree
with this and this may take a while to sink in, but hopefully it'll sink in sooner
rather than later so you can save yourself a lot of wasted time and energy.
Which bring up a very important point: speaking is advertising. That's all it
really is. The sooner you grasp the reality of that statement the better off
you will be. Speaking is the best form of advertising that every existed and
ever will exist.

Speaking beats networking, cold calling, publicity, and all other forms of
advertising hands-down. When you get up in front of people and speak, you
are the expert. You are the authority. People get a sense of if they like you
believe you and trust you, right then and there.

Speaking is free advertising. If you collect a speaking fee, then you're
getting paid to advertise. Smart speakers know that getting a speaking fee
is not the goal to chase; focus on generating and converting leads and you'll
make much more money on the backend.

This is something else I really wish I'd known a long time ago. Is a light bulb
going on for you right now?

By the way:

The reason why doing actual speaking will eliminate stage fright is not
because you'll become progressively conditioned to not being afraid; your
fear will disappear simply because you will have the direct and undeniable
experience that there is no monster hiding under the bed after all.

Doing speaking and seminars is highly, highly addicted. But with this
addiction, you won't become brain-damaged or get fat - however, your bank
account can get quite fat if you follow some of my suggestions.

Best,
David
PS: If you want even more info, I've got a ton of free articles and free training
on my website at Public Speaking Training