045: Sales Secrets for Turning Workshops Into Paying Clients

Hey, hey. Welcome back to The Selling Your Expertise podcast. My name's Renee Hribar your hostess with the mostest, and so I have some questions today. Do you ever wish that you could turn a speaking gig into strategy without being pushy? Dun, dun dun. Yes, of course. Of course. You've given a great workshop.

You've, you've maybe submitted a. Prerecorded talk to a summit, or you gave just a, a fiery live stream to your community and you wonder, Hmm, everyone loved it, but when I shared it again, crickets. You're gonna love today's episode. We're talking about how to turn one and done talks into ongoing high value work without being pushy.

I'm gonna give you my simple room capture moves. This three touch workshop follow up sequence, and a few ideas to make advisory offers feel natural. So let's go. All right, so I'm excited that you're here today. We're gonna kick off this Monday. Today's focus came out of a client conversation that I know will resonate with you.

this particular person is a seasoned marketer, shifting from doer to strategic advisor. Raise your hand. Hello. Yes. So many great, amazing, smart people that I work with have gained a particular set of skills over time, whether that's through a certification, through working in corporate, through working for their.

Their own business and evolving their offers and services, and then realizing that their advice might actually be worth more than their hands on the keyboard, especially when we work together, I start helping you see. Bigger clients in bigger rooms with bigger paychecks, and that is when those people, they already have a team to do the work.

They just need somebody smart like you, who actually knows how to guide the team to do the right work. So this particular client was landing speaking gigs, including a paid corporate workshop on AI in the workplace. Very hot, right? Add AI to anything right now and you're gonna get some business. So speaking is great, it went great.

But here's the question. How do you turn that into a win? And how do you go from applause to a pipeline? Because if you and I can agree, speaking is great, getting paid for speaking is absolutely fantastic. But the real money, the real money is in the pipeline that comes in. Behind it. So this is for you if you speak at companies or associations or chambers, paid or unpaid.

I had the privilege of meeting Neil Patel at the Inbound conference and such a great guy and just his words that you, we've all read, maybe you haven't yet, but check him out. He's amazing on his blogs, on his content and his emails. He's always saying, you know, ask me why I speak for free. It's basically free advertising.

Now, I'm not sure if he got paid to speak at Inbound, but I know he did speak, so I guess I should have asked him that. next time, Neil, me and you. And so when you think about speaking at these, at these places and, and this case, this one client had just gotten in, a series of talks at real estate agencies.

And if you know about real estate, those offices are always looking for speakers to come in. And this is because one of his programs is very much attached to that. And so think about the rooms that you can be in with all these speaking gigs. Right? And some become relationships, but where do those relationships go?

All right, so picture this. My client delivers this killer AI workshop to about 50 employees. Smart team, engaged room, rave reviews. Fee was solid, local, nice little boost, but there was no call to. Action. Ugh. Because he felt that he shouldn't do that because, well, everybody there is just employees of this company.

And I'm like, Ugh, you're taking my breath away kid. he said, they're not my target client. They're employees, not buyers. And I, I mean, I totally get it, but here's the deal. Employees move. Today's attendee is tomorrow's team lead somewhere else. And where are they? LinkedIn. The goal isn't to hard pitch the room, it's to capture the room, right?

So think about it today. I even had another client, a separate client, in addition to this story as I, 'cause I rewrote this out. I outlined this podcast obviously as one does, and I had another conversation again today, and this person is writing a workshop and he's talking to a room full of people that.

Aren't necessarily his ideal client avatar, but I forced him basically to twisted his arm. And yes, you can see too, like I do work with men. I, I focus on working with women, but a few brave men, a few brave men, and I forced him to put a QR code in his slide deck to his LinkedIn, and I said. Do this, say, connect with me on LinkedIn and type in the word whatever.

DM me the word, he made it up and it'll unlock additional resources. I mean, I think you probably, 'cause I know we all do have some content on our hard drive, like a worksheet, a workshop, a workbook, a. A checklist, all this kind of stuff that we've created over time for clients or for summits or whatever the case.

And we could give them that, right? But what is, what is the goal so that we're connected on LinkedIn. Why? So that when they go change their job, or when they move on, or when they do whatever they're gonna do, they still look at you as the trusted advisor that you are, in fact, so trusted that the company that they worked for at one point paid you to come in and share something.

So. Again, minimum viable move. Two small things onstage, LinkedIn capture. Hey, I'm taking a quick selfie. This is my favorite thing to do. Hopefully you do this too. We're gonna learn AI today. I'm gonna post it. I'm gonna tag you there myself, and so we'll stay connected and then you can literally do it in the room.

People love this. Hosts love it because it helps them see the professional development that they're doing. Oh, look at this great company. They're bringing me in. They're learning. They're growing. So you take that. Picture from stage, everybody's in there and then you say, Hey, scan this QR code, go to the workshop companion and it gets you my one page AI use policy checklist and resources like no hard opt-in required here, right?

But then go connect with me on LinkedIn and this points to the proximity, and then use this special word and then I'll unlock additional resources for you. Do you see that? Like this alone turns a great afternoon into a growing network of warm, familiar faces who already have experienced you at your best, right?

So let's talk about the system. That I give my private clients who do workshops paid and unpaid. We call this the three Touch Workshop sequence. Dun, dun, dun. It keeps you in scope and the host will love you and you'll be building your pipeline. So here we go. Touch number one, pre-call, seven to 10 days before the event.

Confirm logistics and ask two gold questions. What will make this a win for you? You wanna ask that to the stakeholder, the admin, whoever's bringing you in your champion. Ask them what will make this a win for you? I bet you not every speaker asks that, but you will. And then ask them, what's the one sticky challenge this team keeps bumping into?

Next, you wanna offer two tailored slides, right? Textbook versus our reality with the client's exact language. It shows you listened and creates instant relevance. Relevance, relevance, relevance. I cannot stress that enough. Planting the seed is what you're gonna do Next, you're gonna say, I have a post-event debrief template that helps you turn workshop momentum into next steps.

Do you want me to bring that? What do you think they're gonna say? Yeah, because the, host that's bringing you in feels seen, heard, understood, and extra valued. Like they've gotten something extra or off menu and bonus. And that helps you of course, connect and develop relationship with them, but it also helps you with the through line to your pipeline.

Okay. Touchpoint number two is when you're live in the room. This is during the event. Take the selfie from stage with the LinkedIn tag invite. Hey, I'm taking the selfie. Find me on LinkedIn. Hey, here's the QR code. Make sure you DM me with the secret word, the secret password, right? Make it fun. And then.

They're gonna find you. Hey, come tag yourself. Everybody wants to see that picture. I have had a lot of pushback on this. Like, oh, a selfie from stage. It's so done. Is it though, is it, let me ask you this, have you ever ridden a rollercoaster? Have you've ridden a rollercoaster in United?

Yeah, I've rid a rollercoaster and I duh. I've rid, I'm alive. I'm a human. Of course, rode a little rollercoaster. Okay. If you've ever ridden a rollercoaster, what happens when you get off the rollercoaster? You walk through that little special staging area. Yeah. What's there? Your picture, do you look amazing?

Like did you put that as your profile picture for LinkedIn? Uh, no. Okay. So what I'm saying is we are humans and our picture, we are very interested in it. Oh, how do I look? What do I look like? Is my hair nice? Do my glasses have a glare in them? Ah, take the selfie from stage please, because you want that LinkedIn tag invite.

And do not be afraid about QR codes. QR codes are old technology. Just get your little QR code and have your little companion kit be like, Hey, click the QR code. It'll download some extra resources that you've already approved with the stakeholder, the person who brought you in earlier. Remember,

Seven to 10 days earlier, and then you gonna do a very light, genuine, easy call to action. Hey, I'll share a quick debrief template with your leadership team. If you wanna copy for your department. DM me on LinkedIn, the word debrief, which is also funny, and I'll send it to you. Or whatever word you want.

I like it to make, I like to make it a word that's funny, memorable, and easy to spell. Like, I don't know, fox or rock or something funny. I used to say pineapple 'cause it is a funny word. It's long and it is easy to spell. And then someone told me one day that there's like weird connotations, like, like undertones with the word pineapple.

And I was like, oh, that's definitely not me. So I stopped using it. Sorry. So onto touchpoint number three, post event, 48 to 72 hours later. I cannot tell you enough how follow through, not just follow up, follow up, feels like I'm checking something off the box. Follow through. Forever. So like I said in my book, there is no statute of limitations on relationships.

You can always follow through. Okay, so touchpoint number three, post-event. Send the host the debrief, right? Hey, top three wins that I observed. The top three patterns to address, and then recommended next steps. Like, Hey, I can do a. You know, DIY thing later with you or give this to you. I can come in and coach you.

I can do something with you. Another workshop, another program or some executive leadership. This right here, I, I, I can't say this enough. I work with a lot of really smart, amazing people who below my mind with how ama incredible they are. They get in rooms like this, and then they do this and they sign six figure deals on the tail end.

So they might have gotten paid a couple grand or nothing upfront, but they get in proximity with these people and they see them in action and they get the big deal. So I just wanna tell you that yes, regular people are getting this, regular people are doing this, and you can too. So we're gonna add one more invitation.

And that is based on the room's questions. I'm offering three AI in your workflow micro audits this month. It'll be helpful if we prioritize it with the team. Let me know if you'd like to talk more about it. Here's. A time next week. Here's a time for the week after. Do either of those work for you to circle back on following up on what we talked about during the event.

'cause this is 48 to 72 hours later. Do you see how that's just a simple, clear invitation? It's not a big deal. You're not being pushy. You are simply making an invitation. It's kind of like. When, a server comes to the table, right? And maybe you've just received your salad and you asked for your dressing on the side, but then you realize, I really do actually want oil and vinegar.

And so what if the server is like, Hey, would you like me to bring some oil and vinegar as well? You're like, yes, thank you. Then you don't have to think of it, and you don't have to ask because these are, here's the other thing. Even though you're sitting at the table in the restaurant and the server Their job is to literally serve you as the customer. Don't you feel a little embarrassed, like you don't wanna be a bother. I mean, that's just me, right? Like, I don't wanna, I don't wanna bother them. I'll just take what I got. I'll take what I asked for earlier. I don't wanna change my mind. I don't wanna put them out.

That's how other people feel about you. They think you would tell them if it was so important or if you had it available, or if it wasn't a bother. Even though you make money as a, as a business owner, and they know this. They still think, oh, I don't wanna bother them. That's what your potential clients are saying to themselves when they think about you.

So I want you to just make it as easy as possible to be able to get that person to the next step to continue the conversation. 'cause it's not pushy, it's service you are doing what leaders wish more speakers did. Help them carry the momentum forward. So if you do nothing else, do this. Number one, pre-post, two to three days before the event.

Hey, I'm excited to lead a session on this topic for this industry. What's one AI in the workplace debate you're having right now? Boom, right? You can post that publicly or you can email that to the team, and then if you do post it, you could tag the host, of course, with their permission because it helps the host who's already working so hard to make this a reality.

Feel appreciated. And feel seen. And also, hey, shines a little light on their hard work and brilliance. This seeds awareness and gives you language from the comments. And also if it's a, you know, maybe it's in their Slack channel, maybe it's somewhere else. It could be public, like I said, or private. And it helps you weave that into your.

Presentation in your slides. Okay. During the event, you can post a selfie, like I said, from stage or even like if you've ever done speaking, you know this, you do mic checks, right? And they gotta make sure that your, that your slides are compatible and yada yada. So during this, you can. Do those BTS, those behind the scenes posts or a selfie of an empty place and you and your mic check, getting ready and it just shows your authority.

It shows that you do talks and it allows you to share. Some titles of talks that you love to share. So the comment in this case of if you share this publicly of you and the mic, check the comments, there might be something like, oh, I wanna hear more about this title, or I wanna hear more about that title.

So you can give people the chance to hear about other topics that you speak on, not just bragging. And you're not just bragging, you're sharing some behind the scenes and people like that. Optionally. I can also say that there's always a really nice reflection post. So after speaking engagements, since I'm usually out there, people like crazy, I'm usually very tired.

So knowing myself before I take the elevator up to the hotel, if I'm, if it's a traveling talk or before I get home, this is the key before I get home. I'll pull into a parking lot, which is very safe. I'll make sure it's safe and maybe a, you know, like a Tim Horton's or a Dunkin Donuts and drive through just to get myself a little, pick me up.

And in the drive through, I will make sure that I write something kind and helpful and thoughtful to the event organizer. And I can also. Do a very nice, reflective public thank you to them as well and send that to them because we wanna keep it human right, but we also wanna keep it specific and we also wanna keep it easy to engage.

So let's talk offers for a second. you know, We really wanna go from, I was on stage to now I am filling my pipeline, but you see spending that time and energy, taking a couple pictures, having a clear call to action, and sharing kindness and generosity and the spotlight with the organizer.

Goes a long way. So what are your offers for after you can offer a micro audit? You know, hey, I'll, I'll, I'll make sure I review your AI flows. This is just one for this person. it opens the door. It could be 200 bucks, it could be a thousand bucks. It could be very easy for you to deliver in a very short amount of time.

They're gonna need that extra momentum getter either. A week after, a month after next quarter, this time next year, start talking about it. Now, from an event planning perspective, you know that as soon as one event is over, you're planning the next one. Even if there's only one per year, that's how much goes into it.

Make sure you're talking to them. Now I had a, another client who just spoke at a huge, a huge, huge event in Las Vegas, I really advised her, I said, listen, during the event, you and and that organizer are gonna be best friends, right? Because they're working, they're talk, they're doing their thing.

They're running around like a busy bee. I want you to put your name in to their ear about being the keynote next year. So she spoke at the event, but she wasn't the keynote and. She's being considered. Like, that's freaking music to my ears. But how many of us go, oh, I'll just wait till they announce it. Oh, I'll wait till they ask me.

No, no, you can, but then like, you're gonna be up against a whole nother, a whole nother thing. I have a really good friend who organizes TEDx talks. And she always says it is a hundred percent subjective. It is a hundred percent our opinion. It is not just about how many followers you have or how many times you've done talks or how much of anything.

It is completely subjective. So Don't stop making invitations just because you think your talk is over at the same time. After the talk is over, the team is highly likely going to be led by someone who needs to continue the conversation. So even if they're bringing you in for more workshops, even if they're bringing you in for.

you know, again, next year for the keynote, the executives, the C-suite, maybe the ones that weren't even in the room, they're gonna wanna be brought up to speed. And who better than you? So. These are all different offers that anybody who's listening to this right now can make. These are all actions that anybody listening right now can make.

It's about the before, the during, and the after. I know that I'm gonna get this talk, whatever I'm getting paid or not. I know who I'm talking to, who's organizing it. I wanna prepare with them. I wanna be there and make sure that whoever I'm talking to, even if it's a room full of employees. That you're staying connected and getting and staying connected on LinkedIn because employees move and then afterward you're connecting with the employees and you're connecting with the people who brought you in.

So the positioning line here is to stay in scope and book something, even if it's just a check-in call as soon as you can. And so I, I really can't emphasize enough that this keeps relationships. Open. It keeps opportunities open and I, I really, I'm excited to hear about how you. Use this. So many people that I talk to, are excited about speaking on stages, and I'm laughing because there's one last thing I wanna share.

One of the people that I work with had a great, great tip of the hat, DoorDash Johnson, you're freaking amazing. He is another speaker. Travels around the world, has spoken internationally. Stages. he's incredible. He's my AI coach and you know, we were talking about rate cards and how much to charge for airfare and hotel and per diems, and he is like flat fee shipping included.

I just laughed so hard, I laughed so hard. So he makes sure that his rate covers his business class flight, his really nice hotel, a really nice steak dinner and or whatever he chooses. He just includes it. So it's pay one price, flat fee shipping included. Thanks, DoorDash for that. Alright, here's your action steps.

Let's make this happen. There's three moves for you this week. Number one, make your companion kit. Make that thing that you are going to give away that they're gonna want when they hear you speak. Number two, create that three touch sequence. Make sure you've got the pre-call questions. You can capture the room.

You get to do that post event debrief, email. So you're getting the pieces of this puzzle in place. And number three, you're writing one advisory offer, whether it's a micro audit, a workshop, or sprint, a retainer, a C-suite executive coaching agreement. I just want you to think about. All the opportunities that happen when you get on stage, and I'm talking to you right now, it's November.

Maybe you're getting on a, I mean, I know in November there are a lot of stages. Maybe you're getting on stage this week. Maybe you're getting on stage in January. Maybe somebody just booked you for a, a talk or a summit, whether it's virtual or in person. Maybe they just booked you for talk in March. The point is, is that now you are seeing it from a sales perspective.

Yes. Speaking is fantastic. Yes. Get out in front of it. Yes. When you're there. You're opening up a pipeline because that is where the real money, but also transformation happens. I am so glad that you're here. Thank you so much for listening. Make sure you continue to share this. That's how we get this into more AirPods and more people out there because I know that there are men and women struggling wondering how do I.

Sell my expertise and I'm, I'm just here excited to help you demystify that with strategies, proven frameworks, and more importantly stories, real world stories of people just like you making the money. I will talk to you soon. Have a great one. Have a great week.