I hear this constantly .. “I’m uncomfortable and find it hard to sell myself!” My initial response? Get into another line of work! And I’m only half kidding ..
I’m not being rude, I am being a realist. In order to get speaking gigs, you are the one who has to reach out to prospects and convince them you can make a difference in their business.
Another question I’m often asked – “Doesn’t it sound better if I’m not the one making the call?” In a word, no. And I think it’s a cop out if this is your thinking. You are the one with the intellectual property. You know how to talk about your information better than anyone else. That said if you hire someone to make calls on your behalf, you still must be the BEST at doing it!
A reality in speaking businesses is that staff comes and goes. It’s a revolving door. Ask any veteran who has had staff and they will agree with me – they may not like it – but they’ll agree with me. I’m not going to go into why this is, that’s another post!
You must always be the best at selling your programs because you are the constant in your own business. The closer the client can get to the speaker the better. If you have staff doing outbound marketing, they must always let the prospect know that you are happy and anxious to talk with them and answer specifics about your program.
So, I’m still uncomfortable selling myself. What can I do? You can review earlier blog posts that I’ve written on selling, positioning, qualifying and practice technique. You can hire me to help you do it! (My favorite!) Another option that works well and I always suggest when I work with speakers – shift your thinking.
Shift your thinking.
Clients hire us to “move the needle” in their organization in some way.
- Increase profits
- Raise productivity
- Increase employee engagement
- Drive shareholder value
Instead of selling yourself, think of yourself as a commodity. You’re actually selling your intellectual property aren’t you? That’s what people are buying – the difference that you make via your speaking services. Sell like a commodity and you’ll become more comfortable with the process. Use phrases like:
- What would it look like if ..
- Would it make sense to ..
- How would you feel if your people .. (Thanks to Phil Jones for this!)
In a nutshell, you need to do everything and anything you can to make yourself not only comfortable, but terrific at selling!
The bad news? It’s up to you. The good news? It’s up to you. Happy selling!
Copyright 2019.. Lois Creamer. Lois works with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money and fully monetize their intellectual property! She can be reached in the following ways:
Email: Lois@BookMoreBusiness.com
Twitter: @loiscreamer
Phone: 314-374-4007
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BookMoreBusiness
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/loiscreamer
For more information on Lois’ business check out http://www.bookmorebusiness.com as well as http://www.bookmorebusiness.tv!
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